History Blog

The Devil's Company by David Liss
18th century -- fiction, East India Company, England, Jews -- fiction, LibraryPoint Blog, London, Virginia Johnson, CRRL Books Blog, Reading Room Blog, Historical Fiction, History Blog, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Thriller
07/20/2010 - 11:17am

Benjamin Weaver, retired prize fighter and now professional thief-taker, is back in action on the streets of 18th-century London. What seemed a simple job—cheating a card cheat—turns nightmarish when Weaver discovers he’s the one who has been rooked in David Liss' The Devil’s Company. The mysterious and wealthy Mr. Jerome Cobb has a very dangerous plan in which Weaver is an essential player. His physical skills, intelligence, connections, and indeed his very character are necessary to make the plan a success.

No one else will do, and in order to secure his cooperation, Cobb and his cronies have drawn a diabolical net around those Weaver holds dear. The Devil's Company referred to in the title is none other than the terrifically wealthy East India Trading Company. Their near monopoly on imports of tea, fabrics, and other luxury items began more than 100 years before this story opens in 1722, and it is this fortress-like institution that Weaver must infiltrate.
 
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Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis
17th century -- fiction, English Civil War, HistoryPoint, LibraryPoint, LibraryPoint Blog, Virginia Johnson, CRRL Books Blog, Reading Room Blog, Historical Fiction, History Blog, Books and Reading, Historical Fiction, Politics
07/20/2010 - 11:22am
Cover to Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis

January 30, 1649, was chosen to be King Charles’ death day. Among the sober observers were tall, flaxen-haired Gideon Jukes, musketeer and spy for Cromwell’s New Army, and lovely Juliana Lovell, the still loyal though seemingly abandoned wife of a Cavalier officer.

Juliana has criss-crossed wartorn England and now lives in London on the brink of starvation with her two young boys. She has a lady’s manners but has had to develop cunning to survive her years alone while her husband serves in the King’s army. Her path crosses with Gideon’s when they both flee the Tower in the aftermath of the King's execution.
 
Their lives before the war were so very different. Gideon, rebellious son of a wealthy merchant, nonetheless was cheerfully apprenticed to a printer of many things, including seditious literature. When the call came to join Parliament’s cause with the London trained bands, he quickly volunteered, eager to get away from a strange and unpleasant marriage. Without family and in need of a protector, Juliana had wed a trickster, a lesser noble, who fascinated her and kept her true to him despite their years apart.
 
Rebels and Traitors is a massive novel—nearly 750 pages—set in a time most Americans know little about. But they should and this story is an engrossing way to immerse oneself in a time every bit as exciting and compelling as the American Civil War or the French Revolution. Those who enjoy James Michener’s historical sagas and Bernard Cornwell’s military tales of the British past should find summer solace in this lengthy tale. The pacing fluctuates between battles and sackings of towns--punctuated with periods of domestic normality, friendships, love, and even humor.
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New 'Virginia History for Kids' Resource
History Blog, Historical Fiction, History, Virginia History
07/02/2010 - 11:50am

CRRL History is pleased to announce a new history resource, Virginia History for Kids.  This set of selected books is targeted for children and includes such popular topics as the founding fathers, women's history, frontier life, spies, the American Revolution, colonial life, slavery, the Civil War, and even pirates!  The list lets you choose topics that interest you and see books the library has to check out. 
Put a book on hold by clicking the 'Reserve this title' link.  You can take a look at this new resource here. 

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John Paul Jones: A Founder of the U.S. Navy
18th century, American Revolution, France, Fredericksburg (Va.), History Feature Articles, John Paul Jones, LibraryPoint Blog, U.S. Navy, Virginia Johnson, History Blog, History, Virginia History
06/23/2010 - 3:52pm

From a Scottish port to colonial Fredericksburg to the royal courts of France and Russia, the little man who famously refused to give up the fight was perfectly at home in both cottages and elegant salons, but he was always eager to set sail for adventure and glory.

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New Trail to Freedom Project Marks Local Black History Sites
Fredericksburg (Va.), Historic sites, National Park Service, Shiloh Baptist Church (Old site), Stafford County (Va.), Virginia Johnson, History Blog, African American, Virginia History
06/22/2010 - 2:59pm

Between April and September 1862, an estimated 10,000 slaves fled the South through our region. As part of the local Civil War Sesquicentennial commemorations, the Trail to Freedom project was designed to give the public a better understanding of the experiences of those whom the war impacted greatly but are often only a footnote in history books.

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Local Doctor's Hours of Heroism
18th century, American Revolution, Barbara Crookshanks, Brooke family, Caroline Street, doctors, Fredericksburg (Va.), History Feature Articles, John Paul Jones, Laurence Brooke, LibraryPoint Blog, naval battles, Smithfield (house), Spotsylvania County (Va.), History Blog, History, Virginia History
06/03/2010 - 5:10pm

The time was sunset on Sept. 23, 1779. A full moon was rising. The place was the bloody deck of John Paul Jones’ ship the Bon Homme Richard. There a young Spotsylvanian named Laurence Brooke would show the stuff of which heroes are made.  At age 21, he was the lone surgeon on the Bon Homme Richard as it engaged the 50-gun HMS Serapis in the North Sea off Scarborough, England. The burning Serapis surrendered after a 3 1/2-hour battle during which John Paul Jones proclaimed: “I have not yet begun to fight!”

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Searchable Port Records
19th century, Adriana Puckett, Fredericksburg, LibraryPoint Blog, ports, Ships, History Blog
06/03/2010 - 9:45am

Fredericksburg port record information, collected by historian John "Jack" Johnson, is now available for searching and browsing through the CRRL history Web site.

Discover ships and captains making port in this bustling sea town or conduct a general search to get an idea of the commercial activity. For instance, on Christmas Day, 1816, a half dozen ships made port from as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, and as close as Richmond, Virginia, bringing undisclosed cargoes!

Searching the port records can be done by year, ship name, captain name, OR combinations thereof.

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New Service: "My Borrowing History"
LibraryPoint Blog, Kids Blog, Teen Blog, History Blog, Books and Reading
06/21/2010 - 10:38am

Did you read a really good book a few months ago, but can't remember what it was? Or maybe it was a DVD, audiobook, or magazine?

Now you can keep track of the items you borrow with "My Borrowing History," a new optional service from the CRRL.

How does it work? Easy!

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Historic Garden Week in Virginia
Gardens, Historic sites, LibraryPoint Blog, Virginia Johnson, History Blog, Gardening, Virginia History
04/19/2010 - 10:08am

History and gardening fans get together this week throughout the Commonwealth to tour gardens of houses great and small from the Tidewater area to the Highlands. The Rappahannock Valley portion of the tour will be held Tuesday, April 20, in Stafford and King George counties.

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Great Lives Series: Robert E. Lee
Great Lives series, LibraryPoint Blog, Robert E. Lee, Virginia Johnson, Reading Room Blog, History Blog, Autobiography and Biography, Virginia History
04/15/2010 - 8:50am

On Thursday, April 15, 2010, Elizabeth Brown Pryor, author of Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters, will give a talk on the Confederate general.

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