Historical Fiction
May 2025

Recent Releases
The library of lost dollhouses : a novel
by Elise Hooper

"A fresh new dual-timeline novel from beloved author Elise Hooper, about a young librarian who discovers historic dollhouses and embarks on a journey to uncover the hidden secrets behind the intricate miniatures, perfect for fans of Fiona Davis and MarieBenedict"
The umbrella maker's son : a novel of WWII
by Tod S. Lending

Seventeen-year-old Reuven, from a middle-class Polish Jewish family who loses their business and home, witnesses his life crumble under Nazi occupation; after Zelda, his love, disappears, he narrowly escapes a brutal labor camp, embarking on a dangerous journey through Poland to find her in the Kraków ghetto.
The king's messenger
by Susanna Kearsley

In 1613, Andrew Logan, a messenger for King James, embarks on a mission to frame an innocent advisor for treason, but as he unravels the truth alongside his spirited neighbor Phoebe Westaway, their growing bond challenges loyalty, justice, and the possibilities of love.
Isola : a novel
by Allegra Goodman

Inspired by a real 16th-century heroine, an orphaned and betrayed young woman, Marguerite, is marooned on a desolate island with her lover, where she must confront nature's harshness and her own strength in a desperate fight for survival.
33 Place Brugmann
by Alice Austen

Set just prior to and during the Nazi occupation of Brussels, Belgium, this thought-provoking debut examines the challenges and choices of an apartment building's residents, who take turns narrating. They include an architect, his art student daughter, an art dealer, his 18-year-old son, a seamstress, a maid, a widowed colonel, and others. Try this next: The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli.
Broken Country
by Clare Leslie Hall

In 1955 Dorset, England, teenage Beth falls for wealthy Gabriel, who leaves town. In 1968, Beth, now married to sheep farmer Frank, is still mourning the death of her young son two years before when Gabriel reappears with his own son, setting in motion events that lead to a courtroom trial. This emotionally intense Reese's Book Club pick will please fans of Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark and Miranda Cowley Heller's The Paper Palace.
The Pretender
by Jo Harkin

Lambert Simnel, a ten-year-old peasant in 1480s England, is tutored and trained, and then declared the hidden heir to the throne. Amid court politics, Lambert becomes part of the Yorkist cause in this witty, "wildly entertaining" (Booklist) novel based on a little-known true story. For fans of: Maggie O'Farrell, Alison Weir, and Hilary Mantel.
The Antidote
by Karen Russell

A severe dust storm devastates a 1930s Nebraska town already suffering due to the burdens of its dark past and the Great Depression. Narrated by a teen basketball star, a Polish farmer, a scarecrow, a prairie witch who keeps memories, and a New Deal photographer with a time-bending camera, this buzzy latest by a Pulitzer finalist weds the supernatural to the historical. Read-alikes: Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Woman of Light; William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Haddonfield Public Library
60 Haddon Ave, Haddonfield, New Jersey 08033
856-429-1304

www.haddonfieldlibrary.org/