Other books that might interest you

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  A Crown of Stars

  Shana Abe

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  In turn of the century England, the Jolivet family lives a charmed existence. Daughters of a wealthy vineyard owner and a French pianist, aspiring actress Marguerite, the eldest of three, and her sister Inez, a virtuosa violinist, move to London. Soon the two are being celebrated in the highest social circles. Marguerite takes the stage name Rita, and quickly draws the attention of legendary theater producer Charles Frohman. While filming in Italy, she's courted by a charismatic aristocrat, while Inez has already found love and travels the world with her husband. 
   
  Yet soon, war is raging across Europe. While in New York, Rita receives word from Inez that their brother is about to enlist. Hoping to see him, Rita books a ticket on the fastest steamer available: the RMS Lusitania. But the ship sails under a British flag, and the German government warns that all such vessels are fair game. Few believe Germany would risk attacking a ship carrying Americans. Once aboard, Rita is delighted to discover both Charles and her brother-in-law as fellow passengers. The days pass in a haze of pleasurable pursuits, and the comforts of the luxury ocean liner are almost enough to calm Rita's unease. But as the ship nears Liverpool, every assumption will be tested, and Rita, her family, and the world, will be changed forever by the voyage's infamous and catastrophic end . . .

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  Isabela's Way - a novel

  Barbara Stark-Nemon

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  Isabela’s Way is a coming of age tale, set during a dangerous time in early 17th century Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. 14-year-old Isabela, an obedient Catholic girl with a talent for needle work, believes she has nothing to fear from the Inquisition. But when a mysterious woman arrives with a message from Isabela’s traveling father, the girl must leave her home and embroider her way along a clandestine network of sanctuaries created to conduct Conversos, or secret Jews, to safety.  
  A host of supporters, as well as one special young man, assist Isabela as she eludes the Inquisitors and makes her way across countries and cultures. She learns of the danger and importance of her secret work, with its coded symbols, and is shocked to discover her family’s true origins. Isabela’s Way explores the magic of a young adult overcoming peril and challenge, as one hidden circumstance after another is revealed.   
  Barbara Stark-Nemon weaves a beautiful tapestry of stories, as elegantly embroidered as the linens that Isabela weaves. Reminiscent of Rachel Kadish's The Weight of Ink, Isabela's Way is a meticulously researched and elegantly written novel of secret histories, fierce determination and ultimately love. – Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon 
  Isabela's Way powerfully evokes the era of the Inquisition in Portugal and the courage of the conversos who lived between faiths as they risked their lives to make their way to freedom. Both informative and deeply moving, this is a book that makes a lasting contribution to Sephardic literature. 
  --Ruth Behar, author of Across So Many Seas

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  The Children of Berlin

  Sharon Maas

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  Berlin, 1933. Leah and Magda have been inseparable for as long as they can remember, and one beautiful summer’s day in their courtyard, they vow nothing will ever come between their friendship. But Leah could never have predicted the darkness looming just around the corner… As Hitler comes to power and the Nazi Party gain even more influence, Magda proudly tells Leah she has decided to join the Hitler Youth. Leah’s blood runs cold before she begs Magda to change her mind—because Leah is Jewish. Magda refuses, and heartbroken Leah knows this will not only destroy their friendship but also put her life in mortal danger. Suddenly, the only light in her life is Magda’s brother Markus, who is furious at his sister and vows to do everything he can to keep Leah safe. As Magda becomes more entrenched in the Nazi Party, Leah’s life starts to shatter as the Gestapo raid her home, sending her beloved brother Aaron to a concentration camp. Devastated, Leah and her parents are forced to flee and hide. Desperate to save Leah, Markus decides the only way he can help stop the Nazis and his sister is to infiltrate the party as an undercover resistance fighter. But will Magda see through his lie, and how far will she go to prove her loyalty to her Führer? This powerful and heartbreaking novel about love, family, betrayal, and sacrifice perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The White Rose Network, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and The Nightingale.

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  Train Dreams - A Novella

  Denis Johnson

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  A New York Times Notable Book for 2011One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the YearOne of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson's most evocative works of fiction.Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—this extraordinary novella poignantly captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.It tells the story of Robert Grainer, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.

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  Compassion - A powerful tale...

  Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

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  Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was born in Valencia, Spain on 29th January 1867.  
   
  At university, he studied law and graduated in 1888 but never felt the urgency to practice - he was more interested in politics, journalism, literature and women.   
   
  Politically he was a militant Republican partisan and, in his youth, founded a newspaper, El Pueblo (The People). The newspaper was taken to court many times and he made many enemies. In one incident he was shot and almost killed. In 1896, Ibáñez was arrested and sentenced to a few months in prison. 
   
  Despite this colourful background he found time to write novels. His first published work was ‘La Araña Negra’ (The Black Spider) in 1892, a work that he later repudiated although at the time it was a useful vehicle for him to express his anti-clerical views. 
   
  In 1894, he published ‘Arroz y Tartana’ (Airs and Graces), about a late 19th Century widow in Valencia trying to keep up appearances in order to marry her daughters well.   
   
  Ibáñez’s next sequence of books studied rural life in the farmlands of Valencia and failed to gain much of an audience.   
   
  His writing now took on a new direction with its now familiar sensational and melodramatic themes in 1908 with ‘Sangre y Arena’ (Blood and Sand), which follows the career of Juan Gallardo from his poor beginnings as a child in Seville, to his rise to becoming a famous matador in Madrid 
   
  However, his greatest success was ‘Los Cuatro Jinetes del Apocalipsis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) in 1916, which tells a tangled tale of the French and German sons-in-law of an Argentinian land-owner who find themselves fighting on opposite sides in the First World War.  It was a literary and commercial sensation and became the best-selling book of 1919.  It also propelled Rudolph Valentino to stardom in the 1921 film. 
   
  Ironically his fame in the English-speaking world has come not as a novelist but as the stories behind some of Hollywood’s greatest silent movies. 
   
  Vicente Blasco Ibáñez died in Menton, France on January 28th, 1928, the day before his 61st birthday.

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  Escape from Kowloon - A sweeping...

  Lizzie Lane

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  Once held captive. Can she ever escape him? 
  HONG KONG 1950 
  With the war now over, well-regarded obstetrician Dr Rowena Rossiter, of the Victoria Hospital for Women, is ready to plan her new life with her child and great love, Connor O'Connor. So, when UN Colonel Warrington - who she instantly dislikes, offers her a post at a convent hospital in Korea, she refuses. But why is he not taking no for an answer? Why does he so desperately want Rowena in Korea? 
  Her fate seems sealed, when the notorious Kim Pheloung emerges from the shadows to once more endanger her and her daughter's lives. 
  Ever fearful of Kim, Rowena panics and even with the frightening prospect of war in Korea and her distrust of Colonel Warrington's motives, she decides to flee Kim, Hong Kong and head for Korea. Luck has it that Connor is also posted to Korea. 
  Only time will tell who and what will pose the greatest danger to Rowena and whether she will find peace, love and get her happy-ever-after. 
  The brilliant conclusion to the gripping saga set in post-war Hong Kong and Korea featuring Dr Rowena Rossiter 
  Previously Published as Summer of the Three Pagodas by Jean Moran

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