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Historical Fiction November 2025 |
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The Guest In Room 120
by Sara Ackerman
1905 As the mother of a university and a woman with an iron will, Jane Stanford has made her share of enemies. After a scare at her mansion in San Francisco and on the advice of her doctor, she flees to Honolulu and the fashionable new Moana hotel. But as fate would have it, the island is not as safe as it seems.2005 Zoe Finch is a bestselling author who desperately needs a jump start on her next novel, and she makes a split decision to attend a writers' conference at the Moana under an assumed name. As a storm brews offshore, she begins having nightmares that feel hauntingly real. Terrified, Zoe enlists the help of mystery writer Dylan Winters and, over the course of the week, races to uncover the shocking truth of what happened in the hotel one hundred years ago almost to the day. Inspired by the incredible true story of one of America's most mysterious deaths, this is an unforgettable tale of betrayal and secrets that still echoes through the years.
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| Venetian Vespers by John BanvilleIn Booker Prize winner John Banville's atmospheric latest, newlyweds Evelyn and Laura, who don't know each other very well, visit 1899 Venice. Struggling British writer Evelyn, who narrates, has been pulled to the city by his recently disinherited American wife, and there he meets a man claiming to know him. Though Evelyn doesn't remember the man, he quickly falls for his sister, which leads to violence and a disappearance. For another view of Venice, try: Alyssa Palombo's The Assassin of Venice. |
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The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
by Chanel Cleeton
A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women--and their secrets--in this unforgettable novel from New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton.
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| Circle of Days by Ken FollettExploring the creation of Stonehenge, Circle of Days follows Seft, a flint miner who's physically abused by his widowed father. Falling for Neen, he's embraced by her herding family and ends up helping Neen's priestess sister bring her vision for a massive stone circle to life while facing weather issues, tribal conflicts, and logistical problems in this intricately plotted epic with a large cast of characters. Try this next: Conn Iggulden's The Abbot's Tale. |
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| Amity by Nathan HarrisIn 1866 Louisiana, formerly enslaved siblings Coleman and June continue to work for the Harper family after the war. When Mr. Harper heads to Mexico hoping to get rich via silver mines, he takes June with him. Soon Mrs. Harper, her adult daughter, bookish Coleman, and a dog follow them, but no one's journey is smooth in this incisive, intricately plotted western. For fans of: Paulette Jiles' Chenneville; Chris Bohjalian's The Jackal's Mistress. |
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| Bad Bad Girl by Gish JenBased on the life of the author’s mother, this “heartbreaking and stunning” (Library Journal) story follows Loo Shu-hsin, from her privileged but abusive childhood in Shanghai to 1947 Chicago, where she studies for an advanced degree. Marrying a fellow immigrant, she settles in New York, but she isn’t happy and mistreats her eldest daughter. Try this next: Wendy Chen’s Their Divine Fires. |
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| The Wayfinder by Adam JohnsonThis well-researched, richly layered historical saga from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Orphan Master’s Son takes place in an evocative South Pacific setting. It depicts what happens when teenage Kōrero, who wants to be her small island’s storyteller, meets two brothers, a navigator and a poet, who are part of the Tongan empire. Try this next: Minsoo Kang’s The Melancholy of Untold History. |
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The Lost Baker of Vienna
by Sharon Kurtzman
Zoe Rosenzweig investigates her family's Holocaust history, uncovering the 1946 story of her ancestor Chana, a young Viennese baker torn between survival, family duty, and love in a fragile postwar world still shadowed by trauma.
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The Great Mann
by Kyra Davis Lurie
This evocative take on The Great Gatsby set in 1945 Los Angeles finds Charlie Trammell back from the war and trying out a place that he hopes won't judge people by the color of their skin as much as the South. Pulled into the glamourous neighborhood of Sugar Hill where his married cousin Margie lives, Charlie meets an enigmatic man. Meanwhile, the wealthy Black enclave is threatened by a lawsuit by white homeowners. Read-alikes: Gayl Jones' The Unicorn Woman; Percival Everett's James.
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| Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? by Sarah McCoyIn 1991, college student Lu Tibbott writes her senior thesis about her Aunt Lori, a 1960s movie starlet who left Hollywood to become a nun. While Lori has never discussed her abrupt decision before, she agrees to be interviewed by Lu. This compelling dual timeline novel puts the spotlight on ambition, love, faith, and secrets as readers follow Lu and Lori's paths. For fans of: Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; or Meg Waite Clayton's Typewriter Beach. |
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The Keeper of Lost Art
by Laura Morelli
During World War II, a girl makes an unbreakable connection with a boy sheltering in her family's Tuscan villa, where the treasures of the Uffizi Galleries are hidden. A moving coming-of-age story about the power of art in wartime, based on true events.
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| I Am You by Victoria RedelImagining the life of Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her servant Gerta Pieters, this richly detailed, character-driven story follows the two over the course of their lives together, as they move from friendship to artistic partners and lovers in a time when women weren't taken seriously by the art world. Try this next: Nell Stevens' The Original. |
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The Last Assignment: A Novel of Dickey Chapelle
by Erika Robuck
Fall, 1956. Award-winning but often-maligned combat photojournalist Georgette Dickey Chapelle works press for the International Rescue Committee (IRC)-started by Albert Einstein during the Second World War-to bring the plight of the world's war refugees to the American people for their support. Still grieving the death of her mother, just two years after the death of her father, and in the midst of a prolonged and painful separation from her philandering husband, Dickey identifies deeply with displaced people-particularly women, children, and orphans-and longs to help them however she can. After a refugee rescue goes wrong, Dickey finds herself imprisoned in a Soviet camp, and it's there that a flame is lit deep inside her - to be the one of the front lines showing the world what war really means. Her journey will take her all over the world, and in the most perilous of dangers, Dickey will realize that in trying to galvanize the American people to save the oppressed peoples of the world, that she is saving herself.
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Under the Stars
by Beatriz Williams
When a daughter and her famous mother return to Winthrop Island to confront their complicated past, they discover a secret trove of paintings that connect them to a mysterious woman who vanished on a luxury steamship two centuries earlier. From the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers comes an epic tale of family legacy, love, and truths that echo down generations.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Centerville Library
111 W. Spring Valley Rd
Centerville, OH 45458
(937) 433-8091
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Woodbourne Library
6060 Far Hills Ave Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 435-3700
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Creativity Commons
895 Miamisburg Centerville Rd
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 610-4425
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