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Distant Echoes: stories of people, places and times past by writers from the Historical Novel Society
Gripping and thought-provoking stories of people, places and times past by writers from the Historical Novel Society.
A new anthology of nineteen award-winning and acclaimed historical fiction short stories.
Distant Echoes brings you vivid voices from the past. This haunting anthology explores love and death, family and war. From the chilling consequences of civil and world war, to the poignant fallout from more personal battles, these stories will stay with you long after the last page.
This selection of winning and shortlisted stories from recent Historical Novel Society writing awards includes The House of Wild Beasts by Anne Aylor (winner of the Historical Novel Society Short Story Award 2014), Souvenirs from Kiev by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger (2nd Place in the Historical Novel Society Short Story Award 2014), Salt by Lorna Fergusson (winner of the HNSLondon14 Short Story Award) and Fire on the Water by Vanessa Lafaye (winner of the HNSOxford16 Short Story Award).
A new anthology of nineteen award-winning and acclaimed historical fiction short stories.
Distant Echoes brings you vivid voices from the past. This haunting anthology explores love and death, family and war. From the chilling consequences of civil and world war, to the poignant fallout from more personal battles, these stories will stay with you long after the last page.
This selection of winning and shortlisted stories from recent Historical Novel Society writing awards includes The House of Wild Beasts by Anne Aylor (winner of the Historical Novel Society Short Story Award 2014), Souvenirs from Kiev by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger (2nd Place in the Historical Novel Society Short Story Award 2014), Salt by Lorna Fergusson (winner of the HNSLondon14 Short Story Award) and Fire on the Water by Vanessa Lafaye (winner of the HNSOxford16 Short Story Award).
- GenresHistorical Fiction
171 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2017
9 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger
17 books250 followersAward-winning historical fiction!
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is a Ukrainian-American who transplanted to Austria.
Born in 1969, she grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of "Nordeast" Minneapolis and started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, and worked as a journalist and managing magazine editor, before jumping the desk and pursuing her own writing and traveling.
Her books tackle David-vs.-Goliath themes with strong women battling for the Underdogs against a system, be it political, geographical, or industrial. Sometimes all three. "I enjoy discovering the good, the bad, and the ugly in my characters when they come into conflict," she says. "And all of my stories have been inspired by injustices I've discovered along my travels."
The RESCHEN VALLEY series is based on the South Tyrolean-Italian conflict during the interwar period and was inspired by her travels to the Reschen Lake reservoir.
Her collection of short stories, which "reads like a novel", SOUVENIRS FROM KYIV won the silver medal in the IPPY Book Awards 2020 and features six stories inspired by true accounts from WW2 Ukraine. THE WOMAN AT THE GATES is what she identifies as her magnum opus and is based on her family in WW2 Ukraine.
THE GIRL FROM THE MOUNTAINS was inspired by an anecdote about a Nazi family from Austria.
The DIPLOMAT'S WIFE trilogy (released in 2023) follows Kitty Larsson, a U.S. senator's daughter who marries an Austrian diplomat before the Anschluss, only to discover that his family is not what she thought they were. Part spy-thriller, part political-thriller, the series promises a wild romp as Kitty navigates the events of WW2 with her moral compass in hand.
And in 2024, Chrystyna's first middle-grade historical fiction novel will be published by Scholastic USA. Set in 2014 Sevastopol, SWIMMING WITH SPIES is about 12-year-old Sofiya who is forced to wrestle with her Ukrainian identity as Russians swarm her peninsula and annex it. When they threaten to seize the dolphins in her father's care, she races against time to save them from a brutal fate.
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is a Ukrainian-American who transplanted to Austria.
Born in 1969, she grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of "Nordeast" Minneapolis and started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, and worked as a journalist and managing magazine editor, before jumping the desk and pursuing her own writing and traveling.
Her books tackle David-vs.-Goliath themes with strong women battling for the Underdogs against a system, be it political, geographical, or industrial. Sometimes all three. "I enjoy discovering the good, the bad, and the ugly in my characters when they come into conflict," she says. "And all of my stories have been inspired by injustices I've discovered along my travels."
The RESCHEN VALLEY series is based on the South Tyrolean-Italian conflict during the interwar period and was inspired by her travels to the Reschen Lake reservoir.
Her collection of short stories, which "reads like a novel", SOUVENIRS FROM KYIV won the silver medal in the IPPY Book Awards 2020 and features six stories inspired by true accounts from WW2 Ukraine. THE WOMAN AT THE GATES is what she identifies as her magnum opus and is based on her family in WW2 Ukraine.
THE GIRL FROM THE MOUNTAINS was inspired by an anecdote about a Nazi family from Austria.
The DIPLOMAT'S WIFE trilogy (released in 2023) follows Kitty Larsson, a U.S. senator's daughter who marries an Austrian diplomat before the Anschluss, only to discover that his family is not what she thought they were. Part spy-thriller, part political-thriller, the series promises a wild romp as Kitty navigates the events of WW2 with her moral compass in hand.
And in 2024, Chrystyna's first middle-grade historical fiction novel will be published by Scholastic USA. Set in 2014 Sevastopol, SWIMMING WITH SPIES is about 12-year-old Sofiya who is forced to wrestle with her Ukrainian identity as Russians swarm her peninsula and annex it. When they threaten to seize the dolphins in her father's care, she races against time to save them from a brutal fate.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 26, 2019
This short story captured my heart.
I was stunned by the sad beauty of Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger‘s Souvenirs from Kiev. The tragic fate of a young Ukranian woman during the Nazi occupation, expertly written, is rich on historical details of that brutal time. In a few strokes, the author truthfully and expertly pictured the nature of the occupiers and their local collaborationists. Emotionally engaging. Powerful. Indelible.
I was stunned by the sad beauty of Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger‘s Souvenirs from Kiev. The tragic fate of a young Ukranian woman during the Nazi occupation, expertly written, is rich on historical details of that brutal time. In a few strokes, the author truthfully and expertly pictured the nature of the occupiers and their local collaborationists. Emotionally engaging. Powerful. Indelible.
February 24, 2018
In many compilations, one or two stories stand out among the rest. Not so in this book. Each story is poignant and beautifully written. I will certainly research each author so that I may read his or her individual works.
November 23, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology and admired the depth of these stories. I enjoyed all the stories, but I've picked out my favourites to review:
“Disunion” by Richard Buxton is a heartbreaking story about a family who tries to remain neutral during the American Civil War. Buxton has approached a familiar subject and shown us another angle. All the civil war era stories I’ve read have focused on one side or the other, rarely on those who tried to stay out of it. Very strongly written, the story lingered with me long after I finished reading the last word. If I had to pick a favourite, this would be it.
Voice is one of those secret sauces that make a story special. The characters leap from the page and speak directly into your ear. They grip you by the throat and won’t allow you to turn away. Lorna Fergusson’s “Salt”, has such a presence. This is the story of Ina, one of the herring girls, who makes her living in Yarmouth gutting fish. She and her sister are far from their home in Scotland during WWI. You can hear the voices, feel the iciness of the water and smell the fish and salt. It’s a compelling story with a strong sense of character and setting.
“Happy Island” by Christopher Cevasco is set in the 1800s and deals with Shanawdithit, the last surviving member of the Beothuk people of Newfoundland. Scenes from her life flit back and forth in a delineated fashion, but this reinforces the underlying theme. The natural changing of the seasons has been disrupted for Shanawdithit whose land has been taken over by settlers. The author makes us feel the discord and the disorientation that the character must have felt when she was taken out of the natural rhythms of her world. An excellent and admirable piece.
“The House of Wild Beasts” by Anne Aylor takes place during the Spanish Civil War. An American reporter, Martha, visits the Madrid zoo, La Casa de Fieras, to write a newspaper article about the war. By reporting the conditions in the zoo, she hopes to make people back home understand why the Spanish Republic deserved their support. It is the task of an author to show their readers a unique perspective, and Anne Aylor has done so with this story. She has examined the depravity of war and the breakdown of society using a zoo as the setting. A thought-provoking story.
“Fire on the Water” by Vanessa Lafaye is the story of Grace, a Haitian woman, who migrated to Florida with her husband and daughter so that he could get work on the railway project stretching from Miami to the Florida Keys in 1909. The story is about changing fortunes, and a woman’s struggle to protect her daughter. It’s truly a wrenching story, impossible to not turn the page as Grace narrates the conditions of her life.
“The Sharing of a Husband” by Anna Belfrage tells about the introduction of polygamy in the Mormon Church through a woman forced to accept the new practice though it tears apart her marriage. I found myself railing against the inevitability of change and mourning the changing relationship with her beloved husband.
“Disunion” by Richard Buxton is a heartbreaking story about a family who tries to remain neutral during the American Civil War. Buxton has approached a familiar subject and shown us another angle. All the civil war era stories I’ve read have focused on one side or the other, rarely on those who tried to stay out of it. Very strongly written, the story lingered with me long after I finished reading the last word. If I had to pick a favourite, this would be it.
Voice is one of those secret sauces that make a story special. The characters leap from the page and speak directly into your ear. They grip you by the throat and won’t allow you to turn away. Lorna Fergusson’s “Salt”, has such a presence. This is the story of Ina, one of the herring girls, who makes her living in Yarmouth gutting fish. She and her sister are far from their home in Scotland during WWI. You can hear the voices, feel the iciness of the water and smell the fish and salt. It’s a compelling story with a strong sense of character and setting.
“Happy Island” by Christopher Cevasco is set in the 1800s and deals with Shanawdithit, the last surviving member of the Beothuk people of Newfoundland. Scenes from her life flit back and forth in a delineated fashion, but this reinforces the underlying theme. The natural changing of the seasons has been disrupted for Shanawdithit whose land has been taken over by settlers. The author makes us feel the discord and the disorientation that the character must have felt when she was taken out of the natural rhythms of her world. An excellent and admirable piece.
“The House of Wild Beasts” by Anne Aylor takes place during the Spanish Civil War. An American reporter, Martha, visits the Madrid zoo, La Casa de Fieras, to write a newspaper article about the war. By reporting the conditions in the zoo, she hopes to make people back home understand why the Spanish Republic deserved their support. It is the task of an author to show their readers a unique perspective, and Anne Aylor has done so with this story. She has examined the depravity of war and the breakdown of society using a zoo as the setting. A thought-provoking story.
“Fire on the Water” by Vanessa Lafaye is the story of Grace, a Haitian woman, who migrated to Florida with her husband and daughter so that he could get work on the railway project stretching from Miami to the Florida Keys in 1909. The story is about changing fortunes, and a woman’s struggle to protect her daughter. It’s truly a wrenching story, impossible to not turn the page as Grace narrates the conditions of her life.
“The Sharing of a Husband” by Anna Belfrage tells about the introduction of polygamy in the Mormon Church through a woman forced to accept the new practice though it tears apart her marriage. I found myself railing against the inevitability of change and mourning the changing relationship with her beloved husband.
October 20, 2017
If I had to pick one word to describe this anthology it would be heart-rending..the tales were all so beautifully raw and emotive. At the end of the book I wasn’t sad as such.. it just knocked the wind from me and brought me back down to earth. My life has been so far relatively pain free..not everyone has been so lucky.
It’s a very personal collection of tales, In very few word you find yourself immersed like the events are playing out right in front of your very eyes. While it might be a quick read I found myself drifting in-between stories, rereading bits, contemplating events in my own life that seem so trivial now. It left a lasting impression.
It’s hard to pick a favourite from the collection but The Happy Island by Christopher M. Cevasco really hit me hard and I won’t forget it any time soon.
I challenge you to read this book and not be touched by it.
A major plus for this book is although this is a collective work by a number of authors it all fits together nicely. While the stories differ in setting the tone filters throughout the book to make it an easy flowing read.
It’s a touching collection of thought-provoking tales that I highly recommend.
I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of the book by Corazon Books to read but how could I read this and not buy my own copy..for me it was worth every penny.
It’s a very personal collection of tales, In very few word you find yourself immersed like the events are playing out right in front of your very eyes. While it might be a quick read I found myself drifting in-between stories, rereading bits, contemplating events in my own life that seem so trivial now. It left a lasting impression.
It’s hard to pick a favourite from the collection but The Happy Island by Christopher M. Cevasco really hit me hard and I won’t forget it any time soon.
I challenge you to read this book and not be touched by it.
A major plus for this book is although this is a collective work by a number of authors it all fits together nicely. While the stories differ in setting the tone filters throughout the book to make it an easy flowing read.
It’s a touching collection of thought-provoking tales that I highly recommend.
I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of the book by Corazon Books to read but how could I read this and not buy my own copy..for me it was worth every penny.
July 31, 2018
Enjoyed a Lot
Enjoyed each story inthe this book immensely! Each well written story cover different eras, countries andthe circumstances. Surprising and touching book of stories
Enjoyed each story inthe this book immensely! Each well written story cover different eras, countries andthe circumstances. Surprising and touching book of stories
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews