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Historical Fiction April 2025 |
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| The Jackal's Mistress by Chris BohjalianWith her Confederate husband in a Union prison, Libby Steadman runs their gristmill in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, helped only by her 12-year-old niece, a 60-year-old freedman, and his freed wife. Libby faces many dangers as war surrounds her, especially when she hides an injured Union officer. If you enjoy this fast-paced book, which is based on a true story, try Paulette Jiles' Chenneville or Robert Hicks' Widow of the South. |
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American Housewife
by Anita Abriel
New York City, 1950. Dreams come true for radio personality Maggie Lane when she gets her big break in the exciting new world of television. The Maggie Lane Baking Show is on the air. All she has to do is act like the ideal housewife, create sumptuous desserts, charm the show's sponsors, and sign a morality clause to ensure that her girl-next-door image remains untarnished. Off camera, cracks are showing in her marriage, an old lover makes an unexpected return, and there are secrets from the past that could ruin everything Maggie has worked for. With every dream on the line, Maggie wonders if she can still have it all when the truth about what it really means to be an American housewife comes to light.
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| The English Problem by Beena KamlaniIn this thought-provoking debut, Mahatma Gandhi sponsors 18-year-old Shiv Advani to study British law to aid Indian independence. Shiv arrives in 1931 London ready to do what's asked of him, but over the years finds himself torn between what he's promised and what he desires as he faces racism and learns about love, literature, and himself before returning home ten years later. Read-alike: Rishi Reddi's Passage West. |
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| The Umbrella Maker's Son by Tod LendingNazi Germany invades Poland, forcing 17-year-old Reuven's family to give up their artisan umbrella shop, leave their home, and perform hard labor. Things get worse, but Reuven is always desperately seeking his missing girlfriend. Written by an award-winning filmmaker, this moving debut ponders the power of love but doesn't hide the horrors of the Holocaust. Read-alikes: historical fiction by Georgia Hunter and Heather Morris. |
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| Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher MurrayIn 1919, Jessie Redmon Fauset becomes the first Black woman literary editor of The Crisis magazine, putting her at the forefront of Harlem's cultural renaissance, where she discovers talents such as Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen. But her ambitions and a secret affair with W.E.B. Du Bois threaten it all. Try these next: Piper Huguley's By Her Own Design; Tia Williams' A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. |
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| The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O'ConnorWith the Nazis in control of Rome, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty (who's based on a real person) leads the Choir, a covert network made up of an Italian countess, a British diplomat, an Irish medical student, and others. As the Gestapo desperately try to stop them, they help Allied soldiers and Jewish people escape. Though this is the stirring sequel to My Father's House, readers can start here. Try these next: From These Broken Streets by Roland Merullo; Shanghai by Joseph Kanon. |
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| The Café With No Name by Robert SeethalerIn 1966 Vienna, Austria, 31-year-old laborer Robert Simon takes a leap and signs a lease for a café. He builds a neighborhood hub, where patrons navigate life and love together. Fans of evocative, character-driven stories will love this "gem of a novel" (Kirkus Reviews). For a more contemporary novel about found family, pick up Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum. |
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Happy Land
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
When Nikki visits her estranged grandmother in North Carolina, she uncovers a hidden legacy tied to a forgotten kingdom of freed people, unraveling her family's secrets and her own identity while fighting to protect their endangered heritage.
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| The Riveter by Jack WangBarred from military service in 1942 due to his race, Chinese Canadian Josiah Chang works in a Vancouver shipyard where he meets white Poppy Miller, but her parents take exception to their relationship. Trying to prove himself, Josiah goes to Toronto, where he's allowed to join the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion headed to Europe. Read-alikes: Adriana Allegri's The Sunflower House; Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. |
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| Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-SmithTold by a witty omniscient narrator, Mutual Interest follows three secretly queer people in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City. Vivian Lesperance, who was treated poorly by her parents in Utica, reinvents herself as a sought-after party guest and makes a lavender marriage with shy businessman Oscar Schmidt. When Oscar falls for his eccentric rival, New York blueblood Squire Clancey, the trio end up living and working together. Try this next: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Wheaton Public Library | 225 N. Cross Street | Wheaton, IL 60187 | 630-668-1374 | wheatonlibrary.org
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