Historical Fiction May 2026 |
|
|
|
| The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins AndersonThe Strong family farm, hunt, and make moonshine in the Ozark Mountains during Prohibition, but when tragedy strikes, the three Strong sisters move to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Because the youngest has a talent for moonshine, they try to keep the family business going despite all odds in this richly detailed novel. Try this next: Jess Montgomery's Kinship novels, starting with The Widows; Jeannette Walls' Hang the Moon. |
|
| A Bad, Bad Place by Frances CrawfordIn 1979 Glasgow, orphaned 12-year-old Janey Devine, who lives with her nana, is out walking her dog Sid Vicious when she finds the body of college-aged Samantha Watson, daughter of the local crime boss. Janey's traumatized and there's something she can't share with anyone, though the cops keep questioning her and Samantha's grieving dad also visits. This evocative, leisurely paced debut is gritty but has threads of humor throughout. Read-alikes: Marie Tierney's Deadly Animals; Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things. |
|
| 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. |
|
|
|
The Calamity Club
by Kathryn Stockett
So immersive, exciting, and downright fabulous, you never want it to end.--Oprah DailyA heart-wrenching, often hilarious story of economic hardship, moral posturing, and the particular yearnings of childless women and motherless girls.--The New York TimesThe multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what's rightfully theirs--and the power of friendship to change everything.Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable big girls at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she's left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister's seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates--and Meg's--converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women's freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences. The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer--an epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious--the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.
|
|
| The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley NobleIn 1915 New York, the three Applebaum sisters live together and run the rare bookshop they inherited from their dad. Olivia handles repairs, while friendly Daphne and youngest Celia run the store. But they each have secrets, including Celia's distribution of banned women's health articles. With classic literature and art also at risk due to the censorious Comstock Laws, New York's Book Row shopkeepers work together. For fans of: timely historical tales; well-researched, slow-burn novels. |
|
| 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. |
|
| Where the Girls Were by Kate SchatzIn 1968 California, strait-laced Elizabeth Baker Phillips is a high school valedictorian who's headed to Stanford in the fall. But after falling for a guy at a party, she discovers she's pregnant. Forced by her mother to hide away at a San Francisco home for unwed mothers, she navigates her new reality. Read-alikes: Susan Wiggs' The Wayward Girls; Leila Mottley's The Girls Who Grew Big; Laura Anthony's The Women on Platform Two. |
|
| Fatherland by Victoria ShorrA family is broken apart when feckless physician Martin leaves to be with his pregnant mistress. Dealing with her pain and the embarrassment of divorce in a well-to-do 1950s Ohio suburb, Martin's beautiful wife Lora adjusts to life as a single mom while her eldest, seven-year-old Josie, especially misses her dad. Focusing on Martin, Lora, and Josie over several decades, this layered novel is great for book clubs. For fans of: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|