Book picks similar to
The Code of Romulus by Caroline Lawrence
historical-fiction
historical
roman-mysteries
mystery
The Secret of the Mansion
Julie Campbell - 1948
But then a millionaire's daughter moves into the next-door mansion, an old miser hides a fortune in his decrepit house, and a runaway kid starts hiding out in Sleepyside!"
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
John Bellairs - 1973
But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watching magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls—a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!
Fly by Night
Frances Hardinge - 2005
Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger -- discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love -- words -- may be the death of her."Fly by Night" is astonishingly original, a grand feat of the imagination from a masterful new storyteller.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
Lauren Tarshis - 2010
The ship is full of exciting places to explore, but when George ventures into the first class storage cabin, a terrible boom shakes the entire boat. Suddenly, water is everywhere, and George's life changes forever.Lauren Tarshis brings history's most exciting and terrifying events to life in this new fictional series. Readers will be transported by stories of amazing kids and how they survived!
Beyond the Bright Sea
Lauren Wolk - 2017
Abandoned and set adrift on a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, a chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.
Wild Boy
Rob Lloyd Jones - 2013
Snatched up by an unscrupulous and abusive showman, Wild Boy, covered in hair from head to toe, becomes a sideshow freak. Isolated from other children and wickedly abused by the cruel master who bought him, Wild Boy becomes an avid observer, developing Sherlock Holmes–like deductive skills. Although he is tormented and insulted, kicked and spat at, his quick mind takes in everything he sees. When a murder occurs at the fair, Wild Boy is hastily accused. Can he use his powers of deduction to save himself? And will the talented and spunky young acrobat Clarissa be with him — or against him? Readers will be swept along by the cinematic pace, immersed in the vivid historical setting, and gripped by suspense as they wait to find out if a better fate could possibly await someone so very different.
The Secret of Midway
Steve Watkins - 2014
Including a battered navy peacoat from World War II, and when Anderson puts it on he finds a mysterious letter in the pocket. Curious, he takes the coat and letter home. But that's not all he brings home...Later that evening the ghost of a World War II sailor appears in Anderson's room. Anderson is completely freaked out. Who is the ghost and why hasn't he crossed over? But most importantly, what does he want with Anderson?Anderson, Greg, and Julie set out to find the truth and are soon wrapped up in a mystery that's over seventy years old. But it quickly becomes a race against the clock as they search to put the clues of sailor's life together before he vanishes for good. After everything he gave for his country, can Anderson, Julie, and Greg solve the mystery of the ghost before he disappears forever?
The Sixty-Eight Rooms
Marianne Malone - 2010
Housed in the Children's Galleries of the Chicago Art Institute, they are a collection of 68 exquisitely crafted miniature rooms made in the 1930s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne. Each of the 68 rooms is designed in the style of a different historic period, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlesticks. Some might even say, the rooms are magic. Imagine--what if you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms' secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?Fans of Chasing Vermeer, The Doll People, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will be swept up in the magic of this exciting art adventure!
Red Sails to Capri
Ann Weil - 1952
It was the biggest and most beautiful ship fourteen-year-old Michele had ever seen. Sailing on the ship were three men who would come to stay at Michele's parents' inn. The men said they were searching - one for beauty, one for adventure, and one for "something difficult to explain." What they brought with them was a mystery and adventure that would change Michele's life - and all of Capri - forever.
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?
Eleanor Updale - 2003
Instead, it marks the beginning of a whole new life. Soon he has become the most successful -- and elusive -- burglar in Victorian London, plotting daring raids and using London's new sewer system to escape. He adopts a dual existence to fit his new lifestyle, taking on the roles of a respectable, wealthy gentleman named Montmorency and his corrupt servant, Scarper.
The Callender Papers
Cynthia Voigt - 1983
That's the advice Jean Wainwright always gets from her beloved Aunt Constance, Jean's guardian and headmistress at the boarding school where she lives. It's advice that proves valuable when Jean finds herself spending the summer far from home, sorting out family papers for the reclusive Mr. Thiel, a trustee of Aunt Constance's school and the widower of her childhood friend Irene Callender. At Mr. Thiel's isolated country estate, Jean is surrounded by bewildering questions from the past. Why is there such hatred between Mr. Thiel and his late wife's brother? Was her death an accident? And what happened to their child, who disappeared after Irene Thiel's death? Do the answers lie in the Callender papers? And will searching for the answers put Jean's own life in jeopardy?
Calico Bush
Rachel Field - 1931
She promises her services to the Sargent family for six long years in return for food and shelter. But life as a "bound-out girl" is full of more hardship than Maggie ever could have imagined. Living with the family in an isolated part of northern Maine, Maggie struggles through the harsh, hungry winter of 1743, the constant threat of Indian attacks, and worst of all, the loneliness she suffers knowing that her own family is lost forever. Will the Sargent's house ever feel like home?
Traitor in Williamsburg: A Felicity Mystery
Elizabeth McDavid Jones - 2008
With the Revolution heating up, Felicity knows the accusations will bring danger to Fiona's family. Then Felicity's own father is accused of being a traitor, too, and she decides she has to find out who's making the terrible accusations! Set in 1776.
Horowitz Horror: Stories You'll Wish You Never Read
Anthony Horowitz - 1999
At least, at first. But the sinister and truly terrifying lurk just beneath the surface. Like a bathtub with a history so haunted, no one dares get in it. . . or an ordinary-looking camera that does unspeakable things to its subjects. . .or a mysterious computer game that has terrible consequences if you lose. . . .From the creator of the blockbuster Alex Rider Adventures and The Diamond Brothers Mysteries, Horowitz Horror is a wicked collection of macabre tales sure to send shivers up your spine.This edition includes; 1. Bath Night2. Killer Camera3. Light Moves4. The Night Bus5. Harriet's Horrible Dream6. Scared7. A Career in Computer Games8. The Man with the Yellow Face9. The Monkey's Ear
The Little White Horse
Elizabeth Goudge - 1946
Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort, that shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it. Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending.The enchanted valley of Moonacre is shadowed by a tragedy that happened years ago, and the memory of the Moon Princess and the mysterious little white horse. Determined to restore peace and happiness to the whole of Moonacre Valley, Maria finds herself involved with an ancient feud, and she discovers it is her destiny to end it and right the wrongs of her ancestors. Maria usually gets her own way. But what can one solitary girl do?A new-fashioned fantasy story that is as wonderful as the best classic fairy tales.(The 1994 mini-series "Moonacre" and 2008 movie "The Secret of Moonacre" and the are both based on this book.)