I have recs! 1) The Ben January series by Barbara Hambly, (and, if you can get hold of it, her Abigail Adams series, writing as Barbara Hamilton, in which Abigail Adams is trying to solve crimes and run a household with four children while John gets involved in politics. She will get the cow milked and then she will solve the crimes!) 2) China Mieville's October: The Story of the Russian Revolution which is a book about the Revolution which I found hopeful, and charming, because most of the terrible things haven't happened yet, and the response of the revolutionaries to new information/events is often "We shall hold an urgent committee meeting."