Free and Bargain Historical Fiction in July 2014

[AnemicOak]

A thread for July.

We point out free and bargain Historical fiction titles to each other. Please don't post any self-published books*, and please do a search before posting to avoid duplicates.

In case no retailer is specifically mentioned in a post, it is safe to assume it's for Amazon US.

Be aware that many freebies are only free for a day, so grab them fast!

*Unless you have read them yourself, think they are excellent, and you're not connected to the author in any way.

[AnemicOak]

Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett has dropped to $2.99
Amazon US | B&N | Google | hasn't dropped at Kobo, OmniLit or eBooks.com

Ken Follett’s magnificent new historical epic begins, as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.

A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man’s world in the mining pits.…An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House.… A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy.…And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution.

From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families—and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again.…

A Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower by Alison Weir has dropped to $1.99
Amazon US | B&N | Google | Kobo | eBooks.com | hasn't dropped at OmniLit

In this engrossing novel of historical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir tells the dramatic intertwined stories of two women—Katherine Grey and Kate Plantagenet—separated by time but linked by twin destinies . . . . involving the mysterious tragic fate of the young Princes in the Tower.

When her older sister, Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days’ Queen, is executed in 1554 for unlawfully accepting the English crown, Lady Katherine Grey’s world falls apart. Barely recovered from this tragic loss she risks all for love, only to incur the wrath of her formidable cousin Queen Elizabeth I, who sees Katherine as a rival for her insecure throne.

Interlaced with Katherine’s story is that of her distant kinswoman Kate Plantagenet, the bastard daughter of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king. In 1483, Kate travels to London for Richard’s coronation, and her world changes forever.

Kate loves her father, but before long she hears terrible rumors about him that threaten all she holds dear. Like Katherine Grey, she falls in love with a man who is forbidden to her. Then Kate embarks on what will become a perilous quest, covertly seeking the truth about what befell her cousins the Princes in the Tower, who may have been victims of Richard III’s lust for power. But time is not on Kate’s side, or on Katherine’s.

Katherine finds herself a prisoner in the Tower of London, the sinister fortress that overshadowed the lives of so many royal figures, including the boy princes. Will Elizabeth demand the full penalty for treason? And what secrets will Katherine find hidden within the Tower walls?

[AnemicOak]

This months free University of Chicago Press book is The Reprisal: A Novel by Laudomia Bonanni
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEbook.html

In the bitterly cold winter of 1943, the Italian countryside is torn apart by violence as partisans wage a guerilla war against the occupying German army and their local fascist allies. In the midst of this conflict, a ragtag group of fascist supporters captures a woman in the late stages of pregnancy. Suspecting her of being in league with the partisans, they hastily put her on “trial” by improvising a war tribunal one night in the choir stalls of the abandoned monastery that serves as their hide-out. This sham court convicts the woman and sentences her to die—but not until her child has been born. When a young seminarian visits the monastery and tries to dissuade the fascist band from executing their sentence, the absurd tragedy of the woman’s fate is cast in stark relief. The child’s birth approaches, an unnerving anticipation unfolds, and tension mounts ominously among the characters and within their individual psyches.

Based on a number of incidents that took place in Abruzzo during the war, Laudomia Bonanni’s compact and tragic novel explores the overwhelming conflicts between ideology and community, justice and vengeance. The story is embedded in the cruel reality of Italian fascism, but its themes of revenge, sacrifice, and violence emerge as universal, delivered in prose that is at once lyrical and brutal.
In her native Italy, Bonanni, a writer of journalism and critical prose as well as fiction, is hailed as one of the strongest proponents of post-war realism, and this is the first of her novels to be made available to Anglophone readers. Translators Susan Stewart and Sara Teardo render Bonanni’s singular style—both sparse and emotive, frank and poetic—into readable, evocative English.

[BelleZora]

Just want to comment on Fall of Giants. I read it last year and cannot recommend it highly enough. It is a sweeping story of families in Russia, Wales, England, the U.S., and Germany as the world becomes engulfed in The Great War.

Not only was the book hard to put down - it is loooong and I read it in 2-3 days - but I understood more about the tragedy of WWI at the end than ever before.

A big thumbs up.

[AnemicOak]

City of the Sun by Juliana Maio is $1.99 at
Amazon US | Google | B&N| Amazon CA ($2.12) | Amazon UK (£1.21) | still full price at Kobo and others

CAIRO, EGYPT 1941. As the Second World War rages, the city known as “Paris on the Nile” plays host to an international set who seem more interested in polo matches and swanky nightclubs than the Germans’ unrelenting advance across North Africa. Meanwhile, as refugees, soldiers, and spies stream into the city, the Nazis conspire with the emerging Muslim Brotherhood to fuel the Egyptian people’s seething resentment against their British overlords.

Ambitious American journalist Mickey Connolly has come to Cairo to report on the true state of the war. Facing expulsion by the British for not playing by their rules, he accepts a deal from the U.S. embassy that allows him to remain in the country. His covert mission: to infiltrate the city’s thriving Jewish community and locate a refugee nuclear scientist who could be key to America’s new weapons program. But Mickey is not the only one looking for the elusive scientist. A Nazi spy is also desperate to find him—and the race is on. Into this mix an enigmatic young woman appears, a refugee herself. Her fate becomes intertwined with Mickey’s, giving rise to a story of passion, entangled commitments, and half-truths.

Deftly blending the romantic noir of the classic film Casablanca with a riveting, suspenseful narrative and vivid historical detail, City of the Sun offers a stunning portrayal of a time and place that was not only pivotal for the war, but also sowed much of the turbulence in today’s Middle East.

[tch65721]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett has dropped to $1.99

Sorry, but for me this seems to be $2.99 everywhere.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by tch65721

Sorry, but for me this seems to be $2.99 everywhere.

My bad. Fixed.

[AnemicOak]

These sound interesting @ $1.99 each...


In the Land of the Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark (Author), D.W. Lovett (Translator)

Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own—but nearing her late twenties, she knows her prospects are dim. Then she spots an advertisement seeking young women to marry New Zealand’s honorable bachelors and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer. When her church offers to pay her travels under an unusual arrangement, she jumps at the opportunity.

Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, beautiful and daring Gwyneira Silkham, daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder, is bored with high society. But when a mysterious New Zealand baron deals her father an unlucky blackjack hand, Gwyn’s hand in marriage is suddenly on the table. Her family is outraged, but Gwyn is thrilled to escape the life laid out for her.

The two women meet on the ship to Christchurch—Helen traveling in steerage, Gwyn first class—and become unlikely friends. When their new husbands turn out to be very different than expected, the women must help one another find the life—and love—they’d hoped for.

Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud is a soaring saga of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.

Song of the Spirits by Sarah Lark (Author), D.W. Lovett (Translator)

Volume 2 in the internationally bestselling In the Land of the Long White Cloud saga
Song of the Spirits continues the soaring saga begun with In the Land of the Long White Cloud, as the founding families of colonial New Zealand experience trials and triumphs of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.

Elaine O’Keefe is the radiant grand-daughter of Gwyneira McKenzie, who made her way to New Zealand to take a wealthy sheep baron’s hand in marriage in In the Land of the Long White Cloud. Elaine inherited not only her grandmother’s red hair but also her feisty spirit, big heart, and love of the land. When William Martyn, a handsome young Irishman of questionable integrity, walks into her life, she succumbs rapidly to his charms. Only to have her heart broken when her sensual half-Maori cousin Kura Warden arrives for a visit and draws William away.

Though both young women must endure hardships and disappointments as they learn to live with the choices they make, each of them also discovers an inner resilience—and eventually finds love and happiness in new, unexpected places. Tested by the harsh realities of colonial life, both girls mature into spirited young women with a greater understanding of the challenges—and joys—of love, friendship, and family.

Call of the Kiwi by Sarah Lark (Author), D.W. Lovett (Translator)

In the exhilarating conclusion to the internationally bestselling In the Land of the Long White Cloud trilogy, the spirited Warden and McKenzie clan continues its trials—and triumphs—in New Zealand and beyond.

The great-granddaughter of Gwyneira McKenzie—who arrived in New Zealand as a naïve young bride in In the Land of the Long White Cloud—Gloria Martyn has enjoyed an idyllic childhood at Kiward Station, her family’s sprawling sheep farm in the Canterbury Plains. When her parents send word from Europe that it’s time for Gloria to become a proper “lady” by attending boarding school half a world away in England, Gloria must leave everything and everyone she loves most in the world, including her steadfast protector Jack McKenzie. Wrenched from her beloved homeland and struggling to fit in with the stifling strictures of British boarding-school life, Gloria has never felt more alone. Upon discovering that her parents have no intention of ever sending her home, Gloria takes matters into her own hands and sets off on an adventure that will change her forever.

A stirring coming-of-age tale of love, loss, endurance, shame, and redemption that takes readers from the lush plains of New Zealand’s South Island to the bloody shores of Gallipoli, across Australia’s Northern Territory and beyond, Call of the Kiwi is a profoundly satisfying conclusion to the saga that has captured readers’ hearts across the globe.

[AnemicOak]

To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (A Novel of the Tudors) by Jean Plaidy has dropped to $1.99 at...
Amazon US | Google | right now it's $11.99 everywhere else I checked

From exile and war to love and loss—every dynasty has a beginning.

Henry Tudor was not born to the throne of England. Having come of age in a time of political turmoil and danger, the man who would become Henry VII spent fourteen years in exile in Brittany before returning triumphantly to the Dorset coast with a small army and decisively winning the Battle of Bosworth Field—ending the War of the Roses once and for all and launching the infamous Tudor dynasty.

As Henry’s claim to the throne was tenuous, his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter and direct heir of King Edward IV, not only served to unify the warring houses, it also helped Henry secure the throne for himself and for generations to come. And though their union was born from political necessity, it became a wonderful love story that led to seven children and twenty happy years together.
Sweeping and dramatic, To Hold the Crown brings readers inside the genesis of the great Tudor empire: through Henry and Elizabeth’s troubled ascensions to the throne, their marriage and rule, the heartbreak caused by the death of their son Arthur, and, ultimately, to the crowning of their younger son, King Henry VIII.

[Geralt]

The man who inspired George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, Maurice Druone and his Accursed King series:

The Iron King (The Accursed Kings, Book 1) is 1.99$ on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-King-Accu...dp/B00B0PFYKK/

‘This is the original game of thrones’ George R.R. Martin

From the publishers that brought you A Game of Thrones comes the series that inspired George R.R. Martin’s epic work.

“Accursed! Accursed! You shall be accursed to the thirteenth generation!”


The Iron King – Philip the Fair – is as cold and silent, as handsome and unblinking as a statue. He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.

A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques de Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty…

[GA Russell]

Ben-Hur - free

http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Hur-tale-C...ywords=Ben-Hur

[itisbomb]

The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage that Forever Changed the Fate of England
by Susan Higginbotham

is $2.99 at

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Stolen-Cro...s=Stolen+crown

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stol...i=stolen+crown

Below is the blurb:
On May Day, 1464, six-year-old Katherine Woodville, daughter of a duchess who has married a knight of modest means, awakes to find her gorgeous older sister, Elizabeth, in the midst of a secret marriage to King Edward IV. It changes everything-for Kate and for England.

Then King Edward dies unexpectedly. Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, is named protector of Edward and Elizabeth's two young princes, but Richard's own ambitions for the crown interfere with his duties...

Lancastrians against Yorkists: greed, power, murder, and war. As the story unfolds through the unique perspective of Kate Woodville, it soon becomes apparent that not everyone is wholly evil-or wholly good.

Award-winning author Susan Higginbotham's The Stolen Crown is a compelling tale of one marriage that changed the fate of England forever.

Praise for The Stolen Crown:

"The Wars of the Roses come spectacularly to life in Susan Higginbotham's compelling new novel about Kate Woodville, sister to Queen Elizabeth of England. A sweeping tale of danger, treachery, and love, The Stolen Crown is impossible to put down!"
-Michelle Moran, bestselling author of Cleopatra's Daughter

"A fascinating and compelling look at a tumultuous era. Susan Higginbotham writes the perfect blend of historical fact and fiction."
-Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, creator of the Scandalous Women blog

"A new King with a secret Queen; love and tears, loyalty and turmoil. With a single stroke, Susan Higginbotham transports her readers into a vividly portrayed past, where the turbulent lives of her characters become very real. Probably her best novel yet!"
-Helen Hollick, author of the Pendragon's Banner trilogy

"A tale of love, palace intrigue, and betrayal...Susan Higginbotham draws the reader under her spell, her characters vivid and real: their voices, their loves, their losses. She brings the dead to life."
-Christy English, author of The Queen's Pawn

[AnemicOak]

If we had a Western thread I'd probably have posted this there, but since we don't this seems like a good place for it...


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Robert Hansen is on sale for $1.99
Amazon US | Kobo (couponable) | B&N | Google | Amazon CA

Ron Hansen’s critically acclaimed historical novel about the life and untimely death of America’s most infamous outlaw, and his relationship with the young man who killed him

By age thirty-four, Jesse James was already one of the most notorious and admired men in America. Bank robber, train bandit, gang leader, killer, and beloved son of Missouri—

James’s many epithets live on in newspapers and novels alike. As his celebrity was reaching its apex, James met Robert Ford, the brother of a James gang member—an awkward, antihero-worshipping twenty-year-old with stars in his eyes. The young man’s fascination with the legend borders on jealous obsession: While Ford wants to ride alongside James as his most-trusted confidant, sharing his spotlight is not enough. As a bond forms between the two men, Ford realizes that the only way he’ll ever be as powerful as his idol is to become him; he must kill James and take his mantle.

In the striking novel that inspired the film of the same name starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, bestselling author Ron Hansen retells a classic Wild West story that has long captured the nation’s imagination, and breathes new life into the final days and ignoble death of an iconic American man.

[AnemicOak]

Cavalry Scout: A Novel by Dee Brown is $1.99
Amazon US | Kobo (couponable) | B&N | Google | Amazon CA

An exhilarating story of love and desertion set amid the nineteenth-century Indian wars

“I wished I was back in Texas and had never left there to end up scouting in such godforsaken country for an army dressed in blue.” Such are the sentiments of John Singleterry as this gripping tale begins. Singleterry and his partner, Dunreath, are taken captive by two American Indian fighters. One is an old medicine woman, and the other, holding a rifle, is a beautiful mixed-race girl. They tell the scouts about their tribe’s decimation during its forced relocation, and of multiple promises that have been broken—stories that force Singleterry to face difficult questions of love, desertion, and the real meaning of honor.

A moving novel of torn loyalties, Cavalry Scout gives full-blooded reality to its time, and to both the settlers and natives at the heart of its story.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

If we had a Western thread I'd probably have posted this there, but since we don't this seems like a good place for it...


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Robert Hansen is on sale for $1.99

Just want to give a shout out for this one. I read it several years ago and thought it was terrific. In fact, I need to read it again.

I started a Western thread some time ago but there aren't enough free or bargain westerns in a month to make it worthwhile. The best place for the occasional Western is in this historical fiction thread.