Category historical fiction
The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (2009)
The medieval English village of Ulewic is ravaged by plague, flood, fear and superstition in equal measure. An group of women seek to help, but in doing so could bring about their own doom. Time and Place: 1321. Ulewic, England Summary In 1321, a group of women have come from Flanders to set up a beguinage […]
The Last Woman Standing, by Thelma Adams (2016)
Josie longs for adventure, and is lured to the Wild West by silver-tongued Johnny Behan. When plans for a wedding with Johnny are dashed, will she find true love with legendary Wyatt Earp? Time and Place: 1880. Tombstone, Arizona. The West (United States.) Summary Strong-willed teenager Josephine (Josie, or Sadie) Marcus yearns to escape the proscribed […]
The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent (2008)
In 1692, 9 year old Sarah Carrier’s life is turned upside down when her mother is hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Time and place: 1692. Billerica and Andover, Massachusetts, United States. Summary At 9 years old, Sarah Carrier moves from Billerica, Massachusetts to her grandmother’s farm in Andover with her parents, three brothers, and […]
The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
A sweeping saga of one extraordinary woman’s life, spanning from her influential family’s origins to her emergence as a gifted evolutionary botanist in the first half of the 19th century. Summary Born in Pittsburgh 5 days after the world rang in the year 1800, Alma Whittaker begins a life of curious privilege Indulged intellectually by her […]
Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang (2013)
Both Chinese peasants, Bao and Vibiana tell a single story from two sides: one fights for China, the other for foreign Christians in an uprising that shook the nation 118 years ago. Summary Boxers & Saints are two stories about the Boxer Rebellion in 19th century China. The narratives are told in parallel in two […]
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See (2005)
In a love story spanning decades, two girls share the struggles and heartaches of their lives as they grow into women in nineteenth-century China. Summary Narrated as a memoir, the story is told by an elderly woman named Lily, recounting her life from girlhood and her extraordinary friendship with a woman named Snow Flower. Lily […]
Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline (2012)
Two women, alone in the world, find that their tumultuous pasts connect them in surprising ways. Summary Molly is a teenager lost in the foster system. Vivian is the elderly woman Molly is helping as community service. While Molly works, Vivian (born Niamh) tells her about her life in Ireland as a young girl, and […]
The Spymaster’s Lady, by Joanna Bourne (2008)
French spy Annique Villiers holds the plans for Napoleon’s invasion of England, and British spymaster Robert Grey is determined to get them from her. Neither count on the passion that rises between them as they vie to outwit the other. Summary Young French spy Annique Villiers, known as the “Fox Cub,” carries the Albion Plans, […]
Longbourn, by Jo Baker (2013)
Sarah has always toiled long days, waiting on others. When her chance comes to change her life, will it prove too dangerous a choice? Summary Sarah has been a maid since she was a little girl, taken from poverty to work in a wealthy British household.. Now her days consist of fires to be lit, […]
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