Historical fiction is the genre for the fearless and passionate reader. The titles being published now are rich and varied, never more so than when the protagonist is a female. Whether reading from the perspective of a hopeful young girl on the Mayflower or her Native American counterpart resigned on the shore, tempestuous adventure awaits. Need a place to start?
A Stitch In Time By Ann Rinaldi (Scholastic Press,1995) ISBN: 0590460560A Stitch In Time covers a little over a year in the life of Hannah Clemsford, a young woman growing up in post-Revolutionary War Salem, Massachusetts. Her mother is dead and her father is cruel so much responsibility falls on Hannah and her brother, Lawrence.
Over the course of a year the Clemsford family's bonds are tested to the limit. Abby the second oldest girl wants to elope with a sea captain, Cabot, the youngest skips school to hover at the wharfs. Lawrence and the manipulative youngest daughter, Thankful, are headed West with their father. Hannah gets a marriage proposal from Richard Lander, an ambitious young ship master, who may or may not be involved in the salve trade.
When conscience and love, past and present collide can Hannah piece together her family, friends, and future? A quilt, each square representing a person they trust, is Hannah's way of trying. Both she and the reader will learn that trust starts first inside them in Ann Rinaldi's most tender work.
Salivating? Finish the series or try these other titles!
- Broken Days by Ann Rinaldi ISBN 978-0590460545
- The Blue Door by Ann Rinaldi ISBN 978-0590460521
- The Raging Quiet by Sheryl Jordan ISBN 978-0689828775
The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight by Gerald Morris( HMCo Children's Books, 2004)ISBN 0618378235
When a gentlewoman in penurious circumstances and her guardian, a Jewish cloth merchant are murdered their young daughter named Sarah wanders the countryside searching for the killer, a mysterious knight. Providence leads her on a different quest when she becomes the sole witness to a kidnapping of Queen Guinevere and Sir Kai.
Off to Camelot and beyond Sarah meets all the foes and friends of traditional tales in this vein, such as Gawain, the Duke of Avalon, the Lady of the Lake, and King Arthur himself making this book a nice introduction to the Round Table.
The majesty in this tale is the language. Every sentence is worthy of savoring. All of the characters even the most minor is refreshingly real yet fantastically compelling. The tongue-in-cheek humor commonly associated with Morris's writing style is clearly evident yet Sarah feels like a girl-next-door who just happens to live in a one brief shining moment called Camelot.
Teen girls will savor this novel and applaud Sarah who despite worrying how to curtsy with a sword is not afraid to swing it when the fight is fair.
Sound like your kind of book? Here's more!
- Song Of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell ISBN 978-0439918480
- Moon Riders by Teresa Tomlinson ISBN 978-0060847364
- The Outlaws of Sherwood Forest by Robin McKinley ISBN 978-0698119598
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier(Haper Collins, 1938) ISBN 0380778556
Don't wait until your assigned some dreary term paper to read this classic historical fiction thiller. Rebecca is an amazing suspense classic told by an shy unamed heroine serving as a companion to a wealthy American woman in post World War II Monte Carlo . She meets the noted Maxim DeWinter of the famed English estate, Manderly. Maxim, a recent widower, is brooding but kind and is running from the memory of his wife's, Rebecca, death. Known for her beauty, wit, vivacious personality, and amazing parties she is said to haunt both his mind and his heart.
Despite that, to the utter amazement of all, Maxim proposes marriage to the young companion and she is now the mistress of Manderly. Her best intentions at making a sucess of the union seem thwarted by the long shadow of Rebecca's legacy. As the new Mrs. DeWinter fights for her place and her very person the reader is enthralled and surprised at every page turn.
Long for 20th Century females who belong in the 21st?
- Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart 978-0380820764
- Mistress Of Mellyn by Victoria Holt 978-0449239247
- The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters978-0380731138
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