海角大神

1.听Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar, by Olga Wojtas

In Olga Wojtas's novel, exquisitely educated Scottish librarian Shona McMonagle (鈥渃r猫me de la cr猫me鈥� alumna of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls) is catapulted on a mission back in time to Czarist Russia. Shona, now known as "Princess Tamsonova" and a mighty linguist, musician, and martial artist, outwits aristocrats and serfs in this hilarious caper of manners and mayhem. It's a tour de force debut novel.

2.听All the Lives We Never Lived, by听Anuradha Roy

The themes of freedom and revolution echo through the book as an older gentleman pieces together childhood memories of his artistic mother as he tries to understand why she abandoned him so many years ago. Set in the 1980s, his tale reaches back to India鈥檚 fomenting pre-revolutionary era that led up to World War II, and the insights and lessons ring just as true today.

3. The War Before the War, by Andrew Delbanco

"War" is a richly detailed, thought-provoking, and compelling chronicle of how fugitive slaves made the North and South grow further apart. Author Andrew Delbanco details how those who ran away from their masters brought the reality of what slavery was actually like to Northerners' doorsteps.

4. The End of the End of the Earth, by Jonathan Franzen

The new work from acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen is a collection of crystalline thought pieces and nonfiction stories. The subject matter is varied and includes his beloved birds and his rules for a novelist.

5. Heirs of the Founders, by H.W. Brands

Yes, there was Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Adams 鈥� but what about the generation of politicians that was born during the American Revolution and had to lead after the Founding Fathers? H.W. Brands's new book explores the political careers of figures including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun, political rockstars who听inherited both the glories and flaws of the US Constitution.

6. Fryderyk Chopin, by Alan Walker

Alan Walker's thorough biography leaves Chopin's legacy as pure and poetic as his 鈥淧olonaise, Op. 53 in A Flat Major.鈥� This work will probably be a top contender for literary biography prizes.

7. The Betrayal听of听Mary,听Queen听of听Scots, by Kate Williams

Most readers likely know (or think they know) the story of the 16th-century monarch. Author听Kate Williams expertly and entertainingly tells the story of the queen's life and its end, brought about by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

8.听The Tale of Cho Ung, translated by Sookja Cho

The fascinating story, which became popular in Choson Korea, is translated into English for the first time. Translator Sookja Cho manages to motivate scholars to build on the foundation she has created and inform English-speaking readers about the classic.

9. Churchill, by Andrew Roberts

New material, including transcripts from War Cabinet meetings and King George VI's diary, allows Roberts to give more insight into the legendary statesman.

10. We听Begin听in听Gladness, by Craig Morgan Teicher

Author Craig Morgan Teicher explains how poets teach themselves to write their best in his latest book (the title is from William Wordsworth).听Teicher鈥檚 best insights are ultimately about poetry鈥檚 connection to the sublime.