Chris Adrian. Gob's Grief. 2000.

Eleven-year-old Tomo runs off to fight the Civil War and gets killed. His twin brother Gob grows up in a profound state of grief. As an adult studying to be a doctor, Gob hatches an idea to build a machine that might bring Tomo back to life.

Gillian Bradshaw. The Sand-Reckoner. 2000.

A moving, human account of the life of Archimedes, the great mathematician and engineer. An intriguing and entertaining novel of the boyish dreamer who possessed one of the ancient world's most brilliant minds.

Cecelia Holland. The Angel and the Sword. 2000.

Set in 9th century Paris, this novel centers on King Charles the Bald's fight to save the city from the Vikings. To his aid comes the young warrior Roderick the Beardless, who is in fact the Princess Ragny of Spain. A fast-paced tale filled with action and a Medieval feel.

Larry McMurtry. Boone's Lick. 2000.

This novel follows the fortunes of Mary Cecil and her 4 children as they travel from Boone's Lick, Missouri, to the Wyoming frontier to join her husband, Dick. Narrated by 15-year-old Shay, Boone's Lick abounds with the incidents, excitements and dangers of life on the plains.

Sandra Gulland. The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B . 1995.

The first of 3 books by the author about Josephine Bonaparte, this tells her story through her diary entries. As a young girl in Martinique, she visits the local voodoo priestess, who predicts that she will be unhappily married, widowed, & the queen. Full of those colorful details that make historical fiction more appealing than simple History.

Lauren Belfer. City of Light. 1999.

Set in 1901 in Buffalo, New York, against the backdrop of the Pan-American Exposition and the development of hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls, City of Light is narrated by the headmistress of a prestigious girls' school. A remarkable blend of murder mystery, love story, & political intrigue.

Edward Rutherfurd. The Forest. 2000.

Opening with the assassination of King William II in 1099, this book covers nearly a millennium's worth of history. It focuses on the New Forest, a region in southern England that has played a significant role in the country's history.

Howard Bahr. The Year of Jubilo. 2000.

A Civil War veteran returns to Mississippi to find his hometown embittered by defeat, his sweetheart ambivalent, and his own moral beliefs challenged when a cruel wartime crime comes to light.

Stephen Harrigan. The Gates of the Alamo. 2000.

This historically rich novel weaves the love story of a frontier widow and a botanist into a retelling of the siege & fall of the Alamo. Against a backdrop of crisis & bloodshed, the widow's son faces a harrowing coming of age.

Kathryn Harrison. The Binding Chair. 2000.

This story of a former prostitute who has survived both the ancient ritual of foot-binding and an abusive arranged marriage unfolds in exotic settings of late 19th century Shanghai, London, and Siberia.

Compiled by Karen F. Barron 3/01