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Historical Fiction May 2026 |
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Wait for Me by Amy Jo BurnsWhen young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, she has two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. After she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to everyone's dismay, she vanishes. Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father Abe has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle's past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon. For fans of: Lucky by Jane Smiley.
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| 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-alike: Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things. |
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Frida's Cook by Florencia EtchevesThis colorful, emotive historical debut whisks us to the home of Frida Kahlo, where food, art, and love weave together an unforgettable story of friendship and loyalty, with a bright Coyoacán as a vivid background. A lyrical and timeless portrait of the human side of one of the world's most famous painters, Frida's Cook celebrates the power of female friendship, art, and love. You might also like: Rosarita by Anita Desai.
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Lady Tremaineby Rachel HochhauserMeet Lady Tremaine in this spellbinding reimagining of Cinderella, as told by its iconic evil stepmother, revealing a propulsive love story about the lengths a mother will go for her children. For another reimagining of Cinderella, try Cinder House by Freya Marske.
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The Beheading Game by Rebecca LehmannWhen Anne Boleyn wakes up the day after her beheading, she sews her head back on and sets out to seek revenge-in a queer-feminist retelling of one of history's most egregiously wronged women. You might also like: Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid.
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An intense, atmospheric novel about the devastating power of friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic events. After Marissa loses her mother at six, her marine biologist father, whisks her across the globe to Thailand. There she meets Arielle, and a fairytale friendship takes hold. Together they learn to dive into the deep and to hold their breath for minutes at a time learning to swim their way out of danger. But then comes a wave Arielle can't outpace, leaving Marissa gutted with loss. Years later, Marissa is back in New York, adrift and haunted by the memory of her friend. Over the course of two fateful days, as another cataclysm approaches the city and the past comes flooding back, she discovers how to sustain herself in a precarious world. For fans of Playground by Richard Powers. |
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| 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. |
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The Moonlight Runnerby Karen RobardsRynn Carmichael is suddenly pulled into the Irish rebellion when Donal O'Reilly, the boy she has loved for most of her life, takes up gunrunning in support of the rebellion. Raised in a small Irish village on the shores of Donegal Bay, Rynn is working as a nurse in a convalescent home when she overhears a British officer gloating over the trap that has been set for IRA members bringing a boat full of smuggled arms ashore. Knowing that Donal must be involved, she rushes out at midnight to warn the incoming boat, only to find herself caught up in a terrifying and tragic series of events that take her from the glittering ballrooms of London to the narrow back alleys of Dublin as she and those she loves fight for their lives and their country. Also from Karen Robards: Some Murders in Berlin, The Girl from Guernica and The Black Swan of Paris.
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| 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. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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