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Historical Fiction December 2025 |
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| Boleyn Traitor by Philippa GregorySet during the turbulent reign of Henry VIII, this latest from bestselling British author Philippa Gregory explores the life of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother. Jane serves five of Henry’s wives as lady-in-waiting and works with Thomas Cromwell as a spy in this atmospheric novel full of court intrigue. Fans of Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance will be glad to revisit the family here. Read-alike: Oliver Clements’ The Eyes of the Queen. |
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| The Elopement by Gill HornbyFanny Austen, a niece of Jane Austen, marries widowed Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1820 and parents his children, including teenage Mary Dorothea. Though she’s not fond of her new stepmother, Mary Dorothea does like the rest of the family, especially Fanny’s handsome brother Edward. For more witty novels about Jane Austen or her family, try: Gill Hornby’s Godmersham Park or Paula Byrne’s Six Weeks by the Sea. |
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| The Silver Book by Olivia LaingLeaving London after an unspecified incident, art student Nicholas Wade heads to Italy in 1974. In Venice, he has a one-night stand with famed production and costume designer Danilo Donati and becomes his assistant, working with celebrated directors Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini. But the country is in turmoil, which leads to murder in this “mesmerizing, contemplative, and haunting work” (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: Isa Arsen’s The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf. |
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1795: The Order of the Furies
by Niklas Natt och Dag
In a Sweden roiled by revolution, amputee war veteran Mikel Cardell and investigator Cecil Winge search for a depraved killer and try to find their missing friend Anna. The final book in the Bellman Noir trilogy, this is "a brutal, satisfying end to a superior series" (Publishers Weekly). To best appreciate the history of the books, newcomers should start with the 1st entry, 1793: The Wolf and the Watchman. Read-alikes: The Alienist by Caleb Carr; the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris.
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| Bog Queen by Anna NorthThis immersive dual-timeline novel follows a young druid priestess from two thousand years ago and an American forensic anthropologist, Dr. Agnes Linstom, who’s been called to examine a body found in an English bog. As Agnes battles both a corporation and climate activists for access, the priestess deals with local rivals and an influx of Romans. Author Anna North “reaches new heights with this brilliant novel,” raves Publishers Weekly. |
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A Map to Paradise
by Susan Meissner
In 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. Read-alike: Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne's The Starlets.
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Beasts of a Little Land
by Juhea Kim
What it is: an atmospheric, intricately plotted debut novel that chronicles the unlikely bonds between and defining life experiences of a group of young Koreans living through the Japanese occupation of their country, which ended in 1945.
Starring: Jade, who was sold to a courtesan school at age ten by her desperate parents; sisters Lotus and Luna, daughters of the school's proprietor who dream of following in their mother's footsteps; and JungHo, an orphan who leads a child street gang.
Read it for: the multiple perspectives on colonialism and revolution offered by the large cast of compelling characters.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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