Bibliothèque publique Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library: Historical Fiction: March 2026

Recent Releases

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.

Skylark
by Paula McLain

When her father, a master dyer at Gobelin Tapestry Works, is unjustly imprisoned in 1660s Paris, teenage Alouette Voland tries to help, but is put in an asylum. In 1939, Dutch medical student Kristof Larson lives on the Rue des Gobelins near a Jewish family when the Nazis arrive in Paris. A GMA Book Club pick, this richly detailed, dual-timeline novel explores freedom, justice, and the tunnels under Paris. Try this next: Amanda Barratt's The Warsaw Sisters; Kirsty Manning's The Hidden Book.

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.

The Hong Kong Widow
by Kristen Loesch

In 1950s Hong Kong, refugee Mei enters a deadly seance competition in a haunted mansion to seek revenge against the man who ruined her life, but decades later, the horrors of that final night return, demanding she confront what truly happened.

L.A. Women
by Ella Berman

New to Los Angeles’ party scene in 1965, ambitious writer Lane connects with socialite and fellow writer Gala. They eventually fall out and a decade later, Lane mines Gala’s life for a novel, only to learn she’s gone missing.

The Guest in Room 120
by Sara Ackerman

As bestselling author Zoe Finch investigates century-old secrets at a Waikiki writers conference, her eerie visions of Jane Stanford’s 1905 death intertwine with the memories of hotel maid Iliahi Baldwin, unearthing buried truths that powerful forces have long sought to silence.

The Wayfinder
by Adam Johnson

This well-researched, richly layered historical saga from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Orphan Master’s Son takes place in an evocative South Pacific setting. It depicts what happens when teenage Kōrero, who wants to be her small island’s storyteller, meets two brothers, a navigator and a poet, who are part of the Tongan empire.

The Missing Pages
by Alyson Richman

Harry Widener boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless book--and his last known words are that he must return to his cabin for his treasure. Neither the young man nor the book will ever be seen again. In his honor, his mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to memorialize her son and house his extensive book collection. Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When strange things begin happening at the library, Violet wonders if Harry Widener’s ghost is trying to communicate the missing pieces of his story from beyond the grave.

The Gossip Columnist's Daughter
by Peter Orner

Jed Rosenthal’s life is unraveling -- his writing stalled, his relationship strained, and co-parenting full of sorrow. But the deeper mystery lies in his family’s past. In 1963, actress Cookie Kupcinet was found dead, and her parents’ friendship with Jed’s grandparents abruptly ended. Decades later, Jed dives into archives and family lore, hoping that solving Cookie’s death -- suicide, murder, or conspiracy -- might unlock truths about his own fractured life.

Deeper Than the Ocean
by Mirta Ojito

One hundred years after the shipwreck of the Valbanera, known to history as the 'poor man's Titanic,' Mara Denis gets an assignment to report on the Canary Islands, where her ancestors lived before they moved to Cuba. Unexpectedly, she discovers that the grandmother her mother cherished was listed among the dead of the Valbanera, years before Mara's mother was even born. This fateful twist changes everything Mara thought she knew about her family and herself, and sends her on a quest to find the truth. If her great grandmother is a ghost, who is she and where did she come from?

The Lack of Light: A Novel of Georgia by Nino Haratischwili

The Lack of Light
by Nino Haratischwili

Having faced secret loves, betrayal, and civil war in Georgia amidst the collapse of the Soviet Union, childhood friends Keto, Dina, Nene, and Ira reunite decades later in Brussels, where haunting photographs compel them to consider long-buried memories and the possibility of forgiveness.

The Distant Daughter
by Lorna Cook

Singapore, 1941: As Japanese bombs fall, Issey’s carefree life shatters. With invasion imminent, she must flee -- trusting the enigmatic Alex Cartwright to get her out alive. Cornwall, 2025: Heartbroken, Lamorna returns to her family’s crumbling home. While helping her sister save it, she uncovers a diary that reveals Issey’s dramatic escape -- and a story that could change everything.

All Things Under the Moon
by Ann Y. K. Choi

Pachinko meets Beasts of a Little Land in this stunning, evocative tale, set in 1920s Korea, of one seemingly ordinary woman -- an uneducated villager living under Japanese occupation -- who takes control of her own destiny and rises to become an advocate for women’s literacy as a force for change.

The Secret Orphanage: Beautiful and heartbreaking World War Two historical fiction by Barbara Josselsohn

The Secret Orphanage
by Barbara Josselsohn

1944, German-occupied France. Schoolteacher Celina risks everything to hide Jewish children from the Nazis, aided by the man she loves. When a coded message offers to reunite a baby in her care with its mother, Celina must choose between the child’s safety and exposing the secret that could destroy them all. Present day, New York. As her grandfather’s memory fades, Rachel uncovers a name hidden in an old children’s book -- one that leads her to a French orphanage and a buried wartime truth. As past and present collide, Rachel discovers the courage it takes to protect those you love and to follow your heart.

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