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George Washington's socks
Par Elvira Woodruff. 1991
Matthew and his friends form an adventure club so they can talk about real adventures from throughout history. But at…
their first meeting, in which they plan to discuss George Washington's crossing of the Delaware, the members suddenly find themselves back in the time of the American Revolution. For grades 4-7The cuckoo's child
Par Suzanne Freeman. 1996
Mia Veery did not like living in Beirut; she wanted to come back to the United States and be a…
typical 1962 American teenager in an ordinary family. When her parents disappear at sea, Mia and her two older half sisters go to live with Aunt Kit in Tennessee. There Mia finds being "typical" is not easy. For grades 6-9Grand Canyon: the tail of the scorpion
Par Mike Graf. 2006
The traveling Parker family -- ten-year-old twins and their parents -- visit the Grand Canyon in an outing full of…
beautiful wildlife, awesome geology, fascinating history, and much more. For grades 3-6The figure of the detective: a literary history and analysis
Par Charles Brownson. 2014
"This book begins with a history of the detective genre, coextensive with the novel itself, identifying the attitudes and institutions…
needed for the genre to emerge in its mature form around 1880. The theory of the genre is laid out along with its central theme of the getting and deployment of knowledge. Sherlock Holmes, the English Classic stories and their inheritors are examined in light of this theme and the balance of two forms of knowledge used in fictional detection--cool or rational, and warm or emotional. The evolution of the genre formula is driven by changes in the social climate in which it is embedded. These changes explain the decay of the English Classic and its replacement by noir, hardboiled and spy stories, to end in the cul-de-sac of the thriller and the nostalgic Neo-Classic. Possible new forms of the detective story are suggested." -- Provided by publisherAll aboard the schooltrain: a little story from the Great Migration
Par Glenda Armand. 2023
The Probability of Everything
Par Sarah Everett. 2023
“One of the best books I have read this year (maybe ever).” —Colby Sharp, Nerdy Book ClubNPR Books We Love…
2023 | Publishers Weekly Best of 2023 | Winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for Young People's LiteratureA heart-wrenching middle grade debut about Kemi, an aspiring scientist who loves statistics and facts, as she navigates grief and loss at a moment when life as she knows it changes forever.Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out.But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. Amplus-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi’s life as she knows it will end.But over the course of the four days, even facts don’t feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be “better for her family” isn’t very welcoming. And Amplus-68 is taking over her life, but others are still going to school and eating at their favorite diner like nothing has changed. Is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending?With the days numbered, Kemi decides to put together a time capsule that will capture her family’s truth: how creative her mother is, how inquisitive her little sister can be, and how much Kemi's whole world revolves around her father. But no time capsule can change the truth behind all of it, that Kemi must face the most inevitable and hardest part of life: saying goodbye."My heart hurt as I raced through the last chapters of this unique book that shines a light on family, friends, grief, and love." —Lisa Yee, author of Maizy Chen's Last ChanceBeirut Noir (Akashic Noir #0)
Par Rawi Hage, Muhammad Abi Samra, Leila Eid, Hala Kawtharani, Marie Tawk, Bana Baydoun, Hyam Yared, Najwa Barakat, Alawiyeh Sobh, Mazen Zahreddine, Abbas Beydoun, Bachir Hilal, Zena El Khalil, Mazen Maarouf, Tarek Abi Samra. 2015
"No book could possibly describe the myriad different faces of twenty-first century Beirut better than Beirut Noir, yet another in…
the fabulous Akashic Noir series that should dominate at least one shelf of any crime fan's library."--CrimeReads, included in Paul French's Column on Beirut Crime Fiction"Humaydan writes in her introduction to this haunting anthology that 'all of the stories are somehow framed by the Lebanese civil war, which lasted from approximately 1974 until 1990...' The crimes in this Akashic noir volume are often submerged in the greater tragedy of a beautiful city constantly torn within and without by violence."--Publishers Weekly"The stories' individual approaches to noir are as diverse as the Beirut landscape, its residents and exiles."--Middle East Monitor"In Beirut Noir, Iman Humaydan has selected a beautiful and often heartbreaking jigsaw portrait of its eponymous city....These are writers, multiple generations of Beiruti, who live and breathe the neighborhoods of their capital, and each seems to care about even the worst of it. And there is occasional humor to be found in the darkest of its spaces. Beirut, as Humaydan explains in her introduction, is a 'city that dances on its wounds.' This is a book that transcends its place in a series and stands on its own as something terrific."--World Literature Today"The Lebanese authors featured in the collection draw from a much broader palette of Beirut life, and, true to the genre, they tap into their city's dark past and uncertain present. Some stories are absurd and humorous, but almost all are haunted in some way by a nagging memory, a war, a death."--The NationalTranslated by Michelle Hartman.Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.Featuring brand-new stories by: Rawi Hage, Muhammad Abi Samra, Leila Eid, Hala Kawtharani, Marie Tawk, Bana Baydoun, Hyam Yared, Najwa Barakat, Alawiyeh Sobh, Mazen Zahreddine, Abbas Beydoun, Bachir Hilal, Zena El Khalil, Mazen Maarouf, and Tarek Abi Samra.Most of the writers in this volume are still living in Beirut, so this is an important contribution to Middle East literature--not the "outsider's perspective" that often characterizes contemporary literature set in the region.From the introduction by Iman Humaydan (translated by Michelle Hartman):"Beirut is a city of contradiction and paradox. It is an urban and rural city, one of violence and forgiveness, memory and forgetfulness. Beirut is a city of war and peace. This short story collection is a part of a vibrant, living recovery of Beirut. Beirut Noir recovers the city once again through writing, through the literary visions of its authors..."From within this collection of stories, a general attitude toward Beirut emerges: the city is viewed from a position of critique, doubt, disappointment, and despair. The stories here show the vast maze of the city that can't be found in tourist brochures or nostalgic depictions of Beirut that are completely out of touch with reality. Perhaps this goes without saying in a collection of stories titled Beirut Noir. But the 'noir' label here should be viewed from multiple angles, and it takes on many different forms in the stories. No doubt this is because it is imbricated in the distinct moments that Beirut has lived through and how they are depicted in the stories."The Tower of the Antilles: Short Stories
Par Achy Obejas. 2017
Finalist for the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction!Longlisted for the 2018 PEN Open Book Award and The Story Prize!Included in The…
Rumpus's "What to Read When You've Made it More Than Halfway Through 2017"Selected as one of Rigoberto Gonzalez's Favorite Books of 2017/Critics Pick, LA Times Jacket CopyOne of Electric Literature's Best Short Story Collections of 2017"Questions of personal and national identity percolate through the stories in Obejas's memorable short fiction collection, most of which is set in Cuba, the author's birthplace...These 10 stories show Obejas's talent, illuminating Cuban culture and the innermost lives of her characters."--Publishers Weekly"By turns searing and subtly magical, the stories in Obejas' vividly imagined collection are propelled by her characters' contradictory feelings about and unnerving experiences in Cuba...For all the human tumult and deftly sketched and reverberating historical and cultural contexts that Obejas incisively creates in these poignant, alarming tales, she also offers lyrical musings on the mysteries of the sea and the vulnerability of islands and the body. Obejas' plots are ambushing, her characters startling, her metaphors fresh, her humor caustic, and her compassion potent in these intricate and haunting stories of displacement, loss, stoicism, and realization."--Booklist"Obejas's stories demonstrate an acute understanding of being caught between two places and cultures as different as America and Cuba."--Library Journal"Achy Obejas's collection is about fictional Cuban migrants who never quite escape the land they've left."--Electric Literature"Obejas writes with gentleness, without flashy wording or gimmicks, about people trying to figure out where they belong...The language we use and the stories we tell impact the futures we can imagine, but they are also restricted by what has come before. Obejas's Cuban characters, like most Americans, have limited access to the resources they need. One gets the sense that Obejas, like the Maldivian president, thinks it is time that the world takes these systemic problems on."--Los Angeles Review of Books"Achy Obejas' superb story collection The Tower of Antilles deals with the conflicted relationships Cubans, exiles and Cuban Americans have with their homeland."--LA Times Jacket CopyThe Cubans in Achy Obejas's story collection are haunted by islands: the island they fled, the island they've created, the island they were taken to or forced from, the island they long for, the island they return to, and the island that can never be home again.In "Superman," several possible story lines emerge about a 1950s Havana sex-show superstar who disappeared as soon as the revolution triumphed. "North/South" portrays a migrant family trying to cope with separation, lives on different hemispheres, and the eventual disintegration of blood ties. "The Cola of Oblivion" follows the path of a young woman who returns to Cuba, and who inadvertently uncorks a history of accommodation and betrayal among the family members who stayed behind during the revolution. In the title story, "The Tower of the Antilles," an interrogation reveals a series of fantasies about escape and a history of futility.With language that is both generous and sensual, Obejas writes about existences beset by events beyond individual control, and poignantly captures how history and fate intrude on even the most ordinary of lives.Drifting
Par Katia D. Ulysse. 2014
"An arresting account of the contemporary Haitian-American experience."--Publishers Weekly"This novel in short stories will appeal to readers of literary and…
Caribbean fiction."--Library Journal"Ulysse displaces and redeems her characters with formidable skill, while her precise cuts through all preconceptions....Intense and necessary."--Booklist"Humanity is lost and found in these stories...Ulysse has created a fascinating world of class and cultural distinctions; her stories are engaging."--Kirkus Reviews"Assimilating qualities of Danticat and Alvarez, Ulysse paints a variegated literary tableau, more sociological than psychological or historical, that translates into fiction the reality, as well as the fragility and vivacity, of life for young Haitian American women of few means."--World Literature Today"A superb novel in the form of interconnected short stories that follow Haitian families as they move between time and place, before and after the devastating earthquake of 2010."--Teaching Tolerance Magazine, Summer 2015 Staff Pick"Powerful, piercing and unforgiving...Drifting transcends escapism, materialism and gaudy promises...Ulysse's prosaic brilliance is unmistakable."--Kaieteur News (Guyana)"Captivating and honest....This novel is a win-win for anyone who enjoys character development just as much as plot."--The Review Lab, Columbia College Chicago"Drifting is an intoxicating account of various short stories by Haitian novelist and literary genius Katia D. Ulysse...highly recommended."--Black Star News"Ulysse paints a vivid picture of customs, culture, and experiences. And like the characters, readers are engulfed in a vast array of emotions."--OOSA Online Book Club"A good, worthwhile read."--Book Lust"Katia D. Ulysse has written an engaging debut novel, Drifting....Drawing on rural Haiti, the class system, Vodou and folklore, Ulysse shows how immigrating to the US, while often seen as the only real option, does not always retain or strengthen families or improve one's economic station."--The World is RobertKatia D. Ulysse's debut provides the rare opportunity to peer into the private lives of four secretive Haitian families. The interwoven narrative spans four decades--from 1970 through 2010--and drifts among various provinces in Haiti, the United States, churches, vodun temples, schools, strip clubs, and the grave. Ulysse introduces us to a childless Haitian American couple risking it all for a baby to call their own; a Florida-based predatory schoolteacher threatening students with deportation if they expose him; and the unforgettable Monsieur Boursicault, whose chain of funeral parlors makes him the wealthiest man in Haiti. This daring work of fiction is a departure from the standard narrative of political unrest on the island. Ulysse's characters are everyday people whose hopes for distant success are constantly challenged--but never totally swayed--by the hard realities accompanying the immigrant's journey.Zagreb Noir (Akashic Noir)
Par Darko Macan, Josip Novakovich, Ivan Vidić, Ružica Gašperov, Mima Simić, Robert Perisic, Pero Kvesić, Nada Gašić, Zoran Pilić, Andrea Žigić-Dolenec, Darko Milošić, Nora Verde, Ivan Sršen, Neven Ušumović. 2014
"A must-read book by Croatian authors available in English. A collection of crime stories set across Zagreb, each one by…
a different Croatian writer."--Time Out (Croatia)"Zagreb, Croatia--its culture and its touchstones--will be terra incognita for many U.S. readers...Notable is Nora Verde's 'She-Warrior,' in which a young woman's carefully planned anarchist activities are smacked down by a triple helping of reality."--Publishers Weekly"The stories shed light on a sickness that stirs within society's boundaries. Readers will easily glean that this sickness is not exclusive to Zagreb. Sršen reveals the ugly truth about human nature that burrows under the surface in war-torn countries."--Examiner.com"Zagreb's noirish underbelly comes from a new nation familiar with both war and war crimes. Mr. Sršen's handpicked selections are anything but ordinary."--New York Journal of Books"An inherently fascinating and entertaining read from beginning to end."--Midwest Book Review"These [stories]...do have the flavor of what the country and its people are like."--Journey of a BooksellerAkashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.Featuring brand-new stories translated from Croatian by: Ivan Vidic, Josip Novakovich, Andrea Žigic-Dolenec, Robert Perišic, Mima Simic, Pero Kavesic, Nada Gašic, Zoran Pilic, Ružica Gašperov, Darko Milošic, Nora Verde, Ivan Sršen, Neven Ušumovic, and Darko Macan.Eastern European history is filled with noir-ish and harrowing tales, and Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, certainly has its fill. Editor Sršen has curated a diverse, powerful, and dramatic group of stories that offer tremendous insight into the perspectives of contemporary Croatians.Bivouac
Par Kwame Dawes. 2019
The death of a Jamaican man's father raises questions about the father's political endeavors, and about the plight of 1980s…
Jamaica. Kwame Dawes has been named a 2019 Windham-Campbell Prize Recipient in poetry "Few other novels encapsEast Jerusalem Noir
Par Rawya Jarjoura Burbara. 2023
In East Jerusalem Noir—published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir—the Akashic Noir Series turns its gaze to one of the world’s most fascinating…
locales, in this volume from the perspective of Palestinian writers; translated from Arabic. "East Jerusalem's thorny politics run through each of the thirteen stories comprising this sturdy entry in Akashic's long-running regional noir series, which is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir . . . Written with passion and empathy, the volume's strength lies in giving voice to the varied experiences of Palestinians who live, work, and write in one of the world's most complicated cities. It's a fascinating glimpse of life under occupation." —Publishers Weekly FROM THE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: "When you move through the streets of Jerusalem today, you will notice that history surrounds you from all sides. You hear Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin from the Dome of the Rock; you hear the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Christians pray, accompanied by the voices of the Jewish worshippers at the Wailing Wall. You are filled with awe and stand helpless to do anything except feel both joy and sadness at the same time. Your feelings mingle, your thoughts get confused, and you peer at the sky waiting for God's mercy and relief . . . The stories here are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers' content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future . . . And now we put the black box in your hands! Kindly open it to reveal the secrets of Jerusalem and its people, who wake up to the sound of a forgotten rooster from a previous era to declare the beginning of a new dawn, so that life will not stop recording its new diary entries." Featuring brand-new stories by: Nuzha Abu Ghosh, Ibrahim Jouhar, Osama Alaysa, Rahaf al-Sa'ad, Ziad Khadash, Mahmoud Shukair, Iyad Shamasnah, Rafiqa Othman, Dima al-Samman, Majid Abu Ghosh, Muhammad Shuraim, Jameel al-Salhout, and Nuzha al-Ramlawi. Translated from Arabic by: Roger Allen, Marilyn Booth, Catherine Cobham, Raphael Cormack, Sawad Hussain, Dr. Nazih Kassis, Nancy Roberts, and Max Weiss. East Jerusalem Noir is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, edited by Maayan Eitan. The companion volume explores the city with brand-new stories by Israeli authors.West Jerusalem Noir (Akashic Noir Series)
Par Maayan Eitan. 2023
In West Jerusalem Noir—published simultaneously with East Jerusalem Noir—the Akashic Noir Series visits one of the world's most complex locales,…
in this volume from the perspective of Israeli writersFrom the editor's introduction:"This anthology offers a fictional tour of Jerusalem, this time through the lens of the noir genre. Not all the stories in this book include a detective, a femme fatale, or a dead body. In fact, a significant number of the writers chose to avoid these genre staples. And yet the stories—each taking place in a different part of the city—sketch a dark imagined map of the city, where religious mystery dwells alongside the quotidian, claustrophobic hubbub of the Central Bus Station . . . The stories included in West Jerusalem Noir could not have taken place anywhere else. They reflect national, religious, and socioeconomic tensions inherent to the city and sketch an image of a concrete, contemporary, and complicated Jerusalem." Featuring brand-new stories by: Yiftach Ashkenazi, Ilana Bernstein, Emanuel Yitzhak Levi and Guli Dolev-Hashiloni, Liat Elkayam, Asaf Schurr, Yardenne Greenspan, Ilai Rowner, Zohar Elmakias, Ilan Rubin Fields, Nano Shabtai, Yaara Shehori, Tafat Hacohen-Bick, Nadav Lapid, Tehila Hakimi, and Oded Wolkstein. West Jerusalem Noir is being published simultaneously with East Jerusalem Noir, edited by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara. The companion volume explores the city with brand-new stories by Palestinian authors.Hadriana in All My Dreams
Par René Depestre. 2017
Included in "10 Best New Books to Read This May," Chicago Review of Books."Originally published in 1988 and written by…
one of Haiti’s seminal authors, still with us at age 90, this vibrant, erotically charged work shows how humans counter fear—particularly the fear of death—in varied more or less magical ways, even as it paints a fresh and enticing picture of Haitian culture. . .Luscious and affirmative reading, this is work both the serious-minded and the lighthearted can enjoy."—Library Journal, Starred review"Depestre presents a rich and nuanced exploration of large and significant themes expertly couched in one fantastical, expertly translated tale."—Booklist, Starred review"One-of-a-kind...[A] ribald, free-wheeling magical-realist novel, first published in 1988 and newly, engagingly translated by Glover. . .An icon of Haitian literature serves up a hotblooded, rib-ticking, warmhearted mélange of ghost story, cultural inquiry, folk art, and véritable l'amour."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred review"The sights and sounds of Haiti’s vibrant carnival season invigorate this tale of vodou and Haitian culture. . .The truth of Hadriana’s fate proves more poignant than horrifying, but in Depestre’s hands, this incident is a touchstone of a culture in which distinctions between the empirical and spiritual are obscured, and whose traditional celebrations and beliefs introduce an element of the mythic into the everyday. Eroticism and humor course through his narrative. Depestre’s intimacy with his subject matter and his familiarity with the people he portrays—the story is set in his hometown, at the time when he was 12 years old—give readers an insider’s look at Jacmelian culture."—Publishers Weekly"For the first time, this slim and beguiling novel about the mysterious death and possible zombification of a young woman on her wedding day has been translated into English...With its lyrical commentary on the origins of myth, this mesmeric and frequently erotic work transcends its focus on a young woman to address the complexities of race, class and religion."—Shelf Awareness for Readers, Starred ReviewWith a foreword by Edwidge Danticat. Translated from the French by Kaiama L. Glover.Hadriana in All My Dreams, winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudot, takes place primarily during Carnival in 1938 in the Haitian village of Jacmel. A beautiful young French woman, Hadriana, is about to marry a Haitian boy from a prominent family. But on the morning of the wedding, Hadriana drinks a mysterious potion and collapses at the altar. Transformed into a zombie, her wedding becomes her funeral. She is buried by the town, revived by an evil sorcerer, and then disappears into popular legend.Set against a backdrop of magic and eroticism, and recounted with delirious humor, the novel raises universal questions about race and sexuality. The reader comes away enchanted by the marvelous reality of Haiti's Vodou culture and convinced of Depestre's lusty claim that all beings—even the undead ones—have a right to happiness and true love.From the introduction by Edwidge Danticat:Despestre offers us the kind of tale we rarely get in the hundreds of zombie stories featuring Haitians, stories set both inside and outside of Haiti. In Hadriana in All My Dreams we get both langaj—the secret language of Haitian Vodou—as well as the type of descriptive, elegiac, erotic, and satirical language, and the artistic license needed to create this most nuanced and powerful novel.Kaiama L. Glover is an associate professor of French and Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon, coeditor of Yale French Studies' Revisiting Marie Vieux-Chauvet: Paradoxes of Postcolonial Feminine (issue no. 128), and translator of Frenkétienne's Ready to Burst and Marie Vieux-Chauvet's Dance on the Volcano. She has received awards from the National EndowmThe Long Song: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
Par Andrea Levy. 2010
Now a major BBC TV drama, starring Tamara Lawrance, Lenny Henry and Hayley Atwell.A Sunday Times bestseller (2011), shortlisted for…
the Man Booker Prize, The Long Song by Andrea Levy is a hauntingly beautiful, heartbreaking and unputdownable novel of the last days of slavery in Jamaica, for those who loved Homegoing, The Underground Railroad, or the film 12 Years a Slave.'A marvel of luminous storytelling' Financial TimesYou do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.The thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe Chocolate Maker's Wife: A Novel
Par Karen Brooks. 2019
Australian bestselling novelist Karen Brooks rewrites women back into history with this breathtaking novel set in 17th century London—a lush,…
fascinating story of the beautiful woman who is drawn into a world of riches, power, intrigue…and chocolate.Damnation has never been so sweet...Rosamund Tomkins, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, spends most of her young life in drudgery at a country inn. To her, the Restoration under Charles II, is but a distant threat as she works under the watchful eye of her brutal, abusive stepfather . . . until the day she is nearly run over by the coach of Sir Everard Blithman.Sir Everard, a canny merchant, offers Rosamund an “opportunity like no other,” allowing her to escape into a very different life, becoming the linchpin that will drive the success of his fledgling business: a luxurious London chocolate house where wealthy and well-connected men come to see and be seen, to gossip and plot, while indulging in the sweet and heady drink.Rosamund adapts and thrives in her new surroundings, quickly becoming the most talked-about woman in society, desired and respected in equal measure.But Sir Everard’s plans for Rosamund and the chocolate house involve family secrets that span the Atlantic Ocean, and which have already brought death and dishonor to the Blithman name. Rosamund knows nothing of the mortal peril that comes with her new title, nor of the forces spinning a web of conspiracy buried in the past, until she meets a man whose return tightens their grip upon her, threatening to destroy everything she loves and damn her to a dire fate.As she fights for her life and those she loves through the ravages of the Plague and London’s Great Fire, Rosamund’s breathtaking tale is one marked by cruelty and revenge; passion and redemption—and the sinfully sweet temptation of chocolate.