Tag Archives: historical fiction

Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra 

27 Monday Mar 2023

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April 2023 “Novels and Night” book club choice at the Weston Public Library

“Mesmerizing…At the heart of Malhotra’s sweeping debut novel is an indelible love story…A transcendent study of the blurring of personal and political, as ordinary people deal with catastrophic historical events.”―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“At once sweeping and intimate. With gorgeous prose and careful research, Malhotra brings to life a world rich with Indian perfumery, Urdu calligraphy, and a romance that defies time and space. A stunning book that reminds you of what it is to fall in love.”―Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky

“A long and luxurious tale of love, loss, memory, and place, told against a backdrop of tumultuous historical events…It will be difficult indeed to forget this exquisite story.”―Library Journal (starred review)

“A majestic, evocative exploration of the persistence of memory and the human connections that transcend even death.”―Booklist (starred review)

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The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

08 Friday Jul 2022

Posted by in Biographical fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. (Amazon)

“Benedict, who is white, and Murray, who is African American, do a good job of depicting the tightrope Belle walked, and her internal conflict from both sides—wanting to adhere to her mother’s wishes and move through the world as white even as she longed to show her father she was proud of her race. Like Belle and her employer, Benedict and Murray had almost instant chemistry, and as a result, the book’s narrative is seamless. And despite my aversion to the passing trope, I became hooked.”—NPR

“This fictional account of Greene’s life feels authentic; the authors bring to life not only Belle but all those around her. An excellent piece of historical fiction that many readers will find hard to put down.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Every element of this blockbuster historical novel is compelling and revelatory, beginning with the bedazzling protagonist based with awestruck care on Belle da Costa Greene… a novel of enthralling drama, humor, sensuality, and insight. … [a] resounding tale of a brilliant and resilient woman defying sexism, classism, and racism during the brutality of Jim Crow. Benedict and Murray do splendidly right by Belle in this captivating and profoundly enlightening portrayal.”—Booklist (starred review)

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Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

09 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, London

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Philippa Gregory describes this book perfectly: “With all the vivid history that is his trademark, Bernard Cornwell transports the readers to the playhouses, backstreets, and palaces of Shakespeare’s London with added depth and compassion, and a likeable hero.”  This is historical fiction at its best with a thriller element thrown in for sheer reading pleasure.

“In this delightful departure from his popular military historicals, Cornwell (The Flame Bearer, 2016) conducts a boisterous behind-the-scenes romp through the often sordid world of the Elizabethan theater…. Cornwell displays his usual masterful attention to detail…. Sumptuously entertaining.” (Booklist)

“Marvelous…. Full of drama, both on- and offstage, and with numerous delightful, laugh-out-loud moments, this novel is an absolute joy. A must-have for anyone who loves the theater, this is easily the best book this reviewer has read this year.” (Library Journal, starred review)

 

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The Strangler Vine (a Blake and Avery novel) by M.J. Carter

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, mystery

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“From the thrilling prolog to the satisfying conclusion, former journalist and nonfiction author Carter’s first foray into fiction hooks the reader into a ripping adventure ride, full of danger, conspiracy, and trickery. Young William Avery, a soldier in the service of the British East India Company in 1837 India, receives an unexpected assignment. He is to accompany Jeremiah Blake, a secret political agent with an astonishing talent for languages and Sherlock Holmesian disguises, on a mission to find the scandalous British writer Xavier Mountstuart, who is missing. Each twist and turn of the duo’s journey draws them deeper into the mystery of the sinister Thuggee cult and closer to uncovering the shocking truth at the heart of the puzzle of Mountstuart’s disappearance. VERDICT Carter’s clever historical thriller is a winner.–Barbara Clark-Greene (Reviewed November 15, 2014) (Library Journal, vol 139, issue 19, p76)

“Totally engrossing — the sort of story that makes you forget that there are other books stacked next to your bed, waiting to be read.”–Michael Lewis, The New York Times Book Review

“[A] yarn reminiscent of adventures by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”—The New York Post

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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

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Five book leaders at the Wellesley Book Store posted that this was the best book they had read this year.  I join the chorus. Utterly absorbing – I read this book only when I had carefully set aside chunks of time to read uninterrupted –  to be immersed in the world of Count Rostov and his sentence to captivity for life in the grand hotel, the Metropol.  It’s been a very long time since I hugged a book to my heart at its conclusion with utter gratitude to the author for this gift of story, characters, and an ending that does not disappoint  – only that it is the final page.

-novelist Amor Towles continues to explore the question of how a person can lead an authentic life in a time when mere survival is a feat in itself . . . Towles’s tale, as lavishly filigreed as a Fabergé egg….—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Who will save Rostov from the intrusions of state if not the seamstress, chefs, bartenders and doormen? In the end, Towles’s greatest narrative effect is not the moments of wonder and synchronicity but the generous transformation of these peripheral workers, over the course of decades, into confidants, equals and, finally, friends.  With them around, a life sentence in these gilded halls might make Rostov the luckiest man in Russia.” –The New York Times Book Review

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The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

28 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by in Biography, Fiction, Historical Fiction

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I recommend Geraldine Brooks titles to anyone who loves historical fiction.  She has done it once again!  I was swept away into Second Iron Age Israel, most violent of times. This vivid, imaginative account takes one through the tribal battlefields and into the heart of David’s family of 8 wives and 9 children. Inspired by the lost book of Nathan.

“There’s something bordering on the supernatural about Geraldine Brooks.  She seems able to transport herself back to earlier time periods, to time travel.  Sometimes, reading her work, she draws you so thoroughly into another era that you swear she’s actually lived in it.  With sensory acuity and a deep and complex understanding of emotional states, she conjures up the way we lived then. . .Brooks has humanized the king and cleverly added a modern perspective to our understanding of him. . .[Her] vision of the biblical world is enrapturing.”  —The Boston Globe
“The best historical fiction. . .Brooks gives the whole king his due. . .It’s a tall order to breathe life into such a human being, and she manages it admirably.”—NPR
“In her gorgeously written novel of ambition, courage, retribution, and triumph, Brooks imagines the life and character of King David in all his complexity. . .The language, clear and precise throughout, turns soaringly poetic when describing music or the glory of David’s city. . .taken as a whole, the novel feels simultaneously ancient, accessible, and timeless.” —ALA Booklist
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