Bøger udgivet af Istoria Books

THE OLD ASHBURN PLACE by Margaret Flint Winner of the Dodd, Mead Pictorial Review prize for the best first novel of 1935 As the second oldest member of the Ashburn "tribe," Charlie Ashburn takes his family responsibilities seriously. He toils tirelessly to keep the rural Maine farmstead going, honoring his mother's legacy by supporting, along with his siblings, the college education of brother Alfred and the schooling of others in the clan. In his own unschooled view, the sacrifices he makes are well worth it if they produce a household that is "beautiful, entire and clean." Tranquility shatters, however, when Charlie becomes smitten with a well-off girl, Marian Parks, and entangled with his brother Morris's wife, Elsie. While Marian flirts and tantalizes, Elsie ensnares him, leading to an existential crisis that ultimately determines Charlie's future. _____________ ABOUT MARGARET FLINT Margaret "Peg" Flint was born at Orono, Maine in 1891 to Hannah Ellis Leavitt and Walter Flint. She attended the University of Maine at Orono and, briefly, Simmons College, majoring first in biology, then philosophy. She did not enroll for her senior year at UMO, but she had gained a passion for writing and soon married fellow student Lester Warner Jacobs, who had graduated with a degree in civil engineering. She did not earn a degree herself. Lester Jacobs's civil engineering work in the coal industry and later for the Army Corps of Engineers relocated the family several times-to Norfolk, Virginia, Slidell, Louisiana and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. She and Lester had six children, three born before World War I, three after. During the war years, during which her husband served in the US Army, Margaret lived in her beloved Maine. Margaret's first novel, The Old Ashburn Place, earned a $10,000 national prize for best first novel of the year in 1935. A phone call from the publisher, Dodd, Mead & Co., told her she was a finalist. But the follow-up news of her win came over the airwaves, announced by Walter Winchell during his radio newscast. The prize was reported in major papers nationwide, such as the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Chicago Tribune. The change in her life from obscure housewife to famous author was as dramatic as it was instantaneous, but her success was severely offset by the loss of her husband in 1936 to the after-effects of WWI gassing. The cash prize, however, enabled her to move the family back to Maine. She renovated the former Pequawket Inn in West Baldwin, which lies within the large acreage land-granted to her father's family after the French and Indian War. Eight more novels and a flood of newspaper and magazine articles followed. As a novelist, her forte was psychological insights into family and neighborhood relationships. She was also noted for her ability to convey the speech patterns of the small region between Sebago Lake and the New Hampshire border, the setting for most of her stories. Her books include: - The Old Ashburn Place (1936): Novel of bucolic Maine life - Valley of Decision (1937) - Deacon's Road (1938) - Breakneck Brook (1939) - Back O' the Mountain (1940) - Down the Road A Piece (1941) - October Fires (1941) - Enduring Riches (1942) - Dress Right, Dress: The Autobiography of a WAC (1943) Cover art: "And Everything Nice" by Bryce Cameron Liston.

In 1920s Hollywood, young John Doyle learns the craft of cinematography when a stupid mistake costs him his job. On a tip, he heads to Sloane Hall, the estate of a famous silent screen actress, Pauline Sloane, where he lands a position as chauffeur. Sloane Hall first offers him peace as he enjoys the bounty of the luxurious home, then unrest as its beautiful namesake returns and starts preparing for her first talking picture. Despite his best efforts to resist, John falls hopelessly in love with his employer. His future brightens, however, when she appears to return his affection, leading to plans for a secret wedding-until other awful secrets intrude, leading to heartbreak and separation. A story of obsession and forgiveness, Libby Sternberg's Sloane Hall was inspired by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. ------ "An original story with complex character development...(Sternberg) knows how to tell a story and she does it well....a refreshing tale." Carolyne Van Der Meer, Bronte Studies journal, September 2011 "Libby Sternberg's intelligent and intriguing Jane Eyre reimagining has achieved two of the most difficult goals in a novel: being a page turner and paying a worthy tribute to Charlotte Brontë's immortal story." -- THE BRONTE BLOG "Sternberg never loses sight of the story she's re-telling, but this novel is definitely her own. Readers have things to figure out and look forward to. Her prose flows beautifully with vivid descriptions of people and places, bringing to life a Los Angeles of times gone by. Fans of historical fiction and Jane Eyre in particular will relish this novel, and readers who enjoy a love story should definitely pick this one up."-KATHERINE PETERSON, FRESH FICTION "Admittedly inspired by Jane Eyre, Sloane Hall contains a similar plot with a few surprising twists. As two very troubled individuals try to convince each other of their love, destructive forces work to destroy that attraction. All the characters are well developed, interesting people driven by their desires....What makes Sloane Hall different and intriguing is the setting. The depictions of the movie business and of social life amongst movie elite during Prohibition effectively take the reader back to a free-wheeling time-well worth reading."-ROBIN LEE, ROMANCE REVIEWS TODAY"

When a knight and a monk spring from the pages of Rosie's book, the only people more astonished than the reclusive PhD student are her time-traveling visitors. Cooped up in a house-turned-museum since the long-ago disappearance of her parents, Rosie is now forced out into the world as her guests wreak havoc on her Baltimore neighborhood. As Rosie tries to figure out how to return the errant duo to their home in history, she begins to uncover why her parents vanished without a trace seven years earlier. But her eccentric Uncle Alvin threatens to stand in her way, before she can discover the truth about Bulfinch and her own childhood. By turns funny and tender, adventurous and thoughtful, Bulfinch is a whimsical tale about getting lost in a book -- and finding your way out again. Hannah Sternberg is also the author of Queens of All the Earth, which was praised by Kirkus Reviews as "modern and exuberant." PRAISE FOR BULFINCH "I was astonished at the depth of emotion conveyed in the book. I felt the same way after reading Queens of All the Earth. Sternberg has such a talent for examining and sharing these deep, deep emotions in such a way that readers get swept up in them as well. The word that came to mind when I read this book was delicious. I felt like I was devouring it and that it was just delicious." -Allie Duzett, author of The Body Electric "I'm a sucker for books about knights and monks, and in this delightful tale, a suitably belligerent knight and dreamy monk help a very modern girl solve her very mysterious problems in a very medieval way. Highly recommended." -H.W. Crocker III, author of The Old Limey "Meticulously researched, through nifty writing and the art of fantasy, Sternberg brings a couple of characters from the Middle Ages to the present and to life. A terrific read." -Gary Alexander, author of the Buster Hightower mystery series

--Follow the Oregon Trail in a sweeping western historical romance featuring an iconic cowboy and a woman with secrets-- KIT AUSTEN'S JOURNEY takes readers on the arduous trip west in 1851 when fortune seekers raced to take advantage of the California gold rush. But for Kit Austen, the passage is a journey away from danger, rather than toward treasure. When she joins trail captain Daniel Winchester's company, she finds both. First, the perils of the journey-especially for a single woman-try her body as well as her spirit. And then, her growing admiration and affection for Daniel test her determination to stay true to her marriage vows, even though they'd been made to a villain. Daniel, too, struggles with his attraction to Kit. A taciturn man with his own deep sorrows, he knows she deceived him to join the company, but doesn't know why. As he faces the journey's familiar risks, he's confronted with a new danger-losing his heart to the strong but secretive Kit. KIT AUSTEN'S JOURNEY offers readers a story of faith, heartbreak and love on the Oregon Trail...told by a multi-published author whose historical research has been praised by critics and readers alike. ________ ABOUT THE AUTHOR Libby Sternberg is the author of young adult mystery, women's fiction and historical fiction. She writes romantic comedy under the name Libby Malin. Her first young adult mystery was an Edgar finalist and her first romantic comedy was optioned for film. KIT AUSTEN'S JOURNEY is her first western historical romance. The sequel to KIT AUSTEN'S JOURNEY -- WHEN THE EARTH AND ALL ITS PEOPLE QUAKE -- tells the story of Kit Austen's granddaughter, Ruth, who travels to San Francisco in 1906 to leave behind the grief she suffers after losing her fiancé. Readers can find an excerpt at the author's website: LibbySternberg.com or at the Istoria Books website: IstoriaBooks.com. ___________ PRAISE FOR LIBBY STERNBERG'S PREVIOUS NOVEL, SLOANE HALL, A JANE EYRE RETELLING: -- "Ms. Sternberg has written a beautiful novel....it did not let me go until the very end." The Book Binge -- "Wow... Ms. Sternberg has a winner in this novel ... She writes beautiful, tortured characters, puts you right in the time frame and crafts an amazing story around all of it. Wonderful job and a wonderful book..." My Reading Room -- "Though Sternberg does rely on the framework of Charlotte Brontë's tale for SLOANE HALL, it is nevertheless an original story with complex character development... one cannot accuse Sternberg of having borrowed shamelessly; she knows how to develop and tell a story and she does it well...Sternberg's novel is a refreshing tale, one that borrows bits and parts from JANE EYRE, but that stands squarely on its own." Bronte Studies journal

Two years after her fiancé Miguel's death, Ruth Sanchez still mourns. Sent to San Francisco by her loving family to refresh her spirit, Ruth starts to heal with the help of Abigail Granville, a feisty young "reportress," and Abby's friend, Ted Crane. Ruth's new affection and admiration for Ted begin to crack, however, when she suspects him of following in the path of his criminal grandfather. Just when she learns the truth about Ted, San Francisco shatters in the Great Earthquake of 1906. A story of judgment, atonement and forgiveness, Mending Ruth's Heart will especially appeal to fans of Kit Austen's Journey as they get to know Kit and Daniel's spirited granddaughter and learn the fate of their tormentor, Billy Crane. Praise for Kit Austen's Journey: -"Sternberg has done her research, which she shares with the reader in beautifully written descriptions of the vistas and challenges that the travelers experience as they move westward...This is a feel good book..." Love Romance Passion

AFTER THE WAR by Libby Sternberg A decade after the war, its devastation still haunts them... In the summer of 1955, a young nun awakens in Johns Hopkins Hospital after suffering an overdose, unable to remember the events that brought her there. As she recovers, she becomes the center of quiet struggles among those who surround her: her brother, a former GI still stung by betrayal during his years of service; her sister-in-law, a beautiful woman seeking love at any price; her confessor, a Jesuit priest who lost everything during the bombing of London; her nurse, a war widow whose sunny optimism leads to repeated disappointment; and her doctor, a psychiatrist beset by survival guilt and doubts about his profession's ability to heal. Suffering from unseen war wounds ten years after the fighting ended, they each find their way to a very personal peace. "...a touching novel of faith and family...an evocative story of love lost, and found, told with beautiful language and emotional clarity. A novel to savor." Christy English, author of The Queen's Pawn ____