Collection: Historical Fiction

#1 Sunday Times Bestseller

A Library Journal Best Book of 2023

"Lush, evocative and utterly irresistible."--Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne

Prepare to lift the lid on a lush reimagination of the mythological Pandora....Susan Stokes-Chapman's atmospheric debut, PANDORA, immerses the reader in the dangerous, mysterious world of ancient antiquities with prose that is elegant and teeming with visceral sensory detail. A marvelous debut--imaginative, ambitious, and begging to be savored." -- Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Apothecary

Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance.

London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents' once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store's basement, away from prying eyes--including Dora's. Intrigued by her uncle's peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name.

But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear.

A story of myth and mystery, secrets and deception, fate and hope, Pandora is an enchanting work of historical fiction as captivating and evocative as The Song of Achilles, The Essex Serpent, and The Miniaturist.

30th Anniversary edition with a new introduction from the author

Hannah is tired of holiday gatherings-all her family ever talks about is the past. In fact, it seems to her that's what they do every Jewish holiday. But this year's Passover Seder will be different-Hannah will be mysteriously transported into the past . . . and only she knows the unspeakable horrors that await.

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award

"A triumphantly moving book." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer comes an exuberant YA historical coming-of-age novel about a rising star French pianist, navigating his way into high society as he explores his sexuality. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and The Gentleman's Gide to Vice and Virtue.

They say Léon Delafosse will be France's next great pianist. But despite his being the youngest student ever accepted into the prestigious Paris Conservatory, there's no way an impoverished musician can make his way in 1890s Paris without an outside patron.

Young gossip columnist Marcel Proust takes Léon under his wing, and the boys game their way through an extravagant new world. When the larger-than-life Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac offers his patronage, Léon's dreams are made real. But the closer he gets to becoming France's next great thing, the further he strays from his old country life he shared with his family and his best friend Félix . . . a boy he might love.

With each choice Léon makes, he must navigate a fine line between two worlds--or risk losing them both.

"I FEAR THERE WILL BE A RAIN OF BLOOD."

Having saved Yuwen Song from war-torn Chang'an, Shen Qiao helps him start a new life training at Bixia Sect. Yet everyone's got their demons, and it's not long before Shen Qiao's own mischievous Demon Lord, Yan Wushi, appears. Meanwhile, Bixia Sect buzzes with news of a chance to gain honor, prestige, and a swelling in ranks at the upcoming Sword Trial Conference.

Yet not all who gather hold noble desires. Under the cover of night, Shen Qiao is warned of rising tensions that threaten to turn the Conference into a bloodbath! Will Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao make it out unscathed? A fateful battle awaits!

"What a beautifully imagined and important narrative. Sanders' clear-eyed and powerful writing made this a hard one to stop reading!"
--Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-Winning Author

"This is a novel to cherish and share. And this is a history to sing about and affirm -- to proclaim."
-- Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times Bestselling author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, an Oprah Book Club Novel

Named a Most Anticipated Book of Summer by Ms. Magazine, PopSugar, Lambda Literary, and many more!

Inspired by true events, Women of the Post brings to life the heroines who proudly served in the all-Black battalion of the Women's Army Corps in WWII, finding purpose in their mission and lifelong friendship.

1944, New York City. Judy Washington is tired of having to work at the Bronx Slave Market, cleaning white women's houses for next to nothing. She dreams of a bigger life, but with her husband fighting overseas, it's up to her and her mother to earn enough for food and rent. When she's recruited to join the Women's Army Corps--offering a steady paycheck and the chance to see the world--Judy jumps at the opportunity.

During training, Judy becomes fast friends with the other women in her unit--Stacy, Bernadette and Mary Alyce--who all come from different cities and circumstances. Under Second Officer Charity Adams's leadership, they receive orders to sort over one million pieces of mail in England, becoming the only unit of Black women to serve overseas during WWII.

The women work diligently, knowing that they're reuniting soldiers with their loved ones through their letters. However, their work becomes personal when Mary Alyce discovers a backlogged letter addressed to Judy. Told through the alternating perspectives of Judy, Charity and Mary Alyce, Women of the Post is an unforgettable story of perseverance, female friendship and self-discovery.

"A moving and compelling tribute to the lives and legacy of Black women in the American military during World War II that feels especially poignant in this moment." -- The Boston Globe

In this " bewitching" (The New York Times Book Review) novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.

Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she's abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the "Nameless Arts." Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.

When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it's here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

Magic Lessons is a "heartbreaking and heart-healing" (BookPage) celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman's masterful storytelling.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE

As the day of Nangong Si and Song Qiutong's wedding draws near, a scandalous rumor circulates among the guests at Rufeng Sect. The gossip implicates not only the bride and groom, but also Nangong Si's childhood companion and Song Qiutong's savior: the young hero, Ye Wangxi.

When the wedding festivities are interrupted by a mysterious man claiming to know even more explosive secrets, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning are thrown together in the ensuing chaos. But the more time he spends at Chu Wanning's side, the more torturous it is for Mo Ran to suppress his feelings of fierce attraction and deep tenderness. Could love finally tame the beast that was the cruel tyrant Taxian-jun?

The Crawford and Hugo Award-Winning Series

Shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award, the Locus Award, the Ignyte Award; One of Book Riot's Best Fantasy Debuts of All Time; A Milwaukee Journal Best of 2023 Pick; A Powell's Best of 2023 Pick

"Both tear-jerking and gut-punching. . . . Entirely accessible on its own, it is an excellent place to start if you haven't read any of Vo's novellas yet."--The Washington Post

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.

Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather's body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor's chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve.

But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien's own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate. . .

"A remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."--NPR on The Empress of Salt and Fortune

"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."--Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen

The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle

The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
Mammoths at the Gates
The Brides of High Hill

The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entrypoint.

WINNER OF THE 2009 MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall is "a darkly brilliant reimagining of life under Henry VIII. . . . Magnificent." (The Boston Globe).

"HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO DIE HERE, NOT LIKE THIS."

Despite the sting of Yan Wushi's betrayal fresh on his heart, Shen Qiao rushes to save him from certain death only to arrive a moment too late--or so it seems. As rumor of Yan Wushi's demise spreads far and wide, the winds of change stir across the land. Meanwhile, Shen Qiao seeks to heal Yan Wushi's grave injuries, and realizes that his understanding of the Demon Lord runs only skin-deep. Yet fate does not allow the pair to remain idle for long.

When an old friend reveals his true nature, Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi have no choice but to aid him on a perilous mission. Only this time, humans aren't the only monsters to fear.

A dangerous forbidden romance rocks a Texan oil town in 1937, when segregation was a matter of life and death.

A Top Ten Most Challenged Book of the Year

"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, TX. 1937. Naomi Vargas is Mexican American. Wash Fuller is Black. These teens know the town's divisive racism better than anyone. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.

Naomi and Wash dare to defy the rules, and the New London school explosion serves as a ticking time bomb in the background. Can their love survive both prejudice and tragedy?

Race, romance, and family converge in this riveting novel that transplants Romeo and Juliet to a bitterly segregated Texas town. Includes a fascinating author's note detailing the process of research and writing about voices that have largely been excluded from historical accounts.

A Printz Honor Book
A Booklist 50 Best YA Books of All Time Selection
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book
Winner of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award

A New York Times Bestseller

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the story of Francesca Bridgerton, in the sixth of her beloved Regency-set novels featuring the charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix.

FRANCESCA'S STORY

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.

After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer--the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.

But that was then . . . Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love . . . until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets . . .

A PAWN IN GRANDER GAMES

As emperors, generals, and kings vie for dominance, martial sects mount bloody clashes to determine who will influence the nations' leaders. Fallen and humbled, former sect leader Shen Qiao searches for direction in a tumultuous world. He finds an unlikely companion in the nefarious Yan Wushi.

The roguish and powerful demonic practitioner has helped Shen Qiao begin to rebuild his lost martial abilities. As the two travel and work together, the gentle Daoist master dares to imagine that the famed Demon Lord is warming to him. But all is not as it seems, and old treacheries draw fresh blood. As Shen Qiao confronts dangerous new enemies, the struggle for control of the Central Plains ignites!

A New York Times EDITORS' CHOICE MOST ANTICIPATED by The Guardian - Paste Magazine - LitHub - The Millions - Library Journal

From the prizewinning author of The Manningtree Witches, a subversive historical novel set during the French Revolution, inspired by a young peasant boy turned showman, said to have been tormented and driven to murder by an all-consuming appetite.

"Obscenely beautiful...Every sentence is gorgeous...Powerful and provocative." --The New York Times Book Review

"This year, I found myself seeking one quality above all others from the books I read: escapism. And no book plunged me into another world quite so bracingly as The Glutton." --Vogue

1798, France. Nuns move along the dark corridors of a Versailles hospital where the young Sister Perpetué has been tasked with sitting with the patient who must always be watched. The man, gaunt, with his sallow skin and distended belly, is dying: they say he ate a golden fork, and that it's killing him from the inside. But that's not all--he is rumored to have done monstrous things in his attempts to sate an insatiable appetite...an appetite they say tortures him still.

Born in an impoverished village to a widowed young mother, Tarare was once overflowing with quiet affection: for the Baby Jesus and the many Saints, for his mother, for the plants and little creatures in the woods and fields around their house. He spends his days alone, observing the delicate charms of the countryside. But his world is not a gentle one--and soon, life as he knew it is violently upended. Tarare is pitched down a chaotic path through revolutionary France, left to the mercy of strangers, and increasingly, bottomlessly, ravenous.

This exhilarating, disquieting novel paints a richly imagined life for The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon in 18th-century France: a world of desire, hunger and poverty; hope, chaos and survival. As in her cult hit The Manningtree Witches, Blakemore showcases her stunning lyricism and deep compassion for characters pushed to the edge of society in The Glutton, her most unputdownable work yet.

"Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm" (India Holton), Olivia Atwater's delightful debut will transport you to a magical version of Regency England, where the only thing more meddlesome than a fairy is a marriage-minded mother!

It's difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you're a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment--an unfortunate condition that leaves her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season--but when Elias Wilder, the handsome, peculiar, and utterly ill-mannered Lord Sorcier, discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into strange and dangerous faerie affairs. If her reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all high society, then she and her family may yet reclaim their normal place in the world. But the longer Dora spends with Elias, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love even with only half a soul.

"Whimsical but never frivolous, sweet but not sugary. I loved it." --Alix E. Harrow, author of The Once and Future Witches

Regency Faerie Tales
Half a Soul
Ten Thousand Stitches
Longshadow

A #1 New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the Caldecott Medal about the remarkable true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh.

In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war.

Harry Colebourn's real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey--from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England...

And finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin.

Before Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie. And she was a girl!