Best of
Historical-Fiction

1943

The Big Rock Candy Mountain


Wallace Stegner - 1943
    Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks out his fortune—in the hotel business, in new farmland, and, eventually, in illegal rum-running through the treacherous back roads of the American Northwest. Stegner portrays more than thirty years in the life of the Mason family in this masterful, harrowing saga of people trying to survive during the lean years of the early twentieth century.

The Journeyman


Elizabeth Yates - 1943
    Neighbors shake their heads over Jared Austin's odd ways. His father doesn't think he's good for anything much. Even his friend Jennet wonders what will become of him.But Jared isn't concerned; he has his own ideas about what is really important. One day a journeyman painter visits their quiet New Hampshire farm, and his unexpected offer sets Jared aglow with excitement. He starts off on an adventure that takes him miles from home and into experiences that bring him to manhood and deepen his faith. But before he leaves, Jared promises Jennet that someday he wwill come back for her.

The Ship


C.S. Forester - 1943
    Forester – creator of Horatio Hornblower – takes us aboard HMS Artemis as she steams into battle against overwhelming odds. We get inside the heads of Artemis’s men, from the Captain on his bridge down to the lowest engine room rating, as they struggle over one long and terrifying afternoon to do their duty. C.S. Forester brilliantly recounts life aboard a British warship during some of the darkest days of the Second World War: capturing the urgency of the blazing guns, the thunderous rupturing of deck plates, the screams of pain and the shouts of triumph.

The Golden Fleece


Norah Lofts - 1943
    Will Oakley, landlord and host, with his two daughters, beautiful Myrtle, and the repellent Harriet, waited to receive his guests. Along with the usual farmers, merchants and the "quality", there were others who fitted into none of these categories. Like the handsome foreigner with the scarred face, and the fat man who appeared to be gloating over some malicious secret of his own...

Celia's House


D.E. Stevenson - 1943
    Beginning in 1905 with ninety-year-old Celia Dunne, it delightfully portrays the bustling life of her heir and grand-nephew, Humphrey Dunne, and his family of five rambunctious children. It follows the family over forty years -- through their youthful antics, merry parties, heartbreaks and loves and marriages, as each in turn comes to maturity and an understanding of the enduring satisfaction Dunnian gives to their lives.

The Promise


Pearl S. Buck - 1943
    Buck, The Promise chronicles a band of Chinese soldiers who are sent to rescue a British-American platoon, pinned down in Burma, while the Japanese army attacks Burma Road during World War II. The dangers that await the brave soldiers are heightened, as they encounter unthankfulness and ingratitude from the foreign soldiers that they hadn't expected. Confronted with an impending attack from the Japanese, growing tension from the Anglo-American forces, the Chinese soldiers must make a difficult choice: abandon their posts or continue on with a suicidal mission.

The House Opposite


Barbara Noble - 1943
    To die together would be simple. It would not be so simple to be dug out still alive from the same collapsed building. Elizabeth Simpson is a secretary having an affair with her married boss. Her father is an air raid warden and her terrified mother takes her courage from concealed bottles of rum. Owen Cathcart, their neurotic teenage neighbour, slips out during night raids to watch the fireworks and collect souvenirs of shrapnel. And Bob Craven, a soldier Elizabeth uses as cover for her illicit romance, plans his taxi rides to see the most dramatic bomb damage.In this riveting drama of life during the Blitz, the extraordinary immediacy and vivid, intimate detail stem directly from the first-hand experiences of Barbara Noble, who lived and worked in London throughout the war. The result is a unique social document and an unforgettable reading experience.‘The most satisfying picture yet of what life was like in London during those hectic months.’ Times of India

Bayou Suzette


Lois Lenski - 1943
    The bayou country of Louisiana serves as a colorful backdrop for the girls' lively adventures which include surviving a major flood in the Louisiana bayou country.

Two Logs Crossing: John Haskell's Story


Walter D. Edmonds - 1943
    But it is more than that. Walter D. Edmonds tells how and why John Haskell grew up as he did."It is a very simple story and is concerned partly with what other people did for John, but mostly with what John did for himself. And it is also a true story, for, though John Haskell is an imaginary name, there was a boy named Thomas Fortain who learned about crossing his stream in just this way. As a matter of fact, every man who has ever made anything of his life has had to learn to use two logs where two logs are needed. There is no trick and easy way to dependence, either for a man or a country."To be able to do for oneself in one's own way was the dream which first brought some men to this land. There are a few people who confuse it with becoming rich, but money is not the American Dream and never has been. Money can be made of anything you choose, but a man's life is made of the courage, independence, decency and self-respect he learns to use. That was what the Judge, in his own peculiar way, taught John Haskell. And he also taught him that being independent does not mean looking out solely for one's own interest. A man can only be free if his neighbors are also."