Historical Fiction
The mirror & the light
Hilary Mantel
eAUDIO
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
""If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?" England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith's son from Putney emerges from the spring's bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen before Jane dies giving birth to the male heir he most craves. Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry's regime to the breaking point, Cromwell's robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him? With The Mirror & the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man's vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion, and courage"--
Anne of green gables
Brenna Thummler
eBOOK
Kids, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction
If you enjoyed the classic novel, or one of the movie or TV adaptations, you'll love this graphic novel adaptation about a spunky orphan who creates joy and excitement at Green Gables farm. -Anne W
I survived the sinking of the Titanic, 1912
Lauren Tarshis
eBOOK
Graphic Novels, Kids, Historical Fiction
Excited to board the Titanic with his aunt and little sister, ten-year-old George begins to explore the ill-fated ship's first-class storage cabin when the ship is rocked by a collision with an iceberg and begins to sink.
If you like the popular I Survived novel series, try this first installment of the graphic novel version of the series! -Anne W
City of girls
Elizabeth Gilbert
eBOOK
Historical Fiction
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
I love historical fiction, it’s probably my favorite genre. This is *technically* historical but it is super, super fiction-y. I found the story to be very colorful and interesting and was compelled to keep reading, but I found the characters to be a little contrived. I was interested in the World War 2 chapters, but wish there was a little more substance. It’s a racy read that fans of romance would probably enjoy! -Mari
The count of Monte-Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
FICTION Dumas, Alexandre
Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics
Riveting, heart breaking, and beautifully told, prepare to watch as nineteen year old, Edmond Dantes's life comes crashing down around him through no fault of his own. Fourteen years in prison later, we see him rise from the ashes only to descend to the depths of villainy. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and unabridged. -Casey
A tale of two cities
Charles Dickens
FICTION Dickens, Charles
Literary Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." This may be my favorite Dickens, be ready to shed some tears! I'm planning on picking this one up again in March. -Casey
The Dutch house : a novel
Ann Patchett
FICTION Patchett Ann
Historical Fiction
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Cyril's son Danny and his older sister Maeve are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another.
"The Dutch House" compiles a set of memories and stories that span the course of five decades. Ann Patchett skillfully moves us back and forth in time, with the house serving as an integral piece to our understanding of the characters and changing family dynamics. I love the moments and conversations between Danny and his sister Maeve. One particular conversation that stuck with me throughout my reading was when Danny and Maeve were discussing whether or not the past could be viewed as it actually was or whether the past is altered by the lens we use at present. I really enjoyed reading Patchett's, "The Dutch House! It’s a great read for those who enjoy well developed characters, interesting family relationships, fairy tale undercurrents and a historical setting. -Becky
One crazy summer
Rita Williams-Garcia
jFICTION Williams-Garcia, Rita
Kids, Historical Fiction
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Added by Anne W
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Scott O'Dell
jFICTION O'Dell, Scott
Kids, Classics, Historical Fiction
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.
Added by Anne W
Number the stars
Lois Lowry
jFICTION Lowry, Lois
Kids, Historical Fiction
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Added by Anne W
It has been 8 years since the last installment of Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy and "The Mirror and the Light" was well worth the wait. Beautiful written and rich in detail and character, Mantel's writing is absorbing. For fans of audiobooks, Ben Miles provides a fantastic reading. In anticipation for this book, I immersed myself in the world of Thomas Cromwell, rereading "Wolf Hall" and "Bring up the Bodies" by listening to the audiobooks. I missed so much from the first reading, I was glad I did. Now I'm a little sad to leave the Tudor court. Unlike most of the people in Henry VIII's circle, I'm just happy I get to do so by choice. -Anne M