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Historical Fiction June 2026 |
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The Heir of Whitestone
by Catherine Coulter
A brilliant young innovator with a mysterious past and a boldly sharp-witted Lady uncover deadly secrets in #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter's thrilling, new Victorian-era romantic mystery filled with daring escapes, exciting twists, witty humor, and characters you won't soon forget.
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| Love & Other Monsters by Emily FranklinIn 1816, 17-year-old Claire Clairmont lives in London with her stepsister Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary's fiancé, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Falling for their friend, charming libertine Lord Byron, Claire talks them into spending the summer next door to him on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Mary writes Frankenstein during this time, but this lyrical novel focuses on oft-forgotten Claire, spotlighting her life and relationships. For fans of: Caroline Lea's Love, Sex, and Frankenstein. |
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| Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung HanGenerations of a Korean family have special abilities (a sister can take the form of a tiger; a mother can make people tell the truth), but that doesn't stop war and violence from invading their lives. Centering on Young-Ja, who can infuse food with her emotions, this powerful and sometimes disturbing debut follows Young-Ja during the turbulent 1930s and 1940s and in later years. For fans of: powerful, thought-provoking books; Yu Miri's The End of August. |
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| The Foursome by Christina Baker KlineUsing their tour earnings, famous cojoined twins Eng and Chang Bunker settle in 1839 North Carolina, buying land and enslaved people and making powerful local friends. Sarah and Adelaide Yates, sisters from a once-prominent family, become their wives and collectively they have 21 children. Told from Sarah's perspective over the course of several decades, this "remarkable" (Publishers Weekly) novel is based on the author's family history. Try this next: Elizabeth Weiss' The Sisters Sweet. |
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| The Lost Girl of Craven County by Emily MatcharDuring the Great Depression in 1939, unmarried 25-year-old Millicent Green lives in New Bern, North Carolina's small Jewish community with her disapproving mother and older brother while grieving for her beloved younger brother. Finding an injured young woman one hot summer day, Millie takes the unidentified woman home and eventually learns her disturbing story in this moving look at loss, friendship, and injustice. Read-alike: Donna Everhart's Women of a Promiscuous Nature. |
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The Last Spirits of Manhattan
by John A. McDermott
In 1956, 20-something Midwesterner Carolyn Banks ponders her future and visits her Aunt Bella in Manhattan. Bella is selling the family mansion there, but not before renting it to Alfred Hitchcock for a “haunted” party with guests like Henry Fonda and Charles Addams. Since there really are ghosts there, Carolyn attends, hoping to keep her late relatives from causing too much trouble in this evocative and banter-filled debut novel.
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| The Original by Priya ParmarAfter a successful screen test, strong-willed 21-year-old Katharine Hepburn heads to 1930s Hollywood, and as part of the studio system, she's positioned as a star. But this means hiding a marriage, her romantic relationships with women, and more, while making friends with David and Irene Selznick, George Cukor, Cary Grant, John Ford, and Howard Hughes. Focusing on the iconic actor's early career, this is an "immersive portrait" (Publishers Weekly). Read-alike: Ginny Kubitz Moyer's A Golden Life. |
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| Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma ParryIn 1770s Philadelphia, young socialite Peggy Shippen becomes close to British Army rising star Captain John André. When the colonists take the city and the Brits and the Captain flee, Peggy quickly takes up with General Benedict Arnold, trading Loyalist parties for Patriot salons. Marrying Arnold, she schemes to end the war to help her own family, leading to a stunning act of treason. For fans of: Hamilton and other stories about the American Revolution. |
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| The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele RichardsonPack horse librarian Cussy marries for love, but she's a Blue (caused by methemoglobinemia) and her husband is white, so in 1953 both are thrown into Kentucky prisons for miscegenation. Cussy works her way to a prison librarian position, but incarceration holds many dangers. Newcomers can start here, but fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which begins Cussy's story, will best enjoy this atmospheric, well-researched novel. Try this next: Brianna Labuskes' The Boxcar Librarian. |
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Crossing the Line
by James D. Shipman
In the dark heart of the Krakow Jewish ghetto, three women-each a world apart-are drawn together by an unthinkable twist of fate. The women must navigate a deadly game of survival, risking everything to outsmart the Nazis and save countless lives. Perfect for readers of Pam Jenoff, Kristin Hannah, Joseph Kanon, and Alan Furst.
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| Lidie by Jane SmileyAfter her abolitionist husband's murder in Kansas Territory, Lidie Newton is back in Quincy, Illinois in December 1857. Though grieving, Lidie's happy to chaperone her niece Annie, just a year younger than herself, as she travels to Liverpool, England, to be an actress. Working for Annie's wealthy sponsor, Lidie adjusts to a new country and a new life. This sequel to 1998's The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton is for fans of smart, courageous women and richly detailed writing. |
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The Kennedy Girl
by Julia Bryan Thomas
1960. New York, Paris and Milan fashion culture is starting to make an impression on the average American woman. When a mysterious bakery customer suddenly offers newly orphaned Mia a modeling job in Paris at the esteemed House of Rousseau, she takes a chance on it, despite it seeming too good to be true. But the job of a model goes deeper than photoshoots and runway walks, and as Mia adjusts to the Parisienne lifestyle, she soon finds herself implicated in an espionage plot run by the very fashion house she works for. As she is drawn further into national crimes and politics, Mia will soon have to decide which side of history she's really on.
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| A Perfect Hand by Ayelet WaldmanIn 1879 England, clever Alice Lockey has risen from tenant farmer's daughter to lady's maid for the eldest daughter at Alderwick Park. In a ploy to spend time with handsome valet Charlie, Alice tries to end her lady's infatuation with one (no-good) man and push her toward Charlie's employer. If they marry, then Alice and Charlie can work together as husband and wife. But soon the women's suffrage movement causes Alice to ponder what she really wants. For fans of: amusing, richly detailed stories of class, gender, and changing times. |
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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
Woodbourne Library
6060 Far Hills Ave
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 435‑3700
Creativity Commons
895 Miamisburg Centerville Rd
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 610‑4425
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