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Historical Fiction November 2026 |
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| The Newer World by Sebastian BarryBorn enslaved, Tennyson Bouguereau works on a small West Tennessee farm. But after defeated Confederates start violence, Tennyson ends up a wanted man. Leaving the only home he's ever known, he lands at a religious school in Nashville, then in England, and eventually out West as part of the army. Including characters from Days Without End and A Thousand Moons, this moving novel explores family and freedom. "Each sentence is a nugget to treasure," raves Kirkus Reviews. |
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| Mazywood by Tananarive DueJohnny Washington, the grandson of the iconic late Black actress Mazy Washington, vacations with his pregnant wife and two teen daughters at Mazy's old California ski lodge. But something from Mazy's past is still alive and very unhappy in this intricately plotted tale that flashes back to Mazy's 1920s Florida childhood and her life in 1930s and '40s Hollywood. For fans of: haunting horror stories centering Black characters; novels combining Hollywood and the paranormal, such as Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate. |
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| Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa KleypasReina Martin, the illegitimate daughter of a married banker and his Spanish mistress, becomes a writer and economist in Victorian London. As a single woman, she isn't allowed to open a bank account, so she teams up with a male mentor to create a women's bank. But when the police suspect her mentor of fraud, they enlist a detective to work as Reina's butler, where he grows close to her. For fans of: romantic historical novels; Ayelet Waldman's A Perfect Hand. |
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| Die Famous by Michael KorytaThe infamous Brady Gang and their getaway driver Nickel Terhune are being pursued by the FBI as the Great Depression ends. Also hunting Nickel is his ex, Savannah, who hits the road with her former detective dad and her 12-year-old son Alford. Alford just wants to meet his dad, while Savannah isn't sure if she wants to marry Nickel or kill him. Told from multiple viewpoints, this compelling, evocative mystery stars complex characters and explores fame, fortune, and family. Try this next: Lou Berney's Crooks. |
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| Music Against the Night by Yiyun LiIn 1782 Ireland, sensitive and musically gifted John Field is born to a family who soon view him as the next Mozart. He visits England, France, and Russia, becoming known for his dreamy nocturnes. In 1780 French India, biracial Adelaide Percheron is orphaned and raised by her grandmother. Dreaming of a better life and in love with music, she ends up in Paris and Moscow, eventually marrying Field. This 1st in the Nocturne Trilogy is "a virtuoso performance" (Kirkus Reviews). Read-alike: Harriet Constable's The Instrumentalist. |
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| The Survivors Guild by Gabriella SaabOn board the RMS Titanic are Lebanese immigrant Nabiha "Bea" Nohra, hoping to earn money in the United States to help her family, and an American heiress Marguerite Ashby, newly engaged to a British aristocrat she doesn't love. When the ship starts to sink, the two disparate women are given charge of an infant. Rescued, they start a society to help other survivors, and Bea becomes the baby's nanny as they try to find his family. Read-alike: Frances Quinn's The Lost Passenger. |
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Peregrine Hill
by Nina de Gramont
At the dawn of the 20th century, widow Isabelle Bishop still believes in love--but she knows only money can save her. After losing her husband and three of her children in a shipwreck, she has one chance to rescue what remains of her family: her daughter Mariah and her elderly mother. When Isabelle captures the attention of John Whitten, one of New York's wealthiest men, she dares to hope that fortune might finally favor her.
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| The Housekeeper by Rose TremainIn 1936 Cornwall, lonely, unmarried Mrs. Danowski, known as Danni, is housekeeper for widowed Lord Grenville-Whither at his coastal mansion. When married mother-of-two Daphne du Maurier visits Manderville Hall, she and Danni are drawn to each other and conduct an ill-fated affair. Meanwhile, Lord Grenville-Whither becomes ill. A movie based on this story is in production starring Caitriona Balfe, Emma Laird, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham Carter. Read-alikes: Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca; Elizabeth Hand's Unspeakable Things. |
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The Cursed Diamond
by Anna Rasche
In New York City a century apart, two women's fates are bound by the dark legacy of the Midnight Diamond. Inspired by history's most captivating gemstone, The Cursed Diamond is a thrilling mystery about fate, obsession, and the deadly costs of ambition.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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