Book picks similar to
A Conspiracy of Women by Aubrey Menen
historical-fiction
ancient-greece
fiction
history
Rodham
Curtis Sittenfeld - 2020
And then she meets Bill Clinton. A handsome, charismatic southerner and fellow law student, Bill is already planning his political career. In each other, the two find a profound intellectual, emotional, and physical connection that neither has previously experienced. In the real world, Hillary followed Bill back to Arkansas, and he proposed several times; although she said no more than once, as we all know, she eventually accepted and became Hillary Clinton. But in Curtis Sittenfeld’s powerfully imagined tour-de-force of fiction, Hillary takes a different road. Feeling doubt about the prospective marriage, she endures their devastating breakup and leaves Arkansas. Over the next four decades, she blazes her own trail—one that unfolds in public as well as in private, that involves crossing paths again (and again) with Bill Clinton, that raises questions about the tradeoffs all of us must make in building a life. Brilliantly weaving a riveting fictional tale into actual historical events, Curtis Sittenfeld delivers an uncannily astute and witty story for our times. In exploring the loneliness, moral ambivalence, and iron determination that characterize the quest for political power, as well as both the exhilaration and painful compromises demanded of female ambition in a world still run mostly by men, Rodham is a singular and unforgettable novel.
In the Blue Light of African Dreams
Paul Watkins - 1990
Disfigured and demoralized, he deserts from France's famed Lafayette Escadrille, only to be captured, convicted, and sentenced to twenty years in the Foreigh Legion. He serves in Africa, where, along with a motley group of convicts and outcasts, Halifax is forced to fly illegal arms shipments to the very tribesmen they have been sent to fight. But a dream keeps Halifax alive even as his companions fall to harm or misery-the relentless determination to become the first pilot to fly nonstop from Paris to New York.
Broken Faces: A story of love, betrayal and hope
Deborah Carr - 2015
Desperate to be more than a debutante, she strives for excitement like her brother Charles and his best friend, Freddie Chevalier. She pleads with her parents to let her become a nurse in France, but when her father refuses to sign the papers allowing her to leave the country she must be content with driving ambulances in London and delivering the occasional supply lorry along the south coast. What she has yet to learn is that there is little glory in war.Freddie Chevalier is secretly in love with his best-friend’s fiancée, Meri. When Meri discovers that Charles has been unfaithful to her, she visits Freddie’s home in Jersey. The two become close and promise to keep what has happened between them a secret. It’s only when the two men are fighting for survival in the trenches of Northern France that Charles discovers their betrayal.Heartbroken at Charles’s treatment of her and ashamed by what happened between her and Freddie, Meri joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment and is posted to nurse at a hospital in Amiens. When one of the men suffers a life-changing injury and is admitted to her ward Meri discovers that there are more secrets she must keep from those closest to her.Spanning the 1914-18 war Broken Faces is the story of four friends and their fight for survival. It is ultimately a story of how love can triumph over adversity in the most unexpected way.Praise for Deborah Carr's Broken FacesOne to Watch. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINESpent most of my weekend quite mesmerized by this lovely book. TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE VOICEFans of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will enjoy. BOOKMADA spectacularly powerful book. BROOK COTTAGE BOOKS
But Can You Drink the Water? (Droll, witty and utterly British)
Jan Hurst-Nicholson - 2010
Laugh out loud as they encounter ‘crocodiles’ on the wall, strange African customs and unintelligible Afrikaans accents. Cringe with them as their visiting in-laws embarrass them in front of their new SA friends.If you enjoyed Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine you will recognise Mavis Turner.Set in the 1970s, But Can You Drink The Water? uses subtle observational humour with an underlying pathos to portray the upsets, hurt and changing family dynamics that emigration brings. (The story is based on a 13-part sitcom) ReviewWith a droll, witty, utterly British voice, this manuscript tackles playfully and sincerely the age-old fish out of water tale. What sustains this book, however, is the narrative voice, the dry and self-deprecating humor, and the ability of this author to tell a story simply and well. Publisher’s Weekly reviewer for the ABNA semi-finals.
Flood
Ann Swinfen - 2014
Granddaughter of a local hero, Mercy Bennington moves out of the shadow of her elder brother to become a leader of the protestors, finding the strength to confront the enemies who endanger the survival of her village and her own life. Yet the violence wreaked upon the fragile fenlands unleashes a force no one can control – flood.
The True: An enchanting tale for nature lovers
Amanda Marks - 2019
Coquetdale, Northumberland. 1725. After the final tragedy of an age-old feud, Sam’s mother disappears. His guilt-ridden search brings unexpected adventure and romance. As a fellow of the secret order of ‘The True’, Sam learns to enhance his affinity with nature, and enigmatic links across time are revealed to him in ancient woodlands. 2000. Isolated hill-farmer, Kate, is cautiously attracted to an intriguing stranger brought to her door by endearing runaway, Joe. The man is certainly odd but not disturbing, unlike her stalker. Further down the dale, Kate’s woodsman cousin, Nick, falls in love with a mysterious young woman who arrives with spring and disappears as summer ends. Middle Wood links these seemingly disparate lives separated by centuries, but is that their only connection? Does the answer lie with The True? "A story is never finished until you can read it in the trees"