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Historical Fiction May 2026 |
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| The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis HallWorld War II separates tight-knit twins Theo and Tessa when Theo joins the Royal Air Force and French-speaking Tessa trains as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) operative. Afterwards, a wounded Theo mourns war casualties, hides his homosexuality since it's still illegal, and wonders about his still-missing sister. Decades later, PhD candidate Edie researches women in the SOE, leading her and Theo to team up and investigate what happened to Tessa. Try this next: Lucy Caldwell's These Days. |
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| Evil Genius by Claire OshetskyIn 1970s San Francisco, 19-year-old Celia works at the telephone company, where an adulterous coworker has been murdered by her husband. Unhappily married to a controlling man 11 years her senior, Celia finds the sex and violence of the story tantalizing, and begins to dream of freedom and killing her spouse in this slightly surreal and darkly humorous novel. Try this next: Alex Kadis' Big Nobody. |
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The Island Club
by Nicola Harrison
1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship--and the game of tennis--may be the only thing that can save them. Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves--and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed.
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Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton
by Jane Smiley
Christmas, 1857. America's future is precarious; civil war looms on the horizon. After her abolitionist husband is murdered in the lawless Kansas Territory, Lidie Newton returns, in mourning, to her hometown of Quincy, Illinois. But her sisters have little comfort to offer, and Lidie is haunted by the memories of her failures--until she takes an interest in her niece, Annie. Beautiful, self-assured, and mischievous, Annie sticks out in Quincy. She becomes an actress at the local theater, and when she is offered the opportunity to perform abroad, she decides to run away. But travel is dangerous for a young unmarried woman, so Lidie, armed with her pistol and her wit, goes with her.
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The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman's Legacy
by Kim Michele Richardson
In this standalone and companion novel to the The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series, our heroine for the ages, legendary book woman, Cussy Lovett, returns home. A powerful testament of strength, survival, and the magic of the printed word, The Mountains We Call Home is wrapped into a vivid portrait of Kentucky life: examining incarceration and criminalization, exploring the effects on the poor and powerless, and tracing the societal consequences of fractured family bonds, along with nostalgic glimpses of a bustling, multifaceted Louisville, and heartwarming portraits of reading efforts in every facet of life.
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The Chambermaid's Key
by Genevieve Graham
1929: Rosie Ryan wants nothing more than to escape the poverty of The Ward, Toronto's roughest neighbourhood, and become a chambermaid at the brand-new Dominion Hotel. Until she meets Damien, that is--a charming and ambitious waiter who promises her a better life--and adds him to the top of her list. The Dominion offers her a chance to do well, but behind the gleaming chandeliers and polished marble lurk dangerous secrets.
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The Novice of Holloway Hall
by Wayne Johnston
At 28, Vivvy Holloway is nearly the same height as when she was five. Though she hides her face behind a veil, a different colour for each day of the week, she brandishes an acerbic wit. Having just spent eight years of the 1930s in a convent failing to become a nun, Vivvy is now returning to Holloway Hall, where she will contend with the disappointment of those on whom she depends: Vivvy’s older sister, Freda, a doctor, and their ten brothers, all of whom are clerics.
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City of the Muse
by Kate Hilton
Egypt, 1903: When renowned papyrologist Helen Gardiner arrives at an excavation site in the ancient city of Calliopolis, she learns that she has been given the job because her predecessor has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Toronto, 2019: Archivist Maddie Sloan is at a dead end: she feels like her academic career is stalled, and she's still healing from her recent breakup with her former partner, Ben. When famous TV archaeologist Peter Bahar arrives at the Toronto Archaeological Museum to verify the provenance of objects from their Egyptian collection believed to be from Calliopolis, Maddie jumps at the opportunity. As Maddie and Peter begin digging into the objects and circumstances surrounding the excavation, they learn that two papyrologists seem to have abruptly disappeared from the dig without explanation. Suddenly, a search for provenance becomes a quest to uncover a history shrouded in secrets and lies--and a murder that has been covered up for more than a century.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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