[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Historical Fiction December 2009

  • From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:29:35 -0500

New and Recently Released!

Sunflowers - by Sheramy D. Bundrick
Publisher: Avon
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/01/2009
ISBN-13: 9780061765278
ISBN-10: 0061765279
In December of 1888, Vincent Van Gogh slices off part of his earlobe with a 
razor blade, wraps it in newspaper, and presents it to a prostitute named 
Rachel.
Little is known about Rachel, but Sunflowers recreates their relationship, 
which the artist's madness will ultimately destroy. If you enjoyed Tracy 
Chevalier's
Girl With a Pearl Earring or any of Susan Vreeland's books depicting artists' 
lives, you'll want to read this debut novel by art historian Sheramy Bundrick.
For another novel about one of Van Gogh's muses, try Alyson Richman's The Last 
Van Gogh, in which a physician's daughter becomes the inspiration for some
of the painter's final works.

Dancing in Combat Boots : And Other Stories of American Women in World War II - 
Funke, Teresa R.
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc
Check Library Catalog
ISBN-13: 9781934649008
ISBN-10: 1934649007
Eleven fictional stories representative of the millions of housewives and 
mothers who took off their aprons and stepped into the factories, offices and
hospitals to do the work of husbands, sons and brothers who were called to war.
Drawing in the dust - Klein, Zoe
Publisher: Pocket Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/07/2009
ISBN-13: 9781416599128
ISBN-10: 1416599126
Scorned for agreeing to help an Arab couple excavate allegedly haunted grounds 
under their house, archaeologist Page Brookstone finds what may be the tomb
of the prophet Jeremiah, as well as the remains of a woman, and intriguing 
scrolls documenting their relationship.
First Chapter
New York : the novel - Rutherfurd, Edward
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/10/2009
ISBN-13: 9780385521383
ISBN-10: 0385521383
A tale set against a backdrop of New York City's history from its founding 
through the September 11 attacks traces the experiences of characters from all
walks of life who witness such periods as the Revolutionary War, the city's 
emergence as a financial giant and the Gilded Age.
First Chapter
It's Magic!

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - by Susanna Clarke
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/30/2004
ISBN-13: 9781582344164
ISBN-10: 1582344167
This story of competing magicians during the Napoleonic Wars takes place 
against a detailed historical backdrop--but in this version of 19th-century 
England,
magic is no mere parlor trick. It's a real phenomenon, with a robust academic 
tradition behind its theory and practice. One such scholar-practitioner,
the wealthy and reclusive Mr. Norrell, dedicates himself to reviving lost 
knowledge, while his pupil (and later rival), the charming Jonathan Strange,
becomes the toast of society for aiding the Duke of Wellington's forces. 
Steeped in British folklore and written in a style reminiscent of Jane Austen,
this novel artfully combines history and magic to present an intricate yet 
panoramic tale.
First Chapter
Table of Contents

Carter Beats the Devil: A Novel - by Glen David Gold
Publisher: Hyperion
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/01/2002
ISBN-13: 9780786886326
ISBN-10: 0786886323
Set in 1923 (but jumping back and forth in time), this "brilliant" novel 
(Booklist) reinvents the life of American stage magician Charles Carter, better
known as Carter the Great. At the height of his fame, Carter's fortunes take a 
dive when president Warren G. Harding dies mere hours after participating
in one of Carter's stage performances. Carter, now the prime suspect, must 
evade the authorities while planning a spectacular comeback performance. If
you enjoy Carter Beats the Devil, you may like Gabriel Brownstein's The Man 
from Beyond, which explores the complicated relationship between legendary
illusionist Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
First Chapter

Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician: A Novel - by Daniel Wallace
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/03/2007
ISBN-13: 9780385521093
ISBN-10: 038552109X
In this novel by the author of Big Fish, we meet Henry Walker, a white man who 
performs magic tricks in blackface for Jeremiah Mosgrove's Chinese Circus
as it travels throughout the American South. According to his fellow circus 
performers, who narrate the story, the trouble begins when Henry, at age 10,
befriended the mysterious Mr. Sebastian, a guest in the family's hotel. The 
sinister Mr. Sebastian taught Henry magic--and also abducted his beloved sister,
Hannah--before disappearing. But what really happened, both during and after 
the event, reveals itself gradually. Spanning the decades between the Great
Depression and the early years of the Civil Rights movement, Mr. Sebastian and 
the Negro Magician explores complex issues of race and identity in America.
First Chapter

The house of the spirits - Allende, Isabel
Publisher: Dial Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 08/30/2005
ISBN-13: 9780553383805
ISBN-10: 0553383809
One of the best know magic realist novels, "The House of the Spirits" also 
gives the reader an extraordinary view of 20th century Chilean history. Through
the Trueba family and the myriad characters that drift in and out of their 
lives, we see so many of the elements of the political and class struggle that
continues until this day. Beginning with the landowner vs. tenant worker 
conflict and culminating with the left-wing vs. right-wing political/social 
conflict,
we are given a glimpse into the inner workings of a country in turmoil. We see 
the horror of the Conservatives when a Marxist government is democratically
elected, and their terror when the coup they so finely crafted becomes a 
dictatorship as terrible as they expected the Communists to be. Neither the left
nor the right were winners--only the military.
First Chapter
Focus on: Epidemics

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague - by Geraldine Brooks
Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/01/2002
ISBN-13: 9780142001431
ISBN-10: 0142001430
The year 1665 brings tragedy to the Derbyshire village of Eyam, especially for 
impoverished widow Anna Frith. Not long after the young mother of two buries
her miner husband, the bubonic plague strikes. As the village quarantines 
itself, Anna and her neighbors attempt to live normal lives as hysteria mounts
and death closes in on them. Inspired by the history of the actual village 
documented in Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year, Year of Wonders 
depicts
the grim realities of the Black Death as well as the best and worst of human 
nature. For a medieval look at the same topic, try John Hatcher's The Black
Death: A Personal History, which fuses fiction and nonfiction to recreate a 
plague-stricken 14th-century English village.

Wickett's Remedy: A Novel - by Myla Goldberg
Publisher: Anchor Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/10/2006
ISBN-13: 9781400078127
ISBN-10: 1400078121
With WWI on the horizon, ambitious South Boston shopgirl Lydia Kilkenny marries 
Henry Wickett, a medical student from a wealthy family. The child of Irish
immigrants, Lydia is looking to better her lot in life. But when Henry quits 
medical school in order to peddle patent medicine, Lydia's dreams are 
deferred--and
then derailed entirely after the Spanish Flu claims Henry's life. But Lydia has 
never been one to lay down and die, not even during a worldwide pandemic.
Fans of E.L. Doctorow will enjoy this meticulously researched slice of American 
history. And for readers especially interested in the 1918 flu epidemic,
Reina James' This Time of Dying is a more somber depiction of the event, set in 
London.
First Chapter

The Last Town on Earth - by Thomas Mullen
Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/31/2007
ISBN-13: 9780812975925
ISBN-10: 0812975928
Commonwealth, a tiny logging town in Washington State, was meant to be a 
progressive community. However, its ideals soon falter when the 1918 flu 
pandemic
arrives in the nearby hamlet of Timber Falls. Fearing death from the contagion, 
the citizens of Commonwealth vote to quarantine themselves until the disease
has run its course. No one is allowed in and anyone who leaves will not be 
permitted to return. But then a weary soldier who may or may not be infected
comes seeking shelter. The two young men on guard duty, Graham Stone and Philip 
Worthy, warn the man away. When the visitor refuses, Graham shoots him,
setting off a chain of events that will bring the townspeople face to face with 
the world they've tried to shut out.
First Chapter

A Prayer for the Dying - by Stewart O'Nan
Publisher: Picador
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/26/2009
ISBN-13: 9780312428914
ISBN-10: 031242891X
For traumatized Civil War veteran Jacob Hansen, the prairie town of Friendship, 
Wisconsin represents a new beginning for him, his wife, Marta, and their
infant daughter. But his already tenuous grasp on reality begins to slip when a 
diptheria outbreak starts claiming lives. As the death toll continues to
rise and a quarantine is imposed on the town, Jacob--who serves as constable, 
minister, and undertaker--realizes that there's no escape for him and his
family. This realization prompts him to do the unthinkable. Imbued with a 
"sense of menace that grows into a horrifying nightmare" (Publishers Weekly),
A Prayer for the Dying reveals how disaster can destroy a community with almost 
biblical force.



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