In this latest novel by E.L. Doctorow, two brothers born into privilege live out their lives in squalor--and witness some of the major events of the 20th century. Following the deaths of their parents, blind Homer Collyer and his brother Langley, a shell-shocked WWI veteran, decide to remain in their family's decaying New York City mansion. Reclusive and eccentric, the brothers become compulsive hoarders. As Langley stockpiles old newspapers in an attempt to create a definitive document of all the knowledge in the world, Homer works on a smaller scale, laboriously typing out a memoir of their life together. Booklist calls Homer and Langley an "ingenious, haunting odyssey."

In Victorian England, job opportunities for unmarried pregnant women are decidedly limited. That's what scullery maid Susan Rose discovers when a tryst with her employer's son, Freddie Bonney, leaves her with more than just memories. Susan, following in her mother's footsteps, soon finds work as a wet-nurse, breastfeeding for wealthy women who can't or won't nurse their own infants. But when Susan's alcoholic father tries to blackmail the Bonneys over her son's paternity, the Bonneys give the child to relatives in London--prompting Susan to seek employment with her baby's new family while concocting a scheme to get him back.

Eighteenth-century English lieutenant Daniel Rooke is gifted at astronomy and mathematics, but hopeless when it comes to interacting with people. The one exception is his surprising friendship with Tagaran, a young Aboriginal girl whom Daniel meets when his ship, the HMS Resolution, arrives in New South Wales, Australia. While his intent is to build an observatory to search for an elusive comet, Daniel soon becomes fascinated by the life and language of Tagaran's people--to the dismay of both of their cultures. Kate Grenville's novel of Australian history serves as a companion book to her previous novel, the Commonwealth Writer's Prize-winning The Secret River.

After the Civil War ends, disgraced Confederate General John Bell Hood relocates to New Orleans. Disabled and emotionally scarred by his experiences, Hood sees a chance for redemption when he marries Creole society beauty Anna Marie Hennen and becomes a father of 11. He also pens a secret memoir which he wants to publish--even as a yellow fever epidemic threatens his life. Meanwhile, Anna Marie has written her own account of their life together. Civil War buffs in particular will enjoy this novel of Reconstruction-era Louisiana by the author of The Widow of the South.

In 1766, a wealthy English merchant buys a pair of Indian elephants and puts Tom Page, the 12-year-old son of his head groom, in charge of their welfare. Delighted, Tom names the animals Jenny and Timothy and trains them...until Timothy's raging hormones lead to his sale to another owner. The loss of Timothy causes a devastated Tom to grow even closer to Jenny--and to accompany her when she's sold to a succession of owners, each worse than the last. But despite their almost telepathic bond, Tom and Jenny are eventually separated. Will they find each other again? For more books about human-elephant friendships, try Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants or Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond.

Not long after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, medical student Daniel Connor is en route to a prestigious research fellowship in Paris when he encounters the beautiful Lucienne Bernard. Upon reaching his destination, he discovers that she's stolen his papers as well as some valuable coral specimens. Daniel's pursuit of Lucienne leads him to a den of "philosopher-thieves," and he's soon involved in their secret plans. But it takes a thief to catch a thief--and the gang is already being targeted by one of the best: criminal-turned-policeman Henri Jagot. This novel by the author of Ghostwalk features "an intriguing love story, complex scientific concepts, and a beautifully realized historical setting" (Booklist).

Forbidden to marry her lover, but unable to love the man to whom she's betrothed, 16-year-old Sarah Garnett flees England for Australia in 1854. Traveling in steerage, Sarah is confined below decks with the other unmarried women, who endure dehumanizing and downright dangerous conditions. While her fellow passengers succumb to madness and disease, Sarah copes with the hardships of her new existence by writing letters in which she recalls her childhood and expresses her hopes and fears about her future. If you're interested in reading more about the history of women in Australia, you may enjoy Carolly Erickson's biography The Girl from Botany Bay, about Mary Broad, who was transported to New South Wales in the 1780s--and later escaped.

While there are no commas in this Booker Prize-winning biographical novel of legendary 19th-century Australian outlaw and folk-hero Ned Kelly, there's plenty of excitement. Ned, the son of an Irish convict, becomes the apprentice of infamous bushranger Harry Power, setting him on the path to a life of crime. Along with his brother Dan and their friends, Ned forms a gang of his own and before long these latter-day Robin Hoods are robbing banks and giving the money to the poor. But with the law closing in on them, how long does the Kelly Gang have left? For another novel based on the life of an Australian outlaw, try Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, whose indigenous protagonist is modeled after bushranger Jimmy Governor.

When the Batavia, flagship of the Dutch East India Company, is wrecked on a coral reef off the western coast of Australia in 1629, the survivors include heretical apothecary Jeronimus Cornelisz, who narrates the story. A charismatic but amoral man who's fleeing the law, Cornelisz is convinced that his destiny is to "be elected an emperor among men" and uses his talent for manipulation to start a mutiny and then take command of the castaways. But there's not enough food or supplies for everyone...so Cornelisz decides to thin the ranks. Kirkus Reviews calls this chilling debut novel, which is based on a real historical event, a "stunningly original triumph for a brilliant newcomer."

Transported to a penal colony in 1830s Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), gifted forger William Buelow Gould becomes more than just another inmate when eccentric prison surgeon Tobias Achilles Lempriere recruits him to paint pictures of fish. The paintings are intended for Lempriere's taxonomy of the island's marine life, which he's writing in a desperate bid for admission into the Royal Academy of Science. To stave off his own despair, the equally desperate Gould scribbles his life story using anything he can get his hands on: each chapter is printed in a different color, to represent the various "inks" he uses, including blood, cuttlefish ink, and even his own excrement. For another novel with a Tasmanian setting, Matthew Kneale's English Passengers involves a voyage to the island, where the characters hope they'll find the Garden of Eden.

During WWII, Father Frank Darragh, a young Catholic priest in Sydney, struggles to bring comfort to grieving widows and traumatized soldiers. He's also tempted by beautiful Kate Heggerty, a woman who's considering cheating on her P.O.W. husband. But the biggest test to Father Frank's faith occurs when Kate is murdered and he becomes a suspect. As the Japanese invasion looms, Father Frank tries to reconcile the theoretical knowledge he's learned in seminary with the murky moral issues he encounters in real life. Author Thomas Keneally, who trained for the priesthood, brings both the experiences of a young clergyman and wartime Australia to life in this engaging book full of complex characters.

In the mid-19th century, savvy London street urchin Gemmy Fairly becomes a cabin boy, only to be shipwrecked soon after off the coast of Australia. Taken in by the area's indigenous inhabitants, Gemmy spends the next 16 years living among them, until a fateful encounter with the McIvor family brings him back into contact with European society. Because of Gemmy's experiences, the other settlers shun him for not being "white" enough, yet he's not aboriginal either. Can Gemmy, torn between two different worlds, find his place in the land both peoples share? For a recent novel about a contemporary culture clash by an indigenous Australian author, try Alexis Wright's Carpentaria, which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2007.