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Historical Fiction October 2025 |
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The Guest in Room 120
by Sara Ackerman
In 1905 Honolulu, hotel worker Iliahi Baldwin forms an unexpected friendship with the accomplished, willful Jane Stanford before her mysterious death, leaving a dark legacy at the fashionable hotel for two writers to uncover a century later.
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The Righteous
by Ronald H. Balson
During the throes of World War II and the Holocaust, Theresa Weissbach, a professor at the University of Michigan, hasn't heard from her parents in Budapest for over a year; and her best friend, Julia Powers, recently awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for her OSS service in occupied Holland, joins with her to locate and rescue Theresa's family.
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| L.A. Women by Ella BermanNew to Los Angeles’ party scene in 1965, ambitious writer Lane connects with socialite and fellow writer Gala. They eventually fall out and a decade later, Lane mines Gala’s life for a novel, only to learn she’s gone missing. This slow-burn latest from book club favorite Ella Berman serves up a sharp look at female friendship and rivalry. Try this next: The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe; Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik (nonfiction). |
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| Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula ByrneBefore moving to Bath, England, Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, and her parents stay at coastal Sidmouth for several weeks during the summer of 1801. Jane relishes the views, sea bathing, and visiting with her brother Frank, who’s temporarily home from the Navy with a handsome friend in tow. But there are other intriguing men with whom Jane spends time in this delightful novel. Read-alikes: Natalie Jenner's Austen at Sea; Gill Hornby’s Godmersham Park. |
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| One of Us by Dan ChaonIn 1915, 13-year-old orphaned twins Bolt and Eleanor, who share a psychic connection, run away from a murderous man claiming to be their uncle. They end up with Mr. Jengling’s Emporium of Wonders, which includes a death-foretelling woman and a dog-faced boy. While Bolt settles in, Eleanor doesn’t, and they still have their “uncle” on their trail in this “mesmerizing and macabre historical adventure” (Booklist). For fans of: Amiee Gibbs’ The Carnivale of Curiosities. |
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| The Secret Book Society by Madeline MartinIn 1895 London, wealthy widow Lady Duxbury handpicks three women to join a secret book club, where they not only discuss novels, but become friends who help each other in a world where a wife can be put in an asylum at the behest of her husband. Read-alikes: Joanna Miller’s The Eights; Helen Simonson’s The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club. |
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| Buckeye by Patrick RyanOn Victory in Europe Day, 1945, while her husband is away in the Pacific, beautiful Margaret shares a celebratory kiss with married hardware store clerk Cal Jenkins, whose physical disability kept him from enlisting. This leads to a connection between their small-town Ohio families for decades, where their sons grow up together but take different paths in the Vietnam era. For fans of: Read with Jenna books; vivid, heartfelt novels about families and war. |
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Mutual Interest
by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
Told 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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Not sure what to read next? Let us help! Complete the
Wheaton Public Library | 225 N. Cross Street | Wheaton, IL 60187 | 630-668-1374 | wheatonlibrary.org
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