BRAZORIA CO LIBRARY SYSTEM: Historical Fiction: March 2026

Recent Releases

The Last of Earth
by Deepa Anappara

Europeans aren't allowed in 1869 Tibet, so the British secretly hire Indians to conduct surveying expeditions. Looking for a missing friend who'd gone on such a trip, Balram 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. Try this next: Tsering Yangzom Lama's We Measure the Earth With our Bodies.

When We Were Brilliant
by Lynn Cullen

When up-and-coming starlet Marilyn Monroe meets documentary photographer Eve Arnold at a 1952 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. Read-alike: Tatiana de Rosnay's Blonde Dust.

The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe: A True Crime Thriller
by James Patterson

In life, Marilyn Monroe's superstardom defies classification. In death, she remains shrouded in mystery. ... In the hours before her death, she argues with US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and his brother-in-law Peter Lawford. 'Here I am, the most beautiful woman in the world, and I do not have a date for Saturday night.' On June 1, 2026, the world celebrates Marilyn Monroe's one hundredth birthday.

Women of a Promiscuous Nature
by Donna Everhart

In 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 gets pregnant, her parents take her to the same place. There, Superintendent Dorothy Baker reigns, forcing medical treatments and more. This moving, eye-opening novel is based on a real government program. Read-alikes: Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Lies They Told; Meagan Church's The Last Carolina Girl; Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand.

Keeper of Lost Children
by Sadeqa Johnson

In 1948, Philadelphian Ozzie Philips deals with racism as he enlists in the military and is sent to Europe. 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. In 1965 Maryland, biracial Sophia Clark attends a prestigious formerly all-white boarding school. Inspired by real events, this well-researched novel follows these three connected lives. Try this next: The Last Thing You Surrender by Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Last Twilight in Paris
by Pam Jenoff

In London, 1953, a secondhand shop necklace bears the name Lévitan, a Paris department store-turned-Nazi prison camp, leading Louise and former romantic partner Ian to investigate her friend Franny's war death and the fate of Helaine, a woman imprisoned at Lévitan when the Germans invaded France.

Meet the Newmans
by Jennifer Niven

For 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. Try this next: Christina Hammonds Reed's The Johnson Four; Anita Abriel's American Housewife.

Fireflies in Winter
by Eleanor Shearer

In the freezing cold of 1790s Nova Scotia, Cora tries to adapt to where the British have exiled her and several hundred other Jamaican Maroons. In the woods, she meets formerly enslaved Agnes, who uses 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. Try this next: In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas.

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