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 __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 5140 (20100524) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com