615 Results with the "Historical Fiction" genre


    • Story

      Mother Night

      Mother Night Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut follows Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American playwright turned Nazi propagandist, who later claims he was a spy for the Allies. From his prison cell in 1961, he reflects on his role in the war, exploring the blurred lines between truth, morality, and guilt in a darkly comic narrative.
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      May

      May Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "May" depicts the tense yet vibrant atmosphere of Saint-Malo in late May 1944, as Marie-Laure navigates the city's sensory richness. The air is thick with the scents of myrtle, magnolia, and wisteria, creating a paradoxical backdrop to the impending cataclysm of war. Marie-Laure's routine visit to Madame Ruelle's bakery becomes a moment of unexpected intimacy when the baker, unusually emotional, gifts her an oversized loaf and a cabbage while delivering a cryptic message: "The mermaids have…
    • Mark of the Beast Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens in November 1939 at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where Marie-Laure, a blind girl, is engrossed in reading *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*. Her peaceful moment is shattered when a group of boys taunt her with cruel remarks about blind girls being targeted during wartime. Their menacing words and laughter leave Marie-Laure frightened and disoriented, struggling to retrieve her dropped cane. The encounter underscores her vulnerability and the growing tension in the city as war…
    • Mandatory Surrender Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Mandatory Surrender" opens with Marie-Laure urging her father to read a notice requiring all citizens to surrender their radios to the authorities by noon the next day. Failure to comply would result in arrest as a saboteur. This directive stirs anxiety in Marie-Laure, as her household contains numerous radios, including those in her grandfather’s room and Etienne’s study. The family begins the painful process of gathering and boxing up the devices, with Marie-Laure listening as each one…
    • Making the Radio Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin In the chapter "Making the Radio," Werner meticulously assembles a makeshift radio amidst the ruins of a war-torn city. Using salvaged materials like wire, a pipe, and a diode, he constructs a tuning coil and antenna, working under the dim light of a fading flashlight. The oppressive atmosphere is underscored by distant mortar explosions and the groaning of the damaged hotel above them. Despite the precarious surroundings, Werner remains focused, methodically completing the circuit with the help of…
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      Making Socks

      Making Socks Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Werner waking in the middle of the night to find his younger sister, Jutta, beside his cot, engrossed in a shortwave radio and a drawing of an imagined city. Her unruly hair stands out in the dim light, adding to her intense presence. Jutta questions the purpose of the sock-making tasks assigned in her Young Girls League, to which Werner dismissively replies that the Reich needs socks for soldiers. Their conversation is interrupted by the cries of a younger boy downstairs,…
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      Madame Manec

      Madame Manec Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure and her father arrive at the home of Madame Manec, an old family friend, who is initially astonished to see them. The warmth and efficiency of Madame Manec’s welcome contrasts sharply with the hardships of their journey. She immediately tends to Marie-Laure’s needs, offering her water, a warm towel, and a comforting presence. The kitchen, filled with the aromas of herbs and cooking food, becomes a sanctuary, highlighting the stark difference between the chaos outside and the safety…
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      Loudenvielle

      Loudenvielle Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Sergeant Major von Rumpel arriving at a French police station under the glow of a platinum moon. A burglar has been apprehended with a cache of gems stolen from a chalet linked to Paris’s Natural History Museum. Von Rumpel, weakened by illness, observes the police captain’s meticulous demeanor as he waits. The scene is tense, with von Rumpel’s physical frailty contrasting with his determined presence. The arrival of a bloodied prisoner in a beige suit hints at the darker…
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      Long Island

      Long Island Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Long Island is a 2024 nov­el by Colm Tóibín, which serves as a con­tin­u­a­tion of his crit­i­cal­ly acclaimed nov­el Brook­lyn. The sto­ry fol­lows the life of Eilis Lacey, now in her 40s, liv­ing on Long Island with her hus­band Tony Fiorel­lo and their two teenage chil­dren. Despite her years in Amer­i­ca, Eilis has remained deeply con­nect­ed to her Irish roots and has nev­er returned…
    • Chapter

      Little House

      Little House Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Little House" depicts Marie-Laure's confined existence under her uncle Etienne's protection during wartime. Haunted by nightmares of a menacing German officer, she feels relief at being barred from going outside, though their food supplies dwindle to nearly nothing. Etienne braves the outside world to fetch bread, returning each time visibly shaken. Marie-Laure grapples with persistent interrogations about her father's mysterious activities, recalling how authorities questioned her about his…
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