History Thru the Lens of Fiction: New Historical Novels for the Kindle (19 July 09)

Blending historical fact with fiction, a novel set in other times and places can transport you into the past more convincingly than a dry historical treatise - and entertain you in the bargain. What I look for in historical fiction are books by authors who, after reading the histories and doing the research, create stories based in the past that include characters I want to know better and a plot that keeps me turning pages - books like Peter Ackroyd's The Clerkenwell TalesBernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdomand Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth.

Now you can spend less time searching and more time reading as I watch for new historical fiction in the Kindle Storeso you don't have to. New on historical fiction shelves:

Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburgby John Hough Jr. S&S. TIME FRAME: 1860s U.S. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews) Kindle edition $9.99.
"... Luke and Thomas Chandler grew up on Martha's Vineyard, raised by their abolitionist father and Rose, their headstrong and beautiful Cape Verdean housekeeper. When a recruiter comes to the island, the boys, who have already witnessed their father and Rose helping a runaway slave to freedom and who are determined to join the fight against slavery, eagerly enlist in the storied Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry...Throughout the hot days of early summer the brothers march with the army through Virginia and Maryland... They experience unaccustomed hardships: food that is barely edible, terrible thirst, chilly nights, and rain-soaked marches. They share in the camaraderie of their fellow soldiers, spending their evenings discussing over card games what they will do when the war ends, alternately exhibiting anxiety and bravado as the next battle looms. The brothers quickly discover that their abolitionist views make them unpopular with many of their fellow soldiers... And then one day their march ends in a little town none of them has ever heard of, Gettysburg..."

"It reads as if you were there. Captures the chaos, excitement, brutality and nature of the battle as well as anyone has. It is the way I think a soldier in combat saw it." - Scott Hartwig, Gettysburg Battlefield Historian.

The Convict's Swordby I. J. Parker. Penguin. TIME FRAME: Eleventh-century Japan. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99.
"I. J. Parker's phenomenal Akitada mystery series has been gaining fans with each new novel. The latest, The Convict's Sword, is the most fully realized installment to date, weaving history, drama, mystery, romance, and adventure into a story of passion and redemption. Lord Sugawara Akitada, the senior secretary in the Ministry of Justice, must find the mysterious killer of a man condemned to live in exile for a crime he did not commit. Meanwhile, Akitada's retainer, Tora, investigates the sudden death of a blind street singer, whose past life is a bigger mystery than anyone thought..." - Amazon.

Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickensby Gaynor Arnold. Crown. TIME FRAME: Victorian England. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $14.29.
"At the end of her life, Catherine, the cast-off wife of Charles Dickens, gave the letters she had received from her husband to their daughter Kate, asking her to donate them to the British Museum, 'so the world may know that he loved me once.' The incredible vulnerability and heartache evident beneath the surface of this remark inspired Gaynor Arnold to write Girl in a Blue Dress, a dazzling debut novel inspired by the life of this tragic yet devoted woman." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: Wantingby Richard Flanagan.

The Road to Jerusalemby Jan Guillou. HarperCollins. TIME FRAME: 12th century Sweden. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $14.29.
"The Road to Jerusalem, the first volume of Jan Guillou's new trilogy, involves Swedish politics, familial drama, social oppression, ice fishing, wolf-hunting, political assassination, young sex and the Knights Templar. It's a great book." - Diana Gabaldon review at washingtonpost.com.
$9.99 or less alternative: Brethrenby Robyn Young.

The Glassblower of Muranoby Marina Fiorato. St. Martin's Griffin. TIME FRAME: 17th century and modern-day Venice. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (33 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99.
"Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists, Corradino Manin, sells his methods and his soul to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his secret daughter. In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with that of her ancestor and the treacherous secrets of his life begin to come to light." - Amazon.

Alexandriaby Lindsey Davis. Minotaur Books. TIME FRAME: 1st century Rome. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 (17 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99.
"...Falco has taken his pregnant wife, two daughters, and brother-in-law to Alexandria on what is ostensibly a vacation....In fact, Falco is charged with keeping his eye on things, and indeed trouble brews right away - the Librarian of Alexandria's great library is found dead in his sealed office. There's been plenty of controversy surrounding the Librarian already, and the controversy over who will succeed him turns bloody. Who knew that the race for a top library spot could be so intriguing? The mystery is intricately plotted, the characters are well drawn, and Falco is as engaging a protagonist as ever, still tough but wiser and more reflective, too. Another winner for historical mystery fans." - School Library Journal.