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You will be unhappily wed. You will be widowed. You will be queen. "When Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher was a girl in Martinique, a voodoo priestess predicted that she would be unhappily married, would then be widowed, and would become queen. With the profits from her father's sugar plantation spent largely on his gambling and drinking, the final prediction seems unlikely. An arranged marriage takes Rose to France, where she finds herself woefully uneducated and unprepared for high society. But in 1779 no one is prepared for the bloody upheaval that will convulse France for years. Rose endures her husband's infidelity and abandonment before his execution leaves her a widow. Combining charm, intelligence, empathy, and luck, she copes with poverty and prison, surviving the revolution with her children. " -- Library Journal [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Aug 2, 2016 - 3 comments

"Abandoned pregnant and penniless on the teeming streets of London, 16-year-old Amber St. Clare manages, by using her wits, beauty, and courage, to climb to the highest position a woman could achieve in Restoration England—that of favorite mistress of the Merry Monarch, Charles II. From whores and highwaymen to courtiers and noblemen, from events such as the Great Plague and the Fire of London to the intimate passions of ordinary—and extraordinary—men and women, Amber experiences it all." (amazon) [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Jul 1, 2016 - 14 comments

Hello historical fiction book clubbies! We have just two books left ... do we want to keep going? If so, what do you want to read? [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Jun 16, 2016 - 4 comments

Welcome to Historical Fiction book club! I've chosen nine months of books, touching on a variety of historical periods, tending towards the more literary end of the historical fiction spectrum but trying to include a variety of styles. We will discuss each book over the course of a month; on the first day of the month spoilers are permitted, be forewarned. The major selection criterion for the initial set of books is that I've read them in the last calendar year and so remember enough about them to discuss them, and I think they'll appeal to MeFites. (If I left out your recent favorite, I probably just haven't read it yet, and I'm happy to do so!) Within, find out our upcoming books! [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Oct 21, 2015 - 7 comments