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Fiction: Historical | - 154 items found in your search |
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1 |
Alison, Jane. The Love-Artist
New York Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2001 0374231796 / 9780374231798 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. Mustard spine and red boards with gilt spine lettering and decorative gilt stamp on front cover. 242 pages. Author's acclaimed debut novel. She has since published two additional well-received novels, "The Marriage of the Sea" and "Natives and Exotics," and a memoir is due out in 2010. "Why was Ovid, the most popular poet of his day, banished from Rome? Why do only two lines survive of his play Medea, reputedly his most passionate, most accomplished work? Between the known details of Ovid’s life and these enigmas, Jane Alison has created a haunting drama of psychological manipulation, and an ingenious meditation on love, art and immortality. When Ovid encounters a woman who embodies the fictitious creations of his soon-to-be published Metamorphoses, he is enchanted, obsessed, and inspired. Part healer, part witch, she seems to be myth come to life, and Ovid lures her away from her home by the Black Sea to Rome. But the inexorable pull of ambition leads him to make a Faustian bargain with fate that will betray his newfound muse." --Publisher. ~~ Book is in fine condition, appears unread as book falls back shut when opened. Original clipping of NY Times Book Review article about the book is laid in. Dust jacket is also fine. In clear archival cover. A beautiful, collecitlbe first edition copy.
Price:
22.00 USD
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2 |
Allende, Isabel. Portrait in Sepia
NY HarperCollins 2001 0066211611 / 9780066211619 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. This historical novel continues the story begun in Allende's acclaimed "Daughter of Fortune." Having lost her memory of the first five years of her life as the result of trauma, Aurora del Valle searches for the secrets of her past. Fine copy in near fine dust jacket that has one small corner crease on back flap. Protected in clear archival cover.
Price:
18.00 USD
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3 |
Aridjis, Homero. 1492: Life and Times of Juan Cabezon of Castile
New York Summit Books 1991 0671644998 / 9780671644994 First English Language Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. Translated from the Spanish by Betty Ferber. Original Spanish edition was published in 1985. 285 pages. Book is fine in a fine dust jacket. ~~ Aridjis is one of Mexico's foremost poets and novelists. This historical novel takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and is a picaresque love story between two conversos (converts to Christianity).
Price:
25.00 USD
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4 |
Atkins, Ace. White Shadow
New York G. P. Putnam's 2006 0399153551 / 9780399153556 First Edition Hardcover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Signed by Author
First printing. Black spine and gray boards; maps on endpapers. Three black & white illustrations. 370 pages. Book is clean, tight, unmarked, appears unread. Lower front corners very mildly bumped. Dust jacket is fine, with a light crinkle at head of spine. Now in a clear archival cover. ~~ A stylish and atmospheric crime novel, hailed as "classic Florida noir," based on the real infamous murder of ex-kingpin Charlie Wall, set in 1950s Tampa, Florida. This copy is signed by the author on the title page. Collectible and gift quality.
Price:
30.00 USD
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5 |
Bakker, Robert T.. Raptor Red
New York Bantam Books 1995 0553101242 / 9780553101249 First Edition Hard Cover Near Fine Near Fine 8vo - 9.25" Tall
Black cloth spine and black papered boards with gold spine titling and maps on endpapers. 246 pages. Color frontispiece and a 2-page spread: "Dramatis Personae" which has B&W illustrations of dinosaurs in the story. ~ Book is clean, tight, with no wear or corner bumping, interior pages are unmarked save for previous owner's name and phone number on front pastedown. Dust jacket is clean, bright, with only minor crinkling at head/heel of spine and a mere hint of rubbing at tops and bottoms of flap folds. Now in a clear archival cover. ~~ Bakker (1945- )is a respected paleontologist renowned and credited for his theory that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded, which led to a small revolution in scientific thinking in the 1970s known as the "dinosaur revolution." He published the nonfiction book "The Dinosaur Heresies" in 1986. He was also an unofficial consultant for the special effects artists working on the "Jurassic Park" film, and the paleontologist in "The Lost World" was a caricature of Bakker. ~ In a dramatization of Bakker's revolutionary theories, this novel tells of a year in the life of Raptor Red, a female 'Utahraptor' of the lower Cretaceous period, told from within the mind of the dinosaur herself, "revealing the powerful instincts and Darwinian forces that shape her remarkable consciousness." Her survival odyssey begins when her mate is killed and she rejoins her sister's clan as they migrate, weather storms and evade predators, and as Raptor Red searches for a new mate. A unique and compelling novel, and a must for dinosaur buffs.
Price:
17.00 USD
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6 |
Baxter, Nancy N.. The Movers: A Saga of the Scotch-Irish (Heartland Chronicles, Book I)
Plano, TX Guild Press/Wordware Publishing 1987 0961736712 / 9780961736712 Trade Paperback Very Good 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Large paperback. 516 pages. In very good condition with a little rubbing at corners and edges and a little chip of color loss at head of spine. Interior pages clean and unmarked. ~~ The first of three volumes in the Heartland Chronicles, followed by Lords of the River and The Dream Divided. This historical novel, based on the real-life McClure family, tells the saga of the Scotch-Irish who fled Northern Ireland in the 18th century to come to America to settle, and of their involvement in the Indian wars over the control of the land. The book includes two maps; a glossary of Miami Indian terms; and genealogical charts of the McClure family, the Baird family and the Emison family.
Price:
10.00 USD
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7 |
Bayard, Louis. Mr. Timothy
New York HarperCollins 2003 0060534214 / 9780060534219 First Edition Hardcover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. Black binding, red endpapers. 384 pages. Book is fine, clean, no wear. Dust jacket is fine with just a hint of wear at heel of spine. Third novel by this imaginative and acclaimed author. A grown-up Timothy Cratchit is struggling to shed his past and make his own way in the underbelly of 1860s London. When he discovers the bodies of two young girls with disfiguring brand marks, he suddenly enters the world of a very dangerous killer while also facing his own demons from the past. A thriller full of atmospheric action, surprising twists, and heart. In archival cover.
Price:
18.00 USD
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8 |
Bayard, Louis. The Black Tower
New York William Morrow & Co. 2008 0-06-117350-9 / 9780061173509 First Edition Hardcover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. Red spine and black boards; maps on endpapers. 352 pages. Book and dust jacket are clean, tight, fine. ~~ The fifth novel by this bestselling author. A historical mystery based on the real-life convict turned informant/criminalist Vidocq in the Parisian underworld of 1818. Vidocq investigates the fate of Dauphin Louis-Charles, son of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, and comes across a man with no memory of his past. This story "deftly weaves political intrigue, epic treachery, cover-ups, and conspiracies into a gripping portrait of family redemption--and brings to life . . . Eugene Francois Vidocq, history's first great detective" (dust jacket). In archival cover.
Price:
18.00 USD
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9 |
Berg, S. L.. Escape To Live
Sarasota, FL Peppertree Press 2006 First Edition Trade Paperback Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Signed by Author
First Printing. 231 pages. A novel of the Holocaust. A wealthy Jewish family realizes that despite their status, Hitler's new regime is a threat to their wellbeing. Shortly before the war breaks out, they devise an escape plan, but their lives are changed forever. Years later, two former lovers are reunited and learn about the strength and depth of true love. Inscribed on title page: "To Brenda-- S. L. Berg." Book is in fine condition.
Price:
14.00 USD
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10 |
Berry, Francis. I Tell of Greenland: An Edited Translation of the Sauðarkrokur Manuscripts
London Routledge & Kegan Paul 1977 0710085915 / 9780710085917 First Edition Hard Cover Near Fine Near Fine 8.5" x 9.5"
First printing. Dark green binding with gold spine titling. 205 pages. ~ Book is clean, tight, appears unread, with a wrinkle at upper edge near spine and another wrinkle at tail of spine. Dust jacket is near fine, crisp and bright, with light rubbing wear at head of spine and a single short closed tear at tail of spine. Now in a clear archival cover. ~~ Berry (1915-2006) was a respected British poet, critic and professor of English at the University of London and the University of Sheffield, and he published a number of his own collections as well as numerous works of criticism. This book is an unusual one. It purports to be Berry's translation of manuscripts that he happened upon while boarding at a farmer's home in Reykjavik, these writings being the autobiography of an Ingolf Brandsson, "largely attested by saga, historical document and archaeological find," and which tells of "Ingolf's emigration from Iceland to Greenland as a child and of his lifetime's experiences in that country. These experiences include the conversion of Greenland to Christianity and his participation in the Norse expedition to Vinland, where he perhaps fathered the first child of white man to be born in America." This book is classified as historical fiction, due to the nature of such personally written history, much like the sagas themselves, being a confusing mix of story and history. But the question also arises: Where does the fiction in Berry's book begin and end? Did he really meet an individual who produced these documents for him to translate, or is his entire experience as relayed in this book a fiction? In any case, this piece is a fascinating piece of narrative Icelandic and Greenlandic history, laced with corroborated 'fact' from the sagas, and at the very least, a masterful work of historical fiction. The intrigue is continued in the appendix, where Berry provides a verbatim reproduction of a cryptic letter he received from an unidentified sender.
Price:
50.00 USD
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11 |
Beyle, Marie-Henri (Stendhal). The Red and the Black
New York Heritage Press 1954 Reprint Edition Hard Cover Very Good ++ Near Fine Slipcase 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall Rafaello Busoni
Translated by Hamilton Basso. Translation copyright 1926; renewed 1954. Special contents of this edition copyright 1947 by George Macy Companies. Appropriately bound in red spine and black boards with black spine titling and a red illustrationon cover; all sides of textblock retain publisher's red stain. 450 pages. Two-toned illustrations (red and black). ~~ This novel was originally published in 1830 by this French writer also known by his pen name Standahl. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of realism in his fiction, and also for his psychological analysis of his characters. This novel is also a satire of 19th century French society as it profiles the coming-of-age of a young man trying to climb the social ladder and also the women who fall in love with him. ~~ Book is near fine, marred only by some residual glue marks on the front pastedown from previous owner's bookplate; spine is also mildly sunned. The Heritage Club "Sandglass" pamphlet is laid in. Black slipcase is also near fine, fully intact with just some minor scuff marks. A very nice copy.
Price:
19.00 USD
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12 |
Bryson, Ellen. The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno : A Novel
New York Henry Holt & Co 2010 0805091920 / 9780805091922 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
331 pages. Book is in fine condition in a fine dust jacket. Now in clear archival cover. This debut historical novel is set in 1865 in the P.T. Barnum Museum in New York City. Fortuno, the World's Thinnest Man, searches for the truth concerning a new, mysterious veiled woman performer, while falling in love and also dealing with repeated arsonist occurrences.
Price:
38.00 USD
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13 |
Buck, Pearl S.. God's Men
New York John Day Co. 1951 First Edition Hard Cover Very Good+ Poor 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
A first edition of Pearl Buck's powerful novel. Book is very good plus, tight and square, shows a little wear at head and heel of spine, pages age-toned and light foxing on outer text block only. Dust jacket has a large 1" chip on bottom front, and loss at head and heel of spine, scuffing, and spine is rather tattered, partially repaired with archival tape. Protected in mylar cover and priced accordingly.
Price:
4.00 USD
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14 |
Camp, Deborah. Belle Starr: A Novel of the Old West
New York Harmony Books 1988 0517565226 / 9780517565223 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
First printing. White cloth and purple boards and orange metallic spine lettering. 344 pages. A story of romance, adventure, freedom and independence, and the heroic days of the Old West. Belle Starr is a charming, fearless young woman dubbed as "the bandit queen," in love with the lean, lanky, and equally brave Cole Younger. Together they rebel against the Union in the days after the Civil War has ended. Book is tight, square, appears unread. Dust jacket is fine with a hint of age toning to edges of inner flaps. Quite a nice copy, in archival cover.
Price:
14.00 USD
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15 |
Carey, Peter. Jack Maggs
Toronto Random House of Canada 1998 0679309187 / 9780679309185 First Canadian Edition Hardcover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
306 pages. Book and dust jacket are clean, tight, bright. From the two time winner of the Booker Prize, this is a "vivid and robust novel of Dickensian London--a place and a story teeming with mystery, science, and passion," in which Jack Maggs, a street-smart foundling who was betrayed and deported to Australia, has reversed his fortunes and returns home to his milieu to fulfill his innermost desire. In archival cover.
Price:
22.00 USD
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16 |
Carr, Caleb. The Italian Secretary: A Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes
New York Carroll & Graf 2005 0786715480 / 9780786715480 First Edition Hard Cover Near Fine Near Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Red binding with gold spine titling. 266 rough-cut style pages. Afterword by Jon Lellenberg. ~Book is clean, straight and appears to be unread. Dust jacket is crisp with no edge wear. There is a damp mark with a red bleed from the book cover on the reverse side of the jacket but there is no sign of it on the right side, and neither is anything apparent on the cover of the book itself. ~~ Carr was commissioned by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write this story, in which Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and Dr. Watson are summoned to the aid of Queen Victoria in Scotland. There, two killings at the Royal Palace of Holyrood are reminiscent of the death three centuries earlier of David Rizzio, "The Italian Secretary," in the same location. Caleb Carr is the acclaimed author of "The Alienist" series as well as other fiction.
Price:
7.50 USD
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17 |
Chabon, Michael. Gentlemen of the Road
New York Ballantine Books 2007 0-345-50174-8 / 9780345501745 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Gary Gianni
Purple boards with gilt spine lettering and map endpapers. 204 pages. B&W illustrations with captions. A mismatched pair--an itinerant physician and an ex-soldier--are traveling across the Causasus Mountains in Ajerbaijan in 950 A.D. when they are dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire. "Brimming with breathless action, raucous humor, cliff-hanging suspense, and a cast of colorful characters worthy of Scheherazade's most tantalizing tales . . . a path paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of."--Dust jacket. Book is in fine condition, bottom of spine folded under a bit from shelf sitting. Dust jacket is fine, protected in clear archival jacket.
Price:
21.00 USD
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18 |
Chabon, Michael. Gentlemen of the Road
New York Ballantine Books 2007 0-345-50174-8 / 9780345501745 First Edition Hard Cover As New As New 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Gary Gianni
Purple boards with gilt spine lettering and map endpapers. 204 pages. B&W illustrations with captions. A mismatched pair--an itinerant physician and an ex-soldier--are traveling across the Causasus Mountains in Ajerbaijan in 950 A.D. when they are dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire. "Brimming with breathless action, raucous humor, cliff-hanging suspense, and a cast of colorful characters worthy of Scheherazade's most tantalizing tales . . . a path paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of."--Dust jacket. Book and dust jacket are in fine, as-new condition. This copy is SIGNED and DATED 10-29-07 by Chabon on the title page. Protected in clear archival jacket.
Price:
55.00 USD
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19 |
Coppel, Alfred. The Marburg Chronicles
New York E. P. Dutton 1985 0525243097 / 9780525243090 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Near Fine 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Cream cloth spine and mustard boards with metallic red spine lettering. Maps on mustard endpapers. 563 pages. "Marvelous are the Marburgs . . . This is a vast panoramic novel of three generations of Marburgs which begins in Spain in the 1850s and moves to America at the time of the Civil War and ends in San Francisco at the turn of the century . . . An exploration into the ways of the heart, the fortunes, rivalries, loves and depravities, ambitions and passions of an extraordinary family."--Publisher. ~~ Book is near fine, clean tight, straight, almost imperceptible wear on bottom corners. Dust jacket is very nearly fine, a single small crease and tiny 1/8" closed tear on front flap. In archival cover. A quality copy.
Price:
12.00 USD
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20 |
Crafts, Hannah; Gates Jr., Henry Louis (Ed.). The Bondwoman's Narrative
New York Warner Books 2002 0446530085 / 9780446530088 First Edition Hard Cover Near Fine Near Fine Remainder 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
338 pages. Book is fine save for a black marker line on bottom of text block. Dust jacket has bits of rubbing wear at tips of spine and flap folds. Now in a clear archival cover. ~~ The first publication of a manuscript written in the 1850s by a female African American slave, and discovered by Professor Gates. It is the only known novel written by a slave, and "quite possibly the first novel written by a black woman anywhere." Her story is about a young self-educated slave who due to a devastating circumstance is forced to flee with her mistress. The book includes an introduction by Gates which provides background information.
Price:
9.00 USD
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