Historical Fiction - July 2025
Recent Releases
The Director
by Daniel Kehlmann; translated by Ross Benjamin

Austrian film director G.W. Pabst, who helped Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks become stars, goes to Hollywood but ends up back in 1930s Europe when his mother becomes ill. As the Nazis grow in power, he's forced to stay there and create films for them. This thought-provoking biographical novel melds art and history and serves up "a searing look at the mechanics of complicity" (Publishers Weekly). 
The Paper Birds
by Jeanette Lynes

'The Paper Birds' is a WWII love story that reveals the struggles and sacrifices of everyday working women during the war and highlights the previously unknown codebreaking work undertaken by women in Canada during the war.
Inspired by a CBC article about The Examination unit, a government department of female code breakers based in Ottawa, bound by the Secrets Act never to reveal anything about their work.
Jeanette Lynes splits her time between Toronto, ON and Saskatoon, SK.Book Annotation
The Girls of Good Fortune
by Kristina McMorris

Facing anti-Chinese sentiment in 1880s Oregon, biracial Celia hides her heritage and works as a maid for Portland's mayor. His son, who knows Celia’s secret, loves her and proposes. But with him away at school, her father murdered, and her unexpectedly pregnant, Celia ends up housekeeping at a brothel, before other dangers surface. Recipes and an author's note add to this compelling tale. Read-alike: Jenny Tinghui Zhang's Four Treasures of the Sky.
Before Dorothy
by Hazel Gaynor

Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own unforgettable adventure. Emily and Henry have established a home among the farming community in Kansas. But drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and her much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of all: Dorothy.
Where the Rivers Merge
by Mary Alice Monroe

Independent Eliza Rivers, who was born in South Carolina's Lowcountry in 1900, lives through wars, family turmoil, sexism, business growth, and more. At 88, she draws two young women close, sharing her past and hoping they can keep her beloved land safe from her selfish son in this multigenerational novel, the 1st in the Mayfield duology. Read-alikes: Michael Christie's Greenwood; Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Happy Land.
The Road to Goderich
by Linda McQuaig

In rural Scotland in the 1830s, fifteen-year-old Callandra is devastated by her father’s unexpected death. To save her family from destitution, she reluctantly agrees to marry Norbert Scott, a clergyman from a wealthy Glasgow family. But when her new husband and family turn out to be cruel and disdainful toward her, Callandra’s only solace in their cold, cavernous mansion is her close friendship with a household servant, Lottie.

Callandra faces more personal upheaval when her husband accepts a posting as a clergyman in the remote town of Goderich in Upper Canada. Thankfully, Lottie will accompany them to their new home, but so will her brother Sam, a carpenter whom Callandra mistrusts. After a perilous journey, they are greeted warmly by the townsfolk of Goderich, who are particularly delighted when their new pastor stands up for them in defiance of the hated colonial authorities.

But an unintentional lie spins into a web of deceit. As the sparks of rebellion flare, there are growing suspicions about the town’s charismatic new clergyman that threaten to destroy the fragile happiness Callandra has unexpectedly found.
The Red House
by Mary Morris

Leaving New Jersey and her troubled marriage, middle-aged Laura goes to Italy, hoping to learn more about her mother, Viola, who disappeared when Laura was a kid. Interspersed with Laura's efforts, readers see Viola as a child during World War II, when Italian Jewish people were imprisoned in detention centers. Exploring intergenerational trauma, this evocative read presents an "unusual and satisfying tale of family secrets" (Publishers Weekly).
Thus with a Kiss I Die
by Christina Dodd

Rosie Montague, a 20-year-old free spirit in Verona, finds her life upended when she's tasked by the ghost of Prince Escalus the Elder to solve his murder, all while navigating a love triangle, revolution, and a looming threat that may turn her into a tragic heroine.

Daughter of Montague (2)
Blonde Dust
by Tatiana de Rosnay

At Reno, Nevada's legendary Mapes Hotel, young maid Pauline is assigned to Suite 614 and it changes her life. A single mom with little free time, it takes her a bit to realize the sweet, fragile woman in 614 is Marilyn Monroe, in town filming The Misfits as her marriage to Arthur Miller is dying. Serving up a moving look at the Hollywood icon, Blonde Dust is also an ode to female friendship. Read-alike: Can't We Be Friends by Denny S. Bryce & Eliza Knight.
The Listeners
by Maggie Stiefvater

In January 1942, war comes to West Virginia when the United States government orders the luxury Avallon Hotel to house Axis Power diplomats. Balancing work, worry, and ethical questions, hotel manager June Porter Hudson also gets to know a handsome FBI agent. This atmospheric adult fiction debut by a bestselling YA fantasy novelist has hints of magic and is a "must-read for all historical fiction fans" (Library Journal). Read-alike: Melanie Benjamin's Mistress of the Ritz.
A Promise to Arlette
by Serena Burdick

Follows a married couple whose idyllic 1950s suburban life is threatened by the promises they made during World War II.
The Cardinal
by Alison Weir

Tracing Thomas Wolsey's rise from the young son of a village butcher to a wealthy cardinal and Henry VIII's closest advisor, this well-researched tale also depicts his falling in love and becoming a father to several children, despite church rules. But everything, including his life, is at risk when the king decides to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Read this next: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.
Confessions of a Grammar Queen
by Eliza Knight

There are no female publishing CEOs in 1960s New York. And that is exactly what Bernadette Swift plans to change. With the support of her book club buddies and a certain charismatic editor who has completely fallen for her, maybe, just maybe, Bernadette will prove able to claim victory for herself and the young women coming after her.
 
The Lost Masterpiece
by B. A. Shapiro

When Tamara inherits Édouard Manet’s 'Party on the Seine', she discovers a long-hidden family history replete with unanswered questions: how had it been stolen by the Nazis? How had the painting managed to survive three disasters that destroyed every other artwork around it? And most of all, why had she never known about her ancestor, Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot?
How to Dodge a Cannonball 
by Dennard Dayle

A satirical novel dives into the heart of the Civil War, humorously questioning the essence of the fight, not just for territory, but for the soul of America.

'How to Dodge a Cannonball' is a revealing caricature of the American Civil War, told through the eyes of a white teenager who joins an all-Black regiment of soldiers. Perfect for fans of Colson Whitehead and James McBride.
 
Contact your librarian for more great books!