New and Recently Released! Sunflowers - by Sheramy D. Bundrick Publisher: Avon Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2009 ISBN-13: 9780061765278 ISBN-10: 0061765279 In December of 1888, Vincent Van Gogh slices off part of his earlobe with a razor blade, wraps it in newspaper, and presents it to a prostitute named Rachel. Little is known about Rachel, but Sunflowers recreates their relationship, which the artist's madness will ultimately destroy. If you enjoyed Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring or any of Susan Vreeland's books depicting artists' lives, you'll want to read this debut novel by art historian Sheramy Bundrick. For another novel about one of Van Gogh's muses, try Alyson Richman's The Last Van Gogh, in which a physician's daughter becomes the inspiration for some of the painter's final works. Dancing in Combat Boots : And Other Stories of American Women in World War II - Funke, Teresa R. Publisher: Lightning Source Inc Check Library Catalog ISBN-13: 9781934649008 ISBN-10: 1934649007 Eleven fictional stories representative of the millions of housewives and mothers who took off their aprons and stepped into the factories, offices and hospitals to do the work of husbands, sons and brothers who were called to war. Drawing in the dust - Klein, Zoe Publisher: Pocket Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/07/2009 ISBN-13: 9781416599128 ISBN-10: 1416599126 Scorned for agreeing to help an Arab couple excavate allegedly haunted grounds under their house, archaeologist Page Brookstone finds what may be the tomb of the prophet Jeremiah, as well as the remains of a woman, and intriguing scrolls documenting their relationship. First Chapter New York : the novel - Rutherfurd, Edward Publisher: Doubleday Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/10/2009 ISBN-13: 9780385521383 ISBN-10: 0385521383 A tale set against a backdrop of New York City's history from its founding through the September 11 attacks traces the experiences of characters from all walks of life who witness such periods as the Revolutionary War, the city's emergence as a financial giant and the Gilded Age. First Chapter It's Magic! Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - by Susanna Clarke Publisher: Bloomsbury Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/30/2004 ISBN-13: 9781582344164 ISBN-10: 1582344167 This story of competing magicians during the Napoleonic Wars takes place against a detailed historical backdrop--but in this version of 19th-century England, magic is no mere parlor trick. It's a real phenomenon, with a robust academic tradition behind its theory and practice. One such scholar-practitioner, the wealthy and reclusive Mr. Norrell, dedicates himself to reviving lost knowledge, while his pupil (and later rival), the charming Jonathan Strange, becomes the toast of society for aiding the Duke of Wellington's forces. Steeped in British folklore and written in a style reminiscent of Jane Austen, this novel artfully combines history and magic to present an intricate yet panoramic tale. First Chapter Table of Contents Carter Beats the Devil: A Novel - by Glen David Gold Publisher: Hyperion Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2002 ISBN-13: 9780786886326 ISBN-10: 0786886323 Set in 1923 (but jumping back and forth in time), this "brilliant" novel (Booklist) reinvents the life of American stage magician Charles Carter, better known as Carter the Great. At the height of his fame, Carter's fortunes take a dive when president Warren G. Harding dies mere hours after participating in one of Carter's stage performances. Carter, now the prime suspect, must evade the authorities while planning a spectacular comeback performance. If you enjoy Carter Beats the Devil, you may like Gabriel Brownstein's The Man from Beyond, which explores the complicated relationship between legendary illusionist Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First Chapter Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician: A Novel - by Daniel Wallace Publisher: Doubleday Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/03/2007 ISBN-13: 9780385521093 ISBN-10: 038552109X In this novel by the author of Big Fish, we meet Henry Walker, a white man who performs magic tricks in blackface for Jeremiah Mosgrove's Chinese Circus as it travels throughout the American South. According to his fellow circus performers, who narrate the story, the trouble begins when Henry, at age 10, befriended the mysterious Mr. Sebastian, a guest in the family's hotel. The sinister Mr. Sebastian taught Henry magic--and also abducted his beloved sister, Hannah--before disappearing. But what really happened, both during and after the event, reveals itself gradually. Spanning the decades between the Great Depression and the early years of the Civil Rights movement, Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician explores complex issues of race and identity in America. First Chapter The house of the spirits - Allende, Isabel Publisher: Dial Press Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/30/2005 ISBN-13: 9780553383805 ISBN-10: 0553383809 One of the best know magic realist novels, "The House of the Spirits" also gives the reader an extraordinary view of 20th century Chilean history. Through the Trueba family and the myriad characters that drift in and out of their lives, we see so many of the elements of the political and class struggle that continues until this day. Beginning with the landowner vs. tenant worker conflict and culminating with the left-wing vs. right-wing political/social conflict, we are given a glimpse into the inner workings of a country in turmoil. We see the horror of the Conservatives when a Marxist government is democratically elected, and their terror when the coup they so finely crafted becomes a dictatorship as terrible as they expected the Communists to be. Neither the left nor the right were winners--only the military. First Chapter Focus on: Epidemics Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague - by Geraldine Brooks Publisher: Penguin Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2002 ISBN-13: 9780142001431 ISBN-10: 0142001430 The year 1665 brings tragedy to the Derbyshire village of Eyam, especially for impoverished widow Anna Frith. Not long after the young mother of two buries her miner husband, the bubonic plague strikes. As the village quarantines itself, Anna and her neighbors attempt to live normal lives as hysteria mounts and death closes in on them. Inspired by the history of the actual village documented in Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year, Year of Wonders depicts the grim realities of the Black Death as well as the best and worst of human nature. For a medieval look at the same topic, try John Hatcher's The Black Death: A Personal History, which fuses fiction and nonfiction to recreate a plague-stricken 14th-century English village. Wickett's Remedy: A Novel - by Myla Goldberg Publisher: Anchor Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/10/2006 ISBN-13: 9781400078127 ISBN-10: 1400078121 With WWI on the horizon, ambitious South Boston shopgirl Lydia Kilkenny marries Henry Wickett, a medical student from a wealthy family. The child of Irish immigrants, Lydia is looking to better her lot in life. But when Henry quits medical school in order to peddle patent medicine, Lydia's dreams are deferred--and then derailed entirely after the Spanish Flu claims Henry's life. But Lydia has never been one to lay down and die, not even during a worldwide pandemic. Fans of E.L. Doctorow will enjoy this meticulously researched slice of American history. And for readers especially interested in the 1918 flu epidemic, Reina James' This Time of Dying is a more somber depiction of the event, set in London. First Chapter The Last Town on Earth - by Thomas Mullen Publisher: Random House Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/31/2007 ISBN-13: 9780812975925 ISBN-10: 0812975928 Commonwealth, a tiny logging town in Washington State, was meant to be a progressive community. However, its ideals soon falter when the 1918 flu pandemic arrives in the nearby hamlet of Timber Falls. Fearing death from the contagion, the citizens of Commonwealth vote to quarantine themselves until the disease has run its course. No one is allowed in and anyone who leaves will not be permitted to return. But then a weary soldier who may or may not be infected comes seeking shelter. The two young men on guard duty, Graham Stone and Philip Worthy, warn the man away. When the visitor refuses, Graham shoots him, setting off a chain of events that will bring the townspeople face to face with the world they've tried to shut out. First Chapter A Prayer for the Dying - by Stewart O'Nan Publisher: Picador Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/26/2009 ISBN-13: 9780312428914 ISBN-10: 031242891X For traumatized Civil War veteran Jacob Hansen, the prairie town of Friendship, Wisconsin represents a new beginning for him, his wife, Marta, and their infant daughter. But his already tenuous grasp on reality begins to slip when a diptheria outbreak starts claiming lives. As the death toll continues to rise and a quarantine is imposed on the town, Jacob--who serves as constable, minister, and undertaker--realizes that there's no escape for him and his family. This realization prompts him to do the unthinkable. Imbued with a "sense of menace that grows into a horrifying nightmare" (Publishers Weekly), A Prayer for the Dying reveals how disaster can destroy a community with almost biblical force. __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4722 (20091228) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com