The Buzz...About Books

Helen Humphreys is a Canadian author of poetry and award winning novels. She was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England, and now lives in Kingston, Ontario. Much of her work is based on or inspired by true historical events and key figures. Her writing is very approachable and reading her books allows you to experience these events as if you are right there in the action.

The Reinvention of Love (2011)

Charles Sainte-Beuve, a French journalist, befriends Victor Hugo, then a young writer just on the verge of fame. Hoping to draw knowledge and inspiration from Victor, Charles never suspects that he will be drawn into a life altering affair with Victor’s wife, Adèle. 
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Coventry (2008)

The story of the World War II bombing of the British town of Coventry is told from the perspectives of firewatchers Harriet and Jeremy. Amid the burning city and carnage, they search for Jeremy’s mother and fight to survive.
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The Frozen Thames (2007)

A collection of forty stories based on actual events that occurred each time the River Thames froze solid, between 1142 and 1895.
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Wild Dogs (2004)

Since their dogs ran away and joined a pack of wild dogs, a group of six strangers gather together by the woods, every evening to call their dogs back to them. A community is created as these strangers search to recover what they have lost. Winner of the 2005 Lambda Prize for fiction.
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The Lost Garden (2002)

In 1941, horticulturist Gwen moves to the Devon countryside to instruct a group of girls in the Women’s Land Army to grow crops for the home front. There she meets two people who will change her life forever: a Canadian officer waiting to be posted to the front, and a woman whose fiancé is missing in action. Was selected as part of the 2003 Canada Reads.
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Afterimage (2000)

Isabelle and Eldon Dashell’s marriage is already falling apart, when they hire Annie Phelan as a maid. Isabelle is fascinated by photography and Annie becomes her muse, creating further tensions in the Dashell’s already troubled marriage. Winner of the 2000 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
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Leaving Earth (1997)

In 1933, two female pilots, Grace O'Gorman and Willa Briggs, attempt to break the world flight endurance record by circling the Toronto harbor for twenty-five days in a tiny biplane. Winner of the 1998 City of Toronto Book Award.
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