Best of
Historical-Fiction

1985

Lonesome Dove


Larry McMurtry - 1985
    Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.

Here Be Dragons


Sharon Kay Penman - 1985
    Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales--and Llewelyn--Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.A sweeping novel of power and passion, loyalty and lives, this is the book that began the trilogy that includes FALLS THE SHADOW and THE RECKONING.

The Bruce Trilogy: The Steps to the Empty Throne / The Path of the Hero King / The Price of the King's Peace


Nigel Tranter - 1985
    Master storyteller Nigel Tranter tells the tale of the legendary warrior, and future King of Scots. Tutored and encouraged by William Wallace, Robert the Bruce determined to continue the fight for an independent Scotland, sustained by a passionate love for his land. This edition collects together Steps to the Empty Throne, Price of the King's Peaceand Path of the Hero King , from the master of Scottish historical fiction. Praise for Nigel Tranter:'One of Scotland's most prolific and respected writers' Times'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday

At the Going Down of the Sun


Elizabeth Darrell - 1985
    The Sheridan brothers pursue the pastimes of the rich and talented in the idyllic village of Tarrant Royal, unaware of the coming war that will test their courage and family loyalty to the limit. Roland, an aspiring surgeon, believes his duty lies in remaining as squire of his Dorset village. But charges of cowardice force him into a conflict his conscience cannot condone. Rex, a womanizer and daredevil aviator, dons the RFC uniform. As time passes and he becomes an ace over the skies of France he knows that one day soon his luck must run out. Chris, a brilliant scholar about to enter university, is driven to enlist by a scandal which shatters his golden future. Hopelessly unfitted for battle, he faces the carnage of Gallipoli not caring whether he lives or dies. In Elizabeth Darrell's richly detailed, mesmeric novel the Sheridans live, love and fight for survival like the sons of all families caught up in a savage war which changed the old ways forever. ‘Moving romance’ - Yorkshire Evening Post ‘A wonderful story, compellingly told…the authenticity - both historical and emotional - really shines through’ - Sarah Harrison Elizabeth Darrell served as an officer in the WRAC. She is the author of seven acclaimed novels, including ‘Concerto’, ‘And in the Morning’ and ‘We Will Remember’. Under the pen-name Emma Drummond she has written eleven historical novels. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Rose Blanche


Roberto Innocenti - 1985
    Then, one day, she follows a truck into the woods and discovers a terrible secret.

Walk in My Soul


Lucia St. Clair Robson - 1985
    She grew up learning the magic, spells, and nature religion of her people. Before Sam Houston became the father of Texas, he was a young man who had run away from his home in Tennessee to live among the Cherokee. He came to love Tiana. As the Cherokee would say, she walked in his soul. But Sam was a white man, and Tiana, a Cherokee. And the dreams each had for their land and their people were far apart . . .

Texas


James A. Michener - 1985
    Michener’s monumental saga chronicles the epic history of Texas, from its Spanish roots in the age of the conquistadors to its current reputation as one of America’s most affluent, diverse, and provocative states. Among his finely drawn cast of characters, emotional and political alliances are made and broken, as the loyalties established over the course of each turbulent age inevitably collapse under the weight of wealth and industry. With Michener as our guide, Texas is a tale of patriotism and statesmanship, growth and development, violence and betrayal—a stunning achievement by a literary master.  Praise for Texas   “Fascinating.”—Time   “A book about oil and water, rangers and outlaws, frontier and settlement, money and power . . . [James A. Michener] manages to make history vivid.”—The Boston Globe   “A sweeping panorama . . . [Michener] grapples earnestly with the Texas character in a way that Texas’s own writers often don’t.”—The Washington Post Book World  “Vast, sprawling, and eclectic in population and geography, the state has just the sort of larger-than-life history that lends itself to Mr. Michener’s taste for multigenerational epics.”—The New York Times

A Splendid Defiance


Stella Riley - 1985
    Famous for his romantic conquests, Justin had never before let a woman touch his heart. But Abby was no ordinary woman. She was beautiful and she was brave. She was also young and terrfied of her brother, a religious fanatic and self-sworn enemy of all Royalists.When the rebel army unleashed its might on the castle, Justin fought tirelessly to break the siege. But even his closest friends did not know what tormented him. And Abby, as she sat with the rebel commanders at her brother's table, dreamed of a man she could not, must not love...

Flowers from Berlin


Noel Hynd - 1985
     Perhaps the greatest American spy novel! Ever! International Best Seller. Rights sold in UK and Japan. Spanish and French language editions coming in 2014. The classic American spy novel, from the author of, "False Flags: Betrayal in London," "The Sandler Inquiry: A Spy in New York" and "Payback in Panama." Noel Hynd is (a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist Love and betrayal, spies and patriots, murder and romance, Roosevelt versus Hitler on the eve of World War Two. "Winds of War" meets "The Eye of The Needle." This espionage thriller follows FBI agent William Cochrane's efforts to stop a Nazi spy from assassinating FDR. Toss in a love affair with a British Secret Service operative and you have the makings of a page-turner. LJ's reviewer found the book "complex in characterization, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" (LJ 3/15/85). "First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer "A Chiller!" - Los Angeles Times "A Super spy novel!" The Savannah News-Presse It is 1939. Roosevelt is winding down his second term in the White House. The Nazis have taken Austria, and Stalin’s Red Army is systematically eliminating the Kremlin’s enemies. Europe is going to hell in a handbasket. With isolationist sentiment running high in America, and the president’s popularity at an all-time low, Hitler seizes the moment and dispatches his secret weapon: An agent named 'Siegfried' who conceals himself behind the mask of middle-class America. A chameleon who can change identities and personalities at will. A cold-blooded killer who will win the war for Germany. A banker, linguist, and demolitions expert who has successfully infiltrated German intelligence, FBI Special Agent Thomas Cochrane is handpicked by Roosevelt for an impossible mission: To find Hitler’s spy before he carries out a plan that will remove the president from office at a critical moment in the century’s history. As Cochrane, with the help of British Intelligence agent Laura Worthington, circles closer to his elusive quarry, a spy with supporters in the highest levels of U.S. government readies the world stage for a final act of annihilation that will alter the tide of war--and the future of the free world--in unthinkable ways. Imagine a world where your most precious inalienable rights are denied. Where individual freedom is a thing of the past. Imagine World War II without FDR ... Hardcover Publication by Doubleday & Co., 735,000 first mass market paperback printing from Pinnacle Books. E-book editions 2010-2013.

The Rose Stone


Teresa Crane - 1985
    A diamond, gained through betrayal and blood, upon which the Rosenberg family's fortunes were founded and whose price is yet to be paid. Kiev, 1875: Josef Rosenberg narrowly escapes death from a Cossack raid, rescuing Tanya, the youngest daughter of his old friend Boris Anatov. Fleeing to a new life in England, his skill as a diamond cutter – and the notoriety of being the man who cut the famed Rose Stone – are the foundation of success and security. But even as his reputation for fine jewellery flourishes, and Josef’s new family grows large and wealthy, the thought of the Rose Stone – and of what had been done to acquire it – will cast a dark shadow of guilt and revenge, eclipsing generations to come. The Rose Stone is a dazzling saga of love, family and suspense by the best selling author, perfect for fans of Lisa Kleypas and Santa Montefiore.

A Dinner of Herbs


Catherine Cookson - 1985
    Catherine Cookson explores this theme in a major novel that will absorb and enthral her readers as irresistibly as any she has written.Roddy Greenbank was brought by his father to the remote Northumberland community of Langley in the autumn of 1807. Within hours of their arrival, however, the father meets a violent death and the boy is left with all memory gone of his past life.Adopted and raised by old Kate Makepeace, Roddy found his closest companions in Hal Roystan and Mary Ellen Lee. These three stand at the heart of a richly eventful narrative that spans the first half of the nineteenth century, their lives lastingly intertwined by the inexorable demands of a strange and somewhat cruel destiny.

The Mammoth Hunters, Part 1 of 2


Jean M. Auel - 1985
    With her is Jondalar, tall, handsome and yellow-haired, the man she nursed back to health and came to love. Together they meet the Manutoi -- the Mammoth Hunters -- people like Ayla. Among them is Ranec, an artistic, magnetic master carver of ivory. Ayla finds herself torn between Ranec and Jondalar, the latter a powerful lover but insecure and wildly jealous. It is not until the great mammoth hunt, when Ayla's life is threatened, that a fateful decision is made.

The Last Heroes


W.E.B. Griffin - 1985
    Answerable only to FDR, Wild Bill Donovan handpicks his young and daring members of the OSS, assembling them under a thin camouflage of diplomacy and then dispersing them throughout the world to conduct covert operations.And no operation is more critical than the one run by fighter ace Dick Canidy and his half-German wild-card friend, Eric Fulmar. Their mission: Secure the rare ore that will power a top-secret weapon coveted on both sides of the Atlantic, the atomic bomb...

Depths of Glory: A Biographical Novel of Camille Pissarro


Irving Stone - 1985
    It explores the artist's relationship with other great painters of the time, including Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh. By the author of "Lust for Life" and "The Agony and the Ecstasy".

The Volunteers


Douglas Reeman - 1985
    He also writes as his pen author Alexander Kent; author of the bestselling Bolitho adventures.They were the men and women of the Royal Navy's Special Operations units. Carrying out lightning raids on hostile coasts, they became a navy within a navy - each hand-picked for their individual skills, and all of them courageous. Against the mighty backdrop of World War II they performed their small but deadly operations - living often beyond hope, sometimes beyond mercy. This is the dramatic story of a handful of such people - The Volunteers.

This Shining Land


Rosalind Laker - 1985
    In one terrifying night, her gentle life is shattered and her innocence ends. Then she meets Steffen Larsen who ignites in her feelings as fierce as the war raging around them. Risking everything, Johanna joins Steffen in Norway's Resistance and enters a dangerous double life...

Stealing Heaven


Marion Meade - 1985
    A celebrated philosopher, he was considered a cleric and forbidden to wed. Nevertheless they married clandestinely and Heloise secretly bore him a child. Discovered, they were forcibly separated and Abelard viciously punished by castration. Both then devoted themselves to contemplative lives. He became a monk and established a religious order; she founded a great convent, The Paraclete.

Noah


Ellen Gunderson Traylor - 1985
    Only one man warned of the cataclysm to come. Noah as you never knew him! This may be the most unusual novel you will ever read! Hailed by critics for its daring theories of the pre-Flood world and the preacher of righteousness.

A Company of Swans


Eva Ibbotson - 1985
    Her stuffy father and her opressive aunt Louisa allow her only one outlet: ballet. When a Russian ballet master comes to class searching for dancers to fill the corps of his ballet company before their South American tour, Harriet's world changes. Defying her father's wishes and narrowly escaping the clutches of the man who wishes to marry her, Harriet sneaks off to join the ballet on their journey to the Amazon. There, in the wild, lush jungle, they perform Swan Lake in grand opera houses for the wealthy and culture-deprived rubber barons, and Harriet meets Rom Verney, the handsome and mysterious British exile who owns the most ornate opera house. Utterly enchanted by both the exotic surroundings and by Rom's affections, Harriet is swept away by her new life, completely unaware that her father and would-be fiancé have begun to track her down...

The Wine Widow (The Champagne Dynasty Family Saga Book 1)


Tessa Barclay - 1985
    A compelling tale of one woman’s triumphs and tragedies which you will not be able to put down. Young peasant girl Nicole Berthois works hard to support her family in a wine-making village in Champagne. Her life changes forever when she falls in love with handsome aristocrat Philippe de Tramont. The young lovers marry despite his mother’s objections, and Nicole’s strength and determination help her husband to follow his dreams. But then tragedy strikes; Philippe is killed and Nicole must struggle to raise their two small children as a young widow. She faces many challenges as she tries to win her mother-in-law’s approval, and build her husband’s legacy into a great champagne dynasty. But will illicit passions, war and a shocking family secret destroy all she has worked to achieve? ‘Tessa Barclay always spins a fine yarn. Her novels are gripping and entertaining.’ Wendy Craig ‘Filled with fascinating historical detail and teeming with human passions.’ Marie Joseph ‘A red hot contender for the Romantic Novelist of the Year Award.’ Daily Mirror From the publishers of Hardacre and Hardacre’s Luck. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries, Margaret Dickinson, Lyn Andrews and Helen Forrester. Tessa Barclay is the author of many much-loved family sagas and historical romance novels, including the Wine Widow trilogy, the four-part Craigallan series, and the Corvill Weaving saga – all coming soon in new paperback editions and as ebooks for the very first time. Tessa began her writing career after being educated at the Miss Jean Brodie school, and has since written over 100 books.

The Secret Generations


John Gardner - 1985
     The Railton family are intimately involved in the world of espionage, which will become so crucial to the conflict’s outcome. With the death of General Sir William Railton, the family patriarch and hero of Balaclava, the family is thrown into a world of violence and intrigue. Manipulated by the new head of the family, the ruthless arch-intriguer Giles Railton, each member of the dynasty comes to play their part in the ‘Great Game’ of Intelligence. Through the story of one family, whose lives become caught up in some of the greatest struggles of the twentieth century, John Gardner traces the birth, the successes and the failures of the organizations now known as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. From the battlefields of the Western Front to Russia on the eve of revolution, this epic work of fiction tells the story of the dramatic history of Britain’s intelligence and security services. ‘The Secret Generations’ is a towering saga of adventure, romance and intrigue by an author of international stature writing at his very best

Muckle Annie


Jan Webster - 1985
     After an afternoon ties her to her Highland love, Hector, Annie is desperate to finish her mission and rejoin him in the Cariboo. Through pitiful conditions along the way however, Annie is left to hand-rear a baby whose mother has died on board the ship... Determined to deliver the baby safely to his father, Annie continues her journey and ends up working for him, but it soon becomes clear that the father has fallen in love with Annie, urging her to stay. Dedicated to Hector, Annie fights the desire to stay in safety, and after a treacherous and dangerous journey, she is finally reunited with Hector, who soon strikes gold. Just as the two find a life of domestic harmony and contentment, Hector is taken by Indians, causing Annie’s heart to suffer a second blow... Through varying relationships with those she meets along the way, the novel follows Annie’s maturation into a wise adult in charge of her own fate. Jan Webster evokes emotion and empathy for the characters in this novel, whilst painting a vivid picture of the harsh but colourful lives of the Cariboo pioneers. A glimpse into the world post the Civil War. JAN WEBSTER was bom in 1924 in Blantyre, in the heart of the Lanarkshire coalfields. She was educated at St John’s Grammar School, Hamilton, and Hamilton Academy and sold her first short story when she was just seventeen.

An Excess of Love


Cathy Cash Spellman - 1985
    Elizabeth and Constance FitzGibbon, daughters of an Irish Protestant lord, are sheltered by great wealth and a loving family. But when headstrong Con turns her back on her past to marry an aspiring poet named Tierney O'Connor, who is fiercely devoted to the Irish cause, his fiery dream of revolution propels her into the firestorm of revolution. And when Beth FitzGibbon's own marriage to aristocratic Edmond Manningham proves cruelly disappointing, she, too, joins the heart of Ireland's bitter...

Inside, Outside


Herman Wouk - 1985
    Reprint. NYT.

The Runaway


Patricia St. John - 1985
    Evil hangs over their house like a cloud. And it all seems to come from his sister Illyrica, who is possessed by a demon. Hearing about a prophet from Nazareth who has healed the sick and even raised the dead, Philo wonders if He can save his sister. But the mere mention of the prophet's name sends Illyrica into fits of rage and despair. Even if the prophet really is as powerful as people say He is, how can Philo and his little sister, Ione, take Illyrica to Him to be healed? Hopeless, Philo runs away from home. But everywhere he goes he hears more about the Jewish prophet and His miracles. Who is He? How strong is His power? Most of all, would the Jewish prophet help Philo, a Gentile? This story of revenge and forgiveness, sickness and healing, and evil and grace traces the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth -- to the places He walked and the people He touched.

Julie


Catherine Marshall - 1985
    Trying to escape the Great Depression, Julie’s father buys The Alderton Sentinel, a small-town newspaper in flood-prone Alderton, Pennsylvania, and moves his family there. As flash floods ominously increase, Julie’s investigative reporting uncovers secrets that could endanger the entire community.Julie, the newspaper, and her family are thrown into a perilous standoff with the owners of the steel mills as they investigate the conditions of the steelworkers. Battle lines are drawn between the steel mill owners and their immigrant laborers. As The Sentinel and Julie take on a more aggressive role in reforming these conditions in their community, seething tensions come to a head.When a devastating tragedy follows a shocking revelation, Julie’s courage and strength are tested. Will truth and justice win, or will Julie lose everything she holds dear?

Love for a Soldier


Mary Jane Staples - 1985
    On her way, she witnesses a dramatic battle in the skies that leaves an English pilot without a plane and under the misapprehension that Sophia is on his side.She has no choice but to agree to assist him in his attempt to avoid capture, and he joins her in the family car she has stolen, trailed by both the German Army and a staff officer under strict instructions from Sophia’s father to bring her home.With their pursuers hot on their heels, how will Sophia explain her behaviour, protecting a man she is supposed to hate? And after sharing so many adventures, will she be able to turn the flying officer in when the time comes?

The Emancipist


Veronica Geoghegan Sweeney - 1985
    A gripping story.MELBOURNE AGE: A tale of triumph against all oddsAustralia had to find a new name for men such as Aidan O'Brien: he had become too wealthy and too powerful to be called an ex-convict. This Irish-Australian classic has been published in six international editions and numerous reprints since it was first published by Pan McMillan in 1985. Following Aidan O'Brien from the age of five in County Clare in 1829, to the age of fifty-six in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales in 1879, The Emancipist covers fifty years of some of the most turbulent times in the history of Ireland and Australia. This Kindle edition is the first to contain material left out of the original publication, and reintroduces beloved characters to new generations of readers interested in Irish and Australian history and incidents that helped shape both nations.

Mountain Path


Harriette Simpson Arnow - 1985
    Far from a quaint portrait of rural life, Arnow’s novel documents hardships, poverty, illiteracy, and struggles. She also recognizes a fragile cultural richness, one characterized by “those who like open fires, hounds, children, human talk and song instead of TV and radio, the wisdom of the old who had seen all of life from birth to death,” and which has since been eroded by the advent of highways and industry. In Mountain Path, Arnow exquisitely captures the voices, faces, and ways of a people she cared for deeply, and who evoked in her a deep respect and admiration.

The Woodsman


Don Wright - 1985
    Caught behind enemy lines during the French and Indian War, Morgan Patterson must escort three women through the wilderness to safety at Fort Cumberland.

Leah's Children


Gloria Goldreich - 1985
    From the courageous struggle of the Hungarian revolution, to the dramatic strife of the civil rights movement in Mississippi…from Israel’s heroic fight for freedom, to the eve of the Six-Day War…Leah’s children confronted their own convictions and desires in an ever-changing world fraught with danger, idealism, and betrayal. Their uncompromising search for love and fulfillment carried them into dangerous emotional territory—where only the strength, courage, and imagination inherited from their mother could lead them to their own triumphant destinies.

The Heather Hills of Stonewycke


Michael R. Phillips - 1985
    But on the boundary between childhood and womanhood, Maggie discovers it is not her father who stands in the way of her happiness -- it is her own tightly held bitterness. Drawn to a man quietly struggling to overcome his past, Maggie must learn to let go of hatred and embrace divine love and forgiveness. In The Heather Hills of Stonewycke two best-selling authors begin a glorious series about hearts and minds being opened to God. Davina Porter’s wonderful narration captures all the sweep and grandeur of this panoramic saga.

Shanghai


Christopher New - 1985
    Shocked and sickened though he is, he must adapt himself to the brutal but fascinating city of extremes, and he spends the rest of his life there, through all the vicissitudes of revolution, riot, lawlessness and war. He makes, loses, and regains a fortune, dangerously crosses a powerful triad leader, enters politics, is imprisoned by the Japanese and survives to see the communists march in to mete out their own brand of cruel justice. An intricate weaving of fact with fiction, Shanghai is the story of a man at the centre of one of history's most dangerous and crucial epochs. It is also the love story of Denton and his exquisite mistress, Su-mei, who eventually becomes his wife.

Mayfair Rebel


Beverley Hughesdon - 1985
    But now she is set to begin a placement as a trainee nurse in St Katherine’s, the largest voluntary hospital in the East End of London. An abrupt – but not unwelcome – education awaits her.Daredevil May has long been bored and frustrated with the pointless rituals of her privileged life. Nursing, she believes, will provide an honourable escape, and freedom to meet people from all walks of life. It is at St Katherine’s in Poplar that she becomes bosom friends with a socialist station-master’s daughter, Ellen Carter and staunch suffragette Ada Farrar.Together May and Ellen explore their new surroundings in the East End, with cockney drama at full cry on every street. As May becomes closer to the people she helps and serves, she finds herself questioning the very social conventions she’s been taught to live by. Her nursing duties mean she has no time to mix in Society, and her family worry she will never meet someone suitable. In the rare moments when she has time to stop and think, May starts to suspect they might be right…A wonderful tale of love, death and self-discovery, Mayfair Rebel paints an unforgettable picture of life at the top and the bottom of the social ladder. Each world has its heartbreaks, its joys and its corruptions; but Nurse Winton is at home in either one and respected in both. But if she finds love, will she be forced to choose between them?

Love and Glory: A Novel of Women Soldiers in WWII


Jeane Westin - 1985
    March with them as their stories are played out against the progress of WWII in London, Italy, Paris and the Pacific! International Best Seller in hardback. Sold to CBS for mini-series.

The Morning Gift


Diana Norman - 1985
    In twelfth-century England, Matilda de Risle Dungesey, receives a gift from her new husband--a wartime hideaway in the Fens--from which she must fight for her land and her own life.

Struggle


Sara Zyskind - 1985
    A teenage boy struggles to stay alive in Nazi-occupied Poland and then as he travels aboard a cattle train bound for Auschwitz.

The Book of Abraham


Marek Halter - 1985
    The Book of Abraham opens on the backdrop of a burning Jerusalem in 70 AD as Abraham the Temple scribe flees the destruction of his home. Two thousand years and a hundred generations later, another Abraham perishes, immolated in the fires of the Warsaw Ghetto. But the chain that links these two Abrahams--a chain that stretches from Jerusalem to Warsaw through Rome, Alexandria, France and Greece--is one of family ties, and the unforgettable, powerful and poignant story that is told is that of one family--the author's own.

The Hidden Hand


J. Sidlow Baxter - 1985
    

The Snow Warrior


Don Dandrea - 1985
    Destiny decreed that one day he would lead the great Khan's army across China and Russia to the very shores of the Danube and the threshold of Christian Europe. A fast-paced adventure reminiscent of James Clavell.

Forget The Glory


Emma Drummond - 1985
    Meanwhile, 18-year-old Mary, widowed twice, is determined to improve her lot, and will eventually become lady's maid to Rowan's "beautiful shell" of a wife. Then at last--the 43rd is going to war! Rowan joyfully announces this on horseback to a stunned ballroom. While the over 600 men and 750 fine horses journey through exotic and dangerous terrain to relieve the decimated troops in the Crimea, there'll be a cholera epidemic and sandstorms, deaths and one pathetic desertion, and Rowan will battle storms within: marital disillusion; nightmare guilt about his (honorable) refusal to prevent the torture death of a bandit's girl; doubts about the glory of war; and his inexplicable attraction to the lowly Mary.

Peter the Great, volume 2


Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy - 1985
    

Bonnie Dundee


Rosemary Sutcliff - 1985
    Some said "Bloody Claver'se" was in league with the devil - but Hugh was determined to follow the dashing soldier anywhere. Joining Claverhouse - Bonnie Dundee - meant turning against his own family, religious rebels called Covenanters, who were terrorizing the land. It meant fighting battles that would decide the fate of his king and country - and that were more harrowing than he could have imagined. Most of all it meant leaving Darklis, the beautiful, mysterious girl who shared his secrets - and his love. [close]

Do Lord Remember Me: A Novel


Julius Lester - 1985
    In doing so, he looks back over that life--from his childhood in rural nothern Mississippi to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, from tears of humiliation to songs of celebration and triumph.When Do Lord Remember was first published in 1984, the Chicago Sun-Times compared it to Alex Haley's Roots, Newsday described it as "exquisitely crafted," People as "distinguished," the Philadelphia Inquirer as "riveting," and the Cleveland Plain-Dealer declared "every page has something worth remembering." Twenty years later and now a classic, Do Lord Remember Me is an eloquent and deeply moving story about a black family's dignified struggle for survival.

Four Horses for Tishtry


Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - 1985
    Together they flashed around the practice arena, the mare galloping steadily, the girl standing on her rump, arms raised. With a whoop, she vauled into the air, did a somersault, and landed on her feet.Tishtry is a slave girl with only one goal in her heart -- to buy freedom for her family and for herself. It is no easy task, even for someone with her exceptional talents. She may well be the best stunt rider her family has ever produced, but how much money can she earn, far away from the rich arenae of Rome? Only when Tishtry's master lets her try her skills in some of the finer arenae of the Empire does she dare to believe she might one day be free.But greater rewards bring greater risks. Tishtry must learn flashy but dangerous stunts to please new and critical crowds. She must deal with corruption and incompetence at every turn. And for the first time, she faces the jealousy of other competitors -- jealousy that threatens her life as well as the realization of her dream.

Valiant Bride


Jane Peart - 1985
    Stunned by what she had just heard, she felt slightly light-headed and leaned against the closed door for a moment to steady herself. The shock of Winnie's elopement during the night had been followed by a second -- the staggering request of her foster parents that she step into her errant cousin's place as the bride of Duncan Montrose! "So you see, my dear, why we must ask this of you?" Aunt Betsy's voice rang in her ears. Noramary closed her eyes, bringing back the scene that had just taken place. As her aunt had explained the dilemma Winnie's irresponsibility had caused and what must now be done, Noramary had sat very still, eyes downcast, hands folded in her lap, hearing but not fully absorbing her aunt's words. Now those same words burst upon her, strong and clear: "--marry Duncan Montrose!" Valiant Bride is a historical romance that brings to life a young woman's choice between duty and love.

Straight Along a Crooked Road


Marilyn Cram Donahue - 1985
    It is 1850 and, for Luanna, Midford Falls, Vermont has everything she could ever want. She loves the covered bridge on the quarry road, the waterfall at the mill pond, the old schoolhouse, the taste of the cold cider. How can she leave all these things behind? Even more, how can she leave when it means not being able to enter the Essex Female Academy in the fall? Or, when it means leaving her best friend behind?Over the next two and one-half years, Luanna’s views on life change dramatically. Personal hardship, and the sheer magnitude of the journey west teach her to live each moment to the fullest. She learns that her life will only be as good as she makes it, regardless of where she might be.

The Promised Child


Avner Gold - 1985
    The story begins in the early part of the seventeenth century with Reb Mendel and Sarah Pulichever embarking on a journey of hope to Krakow and reaches its starting climax over thirty years later with a return to Krakow for a dramatic and memorable confrontation affecting the Jewish population of the entire region. The Promised Child is a work of fiction. The city of Pulichev, the Pulichever family, and the events in this book are fictitious, although it was certainly not uncommon for a Jewish child to disappear into a monastery and never be heard from again. To a certain extent, however, many of the episodes in this entire series are based on actual events. The historical background relating to the Jewish community and the political situation in Poland is authentic.

Lace Curtain


Mary Lou Widmer - 1985
    The fliers promise work, free passage, and free room and board on arrival, but say nothing of the heat, the mosquitoes, or the annual Yellow Fever epidemics.In the new world, the brothers suffer through their early years, but in time leave their back-breaking jobs and follow different paths on their way to a better life. Danny, quick-witted, living a life based on integrity, becomes a merchant, and seems a natural for city politics, while Brian finds his fame as the owner of the city’s biggest barroom and brothel. In a clash of Irish wills, Danny must find a way to crush his infamous brother, always with the help and support of his childhood sweetheart.