Best New Historical Fiction - April 2023
The Enemy of Love by Annabelle Thorpe
Publisher: Aria
Release Date: April 13, 2023 (Kindle)
Synopsis:
An atmospheric new novel from Annabelle Thorpe, set in wartime Italy and following the fortunes of an Italian family under Mussolini's rule. 1943, Wartime Italy Trattoria di Luca sits at the heart of the small Umbrian town of Amatino. For decades it has been run by the di Luca and Capaldi patriarchs and become a byword not only for fabulous food, but also wine from the Capaldi vineyard. But now the last of these great men is dead, Italy is consumed by war and everything must change. Sophie di Luca has always assumed her beloved father would leave the trattoria to her, a fine chef in her own right. But in Mussolini’s Italy a woman’s place is strictly in the home, and Sophie’s father has secretly arranged for Giorgio Capaldi to come back from Rome to take over Trattoria di Luca. Charismatic, forceful, grieving the loss of his wife and unborn baby in an Allied bombing raid, Giorgio is in no mood to compromise with Sophie. As conflict within the family rises, Mussolini falls and the Germans march in. Life is about to become very dangerous indeed.
Why We Recommend It!
An engaging story about human weakness and overcoming it, The Enemy of Love recounts a tale of women’s rights in a world falling backwards.
The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris
Publisher: Black & White Publishing
Release Date: April 13, 2023
Synopsis:
In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.
Then arrives a motley troupe of traveling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack. It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire.
Why We Recommend It!
A true story about the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain, this haunting book is full of interesting characters.
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Publisher: Double Day
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Synopsis:
Still reeling in the aftermath of the deadliest war the world had ever seen, the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit collectively lost its mind. Some historians believe the mysterious illness and violent hallucinations were caused by spoiled bread; others claim it was the result of covert government testing on the local population.
In that town lived a woman named Elodie. She was the baker’s wife: a plain, unremarkable person who yearned to transcend her dull existence. So when a charismatic new couple arrived in town, the forceful ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife Violet, Elodie was quickly drawn into their orbit. Thus began a dangerous game of cat and mouse – but who was the predator and on whom did they prey?
Why We Recommend It!
Hallucinatory, heated, and strange, Cursed Bread is a darkly fascinating true story that centers on the real unsolved mystery of the 1951 mass poisoning of a French village.
The Paris Maid by Ella Carey
Publisher: Bookouture
Release Date: April 6, 2023
Synopsis:
Louise Basset works as a housemaid at The Ritz Hotel, home to the most powerful Nazis in France. As she changes silk sheets and scrubs sumptuous marble bathtubs, she listens and watches, reporting all she can to the Resistance. The only secret she never tells is her own.
Everything changes for Louise on the day a young Allied pilot, hunted by the Nazis, is smuggled into the hotel. As he and Louise share a small carafe of red wine hidden amongst her cleaning bottles, she feels her heart begin to open. But if Louise trusts someone with the truth, what will happen?
Years later, her granddaughter Nicole looks up at the ornate façade of the infamous Paris hotel. She is reeling from her recent discovery: a black-and-white photograph of her grandmother as a young woman, head shaved, branded a traitor. Devastated by her new legacy and about to start a family of her own, Nicole searches for answers.
Why We Recommend It!
This suspenseful story of a young woman’s resistance in WWII, questioned by those in the modern day, grips you from the first page until the last!
The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
Publisher: Godine
Release Date: April 11, 2023
Synopsis:
By the time Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Italian palazzo-style home as a museum in 1903 to showcase her collection of old masters, antiques, and objects d’art, she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston’s polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself. Puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy bluebloods, she strived to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper-society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast off expectations.
Freed by travel, Isabella explores the world of art, ideas, and letters, meeting such kindred spirits as Henry James and Oscar Wilde. From London and Paris to Egypt and Asia, she develops a keen eye for paintings and objects, and meets feminists ready to transform nineteenth century thinking in the twentieth century. Isabella becomes an eccentric trailblazer, painted by John Singer Sargent in a portrait of daring décolletage, and fond of such stunts as walking a pair of lions in the Boston Public Garden.
Why We Recommend It!
This story of a daring visionary who created an inimitable legacy in American art shows all the untapped potential of women that lived at a time that had such restrictions, boundaries and how one overcame them.