In the Fullness of Time by Katherine P. Stillerman
In the Fullness of Time by Katherine P. Stillerman is an inspiring work of historical fiction, and the sequel to Stillerman’s eloquent first novel, Hattie’s Place. In the first novel, Hattie tries to make her way through early 1900s South Carolina, dealing with sexism, and especially children’s rights, or lack thereof in the early century. In this novel, the concentration is again on rights: specifically, the suffrage movement, and the right to vote.
It may seem strange to call a work of historical fiction “prescient,” but the novel has larger implications given the current historical moment. Given the defeat […]
Elephant Walk (The Brigandshaw Chronicles Book 2) by Peter Rimmer is a rich and entertaining work of historical fiction set in England and Africa. Beginning at the onset of World War I (whereas Book 1 was set in the tail end of the nineteenth century), Elephant Walk finds Harry Brigandshaw settled in the Dorset countryside after graduating Oxford when he receives a telegram, which brings him back to Africa. When his brother is killed in the war, Harry enlists and finds success in the service, but also great danger for himself and his family.
The year is 1887, and Sebastian Brigandshaw is stolen away from his lover, Emily, and forced across the sea in order to allow his older brother to take Emily’s hand instead. Cast into the wild and unknown colonies of Africa, Sebastian becomes one of the white hunters destined to see the bloodiest faces of man as the British face off against the Boers in their second war. Sebastian lusts for home, but must endure if he wants to survive in Echoes from the Past by Peter Rimmer.
Béla’s Letters by Jeff Ingber is a work of historical fiction so closely tied to history that it reads more like a moving non-fiction account. Inspired by Ingber’s family history, the novel spans eight generations, beginning with Béla who endures the horrors of the Holocaust, and the terrible aftermath where survivors feel guilt, sorrow and immeasurable pain trying to put their lives back together. Woven through the novel are letters to Béla from his family, which serve as a tragic historical window of the period, as horrifying events unfold in real time.