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Historical Fiction May 2025 |
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Strangers in time
by David Baldacci
"Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he's old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there's no telling when a falling bomb might end his life. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via "Operation Pied Piper," Molly has been away from her parents--from her home--for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she'd hoped for as she's confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there, only her old nanny, Mrs. Pride. Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where A book a day keeps the bombs away. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive"
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Silent as the grave
by Rhys Bowen
Molly Murphy Sullivan, juggling motherhood in 1900s New York, investigates deadly sabotage on a film set after her adopted daughter, Bridie, lands a starring role, uncovering tensions between rival studios amidst the fledgling movie industry's dangerous experiments.
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Fagin the Thief
by Allison Epstein
Revisiting Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and providing a more nuanced depiction of villainous Fagin, this "magnificent" (Publishers Weekly) novel begins in 1838 London when trouble arrives at the rundown house where Fagin lives with his group of young thieves.
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| Broken Country by Clare Leslie HallIn 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. |
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| The Pretender by Jo HarkinLambert 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. |
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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.
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| A Map to Paradise by Susan MeissnerIn 1956 California, actress Melanie Cole is blacklisted by association, reducing her circle to her European maid Eva, her agoraphobic screenwriter neighbor Elwood, and his sister-in-law caregiver, June. When Elwood disappears, Melanie enlists Eva get to close to June and find Elwood as wildfires draw close. |
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| The Antidote by Karen RussellA 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-alike: William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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