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Historical Fiction January 2026 |
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| Huguette by Cara BlackHuguette, a teenager ill-treated by her father and others, survives the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. In the lawless aftermath, she assists a famous film director and deals in underground goods for him. Fans of the author's acclaimed Aimée Leduc mysteries set in contemporary Paris will appreciate meeting Aimée's grandfather, a kind cop who helps Huguette, in this compelling standalone tale. Read-alike: Pam Jenoff's Last Twilight in Paris. |
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Orphan's Last Goodbye
by Glynis Peters
With six hard years of war behind her, former nurse Kitty McCarthy should be facing a bright future. But her husband Michael shatters her peace in an instant when he tells her he feels hemmed in by Britain, and wants to return to the wide-open plains of the Canadian west. Before she can process this life-changing news, Michael is gone. It's not long before Kitty finds herself in the air and on her way to an unknown land. But what begins as a journey to reclaim her husband and restore her marriage, soon becomes a journey to find herself, and this new, liberated and adventurous version of Kitty is like nothing she could have imagined...
The final book in the Red Cross Orphans series.
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Watching Over Her
by Jean-Baptiste Andrea
In an Italian monastery, a sculptor named Mimo lays on his deathbed. For decades, he has lived among the monks who watch over his masterpiece, an arresting statue that haunts all who see it. During his final hours, he reveals his life story: his impoverished childhood, brutal apprenticeship, and, most important, his meeting with Viola Orsini, the only daughter of a powerful and dangerous aristocratic family. Mimo and Viola are instantly drawn to one another, viewing themselves as outsiders--Mimo, for his dwarfism, Viola for her ability to remember everything she has ever read or experienced. Together, they traverse the unrest of the twentieth century, from the rise of fascism to the violence of the world wars. While Mimo becomes a celebrated artist, Viola chases her own dreams of becoming an emancipated woman. Over the decades, they will lose and find each other time and again, but never will they give up on the love they share.
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The Missing Pages
by Alyson Richman
Harry Widener boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless book--and his last known words are that he must return to his cabin for his treasure. Neither the young man nor the book will ever be seen again. In his honor, his mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to memorialize her son and house his extensive book collection. Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When strange things begin happening at the library, Violet wonders if Harry Widener's ghost is trying to communicate the missing pieces of his story from beyond the grave.
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Books You May Have Missed
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| Strangers in Time by David BaldacciNavigating life in London as World War II rages, Ignatius Oliver (a widowed bookseller with secrets), Charlie Matters (an orphaned 14-year-old who steals for food), and Molly Wakefield (a well-to-do 15-year-old whose parents are missing), create a safe haven with each other even as bombs fall. Read-alike: The Lilac People by Milo Todd; The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli. |
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| Before Dorothy by Hazel GaynorEmily Gale and her new husband Henry move to Kansas to start a farm, leaving Emily's dear sister Annie and her newborn Dorothy behind in the city. Just a few years later, in 1932, Annie dies and the couple adopt Dorothy. But the youngster isn't the only big change in the couple's world -- drought and devastating dust storms threaten everything. For other Oz retellings, try: After Oz by Gordon McAlpine; Toto by A.J. Hackwith, or Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts. |
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| Anima Rising by Christopher MooreIn 1911 Vienna, celebrated artist Gustav Klimt saves a woman from drowning in the Danube, but she has no memory of her past. That is, until Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung help out and the woman recalls, among other things, being in the Arctic over 100 years earlier with Victor Frankenstein. For fans of: offbeat novels that mix real characters and fictional ones into irreverent and compelling plots. |
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| Red Clay by Charles B. FancherIn 1943 Alabama, an 80-something white woman visits a Black household who've just lost their grandfather, Felix Parker. Felix was once enslaved by the visiting woman's family, and surprising information surfaces due to her visit in this thought-provoking tale that flows back to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Based on the author's ancestors, this sweeping debut doesn't shy away from violence and complex topics. Try this next: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers.
Available as an eBook from Hoopla only. |
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| Last Stop Union Station by Sarah JamesWork is drying up for middle-aged Hollywood star Jackie Love, who has a reputation for being difficult. Out of options in 1942, she joins the Hollywood Victory Caravan, a cross-country train trip raising money for the war effort. But a suspicious death causes a pause in Chicago, where Jackie teams up with Officer Grace Sullivan to prove it's a case of murder, leading them to danger and homegrown Nazis. Try this next: The Starlets by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne.
Available as an eBook from Hoopla only. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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