In 1852, when seventeen-year-old Katharine is sent to her family’s estate to prove that her uncle is insane, she finds he is an inventor whose work creating ingenious clockwork figures supports hundreds of families, but strange occurences soon have her doubting her own sanity.
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction genre
Farm Boy
The heartwarming sequel to Michael Morpurgo’s bestselling War Horse! Farm Boy is the heartwarming sequel to War Horse, the beloved novel that has now been made into a play and a major motion picture. Albert’s son is all grown up, an old man now. But he has a shameful secret he’s kept to himself his whole life. As he comes to terms with the truth, he tells stories of the farm of his childhood–his war hero dad, skipping school to help with the harvest, and of course the wonderful horses, Joey and Zoey. The charming book speaks to the bond between generations, and captures the spirit of rural life and the love of horses.
The Unfortunate Son
Luc, a youth born with one ear and raised by a drunken father in fifteenth-century France, finds a better home with fisherman Pons, his sister Mattie, and their ward Beatrice, the daughter of a disgraced knight, and even after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in Africa, he remains remarkably fortunate.
Baby’s in Black
Baby’s In Black is based on a true story. Meet the Beatles… during their stint in Hamburg right at the beginning of the band’s career. This gorgeous, accessible book is an intimate peek into the early years of the world’s greatest rock band. The story follows a small group of German artists, led by photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who fall in love with the Beatles’ music and soon become good friends with the original five band members. The heart of Baby’s In Black is a love story. The “fifth Beatle,” Stuart Sutcliffe, fell in love with the beautiful Astrid Kirchherr when she recruited the Beatles for a sensational (and famous) photography session. When the band returned to the UK, Sutcliffe quit, became engaged to Kirchherr, and stayed in Hamburg to study painting at a prestigious art school. His meteoric career as a modern artist was cut short when he died unexpectedly a year later. The book ends as it begins, with Astrid, alone and adrift; but with a note of hope: her life is incomparably richer and more directed thanks to her friendship with the Beatles and her love affair with Sutcliffe.
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars
Jepp, a teenage dwarf living in 16th century Europe, leaves home to seek his destiny.
Anahita’s Woven Riddle
In Iran, more than 100 years ago, a young girl with three suitors gets permission from her father and a holy man to weave into her wedding rug a riddle to be solved by her future husband, which will ensure that he has wit to match hers.
Night Letter
Anahita, a nomadic weaver living in early twentieth-century Iran, is kidnapped on the eve of her wedding and thrown into a world of slavery and the mystical Sufi faith in this fairytale-tinged story of a damsel in distress determined to save herself.
Marathon
In graphic novel form, tells the story of Eucles, the Athenian messenger who, in 490 B.C., ran twenty-seven miles from Sparta to Athens, preventing the fall of Greece to the Persian Empire.
The Horse Road
In ancient central Asia, thirteen-year-old Kallisto, a superb equestrian, and her friend must warn their families and protect the Ferghana horses from invading Chinese armies.
My Own Revolution
Fourteen-year-old Patrik rebels against the communist regime in small ways whenever he gets the chance: spray-painting slogans, listening to contraband Beatles records, even urinating on a statue of Lenin under cover of night. But anti-Party sentiment is risky, and when party interference cuts a little too close to home, Patrik and his family find themselves faced with a decision — and a grave secret — that will change everything. As the moments tick toward too late, Patrik takes his family’s fate in hand, risking everything for a chance at freedom. Examining the psychological toll of living under an authoritarian regime, Carolyn Marsden allows readers to experience both Patrik’s persistent worry and his hope for better things.