[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Historical Fiction May 2010

From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 04:56:56 -0700
New and Recently Released!

Infamous - by Ace Atkins
Publisher: Putnam
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/15/2010
ISBN-13: 9780399156304
ISBN-10: 0399156305
This novel by the author of Devil's Garden recounts the career of real-life 
gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly, a small-time crook who--at the urging of
his ambitious wife, Kathryn--takes on his biggest job ever: kidnapping wealthy 
Oklahoma oilman Charles Urschel. But with other gangsters anxious for a
piece of the action and a persistent federal agent hot on his trail, can the 
new "Public Enemy No. 1" survive the big time--or will he end up doing hard
time? For more 1930s gangsters galore, try Elmore Leonard's The Hot Kid or Max 
Allan Collins' graphic novel Road to Perdition. Or, if you like a touch
of the fantastic in your historical fiction, you might enjoy The Many Deaths of 
the Firefly Brothers, by Thomas Mullen.

Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet - by Stephanie Cowell
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/06/2010
ISBN-13: 9780307463210
ISBN-10: 0307463214
En route to Paris, aspiring artist Claude Monet spots a weeping girl at the 
train station--but despite his instant attraction to her, it is only years later
that he meets her again and finally learns her name: Camille Doncieux. To the 
horror of her upper-class parents, Camille becomes Monet's model, muse, and
mistress before eventually becoming his wife. Told largely in flashbacks, this 
novel by the author of Marrying Mozart follows the couple's tumultuous 
relationship
as it unfolds in a vibrant 19th-century Paris populated by fellow 
Impressionists such as Renoir, Pissarro, and Bazille. For another novel about 
an Impressionist
painter and his muse, try Kathryn Wagner's Dancing for Degas.

Daughters of the Witching Hill - by Mary Sharratt
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/07/2010
ISBN-13: 9780547069678
ISBN-10: 0547069677
Known as "Mother Demdike" to the residents of Pendle Forest in Lancashire, 
England, elderly widow Bess Southerns is a "cunning woman" who, along with her
granddaughter Alizon, can brew up herbal remedies for the sick and even 
foretell the future. But a betrayal by a family friend and the actions of a 
scheming
local magistrate put their lives in jeopardy. Based on the Pendle witch trials 
of 1612, this riveting book explores complex female relationships. For more
of the same, check out Kathleen Kent's The Heretic's Daughter or Megan Chance's 
Susannah Morrow, which are both set in Salem, Massachusetts during the
infamous Salem Witch Trials.

The Heretic's Wife - by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/13/2010
ISBN-13: 9780312386993
ISBN-10: 0312386990
At Gough's Book and Print Shop, siblings John and Kate Gough risk imprisonment 
by smuggling Lutheran Bibles into Tudor England. When her brother is arrested,
Kate continues their dangerous work with the help of Oxford scholar John Frith, 
with whom she falls in love. But the devoutly Catholic Lord Chancellor
Thomas More would see the "heretics" burned, forcing Kate and Frith to flee to 
Antwerp. While Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn play a role in The Heretic's Wife,
the story focuses on ordinary people rather than royalty. Brenda Rickman 
Vantrease's previous books, The Illuminator and The Mercy Seller, also depict
the long struggle to produce an English-language Bible.
Focus on: The Crusades

Deus Lo Volt! Chronicle of the Crusades - by Evan S. Connell
Publisher: PGW
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 03/01/2001
ISBN-13: 9781582431406
ISBN-10: 158243140X
Deus Lo Volt! (which translates to "God wills it!") is the Crusaders' battle 
cry, one taken up by Jean de Joinville, a Frankish nobleman-turned-soldier
who travels with King Louis IX to the Holy Land. While describing his own role 
in what will become the Seventh Crusade, Joinville recounts the long, often
disastrous history of the Holy Wars--including the sack of Constantinople, the 
ill-fated Children's Crusade, and the siege of Acre. Based on the life of
a real knight of the same name and written in the style of a medieval 
chronicle, this novel by author Evan S. Connell (best known for his treatment of
Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn in Son of the Morning Star) taps into 
the mindset of the Middle Ages.
First Chapter

Baudolino - by Umberto Eco
Publisher: Harcourt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/01/2003
ISBN-13: 9780156029063
ISBN-10: 0156029065
During the Siege of Constantinople in 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, polyglot 
and notable liar Baudolino tells his life story to a historian he's just
rescued. Born a peasant in Italy, Baudolino is adopted by Holy Roman Emperor 
Frederick Barbarossa and educated in Paris, where he plans a journey to locate
the legendary Prester John, Christian King of the Orient. So how does Baudolino 
end up in Constantinople? Find out by reading this book. For another novel
that mixes history and legend and features a linguistically gifted Italian 
storyteller, check out Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence, in which
a mysterious wanderer entertains the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
First Chapter

The Lute Player - by Norah Lofts
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/08/2009
ISBN-13: 9781439146071
ISBN-10: 1439146071
Norah Loft's The Lute Player presents a humanizing portrait of the 
much-mythologized Richard the Lionheart, as seen through the eyes of those 
closest to
him: Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; monk-turned-minstrel Blondel, who 
becomes Richard's loyal lutist even as he falls in love with the King's
wife, Berengaria; and intelligent, hunchbacked Anna of Apieta, Berengaria's 
illegitimate half-sister who yearns for Blondel. First published in 1951 and
set during the Third Crusade, The Lute Player was ahead of its time in 
examining Richard's homosexuality--although his dalliances with men pale in 
comparison
to his obsession with slaughtering Saracens. Fans of Pamela Kaufman's Crusader 
Trilogy, which begins with Shield of Three Lions, will enjoy this book.
First Chapter

Knights of the Black and White - by Jack Whyte
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 06/26/2007
ISBN-13: 9780515143331
ISBN-10: 0515143332
A "deft combination of historical drama and old-fashioned adventure" (Booklist) 
distinguishes this exciting tale of the First Crusade and the Knights Templar.
In 1088, French nobleman Hugh de Payens joins a secret society known as the 
Order. It's a decision that will change the young knight's life, taking him
all the way to Jerusalem--where the Order guards a treasure that's as dangerous 
as it is priceless. Knights of the Black and White is the 1st book in Jack
Whyte's Templar trilogy, followed by Standard of Honor and Order in Chaos. If 
you're seeking more Templar-themed fiction, try Robyn Young's Brethren trilogy
or Jan Guillou's books featuring Swedish warrior-monk Arn Magnusson.
East Meets West: The Ottoman Empire
Taking over from the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman) Empire, the Ottoman Empire 
lasted from 1299 to 1923, when it was succeeded by the modern Republic of 
Turkey.
At its height in the 16th and 17th centuries, it spanned three continents and 
controlled vast expanses of territory from its capital, Constantinople (now
it's Istanbul, not Constantinople). Famous for its intellectual and artistic 
achievements as well as its many wars and religious conflicts, the Ottoman
Empire provides a vibrant yet turbulent backdrop for a lot of great historical 
fiction.

Birds Without Wings - by Louis De Bernières
Publisher: Vintage International
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 06/28/2005
ISBN-13: 9781400079322
ISBN-10: 1400079322
For centuries, the Greek Orthodox, Turkish Muslim, and Armenian inhabitants of 
Eskibahçe, a small village in southwestern Anatolia, live together 
peacefully--until
WWI destroys their way of life. Set in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, 
Birds Without Wings alternates between depicting the lives and loves of ordinary
people in Eskibahçe, such as star-crossed lovers Philothei and Ibrahim, and the 
rise of Turkish nationalist Mustafa Kemal Atatürk--narratives that eventually
intersect with tragic consequences. Like author Louis de Bernières' bestselling 
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, this novel features cross-cultural and interfaith
friendships and romances that unfold against a sweeping historical backdrop.
First Chapter

The Aviary Gate: A Novel - by Katie Hickman
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/27/2008
ISBN-13: 9781596914759
ISBN-10: 1596914750
In a historical novel reminiscent of A.S. Byatt's Possession, author Katie 
Hickman introduces a world of splendor and intrigue through a detailed evocation
of the Ottoman Empire. Past and present intertwine as a modern-day scholar 
researches the 400-year-old story of Celia Lamprey, a sea captain's daughter
who survived a shipwreck only to be brought to Constantinople and imprisoned in 
the Sultan's harem. Years later, Celia's former fiancé, diplomat Paul Pindar,
delivers a gift to the Sultan and is unexpectedly reunited with his long-lost 
beloved. If you enjoy adventure stories rife with authentic period detail,
you won't be disappointed by this thrilling book.
First Chapter

My Name is Red - by Orhan Pamuk
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 08/01/2001
ISBN-13: 9780375406959
ISBN-10: 0375406956
"I am nothing but a corpse now," explains Elegant Effendi, a master miniaturist 
who's been murdered and thrown into a well in Istanbul. Could his death
have anything to do with a book commissioned by the Sultan--one containing the 
European-style figurative illustrations considered heretical in Islam? Various
colorful characters--including a lovesick artist, the woman he's wooing, the 
Jewish messenger who carries secrets throughout the city, and occasional 
inanimate
objects--present their stories and recreate everyday life in the 16th-century 
Ottoman Empire. My Name is Red may appeal to fans of Iain Pears' An Instance
of the Fingerpost, which, while it's set in 17th-century Oxford, is told from 
the perspective of multiple narrators and also centers around a murder.
First Chapter
Table of Contents

The Religion - by Tim Willocks
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/15/2007
ISBN-13: 9780374248659
ISBN-10: 0374248656
In 1565, Contessa Carla La Penautier recruits Saxon sword-for-hire Mattias 
Tannhauser to accompany her to Malta, where she hopes to find the son taken from
her as an infant. It's imperative that they find the boy: Turkish forces have 
laid siege to the stronghold of the Knights of St. John, the Christian military
order that defends the island. If the invasion is successful, the Christian 
inhabitants of Malta face certain death. The Religion "brims with unbridled
violence, religious passions, political intrigue, and steamy romance," says 
Library Journal. For another historical novel concerning the Knights of St.
John and the Siege of Malta, try Ironfire by David W. Ball.
First Chapter
Table of Contents



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[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Historical Fiction May 2010

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