Category: Past Tense

Based on the life of Empress Cixi, Empress Orchid creates a fictionalized account of a girl drawn into the court of the failing Ch’ing Dynasty as a low-level concubine. But Orchid isn’t content to stay in her place. She quickly learns the tricks of concubines and court life to work her way up in the Emperor’s eyes. Min paints a vivid portrait of courtly life in the Ch’ing Dynasty and gives a sympathetic look at an often vilified historical figure.

In the 1960s Dominican Republic, a vicious dictator called Trujillo ruled with an iron fist. But there were some — brave men and women like the Mirabal sisters — who opposed him. Alvarez tells the story of these sisters as they grew increasingly involved in the resistance and their terror when they’re eventually discovered. It’s not a happy story, but it’s an important one. And these revolutionary sisters deserve to be remembered and celebrated.

Real estate magnate Josephine N. Leary built a name for herself, but it wasn’t always easy. From her birth on a Southern plantation, growing a family, and teaching herself to be a businesswoman, Josephine knew the only way to create the life she wanted for herself and her family was to do whatever it takes to make her dream a reality. And even as life tries to get in the way, that’s exactly what she does.

A musician and songwriter with ties to the mob is content to keep out of the spotlight until the first time he hears Esther Mine sing. Benny writes the powerhouse vocalist a hit song, but as the duo rocket onto a national stage, his past could complicate things. And that’s assuming the country is ready to see a white man and a Black woman together on — and off — stage.

Like Daisy Jones and the Six, this novel is told in the style of an oral history, following the stratospheric rise and fall of an interracial rock duo during the 1970s. Years after their break up, Opal and Nev are coming together for one last reunion, and music journalist S. Sunny Shelton is determined to get the full story of her idols straight from the source — no matter how shocking the truth may be.

I know I’m a bit late to the game on this one — Oprah Winfrey, Obama, and the Pulitzer all beat me to it — but I was reminded recently of just how much I want to read this book after discussing it in an article on alternate history. I’m fascinated by the idea of a version of the Underground Railroad involving actual underground trains to help transport escaped enslaved people.

After reading Lady Killers, a nonfiction book about female serial killers which mentions the Bender family of Kansas, I was reminded of this book. I’m not usually big into true crime (not good for my sleep or mental health), but when it has a more historical bent I sometimes find it interesting. And a family of killers running an inn in 1800s Kansas is certainly that.

In 1904, in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was annexed by Japan and thousands of Koreans chose to leave their home in search of a better life in Mexico. It was only when they arrived that they realized they had been sold into indentured servitude. An orphan who fell for the daughter of a noble searches desperately for his lost love after they are parceled out among haciendados, but when a revolution brings violence to their new home, he leads a group of Korean immigrants to a new home in Guatemala.

In the late Joseon era in Korea, a French diplomat finds himself enchanted by a young court dancer. After professing his love for her to the emperor, he is granted permission to bring her back to France. In France, she finds freedom from her courtly confines and begins translating and publishing Joseon literature into French. But even as her homesickness brings her home, jealousy and betrayal culminate in the death of an empress at the poisoned pages of a book.

The history of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and Maggie Lena Walker are finally given their due in this novel about a woman determined to make a place for herself in a society that doesn’t welcome her. After seeing first hand the stark difference between her laundress mother’s Black and white clients growing up, Maggie vowed to secure a life of success and finery for herself–and to help others in her community do the same. From her beginnings as a school teacher, Maggie went on to found a newspaper, a bank, and a department store where Black customers were treated with courtesy and respect, revolutionizing Richmond in ways that still resonate today.

The secrets of a small community of Black and Jewish neighbors come to light after the discover of a skeleton at the bottom of a well. The residents of Chicken Hill stick together, with a long history of helping each other out. But what does it take for those living on the margins of white, Christian America to survive? And how will they all react when the truth comes to light?

The author of Room and The Wonder weaves another beautiful and heartbreaking tale about two girls who fall in love at a 19th century boarding school in York. Based on years of research into Ann Lister’s secret journals, Learned by Heart tells the story of a banished heiress named Eliza and a tomboy — that would be Ann — who meet at the Manor School for Young Ladies in 1805.

This Bridgerton-esque romance inspired by the real-life Patterson family, follows four determined young Black women looking for love and their way forward in life in 1910s America when wealthy Black families were few and far between. The Davenport sisters and their friends are surrounded by wealth and luxury — but following their hearts will be a challenge unlike any other.

This Victorian romance follows an equestrienne with few hopes on the marriage market who finds her perfect match in a tailor who loves designing riding habits, particularly for the daring Evelyn. But will an unfashionably independent woman and a half-Indian tailor be accepted by society? Or will they have to make their own rules and their own way?

This collection of short stories from celebrated writers all take place on the same day: October 23, 1915. Over a million women marched on that day for the right to vote in New York City, and these stories take a peek into their lives and experiences, portraying a vast and varied array of women.

I talked about Emma Donoghue’s fiction last week and here we are again, because she has a collection of historical short fiction perfect for anyone looking for bite sized stories of the past. From gold miners to counterfeiters and attorneys, the characters in Astray explore centuries of wanderers and wandering across North America and beyond.

In an Irish hospital wracked by the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, a nurse in the overworked maternity ward is placed in charge of keeping her patients alive and seeing them through birth. But it’s the arrival of an inexperienced, young assistant with no training and an enthusiastic spirit that help her get through the horror, heartbreak, and joy of her work.

A priest and two monks set off to find an island sent to them in a vision from God in seventeenth century Ireland, determined to found a new monastery. They eventually come to an island inhabited only by birds, now known as Skellig Michael, and claim it for God. But what will it take to survive in such an isolated place, with only their faith to guide them?

An unfinished film imbued with Nazi occultism might seem far fetched, but when a sound editor in 90s Mexico City and her actor best friend agree to help an old director finish the film he claims cursed him, strange things begin to happen. Montserrat feels a dark presence stalking her and Tristán becomes haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend. Will finishing the film end the curse of has the horror only just begun?

In this sequel to Harlem Shuffle, former fence Ray Carney is just trying to keep his head down and his furniture store up and running — until his daughter asks for Jackson 5 tickets and suddenly he’s back in the game. Like Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto is a portrait of family, friendship, and a city under siege.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Inuit society was changed forever by the coming of the qallunaat, the white people. Sanaaq tells that story through the eyes of one outspoken Inuk woman and her daughter in their semi-nomadic community in northern Quebec. But their way of live, carefully balancing their needs with the harsh landscape around them, is threatened the encroaching missionaries and their battle to convert Inuit souls.

In Life Among the Qallunaat, Mini Aodla Freeman tells her story as an Inuk woman growing up in the 1940s before her training as a nurse and then moving to Ottawa to work as a translator for the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. Though it’s technically a memoir, it’s a beautifully rendered account of the changes taking place in Inuit communities of the 40s and 50s that serves an important place alongside similar fictionalized accounts.