Archives de catégorie : Historical Fiction

THE MITFORD AFFAIR de Marie Benedict

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict—an explosive novel of history’s most notorious sisters, one of whom will have to choose: Her country or her family?

THE MITFORD AFFAIR
by Marie Benedict
Sourcebooks, January 2023
(via Laura Dail Literary)

Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters—each more beautiful, brilliant, and eccentric than the next—dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they’ve weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister’s lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she’s become Hitler’s mistress.
As the Nazis rise in power, novelist Nancy Mitford grows suspicious of her sisters’ constant visits to Germany and the high-ranking fascist company they keep. When she overhears alarming conversations and uncovers disquieting documents, Nancy must make excruciating choices as Great Britain goes to war with Germany.
Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, THE MITFORD AFFAIR follows Nancy’s valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain in whatever way she can. As she makes the decision between loyalty to her country and allegiance to her family—questioning herself in the process—Nancy learns exactly how personal is the political.

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms and for Fortune 500 companies. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus in history and art history and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law. Marie, the author of The Other Einstein, Carnegie’s Maid, The Only Woman in the Room, and Lady Clementine, views herself as an archaeologist of sorts, telling the untold stories of women. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

AT SOMERTON: CINDERS & SAPPHIRES de Leila Rasheed

For fans of Bridgerton, this sumptuous and enticing YA series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels.

AT SOMERTON (Book 1): CINDERS & SAPPHIRES
by Leila Rasheed
‎ Disney-Hyperion, December 2021
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

In a world where duty eclipses love… For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada’s beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family’s honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name―but it would mean giving up her one true love… someone she could never persuade her father to accept.
Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies’ maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can’t help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.
Sumptuous and enticing, the first novel in the At Somerton series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels. All those secrets are waiting . . . at Somerton.

A thoroughly satisfying romp for Downton Abbey fans… Breathless readers will look forward to the next sudsy chapter in this series.” –Kirkus Reviews

Book 2: DIAMONDS & DECEIT (February 2022)

Book 3: EMERALDS & ASHES (May 2022)

Leila Rasheed is a British writer based in Birmingham, UK. She is the author of many children’s books, most recently Empire’s End (Scholastic, 2020). She grew up in Libya and has lived in Belgium and Italy. She has a passion for history and loves learning about how people lived in the past. As a teenager in England she enjoyed visiting stately homes, which helped inspire Somerton. She also runs a mentoring scheme for England-based children’s writers of colour, called Megaphone.

ARCH OF BONE de Jane Yolen

Continuing the story from where Moby Dick left off, this compelling boyhood adventure, penned by beloved author Jane Yolen (Owl Moon), hearkens to timeless coming of age tales of yore. Lovingly illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, the journey of a boy and his dog comes to life on the page, renewing the joy of a classic tale.

ARCH OF BONE
by Jane Yolen
illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
Tachyon, November 2021
(via JABberwocky)

When a rough sailor called Ishmael turns up on a family’s doorstep, even loyal dog Zeke knows that the news is ruinous. Ishmael comes bearing the tragic tale of the Pequod: the whaling ship that fourteen-year-old Josiah’s father served on as first mate. Ishmael presents himself as the sole survivor of the deadly journey, fatally lead by the vengeful Captain Ahab and his obsession with the legendary white whale, Moby Dick. But Josiah is not so certain his father’s death was that simple. Especially when Ishmael looks so boldly at Josiah’s devout Quaker mother. Josiah is almost of age in Nantucket, and he still cherishes his dream of following in his father’s footsteps. He is yet too young to sign on to a ship’s crew, but he yearns to be at sea. Yet adventure has a way of finding a boy and his dog. The true vision of his father’s death―as well as the difficult tasks of surviving, growing up, and finding his strength―await Josiah, when he and Zeke discover the secrets of the Pequod at the mysterious Arch of Bone.

Beloved fantasist Jane Yolen has been rightfully called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. She has over 370 publications to her credit, including adult, young adult, middle grade, and children’s fiction; graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, short-story collections, anthologies, novels, novellas, and books about writing. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. Her best-known books include Owl Moon, the How Do Dinosaurs series, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship, and Sister Light, Sister Dark. Among Yolen’s many awards and honors are the Caldecott and Christopher medals; the Nebula, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, Golden Kite, and Jewish Book awards; the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Grand Master Award. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates. Yolen lives in Western Massachusetts most of the time, but spends long summers in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Born in the small town of Monson, Massachusetts,
Ruth Sanderson has been a professional illustrator since 1975, with over eighty published children’s books, in addition to illustrated book covers, fantasy art, collector’s plates, animation concept art, and product design. Her illustrations projects include a famous edition of Heidi with one hundred full-color oil paintings, as well as editions of The Secret Garden, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and many more. Sanderson teaches writing and illustrating for children in a summer graduate program at Hollins University, in Roanoke, Virginia, and is a longtime member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

THE WINDEBY PUZZLE de Lois Lowry

Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one of a kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000 year old Windeby bog body.

THE WINDEBY PUZZLE
by Lois Lowry
Clarion/HarperCollins, February 2023

Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one of a kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000 year old Windeby bog body. Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in? Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000 year old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woolen blindfold over its eyes. This suspenseful exploration of lives that might have been by a gifted, intellectually curious author is utterly one of a kind. Includes several arresting photos of archeological finds, including of the Windeby child.

Lois Lowry has been awarded the Newbery Medal twice, first for Number the Stars, then for The Giver. The author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and popular Anastasia Krupnik series, she has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader’s Medal, and the Mark Twain Award.

YONNONDIO de Tillie Olsen

The hopes, struggles, and dreams of a poor Wyoming family in the 1920s are revealed in their quest for a better life. Written by the author in the 1930s and rediscovered by her in the 1970s.

YONNONDIO:
From the Thirties
by Tillie Olsen
Delacorte Press, 1974
(via Frances Goldin Literary Agency)

YONNONDIO follows the heartbreaking path of the Holbrook family in the late 1920s and the Great Depression as they move from the coal mines of Wyoming to a tenant farm in western Nebraska, ending up finally on the kill floors of the slaughterhouses and in the wretched neighborhoods of the poor in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mazie, the oldest daughter in the growing family of Jim and Anna Holbrook, tells the story of the family’s desire for a better life – Anna’s dream that her children be educated and Jim’s wish for a life lived out in the open, away from the darkness and danger of the mines. At every turn in their journey, however, their dreams are frustrated, and the family is jeopardized by cruel and indifferent systems.

Tillie Olsen (1912-2007) was an American author of fiction and nonfiction whose slim body of work was very influential for her treatment of the lives of women and the poor. She was one of the first writers to draw attention to why women have been less likely to become published authors (and why they receive less attention than male authors when they are published). In April 2021, A.O. Scott, New York Times critic at large and co-chief film critic, included her in his essay series of the most influential authors, and credited her with changing the « study of American literature, opening its canon to neglected voices and traditions. »