[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Historical Fiction March 2010
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:34:38 -0400
Historical Fiction March 2010
"I have heard the old, old men say,
'All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'"
~ William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Irish poet, "The Old Men Admiring
Themselves in the Water."
New and Recently Released!
The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel - by Jerome Charyn
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/22/2010
ISBN-13: 9780393068566
ISBN-10: 0393068560
This psychologically intense novel explores the passionate emotional life of
the reclusive, elusive 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson. Narrated by Emily,
it focuses on her complex relationships with her doting-but-strict father,
protective brother, and volatile sister-in-law--as well her abiding obsession
with an itinerant man named Tom. If you'd like to read more fiction about the
"Belle of Amherst," try Paola Kaufmann's The Sister, told from the point
of view of Emily's sister Lavinia, or Rose MacMurray's Afternoons with Emily,
in which the poet is seen through the eyes of a younger female admirer.
Savage Lands - by Clare Clark
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/02/2010
ISBN-13: 9780151014736
ISBN-10: 0151014736
In 1704, the French colony of Louisiana has over 200 settlers--none of whom are
women. Poor but well educated Elisabeth Savaret is a "casket girl" a mail-order
bride shipped overseas carrying only the possessions she can fit in a wooden
box. To her surprise, Elisabeth falls in love with her husband, ambitious
soldier Jean-Claude Babelon, but their happiness is threatened by her inability
to bear children and Jean-Claude's all-consuming desire for wealth. Be
sure to read this "engrossing, painstakingly researched" (Booklist) novel by
the author of The Great Stink and The Nature of Monsters.
The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel - by Johanna Moran
Publisher: Ballantine Books Trade Paperbacks
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/09/2010
ISBN-13: 9780345510952
ISBN-10: 034551095X
In 1890, Englishman Henry Oades relocates to New Zealand with his wife,
Margaret, and their children. Not long after their arrival, Margaret and the
children
are abducted during a Maori uprising and their house burned to the ground.
Believing his family is dead, Henry moves to California and eventually marries
a pregnant widow. Years later, after escaping, Margaret shows up at Henry's new
home with their children in tow. Now legally married to two women, Henry
must decide what to do about his unusual situation. This novel is based on a
true story; for another New Zealand-set novel that depicts a very different
marriage, try Rose Tremain's The Colour.
First Chapter
Ruby's Spoon: A Novel - by Anna Lawrence Pietroni
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/16/2010
ISBN-13: 9781400068685
ISBN-10: 1400068681
Candle Cross in 1933 is a dying factory town in Northern England, as well as
home to 13-year-old Ruby Tailor. Ruby, who lives with her grandmother, works
in the local fish shop and dreams of saving up enough to buy a boat. Her
horizons expand dramatically when enigmatic Isa Fly arrives, determined to honor
her dying father's request that she locate her long-lost sister, Lily. Ruby is
fascinated by the newcomer, but everyone else is suspicious, especially
after a series of misfortunes that seem to coincide with Isa's arrival. Don't
miss this "spellbinding first novel, distinguished by unforgettable
storytelling"
(Kirkus Reviews).
First Chapter
Focus on: Ireland
March 17 is Saint Patrick's Day, honoring the patron saint of Ireland. They say
that everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day--so celebrate Ireland's
fascinating
history and vibrant culture by reading some of these great books!
A Long Long Way - by Sebastian Barry
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/05/2005
ISBN-13: 9780143035091
ISBN-10: 0143035096
In 1918, Willie Dunne, a soldier in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, returns from
four years fighting in the trenches just as Ireland's independence movement
is heating up. Willie, who was forced to bear arms against his own people in
the 1916 Easter Uprising, is still haunted by his role in that conflict as
well as increasingly sympathetic to the Irish nationalists, a stance that
estranges him from his royalist, police-officer father. Meanwhile, his
sweetheart,
Gretta, has married another and Willie discovers that he no longer knows where
he belongs. "Dauntless realism and acute figurative language" (Publishers
Weekly) distinguish this novel, a companion volume to Sebastian Barry's Annie
Dunne.
Galway Bay - by Mary Pat Kelly
Publisher: Grand Central
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/09/2009
ISBN-13: 9780446579001
ISBN-10: 0446579009
In 1839, 17-year-old Honora Keeley is on the verge of entering a convent when a
handsome man emerges from Galway Bay and sweeps her off her feet. It's love
at first sight for blacksmith Michael Kelly as well, and the couple marries and
settles down to a life of farming. But when the potato blight arrives,
causing widespread famine and death, Honora and Michael struggle to keep
themselves and their children alive but cannot avert tragedy. This gripping saga
of the Great Starvation should appeal to fans of Ann Moore's Gracelin O'Malley
and its sequels.
Patrick: Son of Ireland - by Steve Lawhead
Publisher: HarperTorch
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/01/2004
ISBN-13: 9780060012823
ISBN-10: 006001282X
The patron saint of Ireland is actually Welsh in this novel by Stephen R.
Lawhead. Succat of Morgannwg is the son of well-to-do Christian landowners in
Wales. As a teenager, he's kidnapped by slave traders and brought to Ireland.
Renamed Patrick, he eventually escapes and returns to his native land, only
to journey to Ireland once more as a missionary and a free man. If you're
interested in reading more about Saint Patrick, check out Juilene
Osborne-McKnight's
I Am of Irelaunde or Joan Lesley Hamilton's The Lion and the Cross. You may
also like Phillip Freeman's biography St. Patrick of Ireland.
The Rebels of Ireland: The Dublin Saga - by Edward Rutherfurd
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/27/2007
ISBN-13: 9780345472366
ISBN-10: 0345472365
While The Rebels of Ireland is the sequel to Edward Rutherfurd's The Princes of
Ireland, it can stand on its own as well. Like its predecessor, it follows
a handful of families over centuries--starting with Ireland's colonization in
the 16th century by the English and ending with the founding of the Republic
of Ireland in 1921. Fans of James Michener will enjoy Edward Rutherfurd's
generation-spanning epics, which also include Sarum and The Forest. Readers
looking
for more fiction about Irish history should check out Frank Delaney's novel
Ireland, in which a traditional shanachie (storyteller) recounts the tales
of Ireland's legendary past to a young boy.
First Chapter
Focus on: Wales
March 1 is Saint David's Day, honoring the patron saint of Wales. And here's a
bit of Welsh to keep in mind: Hiraeth. While there's no direct English
translation,
the word suggests a powerful longing for home. Appropriately, the following
books deal with characters who fight to protect and preserve their beloved
country at all cost.
The Welsh Girl - by Peter Ho Davies
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/12/2007
ISBN-13: 9780618007004
ISBN-10: 0618007008
A small village in North Wales during WWII is the setting of this debut novel
by acclaimed short-story writer Peter Ho Davies. Seventeen-year-old barmaid
Esther Evans embarks on a tentative friendship with Karsten Simmering, a German
POW being held in an internment camp not far from her father's farm. As
Esther copes with the trauma and shame following her rape by a British soldier,
Karsten struggles with guilt at having chosen surrender over death. "Beautifully
realized characters" (Booklist) bring this moving story of place and identity
to life. For another novel set in Wales during this period (but very different
in tone), try Owen Sheer's Resistance.
First Chapter
The Fool's Tale - by Nicole Galland
Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 02/01/2006
ISBN-13: 9780060721510
ISBN-10: 0060721510
In 1198, to secure peace between England and Wales, 20-year-old Isabel Mortimer
marries Welsh King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, known as "Noble." Isabel and Noble,
both strong-willed individuals, quarrel constantly as Noble refuses to give up
his mistresses and Isabel fails to produce an heir. She also clashes with
Noble's best friend, the court fool Gwirion, who has reasons of his own to hate
the Mortimer family. But when Noble rides off to battle, invaders lay siege
to the castle while Isabel and Gwirion's antagonism gives way to a dangerous
passion. If you're interested in reading more about courtly life and political
conflict in medieval Wales, you might like Christopher Meredith's Griffri.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Wind from Hastings - by Morgan Llywelyn
Publisher: Buccaneer Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 06/01/1995
ISBN-13: 9781568496139
ISBN-10: 1568496133
As the daughter of a Saxon Earl, Edyth knows that she cannot expect to marry
for love--which is why her happy marriage to Welsh prince Griffith ap Llywelyn
takes her by surprise. But when Griffith dies in battle, Edyth is claimed by
Griffith's enemy, King Harold II of England--whose rule is threatened by William
of Normandy, who arrives at Hastings in 1066 prepared for a showdown. Edyth,
now the mother of the heirs of both England and Wales, must find away to save
herself and her children. If only she could just disappear... Based on the
story of the real-life Edyth (or Aldith) of Mercia, this novel by Morgan
Llywelyn
offers romance and a bit of mystery in addition to a thoroughly researched
setting and cast of characters.
Here Be Dragons - by Sharon Kay Penman
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/27/2008
ISBN-13: 9780312382452
ISBN-10: 0312382456
Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of England's King John, becomes a political
pawn when her father marries her off to Welsh king Llewelyn in 1205. While
Joanna and Llewelyn's union is a success on a personal level, increasingly
tense relations between England and Wales undermine its strength as a peace
treaty. More trouble arises when Joanna's attempts to make their son Dafydd
heir to the throne incur the wrath of Gruffydd, Llewelyn's older son by his
mistress--setting up a power struggle with far-reaching consequences. Here Be
Dragons is the 1st book in Sharon Kay Penman's Wales trilogy, followed by
Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning.
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