3 Great Historical Novels: Habits of the House, The Silver Thread, The Conductor(2013)

Fay Weldon

Here are three great historical novels in one volume. HABITS OF THE Fay Weldon takes us inside an aristocratic household -- upstairs and downstairs -- in the last three months of the nineteenth century. Tea gowns are still laced with diamonds; there are still nine courses at dinner, but bankruptcy, war and social unrest loom. THE SILVER London, 1840. A young woman boards a prison ship bound for the other side of the world. Weaving death, love and adventure, The Silver Thread is plotted like a murder mystery, but narrated with the skill and style of a literary storyteller. THE Winter, 1941. The story of how Shostakovich and one valiant, bedraggled orchestra created a defining moment in the siege of Leningrad – the bloodiest seige in history – is a gripping testament to the life-affirming power of music.