Forthcoming Books: 2014 Edition

[Divia]

[quote=""Mythica""]Downton Abbey, Young Adult style:

Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
January 28, 2014

The year is 1911. And at The Manor, nothing is as it seems . . .

Lady Charlotte Edmonds: Beautiful, wealthy, and sheltered, Charlotte feels suffocated by the strictures of upper-crust society. She longs to see the world beyond The Manor, to seek out high adventure. And most of all, romance.

Janie Seward: Fiery, hardworking, and clever, Janie knows she can be more than just a kitchen maid. But she isn't sure she possesses the courage -- or the means -- to break free and follow her passions.

Both Charlotte and Janie are ready for change. As their paths overlap in the gilded hallways and dark corridors of The Manor, rules are broken and secrets are revealed. Secrets that will alter the course of their lives. . . forever.

[/quote]

The cover is breathtaking, the plot pretty typical. We'll have to see, but I'm going to put it on my TBR pile.

[Mythica]

I know a lot of people already know of this one but since I haven't seen it posted yet:

A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman
February 4, 2014

From the New York Times-bestselling author of Lionheart comes the dramatic sequel, telling of the last dangerous years of Richard, Couer de Lion’s life.

This long-anticipated sequel to the national bestseller Lionheart is a vivid and heart-wrenching story of the last event-filled years in the life of Richard, Coeur de Lion. Taken captive by the Holy Roman Emperor while en route home—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—he was to spend fifteen months chained in a dungeon while Eleanor of Aquitaine moved heaven and earth to raise the exorbitant ransom. But a further humiliation awaited him: he was forced to kneel and swear fealty to his bitter enemy.

For the five years remaining to him, betrayals, intrigues, wars, and illness were ever present. So were his infidelities, perhaps a pattern set by his father’s faithlessness to Eleanor. But the courage, compassion, and intelligence of this warrior king became the stuff of legend, and A King’s Ransom brings the man and his world fully and powerfully alive.

[Mythica]

The Daring Ladies of Lowell: A Novel by Kate Alcott
February 25, 2014

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker comes a moving historical novel about a bold young woman drawn to the looms of Lowell, Massachusetts--and to the one man with whom she has no business falling in love.

Eager to escape life on her family’s farm, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell in 1832 and throws herself into the hard work demanded of “the mill girls.” In spite of the long hours, she discovers a vibrant new life and a true friend—a saucy, strong-willed girl name Lovey Cornell.

But conditions at the factory become increasingly dangerous, and Alice finds the courage to represent the workers and their grievances. Although mill owner, Hiram Fiske, pays no heed, Alice attracts the attention of his eldest son, the handsome and reserved Samuel Fiske. Their mutual attraction is intense, tempting Alice to dream of a different future for herself.

This dream is shattered when Lovey is found strangled to death. A sensational trial follows, bringing all the unrest that’s brewing to the surface. Alice finds herself torn between her commitment to the girls in the mill and her blossoming relationship with Samuel. Based on the actual murder of a mill girl and the subsequent trial in 1833, The Daring Ladies of Lowell brilliantly captures a transitional moment in America’s history while also exploring the complex nature of love, loyalty, and the enduring power of friendship.

[Mythica]

Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart by Marci Jefferson
February 11, 2014

No description yet.

[annis]

Girl on a Golden Coin is being heavily promoted and there is a book blurb wandering around at various places on the 'net for it - here's one at Passages to the Past
http://www.passagestothepast.com/2013/0 ... novel.html

Of course, the cover image was a doddle - Lely's fabulous portrait of Frances was ready-made for the job

Frances Stuart has been the subject of several historical novels over the years, including Margaret Barnes Campbell's The Lady on the Coin.

[Nefret]

This may be a silly question... does Ransom come out on the same day everywhere?

[Mythica]

[quote=""annis""]Girl on a Golden Coin is being heavily promoted and there is a book blurb wandering around at various places on the 'net for it - here's one at Passages to the Past
http://www.passagestothepast.com/2013/0 ... novel.html

Of course, the cover image was a doddle - Lely's fabulous portrait of Frances was ready-made for the job

Frances Stuart has been the subject of several historical novels over the years, including Margaret Barnes Campbell's The Lady on the Coin.[/quote]

Is the description from the publisher? I don't understand why they'd put the blurb out on blogs and such but not on Amazon or the publisher's own website. Seems like pretty dumb marketing to me.

[quote=""Nefret""]This may be a silly question... does Ransom come out on the same day everywhere?[/quote]

It comes out on the same day in the US and UK. Not sure about other places.

[Mythica]

Empress of the Night: A Novel of Catherine the Great by Eva Stachniak
March 25, 2014

The follow-up to the #1 bestseller The Winter Palace--perfect for the readers of Hilary Mantel and Alison Weir.
Catherine the Great, the Romanov monarch reflects on her astonishing ascension to the throne, her leadership over the world's greatest power, and the lives sacrificed to make her the most feared woman in the world--lives including her own...
Catherine the Great muses on her life, her relentless battle between love and power, the country she brought into the glorious new century, and the bodies left in her wake. By the end of her life, she had accomplished more than virtually any other woman in history. She built and grew the Romanov empire, amassed a vast fortune of art and land, and controlled an unruly and conniving court. Now, in a voice both indelible and intimate, she reflects on the decisions that gained her the world and brought her enemies to their knees. And before her last breath, shadowed by the bloody French Revolution, she sets up the end game for her last political maneuver, ensuring her successor and the greater glory of Russia.

[Mythica]

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini
January 14, 2014

Kate Chase Sprague was born in 1840 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the second daughter to the second wife of a devout but ambitious lawyer. Her father, Salmon P. Chase, rose to prominence in the antebellum years and was appointed secretary of the treasury in Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet, while aspiring to even greater heights.

Beautiful, intelligent, regal, and entrancing, young Kate Chase stepped into the role of establishing her thrice-widowed father in Washington society and as a future presidential candidate. Her efforts were successful enough that The Washington Star declared her “the most brilliant woman of her day. None outshone her.”

None, that is, but Mary Todd Lincoln. Though Mrs. Lincoln and her young rival held much in common—political acumen, love of country, and a resolute determination to help the men they loved achieve greatness—they could never be friends, for the success of one could come only at the expense of the other. When Kate Chase married William Sprague, the wealthy young governor of Rhode Island, it was widely regarded as the pinnacle of Washington society weddings. President Lincoln was in attendance. The First Lady was not.

Jennifer Chiaverini excels at chronicling the lives of extraordinary yet littleknown women through historical fiction. What she did for Elizabeth Keckley in Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker and for Elizabeth Van Lew in The Spymistress she does for Kate Chase Sprague in Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival.

[Mythica]

The Traitor's Wife: A Novel by Allison Pataki
February 11, 2014

A riveting historical novel about Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind America’s most infamous act of treason.
Everyone knows Benedict Arnold—the infamous Revolutionary War General who betrayed America and fled to the British as history’s most notorious turncoat. Many know Arnold’s co-conspirator, Major John Andre, the British soldier who was apprehended with Arnold’s secret documents in his boots and hung at the orders of General George Washington. But few know the third integral character in the conspiracy: Peggy Shippen Arnold, the charming, cunning young woman who orchestrated the whole thing.

At eighteen, socialite Peggy seduces the infamous war hero Arnold with her beauty and wit during his stint as Military Commander of Philadelphia. Blinded by his young bride’s allure, Arnold does not realize that she harbors a secret, lifelong loyalty to the British. Nor does he know that she is hiding a past romance with the handsome British spy, Major John Andre. Peggy Shippen Arnold watches as her husband, crippled from a battle wound and in debt from years of service to the colonies, grows ever more disillusioned with his hero, Washington, and the American cause. Together with her former lover and her disaffected husband, Peggy hatches the plot to turn over West Point to the British and, in exchange, win fame and fortune for herself and Benedict Arnold.

Told from the perspective of Peggy’s maid, whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistress’s affairs even when it could cost her everything, The Traitor’s Wife brings these infamous figures to life, illuminating the sordid details and the love triangle that nearly destroyed the American fight for freedom.