More historical fiction
Explore captivating historical fiction books with our curated list. Dive into rich, immersive stories set in the past, perfect for history lovers and fiction enthusiasts alike.
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The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
by Carolly Erickson
Awaiting her execution, Marie Antoinette writes the story of her life, describing her privileged childhood as an Austrian archduchess, years as the glamorous mistress of Versailles, and imprisonment during the French Revolution.
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Jane and the Wandering Eye
by Stephanie Barron
As Christmas of 1804 approaches, Jane Austen finds herself "insupportably bored with Bath, and the littleness of a town." It is with relief that she accepts a peculiar commission from her Gentleman Rogue, Lord Harold Trowbridgeâto shadow his niece, Lady Desdemona, who has fled to Bath to avoid the attentions of the unsavoury Earl of Swithin. But Jane's idle diversion turns deadly when a man is discovered stabbed to death in the Theatre Royal. Adding to the mystery is an unusual object found on the victim's bodyâa pendant that contains a portrait of an eye! As Jane's fascination with scandal leads her deeper into the investigation, it becomes clear that she will not uncover the truth without some dangerous playacting of her own....
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The Trespass
by Barbara Ewing
In 1849, Sir Charles Cooper--member of Parliament and upright gentleman--is obsessed with his beautiful daughter Harriet. When her older sister dies in London's cholera epidemic, Harriet can see nothing but horror before her. Her only chance for escape is to journey to the new colony of New Zealand.
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The Pirates!
by Gideon Defoe
Following their misadventures with Charles Darwin and the evil Bishop of Oxford, the Pirates set sail in a new ship, purchased on credit, and embark on a quest to capture the Dastardly White Whale, hoping to gain the reward promised by Captain Ahab, but first they must deal with buried treasure, the lascivious Cutlass Liz, a Las Vegas singing contest, and other trials. 25,000 first printing.
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The Secret Wife of King George IV
by Diane Haeger
A fictional portrait of Maria Fitzherbert chronicles the passionate love affair and secret wedding of King George IV with a beautiful Catholic woman whose marriage was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church but not by English law.
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The Spanish Bride
by Laurien Gardner
Estrella de Montoya, Catherine of Aragon's companion, witnesses the marriage of Catherine to King Henry VIII, a cruel monarch whom Catherine believed to be her chivalrous knight in shining armor.
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To the Tower Born
by Robin Maxwell
This narrative offers a new perspective on a five-century-old mystery and debate about the young princes of York who were imprisoned in the Tower of London by Richard III and disappeared, ensuring Richard's ascent to the throne.
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The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory
"Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both kings and crusaders. At the age of three, she is betrothed to Prince Arthur, son and heir of Henry VII of England, and is raised to be Princess of Wales. She knows that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land." "Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur's wife grows ever more bearable. Unexpectedly in this arranged marriage, a tender and passionate love develops." "But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur's young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother's daughter and her fighting spirit is indomitable. She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it."--BOOK JACKET.
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The Way of the Traitor
by Laura Joh Rowland
A volatile, corrupt city threatened by toreign invasion and ru by an iron-fisted government, Nagasaki is the last place Sano Ichiro wants to be, Unfortunately, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People has been banished there by a wicked adversary in the shogun's court. Surrounded by spies, Sano must tread carefully. When the body of a Dutch trader washes ashore, he finds himself leading an investigation that could push Japan into war -- even as it thrusts his life into the hands of powerful enemies. Sano has to unmask a killer and prove his innocence, or his samurai head, and maybe his country, will fall.
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Metropolis
by Elizabeth Gaffney
On a freezing night in the middle of a New York winter, a young immigrant is suddenly awakened by a fire in P. T. Barnumâs stable, where he works and sleeps, and soon finds himself at the center of a citywide arson investigation. Determined to clear his name and realize the dreams that inspired his hazardous voyage to America, he will change his identity many times, find himself mixed up with one of the cityâs toughest and most enterprising gangs, and fall in love with a smart, headstrong, and beautiful woman. Buffeted by the forces of fate, hate, luck, and passion, our hero struggles to build a lifeâand just to stay aliveâon an epic journey that is at once unique and poignantly emblematic of the American experience.
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Two Women of Galilee
by Mary Rourke
A courtier's wife encounters the mother of God in this debut novel--the beautifully imagined story of Joanna, mentioned in the Bible as "the wife of Herod's steward Chuza," who accompanied Jesus and the disciples.
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A Rose for the Crown
by Anne Easter Smith
AN UNFORGETTABLE HEROINE, A KING MISUNDERSTOOD BY HISTORY, A LOVE STORY THAT HAS NEVER BEEN TOLD In A Rose for the Crown, we meet one of history's alleged villains through the eyes of a captivating new heroine -- the woman who was the mother of his illegitimate children, a woman who loved him for who he really was, no matter what the cost to herself. As Kate Haute moves from her peasant roots to the luxurious palaces of England, her path is inextricably intertwined with that of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III. Although they could never marry, their young passion grows into a love that sustains them through war, personal tragedy, and the dangerous heights of political triumph. Anne Easter Smith's impeccable research provides the backbone of an engrossing and vibrant debut from a major new historical novelist.
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
Lily is haunted by memoriesâof who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness. In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (âwomenâs writingâ). Some girls were paired with laotongs, âold sames,â in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become âold samesâ at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.
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A Lady Raised High
by Laurien Gardner
A biographical tale of the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of the powerful King Henry VIII of England.
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Mina
by Jonatha Ceely
"Mina" places readers in the vividly rendered below-stairs world of a 19th-century English country manor house. Here, a young Irish immigrant may briefly hide from woe in the chaos and careless brutality of life in the servant class.
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The Masque of the Black Tulip
by Lauren Willig
When a London War Office courier is murdered for the confidential dispatch he carried for a known as the Pink Carnation, Henrietta Uppington and Miles Dorrington work with the War Office to prevent the Pink Carnation's assassination.
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Sarah
by Marek Halter
Sarahâs story begins in the cradle of civilization: the Sumerian city-state of Ur, a land of desert heat, towering gardens, and immense wealth. The daughter of a powerful lord, Sarah balks at the marriage her father has planned for her. On her wedding day, she impulsively ïŹees to the vast, empty marshes outside the city walls, where she meets a young man named Abram, son of a tribe of outsiders. Drawn to this exotic stranger, Sarah spends one night with him and reluctantly returns to her fatherâs house. But on her return, she secretly drinks a poisonous potion that will make her barren and thus unïŹt for marriage. Many years later, Abram returns to Ur and discovers that the lost, rebellious girl from the marsh has been transformed into a splendid womanâthe high priestess of the goddess Ishtar. But Sarah gives up her exalted life to join Abramâs tribe and follow the one true God, an invisible deity who speaks only to Abram. It is then that her journey truly begins. From the great ziggurat of Ishtar to the fertile valleys of Canaan to the bedchamber of the mighty Pharaoh himself, Sarahâs story reveals an ancient world full of beauty, intrigue, and miracles.
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Forever
by Pete Hamill
Moving from Ireland to New York City in 1741, Cormac O'Connor witnesses the city's transformation into a thriving metropolis while he explores the mysteries of time, loss, and love. By the author of Snow in August and A Drinking Life. Reprint. 100,000 first printing.