Historical Fiction
October 2025

Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton
Typewriter Beach
by Meg Waite Clayton

Amid McCarthyism in 1957, Isabella Giori dreams of being Alfred Hitchcock's favorite blonde actress. But while temporarily staying at a Carmel-by-the-Sea cottage, she becomes friends with blacklisted writer Leo, changing both of their lives. In 2018, Leo's granddaughter clears out his cottage after his death, meeting his neighbor Isabella and finding secrets in his safe. Read-alikes: Susan Meissner's A Map to Paradise; Sarah Jane Stratford's Red Letter Days.
The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
The Secret Book Society
by Madeline Martin

In 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.
Lone women : a novel by Victor LaValle
Lone women : a novel
by Victor LaValle

In 1915, Adelaide Henry, after her secret sin killed her parents, sets out for Montana, dragging an enormous steamer trunk that's locked at all times, to become one of the“lone women” taking advantage of the government's offer of free land where she hopes to bury her past.
The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
The Story She Left Behind
by Patti Callahan Henry

In 1927, a famed author leaves her South Carolina home in the middle of the night. In 1952 London, Charles Jameson finds the author's papers and a letter addressed to Clara, the daughter she left behind. This soon leads Charles, Clara, and Clara's young daughter to the Lake District in search of answers. Try these next: Rhys Bowen's The Tuscan Child; Ann Hood's The Stolen Child.
The Hazelbourne ladies motorcycle and flying club : a novel by Helen Simonson
The Hazelbourne ladies motorcycle and flying club : a novel
by Helen Simonson

In the summer of 1919, Constance, sent as a lady's companion to Hazelbourne-on-Sea, is welcomed by Poppy Wirrall, a baronet's daughter who runs a ladies' motorcycle club, but as the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, the club realizes the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.
Ours by Phillip B. Williams
Ours
by Phillip B. Williams

Sweeping through 1830s Arkansas to rescue enslaved people, Saint, a fearsome conjuror, creates a town magically concealed from outsiders, named Ours, but, over time, as the town becomes vulnerable to intruders, some people wonder whether the community's safety might by yet another form of bondage.
Weyward : a novel by Emilia Hart
Weyward : a novel
by Emilia Hart

Told over five centuries through three connected women, this riveting novel follows Kate, in 2019, as she seeks refuge in Weyward Cottage; Altha, in 1619, as she uses her powers to maintain her freedom; and Violet, in 1942, as she searches for the truth about her mother's death. 250,000 first printing.
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
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.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street, Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100

https://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us