Historical Fiction

The Paris Express

By Emma Donoghue

The author of Room also writes some seriously good historical fiction, like 2023’s Learned by Heart, which fictionalized the youth of Anne Lister. The Paris Express, set later in the 19th century, follows a large cast of characters, each with their own reasons for taking a train to Paris—one of whom is an anarchist with a plan to derail the fated trip.

The author of Room also writes some seriously good historical fiction, like 2023’s Learned by Heart, which fictionalized the youth of Anne Lister. The Paris Express, set later in the 19th century, follows a large cast of characters, each with their own reasons…

Babylonia

By Costanza Casati

Costanza Casati’s captivating and historically insightful second novel, inspired by a real Assyrian queen, is a resonant page turner.

Costanza Casati’s captivating and historically insightful second novel, inspired by a real Assyrian queen, is a resonant page turner.

Another Man in the Street

By Caryl Phillips

Caryl Phillips (The Lost Child) once again explores the impact of the strictures of colonial rule in the Caribbean in the absorbing Another Man in the Street.

Caryl Phillips (The Lost Child) once again explores the impact of the strictures of colonial rule in the Caribbean in the absorbing Another Man in the Street.

The Stolen Queen

By Fiona Davis

What do the 1978 Met Gala and a 1936 Egyptian archeological dig have in common? According to the latest historical novel from Fiona Davis, the answer might be an ancient curse.

What do the 1978 Met Gala and a 1936 Egyptian archeological dig have in common? According to the latest historical novel from Fiona Davis, the answer might be an ancient curse.

The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf

By Isa Arsén

Isa Arsén delightfully details the dramatics of the 1950s theater sphere in The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf, which follows the lavender marriage between two Shakespearean players.

Isa Arsén delightfully details the dramatics of the 1950s theater sphere in The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf, which follows the lavender marriage between two Shakespearean players.

The Life of Herod the Great

By Deborah G. Plant, By Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston’s familiarity with the political and spiritual workings of the Roman Empire makes The Life of Herod the Great a thought-provoking read, particularly in her depiction of Herod’s visits to Cleopatra, Marc Antony and Caesar.

Zora Neale Hurston’s familiarity with the political and spiritual workings of the Roman Empire makes The Life of Herod the Great a thought-provoking read, particularly in her depiction of Herod’s visits to Cleopatra, Marc Antony and Caesar.

Confessions

By Catherine Airey

Catherine Airey excavates the intertwining stories of three generations of Irish American women in Confessions, a firecracker of a debut novel that never gives up any slack.

Catherine Airey excavates the intertwining stories of three generations of Irish American women in Confessions, a firecracker of a debut novel that never gives up any slack.

Homeseeking

By Karissa Chen

Karissa Chen’s Homeseeking is both a love story and a family story, capturing the ever-present yearning for “people, people who shared the same ghosts as you, of folks long gone, places long disappeared.”

Karissa Chen’s Homeseeking is both a love story and a family story, capturing the ever-present yearning for “people, people who shared the same ghosts as you, of folks long gone, places long disappeared.”

Time of the Child

By Niall Williams

Niall Williams demonstrates his genius for making you laugh out loud while breaking your heart at the same time in Time of the Child, his follow-up to This Is Happiness.

Niall Williams demonstrates his genius for making you laugh out loud while breaking your heart at the same time in Time of the Child, his follow-up to This Is Happiness.

The Bishop’s Villa

By Sacha Naspini, Translated by Clarissa Botsford

Sacha Naspini’s The Bishop’s Villa is a gut-wrenching story of survival set in Grosseto, a Catholic diocese in Tuscany which was rented out by its bishop as a prison camp during the Holocaust.

Sacha Naspini’s The Bishop’s Villa is a gut-wrenching story of survival set in Grosseto, a Catholic diocese in Tuscany which was rented out by its bishop as a prison camp during the Holocaust.

Shy Creatures

By Clare Chambers

Clare Chambers’ historical novel Shy Creatures is tenderly told, with just the right balance of melancholy and hope to keep the pages turning.

Clare Chambers’ historical novel Shy Creatures is tenderly told, with just the right balance of melancholy and hope to keep the pages turning.

This Motherless Land

By Nikki May

Nikki May’s warm way with her characters and her sharp eye for the details of life in Lagos make This Motherless Land an engaging and thought-provoking novel about race and reinvention.

Nikki May’s warm way with her characters and her sharp eye for the details of life in Lagos make This Motherless Land an engaging and thought-provoking novel about race and reinvention.

The Berry Pickers

By Amanda Peters

In Amanda Peters’ The Berry Pickers, Ruthie, a 4-year-old Mi’kmaq child, disappears from a farm in Maine where her migrant family is employed during the summer.

In Amanda Peters’ The Berry Pickers, Ruthie, a 4-year-old Mi’kmaq child, disappears from a farm in Maine where her migrant family is employed during the summer.

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