New Books Network Podcast

Historical Fiction March 21, 2023

The White Lady

Jacqueline Winspear

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

It’s just after World War II, and Elinor White (born Elinor de Witt, which also means “white”), a single woman in her mid-forties, lives as a recluse in a village …

Literature March 18, 2023

Traces

Patricia L. Hudson

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

An early American adage proclaimed, "The frontier was heaven for men and dogs―hell for women and mules." Since the 1700s, when his name first appeared in print, Daniel Boone has …

Jewish Studies March 10, 2023

The Butterfly and the Axe

Omer Bartov

Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Spring 1944. A Jewish family is murdered in a remote Ukrainian village. Who were they? Who were the killers? Three generations later, an Israeli woman and a British man of …

Historical Fiction March 8, 2023

Marvelous

Molly Greeley

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Once in a while, a novel comes along that is both different and special. Marvelous (William Morrow, 2023) is such a book. Retellings of fairy tales are not unusual, and …

Literature February 21, 2023

In the Fall They Leave

A Novel of the First World War

Joanna Higgins

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Joanna Higgins about her new book In the Fall They Leave: a Novel of the First World War (Regal House Publishing, 2023). Nineteen-year-old pianist Marie-Thérèse has dropped …

Historical Fiction February 19, 2023

The Woman with the Cure

Lynn Cullen

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard …

Literature January 31, 2023

Song of the Storyteller

Book 5 of 5: Songs of Steppe & Forest

C. P. Lesley

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to C. P. Lesley about Song of the Storyteller (Five Directions Press, 2023). It’s 1546, and Ivan the Terrible is about to be coronated and married off. Government …

Historical Fiction January 17, 2023

Pandora

A Novel

Susan Stokes-Chapman

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

It is the very end of the eighteenth century, and Pandora Blake—known as Dora—lives at the edge of London society. Despite the opposition of her obnoxious uncle Hezekiah and his …

Asian Review of Books December 15, 2022

Lost in the Long March

Michael X. Wang

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 1934, tens of thousands of Communist guerillas fled Jiangxi, in an extended retreat through hazardous terrain to Shaanxi in the north, while under fire from their Nationalist enemies. The …

Historical Fiction December 8, 2022

The American Adventuress

A Novel

C. W. Gortner

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

From Lucrezia Borgia to Marlene Dietrich, Empress Marie Fyodorovna of Russia, and most recently the actress Sarah Bernhardt, C. W. Gortner has made a career out of finding strong, fascinating, real-life …

Historical Fiction November 21, 2022

The Winter Garden

Nicola Cornick

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

In her novels, Nicola Cornick blends a modern perspective with a historical mystery and a paranormal connection between the two. The Winter Garden (Graydon House Books, 2022) revolves around the …

Literature November 15, 2022

The Lindbergh Nanny

A Novel

Mariah Fredericks

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Mariah Fredericks about her new novel The Lindbergh Nanny (Minotaur Books, 2022). The kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr in 1932 shocked the country and made international headlines …

Literature November 8, 2022

Under a Veiled Moon

Karen Odden

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Karen Odden about her new book Under a Veiled Moon (Crooked Lane Books, 2022). When the Princess Alice pleasure boat collides with a huge iron-hulled cargo ship …

Historical Fiction November 2, 2022

The Poison Machine

Robert J. Lloyd

Hosted by Michael Morales

London, 1679. Combining the color and adventure of Alexandre Dumas and the thrills of Frederick Forsyth, early scientists Harry Hunt and Robert Hooke of the Royal Society stumble onto a …

Literature October 27, 2022

Cora's Kitchen

Kimberly Garrett Brown

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Cora’s Kitchen by Kimberly Garrett Brown (Inanna Publications 2022) is a striking novel told in letters, journal entries, and a series of stories written by an educated young Black mother …

Literature October 25, 2022

The Counterfeit Wife

A Revolutionary War Mystery

Mally Becker

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Mally Becker about her new book The Counterfeit Wife: A Revolutionary War Mystery (Level Best Books, 2022). Philadelphia, June 1780. George Washington's two least likely spies return …

Historical Fiction October 25, 2022

A Trace of Poison

Colleen Cambridge

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Agatha Christie hardly needs an introduction. The Queen of Mystery has reigned since the 1920s, and the recent release of films based on her books shows that her popularity is …

Historical Fiction October 24, 2022

The Empire's Bladesmen

Forbidden Relics

Clay Vagrant

Hosted by Stephen Satkiewicz

Set during the Ming Dynasty that ruled over China, The Empire's Bladesmen: Forbidden Relics (Amored History, 2021) by Clay Vagrant is a gripping story of adventure, secret assassins, and mythic …

Historical Fiction October 14, 2022

Coming Apart

A Novel of the Great Depression

Karen Heenan

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Today I talked to Karen Heenan about Coming Apart: A Novel of the Great Depression (2022). Ava has always been poor, so she doesn't think the Great Depression will change anything …

Historical Fiction September 29, 2022

Miss Del Río

A Novel of Dolores del Río, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood

Bárbara Mujica

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Miss del Río (Graydon House Books, 2022) explores the biography of a real-life actress, Dolores del Río, who became a silent movie star in Hollywood, navigated the transition to talkies, and …