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The Mountain of Light

October 11, 2013

mountain of light

There are many symbols of wealth and luxury but one of the oldest and most prized is the diamond and nowhere was it so plentiful and extravagantly displayed as in India during the reign of the maharajahs. The Mountain of Light: A Novel is Indu Sundaresan’s sparkling new novel about Kohinoor, the 186 carat diamond fought over, stolen, and prized above all else for generations in ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, historical fiction, India, jewelry, royalty, Simon & Schuster

The Signature of All Things

October 2, 2013

signature of all things

Elizabeth Gilbert is back after her foray into relationships in Eat Pray Love and Committed, with a new work of fiction called The Signature of All Things. The novel is a family saga that spans generations and continents. Gilbert begins with Henry Whittaker, Alma’s father and a man who fell into his field through stealing plant specimens from one of England’s greatest ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 18th century, 19th century, book clubs, family saga, historical fiction, Riverhead Books

Mrs. Poe

September 23, 2013

Mrs Poe

  Mrs. Poe is author Lynn Cullen’s fictional look at the relationship between American poet Frances Osgood and Edgar Allen Poe, told from Osgood’s point of view. The novel opens in Manhattan with Osgood trying to sell some of her poetry, as her portrait painter husband has abandoned her and their two daughters for a wealthy divorcée. Despite her husband’s disappearance (which ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, book clubs, Gallery, historical fiction, New York City, writers' lives

Parlor Games

January 23, 2013

Parlor Games

You might know her as May, Pauline, Baroness, or Florence but this is one woman who gets around, much to the reader’s delight, in Maryka Biaggio’s debut novel, Parlor Games. Born May Dugas in Menominee, Michigan, this is a young lady who determined early on that the world was what she wanted and what she would have, despite the fact that her family is poor and it’s the 1890s ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, Anchor Books, book clubs, debut, historical fiction

The Virgin Cure

December 21, 2012

virgin

The late 1800s have long provided fodder for historical fiction authors given that the time was rife with conflicting social mores, a wide economic divide, and the yet undefined role of women beyond marriage. In the style of Slammerkin and The Crimson Petal and the White, Ami McKay explores the dismal world and limited life choices of a young girl named Moth in her newest book ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, historical fiction, Knopf, New York City

White Truffles in Winter

November 7, 2012

White Truffles in Winter

Nothing speaks more accurately to the complexity of life than food.  Whether you seldom eat in a restaurant or consider yourself to be a foodie, your life has been impacted by Auguste Escoffier, one of the most renowned chefs in the culinary world. His reign occurred during the mid-to-late 1800s when he oversaw the creation and management of the fine dining restaurants and ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, book clubs, food, France, historical fiction, Sarah Bernhardt, W.W. Norton

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