historical fiction

  • Women in History: Fiction

    Women’s History Month is almost over, but it’s never too late to read novels about times past and women who made history. The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott After trading the harsh life of farming for a textile factory job in Lowell, Massachusetts, Alice Barrow inadvertently moves into a role as spokesperson for… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: 5 new books that go great on ice

    Plaguewalker by Gemma Tarlach A brutish executioner sets off on a mission to find his runaway daughter after the plague decimates his entire village and puts him out of work. This dark fantasy has a nice dreaminess to it that is easy to get carried away in, but has vivid characterization that will make the whole… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: Remembering World War I

    Next July is the centennial anniversary of the Great War’s beginning and an increasing number of new historical novels are set in this time period. These are a few of our favorites from 2013.                          Continue reading

  • Slightly Gruesome Historical Fiction

    The Hangman’s Daughter Series I picked up The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch because I liked the cover art and the font used for the title. Yes, sometimes, I judge books by their covers but this time it worked out really well for me. Although the book is great, with an imaginative plot, intriguing characters… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Love and Mummies

    Amelia Peabody Emerson liked nothing better than to camp for a season in a nice dry tomb while her husband excavated a nearby site. After all, that was how she met him! Crocodile on the Sandbank introduces us to Amelia Peabody, a Victorian bluestocking who is roughly 30 years old, and who absolutely refuses to live the… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: World War II at Sea

    Seattle’s Seafair Fleet Week (July 31–August 4) is a 64 year annual tradition that brings military ships to the Port of Seattle for public viewing, to honor the men and women who serve their country at sea. Historical novels about World War II at sea add a vivid and exciting dimension to our celebration. Older books, like Nevil Shute’s… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: The three best 19th century fantasies. Oh, also with dragons!

    A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir By Lady Trent by Marie Brennan An irrepressible young woman in a stifling alternate history Victorian age finds action and adventure when her new husband takes her on an expedition to study dragons in their natural environment. The way the author uses little period details to flesh out the… Continue reading

  • A Tale of Two Burgs

    In July of 1863, 150 years ago, Blue still fought Gray and the fate of a nation was hanging in the balance. Two great battles ensued simultaneously, one to control the western nation and one as an invasion of the north. At Vicksburg, Mississippi, a great siege was in progress under the command of General… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: The wives of Henry VIII

    Divorced, beheaded, died Divorced, beheaded, survived So much historical fiction relates to King Henry VIII in some way: his mother, his sister, his niece, his Church, his advisors, his children and his wives. Most of us have a blurred idea of who these wives were and which ones were executed, though many readers know Anne… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: While you wait for Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

    Hilary Mantel clearly hit a homer with Wolf Hall and her latest, Bring up the Bodies, both biographical novels of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s chief minister for eight years until the king executed him for treason and heresy. The Library’s waiting list for “Bodies” is at 200. “What can we read while we wait”… Continue reading

  • Extreme outdoors

    Although I’m fairly wimpy in “real life,” I enjoy the vicarious experience of reading about other peoples’ travails in harsh climates. Here are some favorite tales of true adventure and survival (with a bit of history thrown in): The Cruelest Miles by Gay Salisbury When isolated Nome, Alaska, was struck by a diphtheria epidemic in… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Exposed to the elements

    As the wind blows, the rain falls and snow looks to be on our horizon, here are three books that feature the elements, in their many forms and iterations. People of the Raven by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear The Raven people and the Northwind people become locked in an epic battle for… Continue reading

  • Crime Thursday: When history and mystery mix

    Being a pacifist, I’m not sure why I find it so relaxing to read a good murder mystery. English crime writer P.D. James, in her autobiography Time to Be in Earnest, offers the following explanation for why mystery aficionados enjoy the genre: “…the catharsis of carefully controlled terror, the bringing of order out of disorder,… Continue reading

  • Where It’s At: New books by local authors

    This fall brings a particulary good bumper crop of new books by local authors. There must be something in the air/water/mountains/evergreens/coffee to generate this much awesomeness in one place. Here are some new and upcoming releases to kickstart your fall with some Pacific Northwest flavor: Blasphemy: New and Selected Short Stories by Sherman Alexie Sherman Alexie… Continue reading

  • Staff favorites: Three Novels our Librarians Love

    Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks Based on the true story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauck, who in 1665 was the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College, this luminous novel explores the intersecting lives of white settlers and Native Americans in the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bethia, the outspoken daughter of a Puritan… Continue reading

  • A Dream of Summer

    A Dream of Summer, because we are all dreaming of summer… Here we are in the heady rush of summer, where busy summer plans are making themselves felt regardless of the on-again, off-again weather. In the midst of all the hurry, I find myself longing for quiet dreaming reads – the ones that speak of… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: Historical fiction ebooks

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Seattle Picks: Historical mysteries

    A few historical mysteries, set in various locations around the world, selected by our librarians: Palace of Justice by Susanne Alleyn While Madame Guillotine is still in action in 1793, a serial killer, who cuts the heads off his victims, is loose in Paris. Aristide Ravel, freelancer to the Paris police, is the only one… Continue reading