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Historical Fiction September 2026 |
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| The Half Life by Rachel BeanlandIn the 1970s, Eileen O'Malley meets and quickly marries charismatic naval officer Paul Archer. Moving to the tiny Mediterranean island of La Maddalena, where Paul works aboard a nuclear submarine tender, Eileen adjusts to life as a navy wife and takes Italian cooking lessons. But when she learns of local concerns about possible nuclear contamination, she finds herself divided and her marriage in trouble. Try this next: Emily Dunlay's Teddy. |
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| When Mikan Road Was Ours by D.K. FurutaniReeling from his father's death and his own cancer diagnosis, high school teacher Mr. Murano is in limbo. But everything changes after inheriting his great-uncle Benjiro's unpublished memoir, where Murano learns about his Japanese family, from their bucolic farm in 1930s California to their World War II internment and beyond. This is a well-researched debut and a poignant meditation on life and family. Try this next: Naomi Hirahara's Japantown historical mysteries. |
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| Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LacourIn 1944 New Orleans, 18-year-old Odette, from a Creole family, and her cousin Delphine share secrets, including Odette's affair with a woman and Delphine's with a married white man. To avoid Jim Crow, Odette and her sisters move to California. Passing as white, Delphine moves, too, eventually running into Odette. Inspired by the author's Creole family, this novel is "a masterpiece" (Booklist). Read-alikes: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul; Kin by Tayari Jones. |
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| Runner by Ashton LattimoreIn 1923 Martha's Vineyard, a mysterious shipwreck kills her father and his crew, so Lena Jameson takes over his rum-running business instead of attending college. With help from her brother, her on-and-off boyfriend, and a glamorous young woman with secrets, Lena branches out to Boston and Harlem while also investigating what caused her dad's shipwreck. For fans of: suspenseful Prohibition-era novels; atmospheric historical fiction featuring ground-breaking Black women. |
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American Nightmare
by Kelly McWilliams
A light-skinned Black man goes undercover for the NAACP to investigate lynchings across the South, confronting the same terrifying forces that haunted him as a child during the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. As he navigates a dangerous double life, he uncovers the growing presence of the Ku Klux Klan in New York and is forced to confront a past that refuses to stay buried. Inspired by civil rights activist Walter White, this gripping historical thriller explores racism, identity, fear, and the dangerous cost of passing.
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| The Parisian Heist by Jo PiazzaIn 1996 Paris, American art student Emma cleans the home of Stella Swanson, the widow of a notorious billionaire art dealer, who shares family secrets, leading Emma to plan an art museum heist. In 1891, newly widowed Jo van Gogh inherits worthless paintings by brother-in-law Vincent and champions them with help from new friend Claire. Narrated by Emma and Claire, this atmospheric dual-timeline novel is "a satisfying caper with brains and heart" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Joan Fernandez's Saving Vincent. |
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| Song for Another Home by Bora Lee ReedAfter China enters the Korean War in 1950, Oksoon, her mother, and her brother flee Pyongyang, even though it's winter. Banding with others, they make their way south to Seoul, where Oksoon hopes to find her father and other brother. Meanwhile, Oksoon's cousin Junho seeks refuge at an orphanage, where, using his basic English, he writes letters asking American missionaries for funding and falls in love with an aristocratic woman. For fans of: moving debuts exploring resilience, family, and war; Eve J. Chung's The Young Will Remember. |
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The Chinese Lady
by Bo Wang
The Chinese Lady is a stunning, immersive historical novel inspired by the life of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman brought to the United States in the 1830s. Sold as a “live exhibit,” she became a spectacle as Americans marveled at her bound feet and Chinese identity. Spanning Canton, P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, and Gold Rush San Francisco, Bo Wang’s richly researched debut explores identity, exploitation, survival, and the struggle to reclaim one’s own story.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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