Allende’s fluidly written saga conveys her deep familiarity with the events she depicts, and her intent to illustrate their human impact in a moving way. The scope spans most of the lives of Victor Dalmau, a Republican army medic in 1936 Spain, and Roser Bruguera, a music student taken in by Victor’s family and, later, his brother Guillem’s lover and the mother of Guillem’s child. The story follows them over nearly sixty years, beginning with the tumult of the Spanish Civil War. Guillem is killed fighting against the Fascists, news that Victor can’t bear to tell Roser initially. After surviving separate and terrible circumstances that leave them refugees in France, where authorities treat them with contempt and worse, the two marry for practical reasons in order to join Pablo Neruda’s mission transporting over 2000 Spanish exiles to Chile aboard the S.S. Winnipeg . In Santiago, the Dalmaus find many Chileans sympathetic to the Spaniards, while others make them unwelcome. With a poetic ...
Fall is almost upon us, bringing with it a new crop of historical novels. Here are ten, chosen purely out of personal interest. Are you planning on reading any of them? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
Roy's novel examines mid-20th-century India through the stories of a man who uncovers his artist mother's itinerant life through India and Bali, as he searches for the reasons she left her family behind. Atria, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
A new retelling of the Trojan War, as seen from the viewpoint of Briseis, a former queen turned captive. Barker has said that this is the novel she hopes she'll be remembered for. Doubleday, Sept. (this one is out now). [see on Goodreads]
The story of Judith Leyster, a painter of the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, and her ambitions to join the artists' guild in Haarlem. Amberjack, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
Alva Smith Vanderbilt, known in Gilded Age society for her opulent masquerade balls and unstoppable ambition, especially where her daughter was concerned, later became a prominent women's rights supporter. St. Martin's, Oct. [see on Goodreads]
In the 14th century, a Templar's son is sent to a rural English village to solve a mysterious murder and gets caught up in a tangled nest of secrets. Crooked Lane, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
The story of Hercules, acclaimed chef to President Washington in late 18th-century Philadelphia: an enslaved man in a city famed for its principles of liberty. Based on a true story. Arcade, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
The Splendor Before the Dark is part two (after The Confessions of Young Nero) of the outrageous life story of Emperor Nero, told in his own lively voice and seen here in a new and sympathetic light. Berkley, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
I've yet to read one of Grisham's novels, and this one dovetails with my historical fiction interests. It's described as a mixture of legal thriller and Southern Gothic, centering on the mysterious killing of a Mississippi pastor in 1946 by one of his good friends. Doubleday, Oct. [see on Goodreads]
In hopes of a more prosperous life, a young woman travels from China to San Francisco in 1923 to establish a new life with a husband she doesn't know; she also works hard to save an orphan she met en route. Lake Union, Oct. [see on Goodreads]
The story of Liberia's founding in the 19th century, told through the viewpoints of several characters, and with a touch of magical realism. Graywolf, Sept. (out now). [see on Goodreads]
Roy's novel examines mid-20th-century India through the stories of a man who uncovers his artist mother's itinerant life through India and Bali, as he searches for the reasons she left her family behind. Atria, Nov. [see on Goodreads]
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