Book Club Hist Fic

'Astonishing. Compelling. Powerful' - Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing‘Stuns with sacrifice. Uplifts with heroism’ - Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in ChemistryFrom the worldwide bestselling author of The Four Winds, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane (a Number One series on Netflix), The Women is a story of devastating loss and epic love. It would be the journey of a lifetime . . .‘Women can be heroes, too’. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California’s idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.Praise for Kristin Hannah:‘Powerful and compelling’ - Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘You would be hard-pressed to find a book club that has not discussed one of her novels’ New York Times‘A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival’ – Kate Morton‘A masterclass’ – Karen Swan‘Powerful’ – Matt Haig

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** A Book of the Year in The Times - The New Statesman - Observer - Financial Times - Irish Times - Irish Independent - Times Literary Supplement **WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE AND THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE AND THE IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE DALKEY LITERARY AWARDS'Exquisite.' Damon Galgut'Masterly.' The Times'Miraculous.' Herald'Astonishing.' Colm Tóibín'Stunning.' Sunday Independent'Absolutely beautiful.' Douglas StuartIt is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

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* The million-copy bestseller* * National Book Award finalist * * An instant New York Times Bestseller and one of their 10 Best Books of 2017 * * Selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club * 'This is a captivating book... Min Jin Lee's novel takes us through four generations and each character's search for identity and success. It's a powerful story about resilience and compassion' BARACK OBAMA. Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story. Through eight decades and four generations, Pachinko is an epic tale of family, identity, love, death and survival.

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The international Number One bestseller from the author of The Song of Achilles, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Woman. Witch. Myth. Mortal. Outcast. Lover. Destroyer. Survivor. CIRCE. In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child – not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone will never be left in peace for long – and among her island’s guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything. So Circe sets forth her tale, a vivid, mesmerizing epic of family rivalry, love and loss – the defiant, inextinguishable song of woman burning hot and bright through the darkness of a man’s world. THE NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, I PAPER, SUNDAY EXPRESS, IRISH TIMES, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, AMAZON, AUDIBLE, BUZZFEED, REFINERY 29, WASHINGTON POST, BOSTON GLOBE, SEATTLE TIMES, TIME MAGAZINE, NEWSWEEK, PEOPLE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, KIRKUS, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND GOODREADS

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‘If you haven’t read Kate Morton before, do yourself a favour’ – Graham Norton, broadcaster and bestselling author of Home StretchA breathtaking mystery of love, lies and a cold case come back to life, Homecoming is an immersive, twisting epic from the bestselling Kate Morton, told with her trademark intricacy and beauty.Adelaide Hills, 1959. At the end of a scorching hot day, in the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most mystifying murder investigations in the history of Australia.London, 2018. Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for nearly two decades, a phone call summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, has suffered a fall and is seriously ill in hospital.Seeking comfort in her past, Jess discovers a true crime book at Nora’s house chronicling a long-buried police case: the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959. And within its pages she finds a shocking personal connection to this notorious event – a crime that has never truly been solved.An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love and how we protect the lies we tell.Readers love Homecoming by Kate Morton . . .‘Will leave you glued to the very last page’‘Plenty of turns to keep you guessing’‘Heartbreaking, beautifully written and superbly constructed’

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WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER 2021'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times. 'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell. TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART. On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home? Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that Hamnet will not survive the week. Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright: a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

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PRE-ORDER NOW THE NEW NOVEL BY CHARMAINE WILKERSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WORD-OF-MOUTH SENSATION BLACK CAKE.'One of the great multi-generational storytellers of our time.'Abi Daré, author of The Girl With the Louding Voice'A remarkable exploration of family bonds, grief, heartbreak, friendship, and the deep scars of slavery and racism...This novel solidifies Wilkerson's place as one of the great multi-generational storytellers of our time. ' Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice---When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiancé Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow.Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their home and tragedy changed their lives forever.Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart.Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day – the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations. A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.---Praise for Charmaine Wilkerson and Black Cake:'Completely blew me away'Red'Unputdownable. Astonishing. Twists and turns so shocking they will leave your head spinning and your heart aching'Grazia'You can't help but fall in love with this book'Stylist'A novelist to watch'Independent'Beautiful, deeply resonant . . . A story that is as meaningful as it is delicious'Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo'A rich, complex and really satisfying novel'Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4'A delicious and gripping tale that sweeps the reader across decades and continents'Guardian'A book that is both universal and unique.'Afua Hirsch, bestselling author of Brit(ish)'This novel has a tremendous heart at its centre, and I felt its beat on every page. What an extraordinary debut'Mary Beth Keane, bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

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A sweeping story of love, adventure and adversity, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse is the sequel to the number one bestselling The Ghost Ship.'Mosse is a master storyteller' – Madeleine Miller, bestselling author of CirceOlifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives in search of her cousin – the notorious she-captain and pirate commander Louise Reydon-Joubert – who landed at the Cape of Good Hope more than sixty years before, then disappeared without a trace . . .Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years after Suzanne’s perilous journey, another intrepid woman of the Joubert family – Isabelle Lepard – has journeyed to the small frontier town once known as Oliftantshoek in search of her long-lost relations. Intent on putting the women of her family back into the history books, she quickly discovers that the tragedies and crimes of the past are far from over. Isabelle faces a race against time if she is not only going to discover the truth, but also escape with her life . . .Painstakingly researched and beautifully told, The Map of Bones is the fourth – and final – novel of The Joubert Family Chronicles, following the bestselling The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship.Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles:'Gripping, complex and intensely atmospheric' – The Mail on Sunday on The Burning Chambers'A historical epic' – The Observer on The City of Tears'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' – Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost ShipThe Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 09-07-23

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New in paperback: gothic, fantasy-tinged historical fiction, delving back into the teenage years of Mary Shelley to find the inspiration for Frankenstein.As darkness falls and storms rage over Lake Geneva, a group of friends gather in a candle-lit villa. Among them is eighteen-year-old Mary, who has run away with her mercurial lover Percy Shelley. As laudanum stirs their feverish imaginations, their host Lord Byron challenges everyone to write a ghost story.Suddenly Mary is transported back to a long, strange summer in the wilds of Scotland, where she fell in love with the enigmatic Isabella Baxter, learned tales of mythical beasts - and discovered that some monsters are real. Something fierce and terrifying has awoken in her. Now she will unleash it into the world.

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Love, heroism and the supernatural collide in the midst of war. There's a tradition in the Sharp family that some possess the Second Sight. But is it superstition, or true psychic power? Kit Sharp is in Paris, where she is involved in a love affair with the stunning Evelyn Larsen, and working as an archivist, having inherited her historian father's fascination with the Bayeux Tapestry. He believes that parts of the tapestry were made before 1066, and that it was a tool for prediction, not a simple record of events. The Nazis are also obsessed with the tapestry: convinced that not only did it predict the Norman Conquest of England, but that it will aid them in their invasion of Britain. Ivy Sharp has joined the Special Operations Executive – the SOE – a secret unit set up to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. Having demonstrated that she has extraordinary powers of perception, she is dropped into Northern France on a special mission. With the war on a knife edge, the Sharp Sisters face certain death. Can their courage and extrasensory gifts prevent the enemy from using the tapestry to bring about a devastating victory against the Allied Forces?

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Inspired by true events and set against the backdrop of the Second World War, Melanie Levensohn’s A Jewish Girl in Paris is a powerful novel about forbidden love.'In this vivid, affecting novel of intertwined destinies and the enduring power of love against the bleakest odds, Levensohn weaves a tale saturated with historical accuracy and yet surprisingly intimate' – Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go DarkParis, 1940, a city under German occupation. A young Jewish girl, Judith, meets a young man, the son of a wealthy banker and Nazi sympathizer – his family will never approve of the girl he has fallen in love with. As the Germans impose more and more restrictions on Jewish Parisians, the couple secretly plan to flee the country. But before they can make their escape, Judith disappears . . .Montréal, 1982. Shortly before his death, Lica Grunberg confesses to his daughter, that she has an older half-sister, Judith. Lica escaped the Nazis but lost all contact with his first-born daughter. His daughter promises to find the sister she never knew. The search languishes for years, until Jacobina is spurred on by her young friend Béatrice.Soon the two women discover a dark family secret, stretching over two continents and six decades, that will change their lives forever . . .Adapted from a translation by Jamie Lee Searle, A Jewish Girl in Paris is a historical novel for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

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