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Historical Fiction February 2025 |
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| The Stolen Queen by Fiona DavisIn 1937, Charlotte Cross studies anthropology in the Valley of the Kings, but there are odd goings-on. In 1978 New York, she's a Met curator when a priceless artifact disappears during the Met Gala. Along with 18-year-old Annie Jenkins, Gala organizer Diana Vreeland's assistant, Charlotte goes to Egypt to face her past and retrieve the item. Read-alikes: Bryn Turnbull's The Paris Deception; Gill Paul's The Collector's Daughter. |
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| Isola by Allegra GoodmanOrphaned Marguerite, who's based on a real 16th-century French girl, is put under the guardianship of Roberval, a cruel relative who uses her immense wealth for himself. Later, he sets out across the Atlantic for New France, taking teenage Marguerite and his young assistant with him. When the two fall in love, Roberval abandons them on a cold, uninhabited island with few supplies. Read-alike: Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor. |
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| The Life of Herod the Great by Zora Neale Hurston; edited by Deborah G. PlantDamaged in a fire and edited by a Zora Neale Hurston scholar, this previously unpublished novel by the anthropologist and author, who died in 1960, offers a reimagined look at biblical villain Herod the Great, portraying him as a talented ruler who brought prosperity to Judea during a tumultuous period in the first century BCE. For another biblical novel by a critically acclaimed writer, try The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks. |
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| The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntoshRecently divorced Natalie Taylor spontaneously moves to Paris to start anew and buys a fascinating book of correspondence written in 1805 Reims, France, by widowed winery owner Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. This hopeful novel alternates viewpoints between the two women as they find ways forward in difficult circumstances. Read-alike: Juliet Blackwell's The Vineyards of Champagne. |
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| To Save the Man by John SaylesIndigenous children from across the United States are forced to abandon their culture at Pennsylvania's notoriously abusive Carlisle Indian School. In 1890, rumors of a powerful ghost dance that will save their people bring hope, but violence follows in this "wrenching, masterful novel" (Booklist). Read-alikes: Michelle Good's Five Little Indians; Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars; Mona Susan Power's A Council of Dolls. |
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| The Lotus Shoes by Jane YangIn 19th-century China, six-year-old Little Flower, an exceptional embroiderer with coveted bound feet, is sold to the wealthy Fong family to be a lady's maid to jealous six-year-old Linjing, whose family has chosen to ignore the old ways and not bind her feet. Told from the viewpoints of the two well-realized main characters as they grow up, this moving debut will please fans of Lisa See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women. |
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| Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-ValdezNursing school grad Civil Townsend starts a new job at a family planning clinic in 1970s Montgomery, Alabama, where she hopes to help the local Black community. But disturbing choices by white supervisors lead to Civil putting her career on the line to protect two young girls in this "exceptional" (Library Journal) novel inspired by real events. |
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| Women of the Post by Joshunda SandersIn this compelling World War II novel based on the story of the all-Black 6888th Central Postal Battalion, four women join the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, train in Iowa, and work in Birmingham, England, sorting backlogged mail to boost troop morale. Though they form a strong unit, they face racism, sexism, personal losses, and more. Read-alikes: Kristy Manning's The Hidden Book; Kaia Alderson's Sisters in Arms. |
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| A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. WatsonThis "stirring fictional account of a remarkable figure" (Kirkus Reviews) describes the life of Richmond, Virginia, entrepreneur Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman, who uses determination and business acumen to help her community and become the first American woman to own a bank. Try these next: Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander; The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict. |
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| The Nickel Boys by Colson WhiteheadBased on a real reform school and adapted into a 2024 film, this haunting Pulitzer Prize-winning novel set in 1960s Florida follows the experiences of two Black teenagers, one streetwise and the other a college-bound kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Together, they try to survive in a place where abuse of all kinds is the norm and where some don't make it out alive. Try these next: Tananarive Due's The Reformatory; Erin Kimmerle's We Carry Their Bones (nonfiction). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4400
sfpl.org
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