I've discovered I can read while riding the recumbent bike at the gym. Which is great for two reasons: 1) the time goes by so much faster! 2) I'm flying through the books!
Anyway, I recently read Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser. I've read four other novels written by her and enjoyed them....but I didn't realize she wrote historical books based on real people. I really enjoyed this book focusing on Martha Washington. I believe the author did a great job of sticking to the facts yet presenting a great story. I'm no expert on our first First Lady but I know enough to see that the story is mostly true. It's told from Martha's point of view and I think we forget just how much heartbreak she had suffered before she met George---losing her husband and two children. Worth reading if you enjoy historical novels!
A word about Nancy Moser's other books....she has a great way of writing books with plots that are very different from the norm. I always find them to be great reads! I've enjoyed The Time Lottery and its sequel, Crossroads, and John 3:16.
Showing posts with label historical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical. Show all posts
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
To Whisper Her Name
I just finished this great book by Tamera Alexander. Set just after the Civil War, the story takes place at Nashville's Belle Meade Plantation. Young, shamed widow Olivia Aberdeen arrives at the plantation to stay with her mother's dear friend and her family. A young soldier, Ridley Cooper arrives at the same time to study under horse trainer Robert Green. You see in the prologue that Cooper and Green met in an unusual circumstance during the war. I would characterize this book as historical romantic fiction. While the romance is the main part of the story, there are several other sub plots involving horse training, the plantation owner's past life, war stories, and the former slaves. I am not usually one to read romance novels but I picked this one up because it was Civil War era fiction, which I enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised that even though you can surely figure out where the romance is headed, the other parts of the story made it an excellent read.
Other Civil War era books I've enjoyed:
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin (set in Richmond)--there are two others in the series also
All Things New by Lynn Austin
A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner
The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (not Christian fiction, but a great read!)
Click on the Civil War tab at the bottom of the post and you can see some reviews of these books.
Other Civil War era books I've enjoyed:
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin (set in Richmond)--there are two others in the series also
All Things New by Lynn Austin
A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner
The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (not Christian fiction, but a great read!)
Click on the Civil War tab at the bottom of the post and you can see some reviews of these books.
Friday, November 16, 2012
All Things New by Lynn Austin
Lynn Austin is one of my all-time favorite Christian fiction (CF) authors. One of the first CF books I read in my adult life was her novel Hidden Places. Lynn writes contemporary as well as historical novels. She has one Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings. This is a five-book account of the kings of Israel from Hezekiah to Manasseh. Sounds boring....but she makes it come alive.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find out her new book, All Things New, was just released. This novel is set in the aftermath of the Civil War on a Virginia plantation (I love books set in or near my home!). The main character Josephine is torn between wanting the life she had before the war and trying to change everything she's known to make a better way. Josephine and her family lost their father and one brother in the way, and Josephine's mother, in particular, is deep in grief. Her mother wants desperately for things to be the way they were before. Josephine's surviving brother is full of hatred for the Yankees and the now-free slaves. Josephine is in favor of letting the former slaves work the land in return for food and shelter, but the rest of her family is against it. Josephine must try to convince her family this is what they must do to survive.
I thought the book gave a great picture of what life was like for Southern women after the Civil War. In many cases, they were the ones that had to rebuild their lives. The story is told through the eyes of three women---primarily Josephine, but also her mother and their former house slave, Lizzie.
Once again, Lynn Austin doesn't disappoint!
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find out her new book, All Things New, was just released. This novel is set in the aftermath of the Civil War on a Virginia plantation (I love books set in or near my home!). The main character Josephine is torn between wanting the life she had before the war and trying to change everything she's known to make a better way. Josephine and her family lost their father and one brother in the way, and Josephine's mother, in particular, is deep in grief. Her mother wants desperately for things to be the way they were before. Josephine's surviving brother is full of hatred for the Yankees and the now-free slaves. Josephine is in favor of letting the former slaves work the land in return for food and shelter, but the rest of her family is against it. Josephine must try to convince her family this is what they must do to survive.
I thought the book gave a great picture of what life was like for Southern women after the Civil War. In many cases, they were the ones that had to rebuild their lives. The story is told through the eyes of three women---primarily Josephine, but also her mother and their former house slave, Lizzie.
Once again, Lynn Austin doesn't disappoint!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Zion Covenant Series
The Zion Covenant Series by Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee) is a nine book saga of life for Jewish people in the time leading up to World War II and throughout the war.
The titles are:
Vienna Prelude
Prague Counterpoint
Munich Signature
Jerusalem Interlude
Danzig Passage
Warsaw Requiem
London Refrain
Paris Encore
Dunkirk Crescendo
In the first novel, the main character of the story is Elisa Lindheim, a German violinist living and working in Vienna. Elisa's father is of Jewish heritage but has become a Christian. When Elisa comes to Germany to visit she discovers that her father has been targeted by the Nazis. He has sent her mother and brothers away and plans to do the same with Elisa. As they try to leave Germany her father is arrested.
Because Elisa has Aryan features she is safe from persecution for the time being. She uses this to help her Jewish friends and becomes part of an underground plan to help Jewish children get to safety. The next few books highlight Elisa, her friends Leah and Shimon, her husband John Murphy, and others who are a part of the underground. Each book brings in new characters and they are included and featured as the series moves on.
This series does an exceptional job of painting the picture of the terror that followed the Jews and their helpers throughout Hitler's reign. It also gives an inside look of how he planned to slowly take over Europe. We read about the take over in Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, and others. There are triumphs and tragedies as some are saved and some are not.
I had some knowledge of life in Europe during this time but very little of what was happening in Jerusalem and how Hitler was working with the Islamic leaders to persecute Jews there as well. Parts of the series show the struggles there for both natives and those who have arrived hoping for refuge.
The first six books are the original series, and due to reader demand the authors re-worked some of their other novels with characters from these to complete 9 books. I enjoyed all nine; however, the last three were certainly my least favorite. They focused much less on the characters I had come to love in the first six.
One really unique thing about this series are the prologues. These are actually flash-forwards and focus on what happened to the instruments (Elisa and many of her friends are part of the Vienna Orchestra) as they outlive their former players. I love how music is a part of each novel.
The titles are:
Vienna Prelude
Prague Counterpoint
Munich Signature
Jerusalem Interlude
Danzig Passage
Warsaw Requiem
London Refrain
Paris Encore
Dunkirk Crescendo
In the first novel, the main character of the story is Elisa Lindheim, a German violinist living and working in Vienna. Elisa's father is of Jewish heritage but has become a Christian. When Elisa comes to Germany to visit she discovers that her father has been targeted by the Nazis. He has sent her mother and brothers away and plans to do the same with Elisa. As they try to leave Germany her father is arrested.
Because Elisa has Aryan features she is safe from persecution for the time being. She uses this to help her Jewish friends and becomes part of an underground plan to help Jewish children get to safety. The next few books highlight Elisa, her friends Leah and Shimon, her husband John Murphy, and others who are a part of the underground. Each book brings in new characters and they are included and featured as the series moves on.
This series does an exceptional job of painting the picture of the terror that followed the Jews and their helpers throughout Hitler's reign. It also gives an inside look of how he planned to slowly take over Europe. We read about the take over in Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, and others. There are triumphs and tragedies as some are saved and some are not.
I had some knowledge of life in Europe during this time but very little of what was happening in Jerusalem and how Hitler was working with the Islamic leaders to persecute Jews there as well. Parts of the series show the struggles there for both natives and those who have arrived hoping for refuge.
The first six books are the original series, and due to reader demand the authors re-worked some of their other novels with characters from these to complete 9 books. I enjoyed all nine; however, the last three were certainly my least favorite. They focused much less on the characters I had come to love in the first six.
One really unique thing about this series are the prologues. These are actually flash-forwards and focus on what happened to the instruments (Elisa and many of her friends are part of the Vienna Orchestra) as they outlive their former players. I love how music is a part of each novel.
Friday, November 9, 2012
A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner
I was shopping at an outlet mall and saw a large Books-a-Million store. Of course I had to check it out and was pleasantly surprised at the selection of Christian fiction they had in the store. I noticed on the front cover the image of a lady dressed in Civil War era clothing, and having just finished a wonderful novel set in this time period by Lynn Austin, I was still in that mindset. In reading the back cover it looked like this was a more modern story taking place in a house that had been around since before that war. I had never read this author before and was glad to find something new.
I was hooked from the first chapter. A young bride marrying a widower with two children moves into the house belonging to the deceased first wife's grandmother. The children had lived there all their lives and the couple thought it would be best for them to continue to live there. At the wedding reception held at the home, the young bride Marielle hears talk of ghosts, an ancestor who was a spy for the union (the setting is Fredericksburg, Virginia), soldiers buried in the cellar, and more. Over the course of the novel Marielle's curiosity about the house and her discoveries uncovers the secrets of the line of women who have lived there from the Civil War until the present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. For starters, I love historical fiction and its setting is not far from my own home. The author does a wonderful job of intertwining the past and the present, and the women characters in the book all must make similar sacrifices in the name of love. In the end you see a cycle of unhealthy choices get broken. The references to God are subtle but very evident. A good book to recommend to a friend that might shy away from Christian fiction, fearing it would be too preachy. This is just an intriguing story that shows how love and forgiveness can heal hearts.
I was hooked from the first chapter. A young bride marrying a widower with two children moves into the house belonging to the deceased first wife's grandmother. The children had lived there all their lives and the couple thought it would be best for them to continue to live there. At the wedding reception held at the home, the young bride Marielle hears talk of ghosts, an ancestor who was a spy for the union (the setting is Fredericksburg, Virginia), soldiers buried in the cellar, and more. Over the course of the novel Marielle's curiosity about the house and her discoveries uncovers the secrets of the line of women who have lived there from the Civil War until the present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. For starters, I love historical fiction and its setting is not far from my own home. The author does a wonderful job of intertwining the past and the present, and the women characters in the book all must make similar sacrifices in the name of love. In the end you see a cycle of unhealthy choices get broken. The references to God are subtle but very evident. A good book to recommend to a friend that might shy away from Christian fiction, fearing it would be too preachy. This is just an intriguing story that shows how love and forgiveness can heal hearts.
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