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Historical Fiction March 2026 |
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| The Last of Earth by Deepa AnapparaIn 1869, Europeans aren't allowed in Tibet, so the British secretly hire Indians to conduct surveying expeditions. Balram is looking for a missing friend who'd gone on such a trip, so he agrees to guide an English captain in disguise. Meanwhile, 50-year-old Anglo-Indian Katherine hopes to be the first Western woman to reach Lhasa. In this atmospheric character-driven novel, the groups face storms, soldiers, doubt, and more. You may also like Tsering Yangzom Lama's We Measure the Earth With our Bodies. |
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| When We Were Brilliant by Lynn CullenWhen up-and-coming starlet Marilyn Monroe meets documentary photographer Eve Arnold in 1952 at a party for director John Huston, the two develop a friendship and working partnership that changes both of their lives. This fascinating look at two legendary women explores their strength, friendship, and ambition. Also try Tatiana de Rosnay's Blonde Dust. |
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| Cleopatra by Saara El-ArifiIn this book Cleopatra tells her own story, starting with her teen years when her father the pharaoh died. She continues on through power struggles with siblings and others, describes her relationships with her children and lovers, and moves on to her death and beyond. Sometimes Cleopatra directly addresses the reader in this richly detailed, well-researched novel which presents a unique portrait of a strong woman. You may also like Malayna Evans' Neferura. |
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| Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna EverhartIn 1940s North Carolina, unmarried 24-year-old Ruth is unjustly accused of promiscuity by the sheriff and incarcerated at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. When 15-year-old Stella is raped and becomes pregnant, her parents take her to the same place. Superintendent Dorothy Baker reigns supreme at the Colony and forces medical treatments and more on the women there. This moving, eye-opening novel is based on a real government program. Read-alikes include Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Lies They Told; Meagan Church's The Last Carolina Girl; and Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand. |
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| Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa JohnsonInspired by real events, this well-researched novel follows three interconnected lives. First, in 1948, Philadelphian Ozzie Philips deals with racism as he enlists in the military and is sent to Europe. Then in 1950s Germany, an American officer's wife finds homes in the United States for the abandoned children of white German women and Black GIs. Later in 1965 Maryland, biracial Sophia Clark attends a prestigious formerly all-white boarding school. You may also like The Last Thing You Surrender by Leonard Pitts, Jr. |
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| Skylark by Paula McLainWhen her father, who is a master dyer at Gobelin Tapestry Works, is unjustly imprisoned in 1660s Paris, teenage Alouette Voland tries to help, but she is put in an asylum. Then in 1939, Dutch medical student Kristof Larson lives on the Rue des Gobelins near a Jewish family when the Nazis arrive in Paris. This richly detailed, dual-timeline novel is a GMA Book Club pick that explores freedom, justice, and the tunnels under Paris. You may also like Amanda Barratt's The Warsaw Sisters and Kirsty Manning's The Hidden Book. |
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| Meet the Newmans by Jennifer NivenFor over ten years, the Newmans have starred in a hit TV show based on their lives. In 1964, when dad Del is in a mysterious car accident, his wife Dinah suddenly needs to write a script for the season finale or risk their show being canceled. Meanwhile, rock star son Shep gets a girl pregnant, and steady Guy hides the truth about his love life. You may also like Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel. |
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| Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor ShearerIn the freezing cold of 1790s Nova Scotia, Cora tries to adapt to the place where the British have exiled her and several hundred other Jamaican Maroons. In the woods, she meets formerly enslaved Agnes, who uses the wilderness knowledge she learned from the Mi’kmaq to hide and survive. As the two spend time together, they unexpectedly fall in love, but neither has an easy road ahead in this evocative, lyrical tale. Also try In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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