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Letters across the sea / by Graham, Genevieve,author.;
Inspired by a little-known chapter of World War II history, a young Protestant girl and her Jewish neighbour are caught up in the terrible wave of hate sweeping the globe on the eve of war. 1933: At eighteen years old, Molly Ryan dreams of becoming a journalist, but instead she spends her days working any job she can to help her family through the Depression crippling her city. The one bright spot in her life is watching baseball with her best friend, Hannah Dreyfus, and sneaking glances at Hannah's handsome older brother, Max. But as the summer unfolds, more and more of Hitler's hateful ideas cross the sea and "Swastika Clubs" and "No Jews Allowed" signs spring up around Toronto, a city already simmering with mass unemployment, protests, and unrest. When tensions between the Irish and Jewish communities erupt in a riot one smouldering day in August, Molly and Max are caught in the middle, with devastating consequences for both their families. 1939: Six years later, the Depression has eased and Molly is a reporter at her local paper. But a new war is on the horizon, putting everyone she cares about most in peril. As letters trickle in from overseas, Molly is forced to confront what happened all those years ago, but is it too late to make things right? From the desperate streets of Toronto to the embattled shores of Hong Kong, Letters Across the Sea is a poignant novel about the enduring power of love to cross dangerous divides even in the darkest of times.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Antisemitism; World War, 1939-1945; Depressions; Riots; Protestants; Jews; Best friends; Interfaith dating;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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The diamond eye [text (large print)] : a novel / by Quinn, Kate,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story. In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour. Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life. Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever"--
Subjects: Biographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Large type books.; War fiction.; Novels.; Pavlychenko, Li͡udmyla Mykhaĭlivna, 1916-1974; Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962; Snipers; Women soldiers; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Our narrow hiding places : a novel / by Jansma, Kristopher,author.;
"For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale: an elderly woman recounts her Dutch family's survival during the final years of Nazi occupation, shedding new light on old secrets that rippled through subsequent generations. Eighty-year-old Mieke Geborn's life is one of quiet routine. Widowed for many years, she enjoys the view from her home on the New Jersey shore, visits with friends, and tai chi at the local retirement community. But when her beloved grandson, Will, and his wife, Teru, show up for a visit, things are soon upended. Their marriage is threatening to unravel, and Will has questions for his grandmother-questions about family secrets that have been lost for decades and are now finally rising to the surface. But telling Will the truth involves returning to the past, and to Mieke's childhood in coastal Holland. There, in the last years of World War II, she survived the Hunger Winter, a brutal season when food and heat were cut off and thousands of Dutch citizens starved. Her memories weave together childhood magic and the madness of history, and carry readers from the windy beaches of The Hague to the dark cells of a concentration camp, through the bends of eel-filled rivers, and, finally, to the story of Will's father, absent since Will's childhood. Our Narrow Hiding Places is a sweeping story of survival and of the terrible cost of war-and a reminder that sometimes the traumas we inherit come along with a resilience we never imagined"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Families; Family secrets; Secrecy; Survival; Women; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mistress of the Ritz : a novel / by Benjamin, Melanie,1962-author.;
A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II--while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. In March 1940, the Nazis sweep Paris and immediately take up residence in one of the city's most iconic sites: The Hotel Ritz. There, under a roof legendary for its unprecedented luxury and for its fabled residents--including Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cole Porter, Hemingway, Balanchine, Doris Duke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now Hermann Göering--the Nazis rule over a paralyzed city. But two residents of the Ritz refuse to be defeated: its director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche. They not only oversee the smooth workings of the hotel, but both Blanche and Claude throw themselves fearlessly into the dangerous and clandestine workings of the French Resistance. This is a true-to-life novel of a courageous woman and her husband who put their marriage--and ultimately their lives--in jeopardy to fight for freedom. Intimate, fearless, and moving, it spins a brilliantly and unforgettably vivid human portrait at a time of unimaginable crisis and sacrifice.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Biographical fiction.; Auzello, Blanche, approximately 1897-1969; Auzello, Claude; Ritz Hotel (Paris, France); World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 3
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Miss Benson's beetle : a novel / by Joyce, Rachel,author.;
"It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson--a sensible schoolmarm and lonely spinster--is just trying to get through life. But one day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and her tidy, circumscribed life, to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of an insect that may or may not exist: the golden beetle of New Caledonia, Margery's childhood obsession ever since her father gave her a book on cryptozoology right before he killed himself. The assistant Margery hires to accompany her, Enid Pretty, in her pink hat and pompom sandals, is not the companion she had in mind. But together they will find themselves drawn into an adventure that exceeds all expectations: a cross-ocean voyage to a remote island covered with dense jungle--the last place two proper British ladies would expect to find themselves. They must risk everything and break all the rules, but at the top of a mountain deep in the South Pacific they will discover their best selves. This is a charming, uplifting story about the power of belief in all its forms; it is an intoxicating adventure that explores what it means to be a woman; and it is a tender exploration of the transformative power of friendship"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Female friendship; Cryptozoology; Women naturalists; Women explorers; Paid companions (Household employees); Beetles; British; Nineteen fifties;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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To die beautiful : a novel / by Jackson, Buzzy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A gripping and timely debut novel by award-winning nonfiction writer Buzzy Jackson based on a true story of the life of the heroic Hannie Schaft: a young Dutch woman who joined the Resistance in Holland during World War II and became one of the Nazis' most lethal adversaries. Hannie Schaft, a young woman living in Nazi-occupied Holland, never intended to be a fighter. Her dream was to finish law school in Amsterdam and join the League of Nations. But when Hannie's two Jewish best friends are in danger, and she crosses paths with Resistance recruiters while doing volunteer work with refugees, she realizes she cannot deny the urgent cause at hand and the changes happening around her. Driven by outrage and a fierce protectiveness for her friends, Hannie quickly becomes a valued member of the Resistance movement. As the simmering menace of Nazi-occupied Holland reaches a boiling point, Hannie becomes ever more daring, assassinating powerful Nazis point blank, blowing up munitions factories, and constantly improvising with last-minute Resistance orders, even getting Hitler's notice who dubs her 'the Girl with Red Hair.' She also falls deeply in love with a dashing fellow resister at a tremendous cost and finds a chosen family with the other women in the resistance. And while humanity falls apart around her, Hannie's greatest weapon is her determination not to become a monster herself: blijf altijd menselijk. Stay human. A mantra that is sorely tested as the war nears its bitter end ... To Die Beautiful, taken from a quote of Hannie's, is an unputdownable novel about love (for one's friends, family, and country) and loyalty, but with the emotional resonance of meticulously researched, lived history"--
Subjects: Biographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Schaft, Hannie, 1920-1945; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The hidden girl / by Riley, Lucinda,1965-2021,author.; Edmonds, Lucinda,author.; Riley, Lucinda,1965-2021.Hidden beauty.;
A breathtaking novel from the international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley. You can't alter destiny ... Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again. Years later, Leah has taken the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during World War II. As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars. Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from global bestseller Lucinda Riley, reworked and given new life by Harry Whittaker, Lucinda's son and co-author of the record-breaking, international phenomenon Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Families; Family secrets; Interpersonal relations; Models (Persons); Secrecy;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 2
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Weyward : a novel / by Hart, Emilia,author.;
"2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century. 1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha's mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom. 1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives--and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom. Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Abused women; Family secrets; Inheritance and succession; Witch hunting; Witches;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Once we were home / by Rosner, Jennifer,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From Jennifer Rosner comes a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II. Ana will never forget her mother's face when she and her baby brother, Oskar, were sent out of their Polish ghetto and into the arms of a Christian friend. For Oskar, though, their new family is the only one he remembers. When a woman from a Jewish reclamation organization seizes them, believing she has their best interest at heart, Ana sees an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, while Oskar sees only the loss of the home he loves. Roger grows up in a monastery in France, inventing stories and trading riddles with his best friend in a life of quiet concealment. When a relative seeks to retrieve him, the Church steals him across the Pyrenees before relinquishing him to family in Jerusalem. Renata, a post-graduate student in archaeology, has spent her life unearthing secrets from the past--except for her own. After her mother's death, Renata's grief is entwined with all the questions her mother left unanswered, including why they fled Germany so quickly when Renata was a little girl. Two decades later, they are each building lives for themselves, trying to move on from the trauma and loss that haunts them. But as their stories converge in Israel, in unexpected ways, they must each ask where and to whom they truly belong."--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Belonging (Social psychology); Holocaust survivors; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mistress of the Ritz [sound recording] : a novel / by Benjamin, Melanie,1962-author.; Rosenblat, Barbara,narrator.; Random House Audio Publishing,publisher.; Books on Tape, Inc.,publisher.;
Read by Barbara Rosenblat.A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II--while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. In March 1940, the Nazis sweep Paris and immediately take up residence in one of the city's most iconic sites: The Hotel Ritz. There, under a roof legendary for its unprecedented luxury and for its fabled residents--including Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cole Porter, Hemingway, Balanchine, Doris Duke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now Hermann Göering--the Nazis rule over a paralyzed city. But two residents of the Ritz refuse to be defeated: its director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche. They not only oversee the smooth workings of the hotel, but both Blanche and Claude throw themselves fearlessly into the dangerous and clandestine workings of the French Resistance. This is a true-to-life novel of a courageous woman and her husband who put their marriage--and ultimately their lives--in jeopardy to fight for freedom. Intimate, fearless, and moving, it spins a brilliantly and unforgettably vivid human portrait at a time of unimaginable crisis and sacrifice.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Historical fiction.; Biographical fiction.; Auzello, Blanche, approximately 1897-1969; Auzello, Claude; Ritz Hotel (Paris, France); World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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