Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction
TITLE & AUTHOR	SYNOPSIS
Acquaintance With Darkness* RINALDI, A	When her mother dies and her best friend's family is implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln, 14-year-old Emily Pigbush must go live with an uncle she suspects of being involved in stealing bodies for medical research.
Across Five Aprils HUNT, I	The unforgettable story of young Jethro Creighton, who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.
Across The Wide And Lonesome Prairie GREGORY, K	Hattie chronicles her family's long journey in 1847 from Missouri to Oregon on the Oregon trail.
After The War* MATAS, C	15-year-old Ruth, the sole member of the family to survive the Holocaust, leads a group of children across Europe to illegally enter Palestine and the only safety they have ever known.
Ahab's Wife (The Stargazer) NASLUND, S	Ahab's Wife, Sena Naslund's epic work of fiction, uses Herman Melville's Moby Dick as a looking glass into early 19th-century America. Through the eye of an outsider, a woman married to one of the characters, Captain Ahab, she describes a New England life that was broader and richer than Melville's manly world of men, ships and whales.
Ambassadors JAMES, H	Set in the late 15^th-century in Florence, this is the story of a high-minded girl who marries a self-indulgent and unscrupulous Greek.
Amistad PATE, A	True story of the 1839 mutiny on the Spanish ship "La Amistad". When the ship is intercepted by the US Navy, and the captives imprisoned, a series of charged trials for their freedom begins that call into question the controversial institution of slavery.
Anna Of Byzantium BARRETT, T	Teenage princess Anna Comnena fights for the throne to the Byzantine Empire, which has been seized by her younger brother.
Autobiography Of Jane Pitman GAINES, E	A fictional biography of a black woman born in slavery whose long life span saw the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of her people.
Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress SIJIE, D	During the Cultural Revolution in China, two teenagers are sent to the countryside for "re-education". They are assigned the revolting task of carrying buckets of excrement up a hillside for the peasant farmers. When they discover a wealth of forbidden Western books, life on the hillside takes a brighter turn.
Bitter Grounds BENITEZ, S	After losing most of their family during the massacres of 1932 in El Salvador, Mercedes Prietas and her daughter Jacinta go to work for Elena de Contreras and her family, who own enormous coffee and cotton plantations. During the next 40 years, the women of both families help each other endure the many hardships that come their way.
Black Pearl* O'DELL, S	Finding the Pearl of Heaven earns Ramon the hatred of both his people and the notorious devilfish.
Bonesetter’s Daughter TAN, A	LuLing Young searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the "Famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain". Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China.
Book Of The Lion CADNUM, M	17-year-old Edmund becomes a squire to a knight crusader on his way to the Holy Land to join forces with Richard Lionheart.
Catherine, Called Birdie CUSHMAN, K	A young girl's hilarious account of her 14^th year against a background of everyday life on a medieval English manor in the year 1290.
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story Of An Unwanted Daughter YEN MAH, A	An authentic portrait of 20^th-century China, as well as the story of the painful childhood of an unwanted daughter.
Coffin Quilt* RINALDI, A	In the 1880's fanny McCoy witnesses the growth of a violent feud between her Kentucky family and the Hatfields of West Virginia. Powerless to stop the fighting, Fanny must find her own way out of the hatred.
Cold Mountain FRAZIER, C	A Confederate soldier's trek brings him into intense situations with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, as he travels on his journey home to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Cry The Beloved Country PATON, A	Beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940's
Daughter Of Fortune ALLENDE, I	Young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. In this world of panhandlers and prostitutes, immigrants and aristocrats, Eliza will discover a new life of freedom, independence, and a love greater than any ever dreamed.
Deerslayer COOPER, J	Set in 1740 during the French and Indian Wars, The Deerslayer testifies to the murderous humanity and natural beauty on which the history of America was written.
Education Of Mary: A Little Miss Of Color RINALDI, A	In 1832, Prudence Crandall, a Quaker educator in Connecticut, closed her Canterbury Female Seminary and reopened it as a school for young black women. This novel revolves around the formation of that school and the storm of controversy it created in town.
Fighting Ground AVI	When the tavern bell tolls, calling New England men to arms during the Revolutionary War, Jonathan is sent to find out what the trouble is. What he finds in the next 24 hours, when he does fight and is taken prisoner by three Hessian soldiers, changes his understanding of war and life forever.
Final Justice At Adobe Wells BLY, S	When Brannon and his sidekicks arrive in Mexico to buy cattle from Senor Pacifica, they learn that he has been killed by a band of ex-Confederate soldiers, who have also stolen his cattle. Brannon sets out to find the murderous men and return the cattle.
Floating In My Mother’s Palm* HEGI, U	A moving account of Hanna Malter, a young girl growing up in a small town in Germany in the 1950s, a time when Adolf Hitler isn't mentioned in history classes - or by anyone in town.
Forgotten Fire* BAGDASARIAN, A	In 1915 Vahan Kenderian is living a life of privilege as the youngest son of a wealthy Armenian family in Turkey. When some family members are whisked away while others are murdered before his eyes, this secure world is shattered. Vahan loses his home and family, and is forced to live a life he would never have dreamed of in order to survive.
Fortune Is A Woman ADLER, E	Sweeping from the turn of the century through the 1960s, from the Orient to San Francisco to New York, this is the powerful story of new wealth and old privilege, of family passions and possessions, a riveting saga of romantic intrigue.
Gap Creek MORGAN, R	The gripping story of a young woman's courage in the face of the hardships of 19^th century country life.
Girl With A Pearl Earring CHEVALIER, T	The story behind the advent of a famous painting, Girl With A Pearl Earring, by Vermeer, all the while depicting life in 17^th-century Delft, a small Dutch city with a burgeoning art community.
Grand Opening HASSLER, J	Brendan's parents decided to buy a run-down grocery store in a tiny Minnesota town in 1944-45. What they discover about small town idealism, bigotry and good old American values will change them and the town forever.
Grass Crown MCCULLOUGH, C	Grass Crown continues the saga of the Roman Empire begun with The First Man in Rome.
Grendel GARDNER, J	Witty, original retelling of Beowulf's legend from the monster's point of view.
Hard Winter At Broken Arrow Crossing BLY, S	Recreates the tumultuous Old West where good battles evil, but the conflicts that Stuart Brannon faces are surprisingly modern: Why do bad things happen to good people? How involved should a person get in another person's conflicts?
Home Across The Road PEACOCK, N	A carefully drawn portrait of seven generations of North Carolina families, the white Redds who owned the Rosemary plantation, and the black Redds who worked there as slaves.
House Of The Spirits ALLENDE, I	The story of the Trueba family, with its deep loves and hates, following them from the turn of the century to the violent days of the overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in 1973.
Hundred Secret Senses TAN, A	Years after her Chinese half-sister assails her with ghost stories set in the mysterious world of Yin, a young woman finds herself in China, looking for a way to reconcile the ghosts of her past with the dreams of her future.
I Thought My Soul Would Rise And Fly HANSON, J	The ending of the Civil War has brought, in theory, long-sought freedom, but the former slaves at Davis Hall are still tied to the plantation. Patsy, who has secretly learned to read and write, keeps a diary in which she questions what freedom means and writes of her hope to be a teacher.
In A Dark Wood CADNUM, M	Cadnum reminds us that there are two sides to every story in this refreshing twist on the tale of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Johnny Tremain FORBES, E	This book follows a young apprentice from a tragic accident in the silversmith's shop to his dramatic involvement as a patriot in the exciting days before the Revolution.
Joy Luck Club TAN, A	Chronicles the lives of four Chinese women, their forty-year friendship, and how the death of one member brings her daughter into the group, creating a new understanding for each.
Just Like Martin* DAVIS, O	The year is 1963, and Isaac Stone's father, won't let him travel with the rest of his church youth group from Alabama to the civil rights march in Washington. When the church youth meeting room is bombed, killing two friends and maiming a third, Stone organizes a march for the children.
King's Shadow ALDER, E	Evyn, a young Welsh serf left mute and orphaned in an act of violence, is sold into slavery and eventually becomes a servant to the King of England. Together they make their stand at the Battle of Hastings, where the future of England is decided.
Kitchen God’s Wife TAN, A	An unfolding of secrets that takes a mother and her daughter back to the small island outside Shangui in the 1920’s and throughout China during WW II.
Love And War JAKES, J	The Hazards and Mains are wrenched apart by battle and swept together by passion during the searing years of the Civil War.
Lyddie* PATERSON, K	When Lyddie’s family is tragically separated, she decides to take a mill job in Lowell, Massachusetts to earn money to reunite them. Working in the mill under appalling conditions, she must decided if she will fight for better working conditions, or stay quiet until perhaps it is too late.
Master And Commander O’BRIAN, P	The first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, this novel establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars.
Matilda Bone CUSHMAN, K	Matilda tries to reconcile the various aspects of her life - both spiritual and practical - when she works as an apprentice "bone setter" and a practitioner of medicine in a Medieval English village.
Midwife's Apprentice* CUSHMAN, K	This is the story of a spirited young woman in Medieval England. Homeless, nameless and alone, she persuades the village midwife to take her in.
Mind's Eye FLEISCHMAN, P	A novel in play form in which 16-year-old Courtney, paralyzed in an accident, learns about the power of the mind from an elderly blind woman who takes Courtney on an imaginary journey to Italy using a 1910 guidebook.
My Brother Sam Is Dead* COLLIER, J	A Newbery Medal about the American Revolution, which does not glorify war, and raises all the necessary questions about the effectiveness of violence.
Night To Remember LORD, W	Terrifying account of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.
Nightjohn* PAULSEN, G	Sarny, a young slave risks terrible punishment as Nightjohn, an adult slave, teaches her how to read.
No Promises In The Wind HUNT, J	Important, strong novel about the struggle of the Grodowski boys during the Great Depression.
Of Love And Shadows ALLENDE, I	Set in a Latin American country in the grip of a military dictatorship, this tells the story of a woman journalist and a male photographer who discover a hideous crime.
Other Bells For Us To Ring* CORMIER, R	When her father is transferred to an army camp in Massachusetts during the Second World War, Darcy feels isolated in her French-Canadian neighborhood until she meets the vivacious Kathleen Mary O'Hara and learns about Catholicism.
Parallel Journeys AYER, E	Two young Germans find their lives taking radically different turns - Helen going to Auschwitz and Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth. Can the two emerge from war with respect and empathy for each other?
Pearl Harbor* Holder, N	After completing her nurse's training in San Francisco, Bekah Martin plans to return home and marry Ian MacLaughlin. On the journey home she encounters Scott DeAngelo, and an undeniable attraction develops between them. When a surprise attack on American airships takes the island by storm on December 7th, Bekah is forced to choose between her sense of responsibility and her love for Scott.
Philadelphia Fire WIDEMAN, J	Based on the 1985 bombing police of a West Philadelphia row house owned the Afro-centric cult Move, it tells of Cudjoe, a writer who returns to his old neighborhood after a decade of self-imposed exile, obsessed with finding the lone boy who was seen running from the flames.
Pillars Of The Earth FOLLETT, K	The epic story of the building of a cathedral in 12^th century England and the lives of the people entwined with it and each other is a sensuous, enduring narrative, and a gripping tale of faith, ambition, bloodshed and betrayal.
Poisonwood Bible KINGSOLVER, B	The story of an American missionary and his family in 1959. A compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist arrogance, and the many paths to redemption.
Power Of One COURTENAY, B	Peekay, a white boy born in 1939 in South Africa as the seeds of apartheid are newly sewn, begins an epic journey through a land of tribal superstition and modern prejudice.
Pudd'nhead Wilson TWAIN, M	In this funny but biting novel, a young slave woman exchanges her light-skinned child with her master's.
Queen's Own Fool YOLEN & HARRIS	Can Nicola, a resourceful jester and unlikely friend to Mary Queen of Scots, save her friend when the Scots begin to turn against her.
Raging Quiet JORDAN, S	Suspicious of 16-year-old Marnie, a newcomer to their village, the residents accuse her of witchcraft when she discovers that the village madman is not crazy but deaf and she begins to communicate with him through hand gestures.
Red Badge Of Courage CRANE, S	A young and frightened soldier comes of age under the stress of combat in the Civil War.
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir Of The Cultural Revolution JIANG, J	Ji-li Jiang faces terror, persecution and an impossible choice when she must denounce her family or sacrifice her future with the Communist Party during China's Cultural Revolution.
River Midnight NATTEL, L	Set in the fictional village of Blaszka, The River Midnight centers around four remarkable women and the enduring friendship that sustains them from the exuberance of adolescence - when they were known as the vilda hayas, or "wild creatures" - to the joys, sorrows, and intimate secrets of adulthood.
Road To Memphis* TAYLOR, M	The saga of the Logan family of Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry continues as Cassie comes to the aid of a black youth trying to flee the state after injuring a white boy.
Runs With Horses* BURKS, B	As a member of the last band of Apaches to resist capture by the US Government, 16-year-old Runs With Horses struggles to honor his training as a warrior in the face of the historical realities of 1886.
Saturnalia FLEISCHMAN, P	In 1682 William, a Narragansett Native American captured six years before in a raid, leads a successful life as a printer's apprentice. However, increasingly anxious, he searches the streets by night for his lost brother and a link to his past.
Slaughterhouse Five VONNEGUT, K	Slaughterhous-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.
Slave Dancer FOX, P	Graphic tale of Jessie, who was kidnapped from New Orleans by sailors from a slave ship and forced to play his fife so the slaves could dance to keep their muscles strong.
Stealing Freedom* CARBONE, E	A novel based on the events in the life of a young slave girl from Maryland who endures all kinds of mistreatment and cruelty, including being separated from her family, but who eventually escapes to freedom in Canada.
Stone Song: A Novel Of Crazy Horse BLEVINS, W	Scorned from childhood for his light hair, a man who spurned the love of finery and honors so characteristic of Lakota Sioux warriors, Crazy Horse led his people to their greatest victory.
Stones From The River HEIG, U	At the beginning of WW I, Trudi Montag, a dwarf, is born to an unstable mother and a gentle father in a small Rheinish town. Through the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich into the era following WW II she first struggles with - and later draws strength and wisdom from - her inability to fit into a conformist and repressive society.
Storyteller’s Daughter THESMAN, J	15-year-old Quinn, the middle child in a Depression-era working class family, learns some secrets about her beloved father, who has always been a source of strength to the family.
Streets Of Gold WELLS, R	Marissa and her brother flee Poland and struggle to build a new life in America on the unforgiving streets of New York.
Tiger In The Well PULLMAN, P	In London in 1881, 24-year-old Sally finds her young daughter and her possessions assailed by an unknown enemy, while a shadowy figure known as the Tzaddik involves her in his plot to defraud and exploit the hordes of Jewish immigrants pouring into the country.
Time Enough For Drums* RINALDI, A	Brought up in a relatively liberal household, Jemima Emerson is quite a challenge for her tutor, John Reid, who is known as a Tory with strong ties to England. Jem longs for freedom on every level, in the home and her homeland, and John represents the forces that restrict her.
True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle AVI	Set in 1832, this is the compelling story of a young girl's sailing trip from England to Providence, Rhode Island.
True North LASKY, K	Two teenage girls risk their lives on the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War America. Afrika will risk her life to reach freedom, and Lucy is drawn into the secret movement.
Under The Blood-Red Sun SALISBURY, G	When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, everything changes for Hawaiian-born Tomi and his Japanese parents and grandfather.
Walk The Dark Street BAER, E	Eva is a Jewish girl living in pre-Holocaust Germany, helpless against the anti-Semitism surging all around her. This sequel to A Frost in the Night traces her experiences from January 1933, when her community is just beginning to realize Hitler's power and determination, to July 1940, when most of Eva's friends and family have either left Germany or made arrangements to do so.
Where The Fire Burns DE GAAF, A	Although Poland is liberated from the Nazis, horror spreads as Stalinism entrenches itself in the country. Jasiu and Piotr Piekarz grow up under the crushing weight of persecution, with one following his parents’ faith, while the other one rebels and gets involved in the underground, helping to organize workers’ strikes. Both capture the heart of the daughter of an American spy who is deeply rooted in the Communist government.
Witch Of Blackbird Pond* SPEARE, E	A young girl's rebellion against her Puritan surroundings culminates in a witch-hunt and a trial.