Collection: Historical Fiction

December 1703 finds Berry Grigsby fallen victim to Professor Fell's involuntary drug experiments. Her mind is quickly deteriorating under the drug's influence, and the only way to save her is a potion book that was stolen in an attack on the village orchestrated by a mysterious madman going by the name Cardinal Black.

Matthew Corbett has volunteered to travel with Julian Devane, a self-proclaimed "fool and bad man" in the employ of Professor Fell, to hunt down the potion book. They follow the trail to London, where the book will be sold at a secret auction. Matthew and Julian manage to secure a seat at the auction by masquerading as respected and feared underground operatives, but to prevail in their high-stakes mission, they will require help from a very unlikely source. Even if they are successful, their race to save Berry Grigsby will leave a trail of destruction in its wake.

Cardinal Black is another extraordinary achievement from one of America's most skilled authors, and it features some of the most memorable, compelling, and chilling characters in the Matthew Corbett series to date, each with their own competing agendas. This masterful historical adventure is perfectly balanced for long-time fans of the series and new readers alike who are now joining the adventure.

Although Emmi has lived in Chicago for two years, she finds it hard to love her adopted city. As a German immigrant in the early 1870s, she's often teased by her America-born peers. But when the Great Fire breaks out on October 8, 1871, Emmi and her enemies find themselves braving the smoke and flames together. Can Emmi and the others survive the danger to escape the burning city? Readers can learn the real story of the Great Chicago Fire from the nonfiction back matter in this Girls Survive story. A glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts are also provided.

What would happen if you went back in time? Imagine stepping into the Stone Age and meeting some Neanderthals. Would it be a peaceful encounter or a Stone-Age smackdown? What if you went back to when dinosaurs roamed? Would you be a tasty snack for a T-Rex or the first human to tame fire? Remember, in a time before recorded history, just about everything could kill you. You Choose Books offer an exciting, immersive nonfiction learning experience where the reader chooses which path to take through the story. Along the way, readers learn about real time periods in a fun, interactive adventure.

Set during the Golden Age of Pirates and the shadowy aftermath of the Salem witch trials, this vivid literary debut is inspired by the captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social justice and freedom, and the emotionally satisfying tale of one strong-willed young woman determined to choose her own path.

"If the Tide Turns weaves together two fascinating worlds in a page-turning story of love, friendship, and self-discovery. It transports the reader to the time of witch trials and piracy, shrugging off popular caricatures and exploring real-life people--the hardships they faced and the hope that sustained them. A stirring and luminous read!" --Amanda Skenandore, author of The Nurse's Secret

1715, Eastham, Massachusetts: As the daughter of a wealthy family, Maria Brown has a secure future mapped out for her, yet it is not the future she wants. Young, headstrong, and restless, Maria has no desire to marry the aging, mean-spirited John Hallett, regardless of his fortune and her parents' wishes. As for what Maria does want--only one person has ever even asked her that question.

Samuel Bellamy, an orphaned sailor searching for work, meets Maria by chance, enthralling her with talk of far-flung places and blasphemous ideals. But neither is free from the social order into which they were born. When Sam is banished from Maria's parents' home after asking for her hand, he vows to return a wealthy man, and Maria promises to keep the faith until then.

Sam is drawn into piracy and discovers a brotherhood more equal and fulfilling than any on land, despite its dangers. Beguiled by the chance to both fight for justice and make a fortune to bring home to Maria, Sam is torn between duty to his crew and his desire to return. Separated by more than just the ocean, time slips by as Sam and Maria cling to their love for each other. Maria is determined to stay strong in her conviction in Sam, but as rumors swirl and her position in Eastham turns perilous, Maria is forced into an impossible decision.

Now, on a journey no less treacherous and eventful than Sam's, Maria draws on every shred of her courage and resilience not merely to survive, but to honor her own yearning for freedom . . .

The ultimate action/adventure trilogy begins, with #1 bestselling author Gordon Korman plunging readers into the heart of the Titanic.

The Titanic is meant to be unsinkable, but as it begins its maiden voyage, there's plenty of danger waiting for four of its young passengers. Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked with the fate of Titanic. And the farther they get from shore, the more the danger looms. . . .

Don't miss Selznick's other novels in words and pictures, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck, which together with The Marvels, form an extraordinary thematic trilogy!

A breathtaking new voyage from Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick.Two stand-alone stories--the first in nearly 400 pages of continuous pictures, the second in prose--create a beguiling narrative puzzle.The journey begins at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage.Nearly a century later, runaway Joseph Jervis seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.A gripping adventure and an intriguing invitation to decipher how the two stories connect, The Marvels is a loving tribute to the power of story from an artist at the vanguard of creative innovation.

The New York Times bestseller, now available in paperback--an investigation into the killing of a local man from Maisie's childhood neighborhood leads the sleuth from her own doorstep to London's halls of power.

In this latest entry in Jacqueline Winspear's acclaimed, bestselling mystery series--"less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie" (USA Today)--Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London's highest circles of power. Perfect for fans of A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, or other Maisie Dobbs mysteries--and an ideal place for new readers to enter the series--Elegy for Eddie is an incomparable work of intrigue and ingenuity, full of intimate descriptions and beautifully painted scenes from between the World Wars, from one of the most highly acclaimed masters of mystery, Jacqueline Winspear.

Benno was the neighborhood's favorite cat.

During the week, he napped in a sunny corner of Mitzi Stein's dress shop and begged scrapped from Moshe the butcher. But one night in Berlin, the Nazis changed everything. Life would never be the same.

This cat's-eye view introduces the Holocaust to children in a gentle way that can open discussion of this period.

"Bridgerton lovers have found their next read. J. J. McAvoy is a welcome new voice in historical romance."--New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean, on Aphrodite and the Duke

Hathor Du Bell is on her own path to find love in the third installment of J. J. McAvoy's Regency romance series, following Aphrodite and the Duke and Verity and the Forbidden Suitor.

Hathor Du Bell has always fought to break free from the shadow left by her revered older sister, Aphrodite. It has been two years since Hathor's debut, and while Aphrodite has married a duke and become a duchess, Hathor has been left with the ton's most mediocre suitors. With the London season coming to a close, Hathor's anxieties reach a peak. Will she be the only Du Bell unable to find her perfect match?

Then Hathor's wildest dream comes true when the queen announces she'll be presenting her nephew, Prince Wilhelm Augustus Karl Von Edward of Malrovia, during the weeklong society event at the Du Bells' Belclere Castle. But the dream quickly crumbles when Hathor comes face-to-face with the prince, and he is nothing like she imagined.

As a flirtatious rivalry sparks a genuine romance, Hathor fights to make a name of her own despite society's expectations of her. Amidst the grand balls and growing feelings, the final events of the season promise to be the most romantic and shocking of them all.

The first in an epic trilogy, Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies is "a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas, but moments also of Tolstoyan penetration--and a drop or two of Dickensian sentiment" (The Observer [London]).

At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton.

With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, Sea of Poppies is "a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott" (Vogue).

In this prize-winning portrait of a time and place--Montana in the 1930s--that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills.The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point--"where all four of our lives made their bend"--and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one's kin and one's self.

The third novel in the critically acclaimed Birchbark House series by New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich.

Omakayas was a dreamer who did not yet know her limits.

When Omakayas is twelve winters old, she and her family set off on a harrowing journey in search of a new home. Pushed to the brink of survival, Omakayas continues to learn from the land and the spirits around her, and she discovers that no matter where she is, or how she is living, she has the one thing she needs to carry her through.

The Birchbark House Series is the story of one Ojibwe family's journey through one hundred years in America. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote that The Porcupine Year is "charming, suspenseful, and funny, and always bursting with life."

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The House of Lincoln, an "enthralling" novel that brings "the buried truths of the ill-starred relationship of Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright to light" (The New York Times Book Review).

"Masterful."--People
"A fascinating love story."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Truly artful fiction."--The New York Times

"I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current."

So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives.

Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Mamah's is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably to this novel's stunning conclusion.

Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story.

Winner of the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction - One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor

Roger not only had to prove himself to the Council, he also had to prove himself to Wyndham Wrenwhistle.

Fae and humans alike are returning to London for the Season, but the excitement is marred by the growing poverty rate among humans with low magical scores.

Tenacious Roger Barnes proposes a new rubric for testing magic to the Council, hoping to resolve the predicament for his fellow humans. But when he is paired with Wyndham Wrenwhistle, a dashing fae who has disliked him since childhood, the project seems destined to fail. Even after reaching a tentative truce, their fragile partnership crumbles due to malicious lies.

Adding to the disarray, a popular gossip column unexpectedly announces that Roger and Wyn are engaged. Obliged to go along with the falsehood to save their families from scandal, they are forced to reconcile their differences for the sake of the rubric - and for their impending marriage. As the project bleeds into their wedding plans, the pressure to flawlessly execute both mounts even higher.

Together, they have the chance to solve a crisis decades in the making - but they'll need more than magic to succeed.

This riveting historical fiction depicts a soldier in Alexander the Great's army, and was written using the authentic Macedonian letters discussing Alexander's conquests across Asia.

We join the young Charidemus as he competes in a race around Olympia. Athletic and determined by nature, we find the young man ostracized by the Greek establishment owing to his origins in Macedonia - a territory which, in centuries past, was considered an uncivilized and barbaric province north of the Hellenic League.

Such stigma, though troublesome, does not dent the courage of our hero, who grows ever-stronger and is recruited into the army of a young general named Alexander. After completing an initial tour, Charidemus is chosen as one of the 40,000 men to embark with Alexander on his epic conquest of Asia's uncharted lands.

With vivid battle scenes, exotic descriptions of far-flung ancient cities and landscapes, flowing dialogue between the warriors, and an attentiveness to historic accuracy, A Young Macedonian is an underrated classic of ancient historical fiction.

Alfred John Church was a renowned scholar of classics who studied and taught in universities in London and wider England. An able translator of Greek and Latin, he produced several new editions of ancient works, particularly letters and biographic material.

In the sequel to the Nebula finalist The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, Mary Jekyll and the rest of the daughters of mad scientists from literature embark on a madcap adventure across Europe to rescue another monstrous girl and stop the Alchemical Society's nefarious plans once and for all.

Mary Jekyll's life has been peaceful since she helped Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve the Whitechapel Murders. Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, and Mary's sister Diana Hyde have settled into the Jekyll household in London, and although they sometimes quarrel, the members of the Athena Club get along as well as any five young women with very different personalities. At least they can always rely on Mrs. Poole.

But when Mary receives a telegram that Lucinda Van Helsing has been kidnapped, the Athena Club must travel to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to rescue yet another young woman who has been subjected to horrific experimentation. Where is Lucinda, and what has Professor Van Helsing been doing to his daughter? Can Mary, Diana, Beatrice, and Justine reach her in time?

Racing against the clock to save Lucinda from certain doom, the Athena Club embarks on a madcap journey across Europe. From Paris to Vienna to Budapest, Mary and her friends must make new allies, face old enemies, and finally confront the fearsome, secretive Alchemical Society. It's time for these monstrous gentlewomen to overcome the past and create their own destinies.