HF in the US

[C.P.]

Has anyone read Tara Conklin's The House Girl? It came out last year and looks really interesting (it's also a dual-time story, Jennifer, at least as I understand from the blurb).

Others on my wish list set in the US—although I have yet to read them, so can't really recommend them—are The Age of Desire, about Edith Wharton; Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker; and Queen of America, the second part of a story that begins in Mexico but here moves to the US Southwest and, I think, is about the author's own grandmother. These all came out in the last year or two.

[Jennifer]

Haven't read The House Girl but it was definitely on my radar--and reading up on it now re-piqued my interest. Thanks for the rec! Also love anything that has to do with Edith Wharton! Thanks C.P. :)

[Victoria_Grossack]

I just finished The Doctor's Daughter, set in Tennessee just at the start of the Civil War. I really enjoyed it; here's my review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

And here's an excerpt from that review:

Despite the many serious subjects – murder, revenge, love, hate, Civil War, justice, slavery – this book is a lot of fun. First, Belle Blackburn has a real sense of humor when it comes to her choice of language and phrases. There’s also rich detail in how people lived – they best way to kill a hog for example – but told in such a way that you’re laughing.

It was an enjoyable and compelling read.

[Linda]

C.P. wrote: "Has anyone read Tara Conklin's The House Girl? It came out last year and looks really interesting (it's also a dual-time story, Jennifer, at least as I understand from the blurb).

Others on my wis..."

I really liked The House Girl. It is a unique way of looking at slavery and how cultural things can be used by big business to make money.

Linda B.

[C.P.]

There is also Doc, about Doc Holliday, of Wyatt Earp (and Star Trek) fame. I haven't read more than the sample of this one, but the same author's The Sparrow is stunning and thought-provoking, so I have every hope that she has nailed it here, too.

[Eileen]

There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads.

[Jackie]

Eileen wrote: "There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads."

How is that so? She is not listed as a GR author. Do you know if she has a regular profile?

[Rebecca]

Thanks for all these recommendations! My TBR list is growing and I'm so excited. Most of my historical fiction so far has been England-based (mostly Tudor era) so I'm excited to expand to other countries and time periods.

[Eileen]

Jackie wrote: "Eileen wrote: "There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads."

..."

There was a big article in, I think, the Wall Street Journal, about how she promoted the book with book clubs and giveaways on Goodreads. It was last year sometime. Until I read it, I had never heard of Goodreads before. Now look at me!

[Jackie]

Eileen, that's pretty awesome. I actually found out about GR the same way- through an article in my local newpaper. :)

I googled the article you mentioned...I think it's this one- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000... Didn't see GR mentioned, but I have to admire her dedication to promoting her book!

I listened to the audio of The Kitchen House last year and highly recommend it.

[Eileen]

Jackie wrote: "Eileen, that's pretty awesome. I actually found out about GR the same way- through an article in my local newpaper. :)

I googled the article you mentioned...I think it's this one- http://online.ws..."

Maybe it was somewhere else then. I'm sure it was in conjunction with the book, and I did see the WSJ article, but there were other columns, given how successful she was with a debut novel.

[M.]

"March," by Geraldine Brooks. This was another great one by Ms. Brooks. This Pulititzer Prize-winning novel of the Civil War imagines the experiences of the character Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," when he goes off to war as a chaplain for the Union troops. March struggles to live up to the man he thinks he should be.
Despite having loved all of the author's other novels, I had resisted reading this one, having never read "Little Women" and so feeing that I would be missing some important previous knowledge. I soon found that one needn't have read Alcott's book to fall under the spell of this well-researched and beautifully written masterpiece.

[Liza]

@M, I've really enjoyed Geraldine Brooks too, and I had never heard of March before! Sounds like a great premise, and I've never read anything from his perspective before.