Publisher: Sourcebooks
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2012
ISBN-13: 9781402268038
ISBN-10: 1402268033

In 17th-century France, Flemish lace is a prized commodity. It's also forbidden, meaning that those who desire it must go to extreme lengths to procure it -- risking and often ruining their lives in the process. In addition to the merchants, smugglers, and border patrol agents who describe, in alternating chapters, how their lives become inextricably bound to the lace trade, the novel also introduces convent-dwelling lacemaker Katharina, who's lost her sight and with it, her life's purpose, and her devoted sister, Heilweig, who attempts to purchase Katharina's freedom before the nuns discover her blindness and evict her from the only home she's ever known. There's also privileged Lisette, whose future is subject to the whims of a greedy nobleman who demands lace as payment for a mistake she made when she was just a child.

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Publisher: Hogarth
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/14/2012
ISBN-13: 9780307986467
ISBN-10: 0307986462

Despite his vices -- most notably compulsive gambling and womanizing -- Chinese expatriate Percival Chen enjoys unprecedented wealth and status as the headmaster of Saigon's most elite English school. However, when his son runs afoul of Vietnamese authorities, even Chen's vaunted connections to highly placed government officials aren't enough to save the boy from exile. Although his latest mistress provides Chen with some solace, the fast-approaching Vietnam War threatens upheaval in every area of his life. Canadian author Vincent Lam brings 1960s Vietnam to life through nuanced portrayals of realistically flawed characters and an atmospheric, richly drawn setting.

Publisher: Grove Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/04/2012
ISBN-13: 9780802120519
ISBN-10: 0802120512

After the death of his mother -- an accused witch in a pre-Civil War England where the Protestant Reformation is beginning to take hold -- John Saturnall becomes a kitchen boy at Buckland Manor, the estate of Sir William Fremantle, where his refined palate and culinary talents ensure his eventual promotion to head cook -- and attract the attention of Sir William's headstrong daughter, Lucretia. But when Lucretia's father promises her hand in marriage to her loutish cousin, Lucretia's protest takes the form of a hunger strike -- and it's up to John to entice her to break her fast. For another lush, dramatic tale about an orphan boy who rises to the rank of master chef and employs his talents to woo his lady love, try Elle Newmark's The Book of Unholy Mischief, set in Venice during the Renaissance.

Publisher: Riverhead Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/04/2012
ISBN-13: 9781594488450
ISBN-10: 1594488452

Although Elsa Emerson's theatrical aspirations have always surpassed the reality of treading the boards for her father's summer stock company in Wisconsin, it's not until family tragedy strikes that she heads for Hollywood. There, the blonde Midwestern bombshell undergoes a remarkable transformation into dark-haired starlet Laura Lamont, thanks to the efforts of film producer Irving Green, her manager, lover, and eventual spouse. But beneath Laura's cool, enigmatic exterior, Elsa's past experiences threaten to overshadow her present as she weathers career highs and lows. For other character-driven novels about the Golden Age of Hollywood, you might enjoy Laura Moriarity's The Chaperone, featuring real-life silent film star Louise Brooks, or Erin McGraw's The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard.

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/02/2012
ISBN-13: 9780345511898
ISBN-10: 0345511891

Known as the "Nine Days' Queen," Lady Jane Grey served, from prison, as the de facto ruler of England for a little over a week in July of 1553 before being executed. Less famous, however, is Lady Jane's sister, Katherine, who incurred the wrath of heir presumptive Elizabeth I when her secret second marriage resulted in the birth of a son -- thus threatening Elizabeth's claim to the throne and earning Katherine incarceration in the Tower of London. Indeed, the infamous Tower plays a central role in this compelling, richly detailed historical novel, which interweaves Katherine's fate with that of another, earlier prisoner: Richard III's illegitimate daughter Kate Plantagenet, whose very existence challenges the legitimacy of the Tudor dynasty.

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Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/24/2012
ISBN-13: 9780374169916
ISBN-10: 0374169918

Taking its title from a German saying that translates to "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich," HHhH takes place in 1942 and centers around a plot on the part of two Czech secret agents to assassinate Nazi lieutenant Reinhard Heydrich -- whose nickname, the "Butcher of Prague," is well deserved. Recounted by the author's alter ego (an amateur historian) in 257 brief chapters, this stylistically complex novel vividly evokes Eastern Europe during World War II even as its narrator questions his ability to accurately capture historical events in fiction. Publishers Weekly calls HHhH, winner of France's prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman, "a perfect fusion of action and the avante-garde" and "a great WWII novel."

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Publisher: HarperTorch
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/01/2006
ISBN-13: 9780060735081
ISBN-10: 0060735082

In A.D. 451, Attila the Hun -- known as the "Scourge of God" to friend and foe alike -- has set his sights on conquering the entire Roman Empire, starting with Constantinople. To prevent subjugation, Eastern Emperor Theodosius II appoints a small band of ambassadors for a diplomatic mission to the Hun's court. But the embassy's primary agenda isn't diplomacy -- it's assassination. And that's probably just as well, given that Attila prefers hefty bribes to peace treaties -- or, in the absence of payment, military action. Which is exactly what ensues when the Emperor's plan goes awry. Fast-paced and violent, this evocative, action-packed tale recreates the events leading up to the brutal Battle of Chalons, where Attila the Hun and his allies clashed with a coalition of Roman and Visigoth soldiers.

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Publisher: W.W. Norton
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/02/2009
ISBN-13: 9780393064926
ISBN-10: 0393064921

Murdering your uncle during Passover just isn't kosher. But that's exactly what Jacob Rappaport has been ordered to do by his commanding officer. After joining the Union Army to escape an arranged marriage, Jacob is recruited for a special mission: prevent his uncle from assassinating President Lincoln. And that's not all. Jacob must also infiltrate and spy on the Levy family, wealthy Jewish landowners suspected of having Confederate sympathies. But things become complicated when he falls in love with the Levys' daughter, rebel spy Eugenia. For an intriguing look at the lives of Jewish Americans during the Civil War, be sure to read All Other Nights.

Publisher: Broadway Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/02/2009
ISBN-13: 9780767926164
ISBN-10: 0767926161

In 1942, the Allied war effort is seriously threatened by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (a.k.a. the Desert Fox), who leads Germany's Afrika Corps and seems poised to expand his operations in North Africa to the lucrative oil fields of the Arabian peninsula, thus paving the way for an invasion of Southern Europe. Clearly, Rommmel must be stopped and it's up to a British special operations team known as the Long Range Desert Group to assassinate the charismatic German officer. Although best known for his military-themed historical epics set in the ancient world -- such as Gates of Fire -- author Stephen Pressfield displays a similar flair for well-researched war stories of the modern era in this suspenseful, dramatic World War II adventure.

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