Prepare to be transported to another time and place with these fourteen stunning novels, memoirs, and essays. These favorites come straight off the shelf of Kathleen Grissom, the bestselling historical fiction author of GLORY OVER EVERYTHING and THE KITCHEN HOUSE. We’ve collected her recommendations in the list below.
If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, then Beryl Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Her life of adventure and beauty included living in East Africa as an adventurer, a racehorse trainer, and an aviatrix―she became the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic. If you’re a fan of Paula McLain’s novel, CIRCLING THE SUN, we think you’ll like Markham's memoir, too.
If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, then Beryl Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Her life of adventure and beauty included living in East Africa as an adventurer, a racehorse trainer, and an aviatrix―she became the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic. If you’re a fan of Paula McLain’s novel, CIRCLING THE SUN, we think you’ll like Markham's memoir, too.
Julie and Hank are creating a life together in the valley of Gap Creek in the last years of the nineteenth century. Their struggles with nature, with work, with the changing century, and with the disappointments and triumphs of their union make GAP CREEK a timeless novel of a marriage.
Julie and Hank are creating a life together in the valley of Gap Creek in the last years of the nineteenth century. Their struggles with nature, with work, with the changing century, and with the disappointments and triumphs of their union make GAP CREEK a timeless novel of a marriage.
During the height of the Second World War, with the men away at the front, Berlin has become a city of women. On the surface, Sigrid Schröder is the model German soldier’s wife, but behind this façade she holds secrets that keep her torn between what is right and what is wrong—and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two.
During the height of the Second World War, with the men away at the front, Berlin has become a city of women. On the surface, Sigrid Schröder is the model German soldier’s wife, but behind this façade she holds secrets that keep her torn between what is right and what is wrong—and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two.
Agnes is on her way to Montpelier when she sees a young man rescue a girl from a burning building. Agnes falls in love with this man, a local stonecutter, but the hero is also a betrayer, the apex of a love triangle that eventually leads Agnes to commit murder.
Agnes is on her way to Montpelier when she sees a young man rescue a girl from a burning building. Agnes falls in love with this man, a local stonecutter, but the hero is also a betrayer, the apex of a love triangle that eventually leads Agnes to commit murder.
AFTER A FUNERAL is a multidimensional memoir that explores the years of friendship between Diana Athill, a British editor and writer, and the man she calls Didi. Athill fell in love with Didi instantly, and out of love just as fast. Didi’s quirks, which at first appeared so charming and sweet, soon revealed a darker side.
AFTER A FUNERAL is a multidimensional memoir that explores the years of friendship between Diana Athill, a British editor and writer, and the man she calls Didi. Athill fell in love with Didi instantly, and out of love just as fast. Didi’s quirks, which at first appeared so charming and sweet, soon revealed a darker side.
This magnificent novel transports readers to the turn of the twentieth century, where the worlds of a prominent Boston family and the social orbit of a spirited young woman collide. When a passionate, illicit affair occurs, the results are cataclysmic.
This magnificent novel transports readers to the turn of the twentieth century, where the worlds of a prominent Boston family and the social orbit of a spirited young woman collide. When a passionate, illicit affair occurs, the results are cataclysmic.
In 1853, Emperor Franz Joseph is Europe’s most powerful ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS tells the little-known and tumultuous love story of “Sisi,” the woman who became Franz Joseph’s wife, and the Austro-Hungarian Empress, when she was just fifteen.
In 1853, Emperor Franz Joseph is Europe’s most powerful ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS tells the little-known and tumultuous love story of “Sisi,” the woman who became Franz Joseph’s wife, and the Austro-Hungarian Empress, when she was just fifteen.
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This daring Pulitzer Prize–winning novel is the story of a black farmer and former slave who works for the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Edward P. Jones has woven a seeming footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.
This daring Pulitzer Prize–winning novel is the story of a black farmer and former slave who works for the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Edward P. Jones has woven a seeming footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.
In DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT, Alexandra Fuller remembers her Rhodesian childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, this memoir is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate.
In this candid memoir, Alexandra Fuller recounts her childhood spent on a series of farms in southern and central Africa while her father fought on the side of the colonial government in the Rhodesian civil war. Unsentimental, gritty, and often hilarious, it is a captivating portrait of continental and familial unrest.
The engine that propels this juicy, smart novel is desire—sexual and intellectual, essential and existential.
The engine that propels this juicy, smart novel is desire—sexual and intellectual, essential and existential.
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Pulitzer Prize–winning author Rick Bragg offers a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, he explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the region’s varied geographies.
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Rick Bragg offers a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, he explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the region’s varied geographies.
“Life changes fast.”
MISS EMILY reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s most beloved poets, through her own voice and through the eyes of her family’s Irish maid.
MISS EMILY reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s most beloved poets, through her own voice and through the eyes of her family’s Irish maid.
This novel of love and healing tells the stories of three individuals struggling to overcome the trauma of the Civil War and the end of slavery. To do so, they must conquer the pain of their past and define their own futures.
This novel of love and healing tells the stories of three individuals struggling to overcome the trauma of the Civil War and the end of slavery. To do so, they must conquer the pain of their past and define their own futures.
