Historical Fiction

The Mercies

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The Mercies (Hardcover)

By Kirin Millwood Hargrave
$27.00
ISBN: 9780316529259
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Little, Brown and Company - February 11th, 2020

 

A beautifully written tale of a 1600s witch hunt and trial on a small Norwegian island. It is a nuanced look at the power of a female community, the toxicity of patriarchy, and the whirlwind of a village descending into madness, eating itself from the inside.This book will sweep you up in its whirlwind.

Meaghan

The Secrets We Kept

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The Secrets We Kept: A novel (Hardcover)

By Lara Prescott
$26.95
ISBN: 9780525656159
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf - September 3rd, 2019

Inspired by the true story of the CIA’s role in the publication of Doctor Zhivago, Prescott imagines the lives of Boris Pasternak’s real life lover/muse Olga as well as the fictional Irina and Sally, spies involved in the mission to smuggle the novel into the Soviet Union. Espionage, forbidden love, and the zippy commentary of the Mad Men-era typing pool combine for an absorbing story.

Katie

Fountains of Silence

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The Fountains of Silence (Hardcover)

By Ruta Sepetys
$18.99
ISBN: 9780399160318
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Philomel Books - October 1st, 2019

 

It’s the summer of 1957, and aspiring photojournalist Daniel Mattheson is staying in Madrid with his wealthy family at the luxurious Castellana Hilton. When he meets Ana, a hotel employee, he begins to understand the dark truth of life under Franco’s dictatorship and strives to capture a story through his photography. This is rich, character-driven historical fiction that will appeal to both teens and adults.

Katie

Deep River

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Deep River (Hardcover)

By Karl Marlantes
$30.00
ISBN: 9780802125385
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Atlantic Monthly Press - July 2nd, 2019

 

Karl Marlantes transports the reader to the early 1900’s in the Pacific Northwest and the early logging industry, through the story of the Koski family fresh from Finland -  and doesn’t let you go until the last of the 700 pages. He writes with such authority about logging, fishing, immigration, unions, women’s empowerment, and the environment at the time. The story is held together by the bonds of the Koski’s as they navigate through the hardships of life in a new country while maintaining their connection to their traditions and myths. This is a sprawling novel with richly drawn characters, so worth getting pulled into.  

Carol

The Downstairs Girl

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The Downstairs Girl (Hardcover)

By Stacey Lee
$17.99
ISBN: 9781524740955
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers - August 13th, 2019

 

Atlanta, 1890. By day, Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid. By night, she writes a newspaper advice column under the name Miss Sweetie. But when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender, she isn't prepared for the backlash. Rich with historical detail and a compelling heroine. Stacey Lee is one of the best YA historical fiction authors writing today!

Rebecca

Age of Light

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The Age of Light: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Whitney Scharer
$28.00
ISBN: 9780316524087
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Little, Brown and Company - February 5th, 2019

 

When done well - and this is certainly done well! - good historical "bio-fiction" captures their characters' essence but places them in a context of urgency, of narrative and of emotion.  This novel about photographers Lee Miller and Man Ray (she was also his model and muse), in Paris in the late 20s-early 30s, makes you feel like you know them both intimately, that you're in the room for the tempestuous and intense love, fighting, jealousy, art and passion that was their relationship and through which they produced their bewitching and important art.   

 

David 

An Untouched House

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An Untouched House (Paperback)

By Willem Frederik Hermans, David Colmer (Translated by), Cees Nooteboom (Afterword by)
$16.00
ISBN: 9781939810069
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Archipelago - October 23rd, 2018

 

A war story unlike any you’ve read before. We follow the protagonist discover & try to preserve a personal identity away from the war. But the forces that create war in the first place aren’t bound by walls and doors and the story ends with something that is shocking in large part because of how banal and obvious it is.

Josh

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