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Showing posts with label bibliographies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bibliographies. Show all posts
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Historical fiction trendspotting: Sail the world with these recent and upcoming pirate novels
Ahoy there! Has anyone else noticed the number of historical fiction about pirates appearing lately? There are enough of them to warrant some notice. Besides the exciting storylines, another attractive angle to these books is that they're anchored in historical settings you don't often see. Many of them deal with female pirates: some completely fictional, others based in legend. Below are eight that came out in the past year or so. Looking ahead to the future, you'll see more, including Ariel Lawhon's next novel The Pirate Queen, about 16th-century Irish chieftain Grace O'Malley; and Rachel Rueckert's The Determined, about Anne Bonny and Mary Read, which is out from Kensington in 2025.
Briony Cameron's debut novel is based on the legend of Jacquotte Delahaye, a biracial woman of color from Saint-Domingue who reportedly became a pirate captain in the 17th-century Caribbean. Atria, June 2024.
Immerse yourself in the political and cultural world of the Indian Ocean in the 12th century, full of bustling international trade and dangerous threats, in Chakraborty's historical fantasy novel. First in a series, it sees the title character—a widow, mother, and former pirate—tempted into one more adventure at sea. Harper Voyager, February 2023.
The South China Sea in the 19th century is the setting for this debut about a pirate queen of legend, Shek Yeung, and the risks she takes to solidify power in a patriarchal world. Bloomsbury, May 2023.
De Tores (who also writes as Francesca Haig) dives into the life story of Mary Read, who recounts her adventurous life, from her childhood, when she was raised as a boy, through her later years as a notorious pirate. Bloomsbury UK, April 2024.
Howe (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane) writes an exciting tale about Hannah Masury, an indentured servant who flees 18th-century Boston and dons a disguise as a cabin boy about a pirate ship. In a parallel timeline, a 1930s-era researcher uncovers Hannah's story. Henry Holt, November 2023.
Part three in her Joubert Family Chronicles, Mosse's The Ghost Ship tells a story about a vessel of secrets, romance, and piracy that moves from Europe to the Barbary Coast in the 1620s. Minotaur, July 2023.
The swashbuckling tale of Anne (Coleman) Bonny, a young woman from Ireland's County Cork who immigrates to America in the early 18th century with her family and turns to a life of the sea on a quest for freedom and adventure. New Island Books, April 2024.
Based on the legend of pirate Samuel Bellamy, Rueckert's debut is an adventurous star-crossed love story about Sam, an orphaned sailor from Cape Cod, and the woman he loves, Maria Brown, whose affluent family refuses to entertain Sam as a suitor for her. Kensington, March 2024.
Thursday, December 07, 2017
A gallery of fifteen historical fiction reads for Jewish Book Month
Jewish Book Month, an annual celebration of Jewish literature sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, has been in existence since 1943, though its history extends even further back. This year, it's being held between November 12 - December 12, 2017. The dates change each year, since it takes place just before Hanukkah.
As my way of participating in this event, here are 15 historical novels — family sagas, biographical novels, literary fiction, plus a couple of mysteries — featuring Jewish characters and/or focusing on aspects of Jewish history. Some of these are titles I've reviewed previously, and others are on my TBR. I've aimed to provide examples covering a range of geographic settings.
For additional examples, see the Jewish Book Council's historical fiction reading list. Please leave recommendations for other books in the comments!
The Galapagos Islands, WWII: Frances and Ainslie Conway, a married couple working for the Office of Naval Intelligence, embark on a clandestine mission on these distant islands but keep many secrets from each other. Based on historical characters. [see on Goodreads]
France and Germany, mid-13th century: the story of renowned German rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg, the author’s ancestor, as seen from his wife’s viewpoint. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
Yemen, 1920: in this intimate saga about Yemenite Jews, a young girl learns about her heritage through the artistry of henna tattoos. [see on Goodreads]
Ireland, 20th century and present-day: the story of the little-known Jewish community in Ireland unfolds through three distinct stories spanning over 100 years. [see on Goodreads]
The US South, 1820s-30s: when a Jewish peddler falls in love with an independent Cherokee woman, he becomes personally entangled in a tragic tale set in motion twenty years earlier. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
St. Thomas, early 19th century: a lyrical fictional biography of Rachel, a young woman from Paris who later became the mother of impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. [see on Goodreads]
U.S. Civil War: a young Jewish man runs into trouble when he’s asked to infiltrate a group of suspected Confederate spies. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
London, 1660s and today: in this dual-period literary novel, a modern historian seeks to uncover the identity of a scribe from centuries earlier. [see on Goodreads]
Spain, late 15th century: as the Inquisition solidifies its power across Spain, King Ferdinand's chancellor Luis de Santangel, who comes from a converso family, begins to examine his faith and cultural identity. [see on Goodreads]
Chicago, 1872: after an Orthodox rabbi is murdered, his daughter, Rivka, teams up with an Irish detective to find the perpetrator. [see on Goodreads]
Connecticut, 1948: after what should be a relaxing summer at "Bagel Beach" along the shoreline turns unexpectedly tragic, the sisters in a close-knit Jewish family must deal with the lengthy fallout. [see on Goodreads]
Palestine, early 20th century: in this work of magical realism (the author's first novel), several Ukrainian families move from Europe to settle in a rural village in Ottoman Palestine. [see on Goodreads]
Cape Ann, 1927: a girl’s secret birth mother and her adoptive mother, one from a prominent Jewish family and the other the matriarch of a large Irish clan, find their lives intertwining again. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
Prague, 1592: a Talmudic scholar investigates the murder of a young Christian girl, hoping to exonerate one of his fellow Jews. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
1920s-1970s Israel, as seen through the experiences of several women over four generations in a Sephardic Jewish family. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
As my way of participating in this event, here are 15 historical novels — family sagas, biographical novels, literary fiction, plus a couple of mysteries — featuring Jewish characters and/or focusing on aspects of Jewish history. Some of these are titles I've reviewed previously, and others are on my TBR. I've aimed to provide examples covering a range of geographic settings.
For additional examples, see the Jewish Book Council's historical fiction reading list. Please leave recommendations for other books in the comments!
The Galapagos Islands, WWII: Frances and Ainslie Conway, a married couple working for the Office of Naval Intelligence, embark on a clandestine mission on these distant islands but keep many secrets from each other. Based on historical characters. [see on Goodreads]
France and Germany, mid-13th century: the story of renowned German rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg, the author’s ancestor, as seen from his wife’s viewpoint. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
Yemen, 1920: in this intimate saga about Yemenite Jews, a young girl learns about her heritage through the artistry of henna tattoos. [see on Goodreads]
Ireland, 20th century and present-day: the story of the little-known Jewish community in Ireland unfolds through three distinct stories spanning over 100 years. [see on Goodreads]
The US South, 1820s-30s: when a Jewish peddler falls in love with an independent Cherokee woman, he becomes personally entangled in a tragic tale set in motion twenty years earlier. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
St. Thomas, early 19th century: a lyrical fictional biography of Rachel, a young woman from Paris who later became the mother of impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. [see on Goodreads]
U.S. Civil War: a young Jewish man runs into trouble when he’s asked to infiltrate a group of suspected Confederate spies. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
London, 1660s and today: in this dual-period literary novel, a modern historian seeks to uncover the identity of a scribe from centuries earlier. [see on Goodreads]
Spain, late 15th century: as the Inquisition solidifies its power across Spain, King Ferdinand's chancellor Luis de Santangel, who comes from a converso family, begins to examine his faith and cultural identity. [see on Goodreads]
Chicago, 1872: after an Orthodox rabbi is murdered, his daughter, Rivka, teams up with an Irish detective to find the perpetrator. [see on Goodreads]
Connecticut, 1948: after what should be a relaxing summer at "Bagel Beach" along the shoreline turns unexpectedly tragic, the sisters in a close-knit Jewish family must deal with the lengthy fallout. [see on Goodreads]
Palestine, early 20th century: in this work of magical realism (the author's first novel), several Ukrainian families move from Europe to settle in a rural village in Ottoman Palestine. [see on Goodreads]
Cape Ann, 1927: a girl’s secret birth mother and her adoptive mother, one from a prominent Jewish family and the other the matriarch of a large Irish clan, find their lives intertwining again. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
Prague, 1592: a Talmudic scholar investigates the murder of a young Christian girl, hoping to exonerate one of his fellow Jews. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
1920s-1970s Israel, as seen through the experiences of several women over four generations in a Sephardic Jewish family. [see my review] [see on Goodreads]
Friday, May 05, 2017
Women of science and mathematics: a gallery of historical novels
Inspired by Kaite Welsh's The Wages of Sin, about a female medical student in 1890s Edinburgh, here are ten other historical novels about women who pursued achievements in the STEM fields while fighting gender discrimination and the strictures of their time. Some are new, one is forthcoming, and others are out of print and worth seeking out.
There are a number of other novels that fit this category, particularly those featuring female doctors, but depictions of women scientists in other fields are lacking in comparison -- there should be more! Please leave your own recommendations in the comments. I'd searched for fiction about historical scientific women of color, a la Hidden Figures, which is a nonfiction book, but they seem few and far between; I'd be especially interested to know about titles that fit this description.
Physics: The fictionalized story of Serbian scientist Mileva Marić, Albert Einstein's first wife, and her contributions to his early discoveries. Sourcebooks, 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Climatology/Glaciology: Lucybelle Bledsoe, who spent many years as an editorial assistant at the Geological Society of America, also undertook a secret work assignment in the '50s. Her personal life, as a lesbian during the McCarthy years, was by necessity equally clandestine. University of Wisconsin Press, 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Astronomy: In the 18th century, Caroline Herschel, a German-born woman who served as her more famous brother William's assistant, was an accomplished astronomer in her own right, with a number of comet discoveries to her credit. She lived to be 97. Pantheon, January 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Paleontology: Chevalier's literary novel profiles Mary Anning, who made important discoveries of fossils around her home in Lyme Regis, England, but who was prohibited from joining the Geological Society due to her sex. See also Joan Thomas' novel Curiosity for another perspective on Anning's life [see earlier review]. [See on Goodreads]
Math & Computer Science: The story of Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, who is credited as being a pioneer in computer programming. Dutton, November 2017. [see on Goodreads]
Chemistry: This first book in a historical mystery series features analytical chemist Libby Clark, who gets hired in 1942 to be a scientist for a top-secret project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Severn House, 2014. [read earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Botany: Gilbert's exuberant epic about personal and scientific discovery centers on Alma Whittaker, born with the 19th century, a young woman bursting with intellectual curiosity about the botanical world. Viking, 2013. [read earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Medicine (Cardiology): The heroine of Rothman's novel is based on the first female physician in Canada in the late 19th century. Agnes White dares to study the field of cardiology at a time when few cures were available and she had few role models to emulate. Soho, 2011. [see earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Mathematics: A mathematician herself, Spicci's debut novel follows the historical facts in the life of Sofya Kovalevskaya in mid-19th century St. Petersburg; she was the first European woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Forge, 2002. [See on Goodreads]
Neuroscience & Medicine: Melodie Winawer's debut novel follows a modern American neurosurgeon who finds herself trapped 650 years in the past after she travels to Siena, Italy, to settle her late brother's estate and follows the research trail he left. Touchstone, May 2017. [see on Goodreads]
There are a number of other novels that fit this category, particularly those featuring female doctors, but depictions of women scientists in other fields are lacking in comparison -- there should be more! Please leave your own recommendations in the comments. I'd searched for fiction about historical scientific women of color, a la Hidden Figures, which is a nonfiction book, but they seem few and far between; I'd be especially interested to know about titles that fit this description.
Physics: The fictionalized story of Serbian scientist Mileva Marić, Albert Einstein's first wife, and her contributions to his early discoveries. Sourcebooks, 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Climatology/Glaciology: Lucybelle Bledsoe, who spent many years as an editorial assistant at the Geological Society of America, also undertook a secret work assignment in the '50s. Her personal life, as a lesbian during the McCarthy years, was by necessity equally clandestine. University of Wisconsin Press, 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Astronomy: In the 18th century, Caroline Herschel, a German-born woman who served as her more famous brother William's assistant, was an accomplished astronomer in her own right, with a number of comet discoveries to her credit. She lived to be 97. Pantheon, January 2016. [see on Goodreads]
Paleontology: Chevalier's literary novel profiles Mary Anning, who made important discoveries of fossils around her home in Lyme Regis, England, but who was prohibited from joining the Geological Society due to her sex. See also Joan Thomas' novel Curiosity for another perspective on Anning's life [see earlier review]. [See on Goodreads]
Math & Computer Science: The story of Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, who is credited as being a pioneer in computer programming. Dutton, November 2017. [see on Goodreads]
Chemistry: This first book in a historical mystery series features analytical chemist Libby Clark, who gets hired in 1942 to be a scientist for a top-secret project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Severn House, 2014. [read earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Botany: Gilbert's exuberant epic about personal and scientific discovery centers on Alma Whittaker, born with the 19th century, a young woman bursting with intellectual curiosity about the botanical world. Viking, 2013. [read earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Medicine (Cardiology): The heroine of Rothman's novel is based on the first female physician in Canada in the late 19th century. Agnes White dares to study the field of cardiology at a time when few cures were available and she had few role models to emulate. Soho, 2011. [see earlier review] [see on Goodreads]
Mathematics: A mathematician herself, Spicci's debut novel follows the historical facts in the life of Sofya Kovalevskaya in mid-19th century St. Petersburg; she was the first European woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Forge, 2002. [See on Goodreads]
Neuroscience & Medicine: Melodie Winawer's debut novel follows a modern American neurosurgeon who finds herself trapped 650 years in the past after she travels to Siena, Italy, to settle her late brother's estate and follows the research trail he left. Touchstone, May 2017. [see on Goodreads]
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Women at War: A Novel Bibliography
I've been trying to pay attention to current trends in historical novels. For a long while, novels about women during World War II were out of fashion in the US, although wartime sagas have flourished overseas for some time. Male espionage thrillers and action-adventure fiction set during the war always found an audience, too, but there were considerably fewer novels about the feminine experience.
Over the last year and more, though, American readers have seen (and will see) a bumper crop of historical fiction on this subject. Many of these books arrived in my mailbox for review, so I've been reading and learning about the war from many different angles.
The trend's benchmark titles - hugely popular bestsellers - include Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows' The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Sarah Blake's The Postmistress, Pam Jenoff's bestselling romantic thrillers, and Irène Némirovsky's Suite Française... can you think of other recent titles that fit?
The novels below all have US publication dates between April 2011 and April 2012. These women are spies, nurses, office clerks, resistance leaders, and average citizens whose courage comes to the forefront when they're caught up in difficult times. The settings range from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to California, Washington, DC, and the far-flung islands of the South Pacific.
Maria Dueñas, The Time In Between (Atria, Nov 2011). In this international bestselling epic, a Spanish seamstress works undercover for the Allies during Spain's civil war and World War II.
Anna Funder, All That I Am (Harper, Feb 2012). This debut novel brings to life the heroic German women and men who took a stand against the Nazis in the 1930s; based on historical people.
Kate Furnivall, The White Pearl (Berkley, Mar 2012). In 1941 Malaya, a bored plantation owner's wife finds her life upended when the Japanese invade.
Amanda Hodgkinson, 22 Britannia Road (Pamela Dorman, Apr 2011). A Polish father, mother, and son struggle to reunite as a family in England following their devastating wartime experiences.
Sarah Jio, The Bungalow (Plume, Dec 2011). A young woman in the Army Nurse Corps on Bora-Bora in 1942 begins an affair with a mysterious soldier.
Margaret Leroy, The Soldier's Wife (Hyperion, July 2011). Fans of Shaffer/Barrows can return to Guernsey in this tale of a housewife who falls for a soldier in the occupying German army - which leads to some tough decisions.
Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Bantam, April 2012). A debut historical mystery starring Maggie Hope, the newest typist at 10 Downing Street in 1940, who discovers that her position brings her innumerable opportunities as well as the potential for life-threatening danger.
Kristina McMorris, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves (Kensington, Mar 2012). The author follows up her epistolary WWII-era romantic novel, Letters from Home, with the story of a violinist who marries a Japanese man and voluntarily accompanies him when he's forced into an internment camp in 1941.
Alison Pick, Far to Go (Harper Perennial, Apr 2011). This Booker-longlisted novel is a saga about a Jewish Czechoslovakian family who flee their country with their governess after the Nazis invade.
Alyson Richman, The Lost Wife (Berkley, Sept. 2011). Two young lovers in pre-war Prague are separated after the Nazi invasion, and their memories of each other help them survive until they're reunited by chance many decades later.
Sarah R. Shaber, Louise's War (Severn House, Aug. 2011). In this historical mystery, Louise, a young widow who's the newest clerk in the Office of Strategic Services in 1942 Washington, DC, sees an opportunity to help an old friend flee occupied France.
Lynn Sheene, The Last Time I Saw Paris (Berkley, May 2011). A naive New York socialite arrives in Paris during the Occupation and gets drawn into the resistance movement.
Also, the cover art for this one isn't final yet, but Margaret Wurtele's The Golden Hour (Berkley, Feb. 2012) details the coming-of-age of a young Tuscan woman who falls in love with a Jewish member of the partisan army.
Over the last year and more, though, American readers have seen (and will see) a bumper crop of historical fiction on this subject. Many of these books arrived in my mailbox for review, so I've been reading and learning about the war from many different angles.
The trend's benchmark titles - hugely popular bestsellers - include Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows' The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Sarah Blake's The Postmistress, Pam Jenoff's bestselling romantic thrillers, and Irène Némirovsky's Suite Française... can you think of other recent titles that fit?
The novels below all have US publication dates between April 2011 and April 2012. These women are spies, nurses, office clerks, resistance leaders, and average citizens whose courage comes to the forefront when they're caught up in difficult times. The settings range from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to California, Washington, DC, and the far-flung islands of the South Pacific.
Maria Dueñas, The Time In Between (Atria, Nov 2011). In this international bestselling epic, a Spanish seamstress works undercover for the Allies during Spain's civil war and World War II.
Anna Funder, All That I Am (Harper, Feb 2012). This debut novel brings to life the heroic German women and men who took a stand against the Nazis in the 1930s; based on historical people.
Kate Furnivall, The White Pearl (Berkley, Mar 2012). In 1941 Malaya, a bored plantation owner's wife finds her life upended when the Japanese invade.
Amanda Hodgkinson, 22 Britannia Road (Pamela Dorman, Apr 2011). A Polish father, mother, and son struggle to reunite as a family in England following their devastating wartime experiences.
Sarah Jio, The Bungalow (Plume, Dec 2011). A young woman in the Army Nurse Corps on Bora-Bora in 1942 begins an affair with a mysterious soldier.
Margaret Leroy, The Soldier's Wife (Hyperion, July 2011). Fans of Shaffer/Barrows can return to Guernsey in this tale of a housewife who falls for a soldier in the occupying German army - which leads to some tough decisions.
Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Bantam, April 2012). A debut historical mystery starring Maggie Hope, the newest typist at 10 Downing Street in 1940, who discovers that her position brings her innumerable opportunities as well as the potential for life-threatening danger.
Kristina McMorris, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves (Kensington, Mar 2012). The author follows up her epistolary WWII-era romantic novel, Letters from Home, with the story of a violinist who marries a Japanese man and voluntarily accompanies him when he's forced into an internment camp in 1941.
Alison Pick, Far to Go (Harper Perennial, Apr 2011). This Booker-longlisted novel is a saga about a Jewish Czechoslovakian family who flee their country with their governess after the Nazis invade.
Alyson Richman, The Lost Wife (Berkley, Sept. 2011). Two young lovers in pre-war Prague are separated after the Nazi invasion, and their memories of each other help them survive until they're reunited by chance many decades later.
Sarah R. Shaber, Louise's War (Severn House, Aug. 2011). In this historical mystery, Louise, a young widow who's the newest clerk in the Office of Strategic Services in 1942 Washington, DC, sees an opportunity to help an old friend flee occupied France.
Lynn Sheene, The Last Time I Saw Paris (Berkley, May 2011). A naive New York socialite arrives in Paris during the Occupation and gets drawn into the resistance movement.
Also, the cover art for this one isn't final yet, but Margaret Wurtele's The Golden Hour (Berkley, Feb. 2012) details the coming-of-age of a young Tuscan woman who falls in love with a Jewish member of the partisan army.
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