Travel back in time to see the fall of Rome, the machinations of the Cold War, or Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address through these works of historical fiction.
Alias GraceAtwood
Atwood takes the true story of Grace Marks, who was arrested and served time for the brutal murder of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and gives the story a new life as Alias Grace. A model prisoner, Grace is released under the supervision of the Governor's wife, who's convinced Grace is innocent. When Dr. Jordan is brought in to meet with Grace, her trust in him allows the story to unfold. Told with Atwood's characteristic unflinching look at how society treats women, Grace's story echoes throughout history.
The Lincoln HighwayAdult Fiction - Towles
In June 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his 8-year-old brother and head to California where they can start their lives anew. Then, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk, hatching a different plan for Emmett’s future—one that will take them all on a fateful journey to New York City.
Conjure WomenAdult Fiction - Atakora
This sweeping story brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Spanning eras and generations, it tells of the lives of three unforgettable women: Miss May Belle, a wise healing woman; her precocious and observant daughter Rue, who's reluctant to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a midwife; and their master’s daughter, Varina. The secrets and bonds among these women and their community come to a head at the beginning of the war.
The Name of the RoseEco
A series of bizarre deaths in a 14th century Italian monastery make Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and his novice, Adso, crime detectives in this masterpiece by Umberto Eco. All Baskerville and Adso know is that the abbey's library is just as full of twists and turns as the road to find the truth behind the carnage. The Name of the Rose takes a long look at truth, knowledge, faith, and all of the ways they intersect.
Hamnet: A Novel of the PlagueAdult Fiction - Ofarrel
Inspired by the son of Shakespeare, this is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It's also the story of a kestrel and its mistress, and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it's a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.
A Net for Small FishesJago
Wolf Hall meets The Favourite in this gripping, dark novel based on the true scandal of two women determined to create their own fates in the Jacobean court. As the women grow closer, each hopes to change her circumstances. Frances is trapped in a miserable marriage while loving another, and newly-widowed Anne struggles to keep herself and her six children alive as she waits for a promised proposal. Navigating the Jacobean court is a dangerous game and one misstep could cost them everything.
Harlem ShuffleAdult Fiction Whitehe
This ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It’s a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately, a love letter to Harlem.
The Spanish DaughterHughes
When Puri's father passes away, she heads from Spain to Ecuador to claim her inheritance. What should be a simple journey becomes more complicated as a murder and fight surrounding what is rightfully Puri's ensues. Set against the backdrop of the historically tenuous relationship between Europe and South America in the 1920s, The Spanish Daughter deals with the role of women in society and how they're expected to behave—even if Puri has no interest in relying on the men she encounters.
The HuntressQuinn
No one writes female-led historical fiction like Kate Quinn. Full of heart and hope, and set against the darkest parts of our collective past, Quinn's novels invoke the duality of life as a woman and as a warrior. The Huntress is the story of Nina Markova, a Soviet pilot who joins the Night Witches—an all-female night bomber regiment—to destroy the Germans. Suddenly stranded behind enemy lines, she becomes the target of The Huntress, a mysterious and lethal killer.
The SympathizerNguyen
The narrator of The Sympathizer is one of the most complicated characters in modern fiction. Half French and half Vietnamese, and now a refugee in Los Angeles in 1975, he's also a communist double agent who reports back on the lives of his fellow refugees. More than a historical novel, this is a book that's part spy story, part political commentary, part literary fiction, and part dark comedy. Told from the point of view of a Vietnamese person living in America at the end of the Vietnam War, it will change the way you see that point in time.
In The DistanceDiaz
When a young Swedish immigrant leaves California to try and find his brother, he experiences everything a young America has to offer. Going against the tide of emigrants heading West, he meets everyone from religious fanatics to career criminals, and becomes a legend all on his own. Both touching and thought-provoking, In the Distance is a story of brotherly love no matter the cost.
When Two Feathers Fell from the SkyAdult Fiction - Verble
Louise Erdrich meets Karen Russell in this deliciously strange and daringly original novel from the Pulitzer Prize finalist. Set in Nashville in 1926, it follows a death-defying young Cherokee horse-diver who, with her companions from the Glendale Park Zoo, must get to the bottom of a mystery that spans centuries.
LibertieAdult Fiction - Greenid
Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman. When she meets Emmanuel Chase, a young doctor from Haiti, she's overwhelmed both by his eager courtship and his depiction of Haiti as a Black utopia—but it’s only when she’s married that she discovers her husband’s egalitarian vision is hope and not reality.
ZorrieAdult Fiction - Hunt
After losing both of her parents and her aunt, Zorrie is cast into the perilous realities of rural, Depression-era Indiana. Drifting out West and surviving on odd jobs, Zorrie finds a position at a radium processing plant. When Indiana calls Zorrie home, she finally finds the love and community that has always eluded her in and around the small town of Hillisburg. However, she discovers that her trials have only begun.