Best New Historical Fiction - July 2024
The Trial of Mrs. Rhinelander by Denny S. Bryce
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Synopsis:
Inspired by a real-life scandal that was shocking even for the tumultuous Roaring Twenties, this captivating novel tells the story of a pioneering Black journalist, a secret interracial marriage among the New York elite, and the sensational divorce case that ignited an explosive battle over race and class--and brought together three very different women fighting for justice, legitimacy, and the futures they risked everything to shape.
New York, 1920s. Born to English immigrants who've built a comfortable life, idealistic Alice Jones longs for the kind of true love her mother and father have. She believes she's found it with Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander, the shy heir to his prominent white family's real estate fortune. Alice, too, is white, though she is vaguely aware of rumors that question her ancestry--gossip her parents dismiss. But when the lovers secretly wed, Kip's father threatens his inheritance unless he annuls the marriage.
Devastated but determined, Alice faces overwhelming odds legally and in the merciless court of public opinion. But there are two people who can either help her--or shatter her hopes for good: In the 1940s, her estranged niece, Roberta Brooks, must put aside her disdain for her infamous aunt to combat an unexpected new Rhinelander legal assault. And in the 1920s, reporter Marvel Cunningham lives to chronicle social change and the Harlem Renaissance's fiery creativity, but when Alice's story dominates the headlines, Marvel's job is to cover it.
At first, Marvel and Roberta, in different decades, see Alice's legal entanglements as tabloid sensations generated by a self-hating woman who failed to "pass." But the deeper they investigate, the more they will learn about the reasons behind Alice Jones's behavior and what the three women have in common. The Trial of Mrs. Rhinelander will bring to light stunning truths that will force these women to confront who they are and who they can be in a world that is all too quick to judge.
Why We Recommend It!
A riveting tale of ambition and identity, The Trial of Mrs. Rhinelander by Denny S. Bryce weaves together the lives of three indomitable women, set against the backdrop of a scandalous Roaring Twenties New York, capturing their unrelenting fight for justice in a world rife with racial and social upheaval.
When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward
Publisher: One More Chapter
Release Date: July 19, 2024
Synopsis:
A story of loss, hope and redemption against the most impossible odds. 1917. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s life as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. But trouble is looming and it won’t be long before the truth comes to light.
Having lost her beloved husband in the trenches and with no-one else to turn to, Charlotte Campbell now lives with his haughty relations who treat her like the help. It is baby Aileen, the joy and light of her life, who spurs her to dream of a better life.
When tragedy strikes in Halifax Harbour, nothing for these two women will ever be the same again. Their paths will cross in the most unexpected way, trailing both heartbreak and joy its wake…
Why We Recommend It!
A gripping story of courage and determination, When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward weaves the threads of two women's lives, unveiling a saga marked by sorrow, hope, and the relentless pursuit of dreams amidst the echoes of war that transformed their existence.
The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: July 9, 2024
Synopsis:
A stunning collection of interconnected stories set in New England, exploring how the past is often misunderstood and how history, family, heartache, and desire can echo over centuries
In twelve luminous stories set across three centuries, The History of Sound examines the unexpected ways the past returns to us and how love and loss are entwined and transformed over generations. In Ben Shattuck's ingenious collection, each story has a companion story, which contains a revelation about the previous, paired story. Mysteries and murders are revealed, history is refracted, and deep emotional connections are woven through characters and families.
The haunting title story recalls the journey of two men who meet around a piano in a smoky, dim bar, only to spend a summer walking the Maine woods collecting folk songs in the shadow of the First World War, forever marked by the odyssey. Decades later, in another story, a woman discovers the wax cylinders recorded that fateful summer while cleaning out her new house in Maine. Shattuck's inventive, exquisite stories transport readers from 1700s Nantucket to the contemporary woods of New Hampshire and beyond--into landscapes both enduring and unmistakably modern. Memories, artifacts, paintings, and journals resurface in surprising and poignant ways among evocative beaches, forests, and orchards, revealing the secrets, misunderstandings, and love that linger across centuries.
Written with breathtaking humanity and humor, The History of Sound is a love letter to New England, a radiant conversation between past and present, and a moving meditation on the abiding search for home.
Why We Recommend It!
A mesmerizing collection of stories, The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck masterfully weaves together stories of longing and discovery, painting a vivid saga that resonates through the echoes of history and the intimate chords of human connection, reshaping our understanding of memory and legacy.
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Publisher: DoubleDay Books
Release Date: July 9, 2024
Synopsis:
October 1891. A hard winter approaches across the Rocky Mountains. The city of Butte, Montana is rich on copper mines and rampant with vice and debauchery among a hard-living crowd of immigrant Irish workers. Here we find Tom Rourke, a young poet and ballad-maker of the town, but also a doper, a drinker, and a fearsome degenerate. Just as he feels his life is heading nowhere fast, Polly Gillespie arrives in town as the new bride of the extremely devout mine captain Long Anthony Harrington. A thunderbolt love affair takes spark between Tom and Polly and they strike out west on a stolen horse, moving through the badlands of Montana and Idaho, and briefly an idyll of wild romance perfects itself. But a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen are soon in hot pursuit and closing in fast. With everything to lose and the safety and anonymity of San Francisco still a distant speck on their horizon, the choices they make will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
In this love story for the ages—lyrical, profane and propulsive—Kevin Barry has once again demonstrated himself to be a master stylist, an unrivalled humourist, and a true poet of the human heart.
Why We Recommend It!
A story of passion and survival, The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry masterfully captures the raw spirit of young outlaws in love, charting a course through the rugged terrain of human emotion and the wilds of 1890s Montana, crafting a narrative that intertwines the fierce beauty of a bygone era with timeless tales of devotion and defiance.
A Kingdom to Claim by Sian Ann Bessey
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: July 2, 2024
Synopsis:
Aisley lost everything in a Viking attack. Now, working alongside the one man she trusts, she is ready to fight for her people—and for love.
Wessex, AD 878
Aisley’s young life was changed forever when her father accompanied King Alfred into battle and lost his life in a deadly skirmish with the Vikings. Now, almost seven years later, the Vikings are once again rallying on Wessex’s borders, and Aisley fears that her older brother may have treacherous plans to betray the king by aligning himself with the invading Norsemen. But when Aisley encounters a handsome nobleman in the market, she feels the first stirrings of hope. Though they met only once when Aisley was little more than a child, she recognizes him immediately as one of King Alfred’s most trusted men.
It has been years since Brecc has seen Aisley, but when he spots her in the marketplace, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the copper-haired young lady with a gift for healing. Before his fledgling feelings for her can develop into something more, however, a Viking attack tears them apart. King Alfred is forced into hiding, and in a matter of days, the Saxon nation is brought to its knees. Unwilling to forsake their people, the king and his men embark on secret raids of Viking encampments. But when Aisley joins the fight, Brecc must reconcile his steadfast loyalty to King Alfred with his growing love for the king’s newest warrior.
Why We Recommend It!
A stirring tale of courage and devotion, A Kingdom to Claim by Sian Ann Bessey artfully captures the essence of a young woman's battle for her homeland and heart, painting a vivid picture of loyalty and romance amidst the tumultuous backdrop of Viking-era Wessex.
