Got the Downton Abbey fever? Can’t get enough of this compelling story and world? Give these titles a try…

FICTION

Fellowes, Julian. creator/writer of Downton Abbey & Gosford Park–also wrote: Snobs (2005). Preparing to marry heir Charles Broughton, attractive accountant’s daughter Edith Lavery makes humorous and astute observations about contemporary England’s class system.

Forster, E.M. Howard’s End. (1910) Howards End, an English country house, passes to the moneyed, the cultured, and then to the lower class.

Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga (1920). The classic portrait of upper-middle-class life in Victorian England contains three novels–The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let–and their interconnecting interludes. Also an ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre production on DVD.

Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day (1988). Also a stunning film–Stevens, an elderly butler, hopes to rise to the top of his profession, and he remains stoic and unemotional at his father’s death and neglects the opportunity to pursue a relationship with a former housekeeper.
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Need Holiday Gift suggestions? Wrap Up Books!
Beebe librarians have created lists of suggestions for gift ideas for every reader (young and old) and for every taste. Continue »

Ajvide Lindqvist, John. Harbor. (2011)
One ordinary winter afternoon on a snowy island, Anders and Cecilia take their six-year-old daughter Maja across the ice to visit the lighthouse in the middle of the frozen channel. While the couple explore the lighthouse, Maja disappears — either into thin air or under thin ice — leaving not even a footprint in the snow. Two years later, alone and more or less permanently drunk, Anders returns to the island to regroup. He slowly realises that people are not telling him all they know; even his own mother, it seems, is keeping secrets. What is happening in Domaro, and what power does the sea have over the town’s inhabitants?

Allbritten, Esri. Chihuahua of the Baskervilles. (2011)
When the owner of a small-dog clothing catalog reports sightings of a canine ghost who some believe to be a former retail mascot, the eccentric staff of a low-budget paranormal periodical visit Colorado’s Manitou Springs to investigate.

Alderman, P.J.. Ghost Ship: A Port Chatham Mystery (2011).
A recent transplant to Washington State’s charming seaside town of Port Chatham, Jordan is still getting used to sharing her slightly run-down but historic lodging with ghosts.

Allan, Barbara. Antiques Maul: A Trash ‘N Treasure Mystery.

Amis, Kingsley. The Green Man.

Anson,Jay. Amityville Horror.
Non-Fiction that’s really scary.

Anthony, Piers. Shade of the Tree.
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This list emphasizes fiction that centers on everyday women and their lives… often featuring eccentric characters. They range in style, time period, and setting. Some dwell on race relations—others are more geared toward women’s friendships.

Berg, Elizabeth. We Are All Welcome Here. (2006) ISBN: 9780812971002 $15.00 pbk
Set in Tupelo, Mississippi during the summer of 1964, 13-year-old Diana butts heads with an African-American caregiver helping her to look after her mother, who has been paralyzed since she contracted polio shortly before Diana was born.

Blake, Sarah. The Postmistress. (2010) ISBN: 9780425238691 $15.00 pbk
The stories of a small Cape Cod postmistress and an American radio reporter stationed in London collide on the eve of the US’s entrance into WWII, a meeting that is shaped by a broken promise to deliver a letter. Also appeals to fans of Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

Cook, Claire. The Wildwater Walking Club. (2009) ISBN: 1401341233 $13.99 pbk
This is a character-driven and witty novel in which friendship is a main topic. Three women who are neighbors share their struggles with unfaithful men, rebellious children, and parental expectations while taking long walks near their homes on Wildwater Way.

Devoto, Pat C. The Summer We Got Saved. (2005) ISBN: 9780446697156 $21.99 pbk
While Tab Rutland secretly learns about the Civil Rights movement from her aunt, her African American friend Maude helps her Alabama neighbors prepare for voter registration, and her father considers going against his fellow farmers and voting against George Wallace in the upcoming election.

Feldman, Ellen. Next to Love. (2011) ISBN: 9780812992717 $25.00 HC
Follows the stories of three young couples whose lives are irrevocably changed in the years following World War II, a period during which they struggle with difficult losses and witness profound transformations in American culture.

Jordan, Hillary. Mudbound. (2008) ISBN: 9781565126770 $13.99 pbk
Laura McAllan, a white woman and her family move to a Mississippi farm after WWII to endure a life of privation made worse when her racist father-in-law moves in with them. When Laura’s nephew, a veteran, befriends another veteran – a black man – tragedy ensues.

Marshall, Bev. Right as Rain. (2004) ISBN: 9780345468420 $13.95 pbk
A book that explores issues arising from racial and class boundaries in the South from the 1940s to the 1960s, using interracial friendships to portray challenges to the white-dominated class structure. This is fast-paced, moving Literary or Domestic fiction set in the mid-twentieth century American South. The author also uses strong female characters to explore issues of race, class, and gender within communities undergoing profound societal changes.

Mayhew, Anna Jean. The Dry Grass of August. (2011) ISBN: 9780758254092 $15.00 pbk
A white teenage girl discovers the effects of racism on black women in the mid-1950s South.

Naslund, Sena Jeter. Four Spirits. (2003) ISBN: 006093669X $14.95 pbk
In the wake of racial tensions in 1960s Alabama, sheltered white college student Stella participates in her first freedom movement and finds her life changed in several ways when she develops friendships with local African Americans.

Nicholas, Denise. Freshwater Road. (2005) ISBN: 9781416571230 $7.99 pbk
Celeste Tyree, a black 19-year-old college student, travels to Mississippi to take part in the 1964 summer campaign to register disenfranchised African American voters.

Smith, Lee. The Last Girls. (2002) ISBN: 9780345464958 $15.00 pbk
Smith builds this absolutely inviting, completely compelling novel around the idea that “whatever you’re like in your youth, you’re only more so with age.” Thirty-five years after a trip down the Mississippi on a raft with their classmates, four women are reunited to cruise the river once again where they plan to release the ashes of a fellow rafter, Margaret “Baby” Ballou.

Stefaniak, Mary Helen. The Califfs of Baghdad, Georgia. (2010) ISBN: 9780393341133 $15.95 pbk
In this inventive and comic story, eleven-year-old Gladys Califf and her Depression-era community are turned upside down when a worldly teacher, who is fascinated with all things Arabian, moves into the small town. Though set a generation earlier and in a different sociological stratum, this novel should appeal to fans of The Help.

Umrigar, Thrity. The Space Between Us. (2006) ISBN: 9780062067890 $16.99 pbk
In contemporary India, housewife Sara and her maid Bhima see each other through the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood, until a secret is exposed and they can no longer ignore the class line drawn between them.

Armstrong, Kelly. The Summoning. (2008) Darkest Powers trilogy; bk.1 ISBN: 9780061450549 $8.99 pbk
After fifteen-year-old Chloe starts seeing ghosts and is sent to Lyle House, a mysterious group home for mentally disturbed teenagers, she soon discovers that neither Lyle House nor its inhabitants are exactly what they seem, and that she and her new friends are in danger. The Awakening (2009) ISBN: 9780061450556 and The Reckoning (2009) ISBN: 9780061450563 both $8.99 pbk
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If you liked The Other Boleyn Girl…A brilliant blend of fact and fiction woven into a captivating story, with a lively writing style and fascinating characters then try…

Agnello Hornby, Simonetta. The Marchesa. (2008) ISBN: 0312427476 $16.00 pbk
Charming and engaging version of the Sicilian Baroness Costanza’s privileged and challenging life in 19th C. Italy

Cullen, Lynn. Reign of Madness (2011) ISBN: 9780399157097 $25.95 HC
A fictionalized account of Spanish queen Juana de Castile traces her succession to the throne after the reign of Queen Isabel, her marriage to Philippe the Handsome, and the accusations of insanity that prompted her half-century tower imprisonment.

Donnelly, Jennifer. The Wild Rose (2011) Trilogy; bk.3 ISBN: 9781401301040 $25.99 HC
In 1914, with World War I approaching, polar explorer Seamus Finnegan tries to forget Willa, a passionate mountain climber, as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England.
—The Tea Rose (2002) bk.1 ISBN: 9780312378028 $15.99 pbk
—The Winter Rose (2008) bk.2 ISBN: 9781401307462 $15.99 pbk

Donoghue, Emma. Life Mask. (2005) ISBN: 9780156032643 $14.95 pbk
In late 18th-century England, three celebrated Londoners strike up a controversial triangular relationship

Dunn, Suzannah. The Queen of Subtleties (2005) ISBN: 0060591587 $13.95 pbk
Another look at the triumphant rise and tragic downfall of Anne Boleyn.

Dunnett, Dorothy. The Game of Kings, Lymond series, bk.1 (1997) ISBN: 9780679777434 $17.00 pbk
Passionate, panoramic 16th C. Scotland story has adventure, intrigue, and an array of colorful characters

Goodwin, Daisy. The American Heiress (2011) ISBN: 9780312658656 $25.99 HC
Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James. “For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didn’t always buy them happiness.”

Gulland, Sandra. Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. (1999) ISBN: 9780684856063 $16.00 pbk
Skillfully re-creates the turbulence and romance of Josephine Bonaparte’s life.

Kearsley, Susanna. The Winter Sea. (2010) ISBN: 9781402241376 $16.99 pbk
Carrie settles into the shadow of Slains Castle in Scotland, creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write about the Jacobite invasion of 1708. When she can no longer tell the difference between today and centuries ago, is she dealing with an ancestral memory– a memory that might destroy her?

Koen, Karleen. Before Versailles (2011) ISBN: 9780307716576 $26.00 HC
Assuming the responsibilities of governing France after the death of his prime minister, Louis XIV embarks on a love affair with his sister-in-law, Henriette, triggering a scandal that is complicated by a finance minister’s growing power and a mysterious boy with an iron mask.

Pullinger, Kate. The Mistress of Nothing (2011) ISBN: 143919386X $24.00 HC
When her mistress departs from Victorian London society to seek relief from tuberculosis symptoms in Egypt, maid Sally throws herself into their new culture and comes to know freedoms she has never experienced before she is harshly reminded of her humble station in life

Santiago, Esmeralda. Conquistadora (2011) ISBN: 9780307268327 $27.50 HC
Drawn to the exotic island of Puerto Rico by the diaries of an ancestor who traveled there with Ponce de Leon, Ana Cubillas becomes involved with enamored twin brothers Ramon and Inocente before convincing them to claim a sugar plantation they have inherited.

Stevenson, Jane. The Winter Queen (2003) ISBN: 0618382674 $20.95 pbk
17th C. royal–in-exile Elizabeth of Bohemia and former African Prince

Urbach, Linda. Madame Bovary’s Daughter (2011) ISBN: 9780385343879 $15.00 pbk
A continuation of Flaubert’s classic finds 12-year-old Berthe cast off by society in the aftermath of her mother’s suicide and sent to live with her impoverished grandmother, from where she eventually rises through the ranks of Charles Worth’s famed fashion empire.

Weir, Alison. Innocent Traitor. (2007) ISBN: 9780345495341 $15.00 pbk
In alternating voices, Lady Jane Grey and others involved in her fate, tell their sides of the story in this vivid and astute novel.

If you like Fantasy epics in the tradition of George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, & J.R.R. Tolkien, then try…

Rothfuss, Patrick. The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1) (2007). ISBN: 9780756405892 $17.00 pbk.
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

– The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2) (2011). ISBN: 9780756404734 $12.92 pbk.

Sanderson, Brandon. Mistborn: Final Empire (Mistborn series, bk 1) (2006). ISBN: 978-0765350381 $7.99 pbk. Experiencing an epiphany within the most daunting prison of the monstrous Lord Ruler, half-Skaa Kelsier finds himself taking on the powers of a Mistborn, and teams up with ragged orphan, Vin, in a desperate plot to save their world.

— The Well of Ascension (Mistborn series, bk 2) (2008). ISBN: 9780765356130 $7.99 pbk

— The Hero of Ages (Mistborn series, bk 3) (2008). ISBN: 9780765356147 $7.99 pbk.

— The Alloy of Law (After the Mistborn Trilogy) (2011). ISBN: 978-0765350381 $7.99 pbk.
300 years after The Hero of Ages ends, we meet Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, gifted with the powers of Allomancy and Feruchemy. Born into the Ladrian clan, one of several wealthy and powerful families in Elendel, Wax turns his back on high society to enforce law and order with his Sterrion 36 in the gritty, crime-ridden streets of the Roughs. Full of laugh-out-loud moments, religious and philosophical ponderings, and plenty of crime-fighting action.

— Warbreaker (2010). ISBN: 9780765360038 $7.99 pbk.
By using “breath” and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris.

Kirkpatrick, Russell. Across the Face of the World (Fire of Heaven trilogy, bk 1) (2008). ISBN: 9780316003414 $7.99 pbk.
From a tiny snowbound village, six men and women will begin a dangerous quest to challenge an ancient evil, fulfill a prophecy, and change the course of the world’s history.

— In the Earth Abides the Flame (Fire of Heaven trilogy, bk 2) (2008). ISBN: 9780316003421 $7.99 pbk

— The Right Hand of God (Fire of Heaven trilogy, bk 3) (2008). ISBN: 9780316003438 $7.99 pbk

Other Hot Fantasy Titles

Brett, Peter V. The Warded Man (bk 1) (2010). ISBN: 9780345518705 $7.99 pbk
As darkness falls each night, demons known as the corelings rise, and three young survivors of demon attacks risk everything to recover the secrets of the past to defeat the corelings and stop their relentless assault against humans.

— The Desert Spear (bk 2) (2011). ISBN: 9780345524140 $7.99 pbk.

Buchanan, Col. Farlander. The Heart of the World (bk 1) (2011) ISBN: 0765331055 $24.99 HC
Chosen to be the apprentice of an ailing protective assassin in a world dominated by a nihilistic urban cult, Nico accompanies his master on a retribution mission to kill the murderous son of the cult’s ruthless matriarch.

Hoffman, Paul. The Left Hand of God (bk 1) (2010) ISBN: 9780451231888 $15.00 pbk.
Follows the adventures of sixteen-year-old Thomas, one of thousands of imprisoned youths being trained in combat by warrior monks, who becomes aware of his secret destiny after a daring escape.

— The Last Four Things (bk.2) (2011) ISBN: 9780525952183 $25.95 HC