Informal Bibliography: Nonfiction Books about Troy and the Hittites
An informal bibliography of scholarly but accessible books about Troy and the Hittites.
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Judith Starkston
Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Their myths and clashes inspire her fiction and open gates to magical realms. She has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories, and her novels imbue fantasy with the richness of ancient worlds. The first book in her Trojan Threads Series, Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana, the first in her historical fantasy Tesha series, won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.
Review and Giveaway of Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
With the recent celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee, it’s especially engaging to read a novel about her as a young Princess—set in some of England’s darkest days during the brutal bombing attacks by Germany during WWII. While the adventures of Maggie Hope, spy and mathematician, with the fourteen-year-old Princess are fictional, MacNeal’s portrayal of Elizabeth rings delightfully true.
Review of More Than Sorrow by Vicki Delany
Women who have lost their freedom to act according to their own choices—that’s the theme of Delany’s More Than Sorrow. Delany has interwoven the stories of Hannah, Hila and Maggie, moving from contemporary Canada, to Afghanistan to the Revolutionary period in North America to show three quite different ways in which women lose their autonomy.
Review of John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfolk
Set in 17th century England, the intricacies of food preparation in a great English castle are on detailed display while we follow John’s life story from village childhood with a mother accused of witchcraft through Cromwell’s civil war and an unlikely love affair.
Giveaway and Review of Death in August, by Marco Vichi
Book Giveaway. Set in Florence in 1963. Inspector Bordelli uncovers the killer of a wealthy signora, all while consuming delicious food and pondering philosophically.
Blog Hop Giveaway and Review of Rubies of the Viper by Martha Marks
Book Giveaway! Rubies of the Viper is a genuine gem of a mystery set in Rome during the reigns of the Emperors Claudius and Nero. The heroine is a fictional woman named Theodosia Varro, who at the opening of the novel has inherited a vast fortune–which seems to draw both suitors and killers to her doorstep.
Review of A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
Charles Todd’s A Bitter Truth interweaves the vices of war with the failings of families into a psychologically and historically compelling mystery set in England in 1917. Bess Crawford, an intelligent and fearless nurse working on the front lines in France, comes home on leave to discover a frightened young woman with a bruised face hiding on the doorstep of her London flat.
Review of Shunning Sarah, by Julie Kramer
Fast-paced with a sense of humor and a shiver of terror, Shunning Sarah uncovers layers of mire in the Amish community of Harmony, Minnesota and among the TV broadcast staff of Spartz’s Channel 3.
From the New York Times Book Review: The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall
The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall: from the New York Review of Books, insights into the central role of “story” in humanity.
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR DESERT SLEUTHS WRITENOW! CONFERENCE
Join the Desert Sleuths Sisters in Crime for a fantastic conference for writers (and readers) at the gorgeous Millennium Resort on August 11. To register right now go to the DesertSleuths.com website.