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Historical Fiction December 2025 |
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| Boleyn Traitor by Philippa GregorySet during the turbulent reign of Henry VIII, this latest from bestselling British author Philippa Gregory explores the life of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother. Jane serves five of Henry’s wives as lady-in-waiting and works with Thomas Cromwell as a spy in this atmospheric novel full of court intrigue. Fans of Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance will be glad to revisit the family here. Read-alike: Oliver Clements’ The Eyes of the Queen. |
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| The Elopement by Gill HornbyFanny Austen, a niece of Jane Austen, marries widowed Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1820 and parents his children, including teenage Mary Dorothea. Though she’s not fond of her new stepmother, Mary Dorothea does like the rest of the family, especially Fanny’s handsome brother Edward. For more witty novels about Jane Austen or her family, try: Gill Hornby’s Godmersham Park or Paula Byrne’s Six Weeks by the Sea. |
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| The Gun Man Jackson Swagger by Stephen HunterIn 1897 Arizona Territory, sharpshooter and Civil War vet Jack Swagger takes a job guarding deliveries to and from Mexico for prosperous rancher Colonel Callahan. But not everything is as it seems in this western by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Hunter, which is “reminiscent of Larry McMurtry” (Booklist). For fans of: Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger novels (which star a descendent of Jack); William W. Johnstone’s westerns. |
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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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If the Dead Belong Here
by Carson Faust
When a young girl goes missing, the ghosts of the past collide with her family's secrets in a mesmerizing Native American Southern Gothic.
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| The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermottIn 1956, 20-something Midwesterner Carolyn Banks ponders her future and visits her Aunt Bella in Manhattan. Bella is selling the family mansion there, but not before renting it to Alfred Hitchcock for a “haunted” party with guests like Henry Fonda and Charles Addams. Since there really are ghosts there, Carolyn attends, hoping to keep her late relatives from causing too much trouble in this evocative and banter-filled debut novel. Try this next: Fiona Davis’ The Spectacular. |
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| Bog Queen by Anna NorthThis immersive dual-timeline novel follows a young druid priestess from two thousand years ago and an American forensic anthropologist, Dr. Agnes Linstom, who’s been called to examine a body found in an English bog. As Agnes battles both a corporation and climate activists for access, the priestess deals with local rivals and an influx of Romans. Author Anna North “reaches new heights with this brilliant novel,” raves Publishers Weekly. |
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| The Hitchhikers by Chevy StevensAfter a loss, Tom and Alice try to save their marriage and heal by taking an RV trip across Canada in 1976. But giving a ride to a young couple who are far more dangerous than they appear leads to stunning consequences in this gritty, slow-burn historical thriller that’ll please fans of twisty plotting and memorable characters. For fans of: Simone St. James’ Murder Road. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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