2025 News:
THE HISTORICAL FICTION COMPANY has awarded The Heron Legacy the 2024 Book of the Year Grand Prize as well as the Tolstoy European Gold Medal.
When Charles Fontaine returns to Europe to sell his family’s ancestral domain, he finds that a twelfth-century legend still haunts the property. Clues lead him to a parchment relating the curious tale of a village seeress, whose music enchanted a nobleman with shadowy ties to the present-day Fontaine family. The deeper Charles delves into the mystery, the closer he comes to his own buried past. The Heron Legacy is a novel of modern suspense in which history roams freely, its breath still warm.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:
EXPLORE THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STORY IN THIS INTERVIEW:
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THE UNIVERSE IN 3/4 TIME
A Novel of Old Europe
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 ERIC HOFFER GRAND PRIZE
ERIC HOFFER EBOOK PRIZE HONORABLE MENTION
DA VINCI EYE BOOK AWARD FINALIST
When a WWII piano emerges from the mist one winter's night,
who could have imagined what mysteries it would unlock?
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THE SAGE OF WATERLOO
Editorial Reviews:
“Move out from the towering shadow of Watership Down, suspend your disbelief and enjoy the bold conceit of seeing a pivotal moment in history from the height of a blade of grass…. A wise white rabbit is as good a guide as any to helping us think through war.” (Laline Paull - The New York Times Book Review) “Gentle and poetic, [The Sage of Waterloo] is an eloquent reflection on the nature and cost of war…Everything in this little book is perfect.” (David Kaymer - Library Journal (starred review)) “Engaging, pleasantly written, and endlessly inventive: all promising signs and a reader's delight.” (Kirkus Reviews) “A debut filled with history and whimsy…. Part historical chronicle, part adventure story, Francombe’s unconventional debut hops along in crowd-pleasing fashion.” (Jaclyn Fulwood - Shelf Awareness) “A playful retelling.” (Allison Chopin - New York Daily News, from “Ten Books For Your Summer Reading List”) “Contemplative and earthy, this novel is wholly original and deeply compelling. Elegiac and innocent…there really aren’t enough adjectives to describe all that I love about this book.” (Mary-Catherine Breed - A Brazos Best Pick) “The tale holds up a mirror to readers so they can see their place in today’s divided world.” (Bill Schwab – The Missourian) Inventive [and] beautifully written.” (Thomas Chatterton Williams - San Francisco Chronicle) “Lovely…. Francombe can turn a phrase, no doubt. There’s an air of naturalist poetry to her words.” (Jason Sheehan - NPR.org) “Written by a concert pianist who abides in Europe, about the Battle of Waterloo seen through the eyes of an erudite bunny…The Sage of Waterloo [is] dignified and poignant, as well as sad, with a gentle humor befitting gentle lagomorphs.” (Lydia Millet - BookPage) |
Dancing with Swans in Doris Heinemann's German translation:
Dancing with Swans in Doris Heinemann's German translation:
"Souverän und bildkräftig erzähltes Debüt..."
"A masterly and vividly narrated debut…"
(Michael Lehman-Pape, www.rezensions-seite.de)