Pairing a novel with a nonfiction counterpart adds insight and contrast to the reading experience. Read the novel and then discover a nonfiction book that offers facts to complement the story. Find these and more suggested pairings at the Lititz Public Library.
A Singular Hostage by Thalassa Ali
Stifled by Victorian England, a young woman goes to India in 1838 to seek a husband, but she finds political turmoil and becomes the guardian of an orphan said to have magical powers.
The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy (nonfiction)
With many of the best and brightest young men departed for Raj to make their careers, Victorian young ladies, deprived of eligible bachelors and facing an uncertain future, traveled to India.
City of Thieves by David Benioff
A young writer learns how his grandfather tried to secure a pardon during the siege of Leningrad by gathering hard-to-find ingredients for a powerful colonel’s wedding cake.
Leningrad: State of Siege by Michael Jones (nonfiction)
Viewing the Slavs as sub-human, the German High Command deliberately planned to eradicate the city’s population through starvation during the 900-day siege.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The new owner of an old Seattle hotel discovers the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded-up and sent to internment camps during WWII.
Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves (nonfiction)
Journalist examines the key causes and consequences of the Japanese-American internment in relocation camps during WWII.
Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb
A middle-aged autistic resident of a therapeutic community rebels against changes in his environment by attempting to return to the family home and younger sibling he only partially remembers.
My Autistic Awakening: Unlocking the Potential for a Life Well Lived by Rachael Lee Harris (nonfiction)
The author spent her early childhood locked in an autistic haze until beginning her journey through schools, family relationships, employment, travel, marriage and faith.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Forced to set aside her Ph.D. research in order to assist in settling her late grandmother’s abandoned home, a young woman discovers a hidden key that is linked to a darker chapter in the Salem witch trial history.
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (nonfiction)
When a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse, panic spread quickly through Salem, and in less than a year, nineteen men and women were hanged.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Accomplished politician Thomas Cromwell helps Henry VIII dispel opposition to the annulment of his twenty-year marriage so that he may wed Anne Boleyn.
Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant by Tracy Borman (nonfiction)
Born to a lowly blacksmith, Cromwell served as a mercenary, worked for a powerful merchant banker and spent time as a cloth merchant before finding his way into the King’s inner circle.
The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki
Socialite Peggy Shippen is half Benedict Arnold’s age when she seduces the war hero and, as he grows disillusioned with the American cause, hatches a plot to deliver West Point to the British in exchange for fame and fortune.
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick (nonfiction)
In 1776, one of Washington’s favorite generals succeeds in postponing the British naval advance that may have ended the war, but four years later Arnold flees to the enemy.
Foreign Agent by Brad Thor
In a safe house near the Syrian border, a clandestine American operations team readies to launch a mission targeting the director of social media for ISIS.
Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick (nonfiction)
The strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.
The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
One of the few steerage passengers to survive the sinking of the Titanic vows never to speak of that night until many years later when, as an elderly woman, she offers inspiration and direction to her granddaughter.
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First Class Passengers and their World by Hugh Brewster (nonfiction)
Original research intertwines portraits of the rich and famous who traveled behind the paneled doors of the Titanic’s elegant private suites.
January 20, 2017