Category: Historical Fiction

Rise Of The Spider by Michael P Spradlin

This first book in The Web Of The Spider series for middle grade readers could not come at a more relevant time! Young Rolf von Heusen is eleven years old in the spring of 1929. His main interests are football and palling around with his friends Ansel and Joshua. He thinks that his hometown of …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/23/rise-of-the-spider-by-michael-p-spradlin/

Daughters Of Chaos by Jen Fawkes

Oh dear. This book starts out so promisingly, as a woman on her deathbed makes her lover swear to speak with the daughters the latter gave up for adoption. A grief-stricken Sylvie Swift has no idea how to approach the two girls she gave up as babies, so decides to write them a series of …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/30/daughters-of-chaos-by-jen-fawkes/

The Witches of World War II by Paul Cornell, Valeria Burzo & Jordie Bellaire

Quite the trip to be reading my second book in a row with a prominent character who shares my unusual name! The Doreen in question here is Doreen Valiente, who at the time of the events depicted in this graphic novel was still going by her maiden name, Doreen Dominy. Considered the Mother of Modern …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/05/the-witches-of-world-war-ii-by-paul-cornell-valeria-burzo-jordie-bellaire/

Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum

Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum

A hotel, especially a grand one in the center of a major metropolis, can be its own world. Vicki Baum opens up one such world in Menschen im Hotel (lit. “People in a Hotel” but published under the better title of Grand Hotel), telling interlocking stories of people in Berlin’s finest hotel over the course …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/23/menschen-im-hotel-by-vicki-baum/

The Blasphemers by Annamaria Alfieri (EXCERPT)

Hi readers! This week, I’m thrilled to be able to bring you an excerpt from the latest book in the Vera And Tolliver series, The Blasphemers. Justin Tolliver is on the brink of an enormous change. The younger son of an English peer―that is, the son with no money and no prospects―he had joined the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/17/the-blasphemers-by-annamaria-alfieri-excerpt/

The Idol Of Mombasa by Annamaria Alfieri (EXCERPT)

Hi readers! This week, we have an excerpt from The Idol Of Mombasa, the second novel in the Vera And Tolliver historical mystery series by Annamaria Alfieri, after the debut title

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/03/the-idol-of-mombasa-by-annamaria-alfieri-excerpt/

Strange Gods by Annamaria Alfieri (EXCERPT)

Hi readers! We’re in for a treat today, as we begin a series of semiweekly excerpts from Annamaria Alfieri’s recently reissued historical mystery series set in 1911 British East Africa, Vera And Tolliver. The Vera of the series is Vera McIntosh, the rebellious daughter of Scottish missionaries. Having grown up in Africa with Kikuyu playmates, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/05/28/strange-gods-by-annamaria-alfieri-excerpt/

The Forgetters by Greg Sarris

Y’know, when I first said yes to this collection of short stories based on the indigenous storytelling traditions of the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples, I was expecting something very different. I thought that this would be a collection of old myths given a fresh retelling. And there is a little of that, definitely, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/25/the-forgetters-by-greg-sarris/

The King Of Italy by Kent Heckenlively

Hello, readers! Today we’ve been given the treat of showing you an excerpt from Kent Heckenlively’s fiction debut, The King Of Italy! ~~~~~~~ From the picturesque landscapes of Sicily to the vibrant heart of San Francisco — and set against the backdrop of Italy’s most volatile periods — Mr Heckenlively introduces us to a saga …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/23/the-king-of-italy-by-kent-heckenlively/

The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz

The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz

The Issa Valley would not do well in an elevator pitch. Nor could it be easily described as “Book A meets Book B,” much less “Movie C meets Movie D.” The first sentence — “I should begin with the Land of Lakes, the place where Thomas lived.” — is not a grabber. (The first-person narrator never …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/01/the-issa-valley-by-czeslaw-milosz/