Collection: Historical Fiction

Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel

"War, imprisonment, torture, romance...The novel has an almost operatic symmetry, and Kestrel turns a beautiful phrase."
New York Times

Five Decembers is a gripping thriller, a staggering portrait of war, and a heartbreaking love story, as unforgettable as All the Light We Cannot See.

NOMINATED FOR BEST NOVEL IN THE 2022 EDGAR AWARDS

NOMINATED FOR BEST THRILLER IN THE 2022 BARRY AWARDS

"Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost every reader."
Pico Iyer

December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.

This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story--it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.

Twelve-year-old Charlotte lives on a plantation in Richmond, Virginia, where the American Civil War is raging. All around her, citizens and the Confederate army are fighting to protect slavery -- the very thing Charlotte wishes would end. When she overhears the plantation owner conspiring against the Confederates, Charlotte knows she must join forces with her. Maybe together they can help the Union win the war and end slavery. Helping a spy is dangerous work, but Charlotte is willing to risk everything to fight for what is right -- justice for all people. Nonfiction material on the Civil War, a glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts are also provided.

A bestseller and winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, now in paperback from Graywolf Press for the first time

We were going out stealing horses. That was what he said, standing at the door to the cabin where I was spending the summer with my father. I was fifteen. It was 1948 and oneof the first days of July.

Trond's friend Jon often appeared at his doorstep with an adventure in mind for the two of them. But this morning was different. What began as a joy ride on borrowed horses ends with Jon falling into a strange trance of grief. Trond soon learns what befell Jon earlier that day--an incident that marks the beginning of a series of vital losses for both boys.

Set in the easternmost region of Norway, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson begins with an ending. Sixty-seven-year-old Trond has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated area to live the rest of his life with a quiet deliberation. A meeting with his only neighbor, however, forces him to reflect on that fateful summer.

Set in Appalachia and the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century and inspired by the author's family lore, this exquisite novel paints an intimately rendered portrait of one resilient farm family's challenges and hard-won triumphs--helmed by an unforgettable heroine.

Growing up on their hardscrabble farm in rural Kentucky, fifteen-year-old Albertina "Bertie" Winslow has learned a lot from her mama, Polly. She knows how to lance a boil, make a pie crust, butcher a pig, and tend to every chore that needs doing. What she doesn't know, but is forced to reckon with all too soon, is how to look after children as a mother should...

When Polly succumbs to a long illness, Bertie takes on responsibility for her four younger siblings and their dissolute, unreliable daddy. Yet no matter how hard she tries to hold the family together; the task is overwhelming. Nine-year-old Dacia, especially, is resentful and stubborn, hinting at secrets in their mama's life. Finally, Bertie makes the only choice she can--breaking up the family for its own survival, keeping the girls with her, sending the boys off to their grown brothers, long gone from home.

Ever pragmatic, Bertie marries young, grateful to find a husband willing to take on the care of her sisters, and eventually moves to the oil fields of Kansas. But marriage alone cannot resolve the grief and guilt she carries over a long-ago tragedy, or prepare her for the heartaches still to come. Only by confronting wrenching truths can she open herself to joy--and learn how to not only give, but receive, unfettered love. Inspired by stories told by the author's mother and aunts, All the Forgivenesses is as authentic as it is lyrical--a captivating novel of family loyalty, redemption, and resilience.

An immersive, moving story of a woman coming into her own at the dawn of the Second World War, from internationally bestselling author Tracy Chevalier

1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fiancé, Violet Speedwell has become a "surplus woman," one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled eggs and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother's place and into the town of Winchester, home to one of England's grandest cathedrals. There, Violet is drawn into a society of broderers--women who embroider kneelers for the Cathedral, carrying on a centuries-long tradition of bringing comfort to worshippers.

Violet finds support and community in the group, fulfillment in the work they create, and even a growing friendship with the vivacious Gilda. But when forces threaten her new independence and another war appears on the horizon, Violet must fight to put down roots in a place where women aren't expected to grow. Told in Chevalier's glorious prose, A Single Thread is a timeless story of friendship, love, and a woman crafting her own life.

A Newbery Honor Book * Booklist Editors' Choice * BookPage Best Books * Chicago Public Library Best Fiction * Horn Book Fanfare * Kirkus Reviews Best Books * Publishers Weekly Best Books * Wall Street Journal Best of the Year * An ALA Notable Book

A young outcast is swept up into a thrilling and perilous medieval treasure hunt in this award-winning literary page-turner by acclaimed bestselling author Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The Book of Boy was awarded a Newbery Honor. "A treat from start to finish."--Wall Street Journal

Boy has always been relegated to the outskirts of his small village. With a hump on his back, a mysterious past, and a tendency to talk to animals, he is often mocked by others in his town--until the arrival of a shadowy pilgrim named Secondus. Impressed with Boy's climbing and jumping abilities, Secondus engages Boy as his servant, pulling him into an action-packed and suspenseful expedition across Europe to gather seven precious relics of Saint Peter.

Boy quickly realizes this journey is not an innocent one. They are stealing the relics and accumulating dangerous enemies in the process. But Boy is determined to see this pilgrimage through until the end--for what if St. Peter has the power to make him the same as the other boys?

This epic and engrossing quest story by Newbery Honor author Catherine Gilbert Murdock is for fans of Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale and Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and for readers of all ages. Features a map and black-and-white art by Ian Schoenherr throughout.

From New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, now available in paperback-- the latest episode in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs' first assignment for the British Secret Service takes her undercover to Cambridge as a professor, and leads to the investigation of a web of activities being conducted by the emerging Nazi party.

Private investigator Maisie Dobbs receives her first assignment from the British Secret Service in A Lesson in Secrets, the eighth book in Jacqueline Winspear's award-winning mystery series. Sent to pose as a junior lecturer at a private college in Cambridge, she will monitor any activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government." When the college's pacifist founder is murdered, Maisie finds herself in the midst of sinister web of murder, scandal, and conspiracy, activities that point towards members of the ascendant Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei--the Nazi Party--on Britain's shores. An instant classic, and sure to captivate long-time Maisie Dobbs fans as well as readers of Agatha Christie, Elizabeth George, and Alexander McCall Smith, A Lesson in Secrets is "a powerful and complex novel, one that will linger in memory as a testament to her talent and her humanity" (Richmond Times-Dispatch).

EL LIBRO EN QUE SE BASE LA SERIE LIMITADA DE NETFLIX -- producida y dirigida por Shawn Levy (Stranger Things), protagonizada por Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie y la nueva incorporación Aria Mia Loberti

Un corazón puro puede brillar aun en la noche más oscura. Y en el más terrible de los tiempos.

Marie-Laure vive con su padre en París, cerca del Museo de Historia Natural, donde él trabaja como responsable de sus mil cerraduras. Cuando, siendo muy niña, Marie-Laure se queda ciega, su padre le construye una perfecta miniatura de su barrio para que pueda memorizarla gracias al tacto y encontrar el camino a casa. A sus 12 años, los nazis ocupan París y padre e hija tienen que huir a la ciudad amurallada de Saint-Malo. Con ellos se llevan la que podría ser la más preciada y peligrosa joya del museo.

En una ciudad minera de Alemania, el joven huérfano Werner crece junto a su hermana pequeña, cautivado por una rudimentaria radio que ambos encuentran. Werner se convierte en un experto en construir y reparar estos aparatos cruciales para los nuevos tiempos, un talento que no pasa desapercibido a las Juventudes Hitlerianas.

Siguiendo al ejército alemán, Werner deberá atravesar el corazón en guerra de Europa. Hasta que en la última noche antes de la liberación de Saint-Malo los caminos de Werner y Marie-Laure por fin se crucen. Y sus vidas cambien para siempre.

Premio Pulitzer de Ficción 2015.
# 1 en las listas de bestsellers en Estados Unidos; mejor novela de 2014 en iTunes; considerado entre los mejores diez libros del año para The New York Times; # 1 de ficción histórica de 2014 en Goodreads; y Premio 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal de novela de la American Library Association.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES--from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2015.

Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure's reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum's most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance.

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system!

Are you ready for a presidential adventure? Jack and Annie are! They are whisked back to Washington, D.C., in 1861. Jack can't wait to meet Abraham Lincoln himself! But the new president is too busy to see them, as he is desperately trying to save a nation in crisis. It's a race against time as Jack and Annie try to aid a president and a troubled nation!

Formerly numbered as Magic Tree House #47, the title of this book is now Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #19: Abe Lincoln at Last!

Did you know that there's a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

The prequel to the critically-acclaimed novel, The Conjurer, has arrived. The paths of three boys intertwine at an unlikely junction in this fantastic tale of treachery, hope, and power.

When opportunity knocks for Mikalla to become The Conjurer's assistant, he is quickly rivaled by Gobi, the jealous and talented apprentice. Gobi will do anything for a chance to rid Mikalla of his position.

Meanwhile, the second prince of Idaza is a pudgy royal with not much to do and even less to be proud of. But Oro is soon taught the ways of power and conflict by an unlikely character.

Treachery, murder, and opportunity rear their heads and clash in a story of shadows and flame, artistry and power. Embark on this fantastic tale about the true influence of people's minds and the power to control a whole populace-relevant to any time period, and especially now more than ever.

A "brilliant and terrifically fun"* debut novel brings an enchanting new voice to fantasy.

Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she's denied a place at the nation's premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don't think there's anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she's drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.

Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader's daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira's life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart...

*Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians

"Landscape of a Marriage is a historical fiction masterpiece. Mary and Fred's relationship is wonderfully depicted and the history that is woven into this book is done so intricately and commendably." -Ellie Yarde, reviewer for the award-winning Coffee Pot Book Club

A marriage of convenience leads to a life of passion and purpose. A shared vision transforms the American landscape forever.

New York, 1858: Mary, a young widow with three children, agrees to marry her brother-in-law Frederick Law Olmsted, who is acting on his late brother's deathbed plea to "not let Mary suffer." But she craves more than a marriage of convenience and sets out to win her husband's love. Beginning with Central Park in New York City, Mary joins Fred on his quest to create a 'beating green heart' in the center of every urban space.

Over the next 40 years, Fred is inspired to create dozens of city parks, private estates and public spaces with Mary at his side. Based upon real people and true events, this is the story of Mary's journey and personal growth and the challenges inherent in loving a brilliant and ambitious man.

With its intelligent protagonist, believable characters, effortless dialogue, and intriguing plot-all set against a gorgeous mountain backdrop-this second installment in a clever and charming postwar mystery series will captivate fans of the Maisie Dobbs or Bess Crawford books while winning over new devotees to this popular genre.

On a snowy day in December 1946, Lane Winslow--a former British intelligence agent who's escaped to the rural Canadian community of King's Cove in pursuit of a tranquil life--is introduced to the local hot springs. While there, she is astonished to overhear nearby patrons speaking Russian. When one of the speakers is found dead in the change room, Lane's linguistic and intelligence experience is of immeasurable value to the local police force in solving the murder.

The investigation points to the Soviet Union, where Stalin's purges are eliminating enemies, and the reach of Stalin's agent snakes all the way into a harmless Doukhobor community. Her complicated relationship with the local police inspector, Darling, is intensified by the perils of the case--and by the discovery of her own father's death during the war.

The case comes to a frantic and shocking end with a perilous nighttime journey along treacherous snow-covered roads.

This finely crafted coming-of-age novel takes the reader on an unforgettable journey with a young woman whose life is shaken by world events. Set in the early twentieth-century Southwest, where water means everything, The Ways of Water is a poignant and heart-warming testament to the meaning of family and the strength of the human spirit.

A riveting debut novel, based on real events, about a World War II veteran with a secret that could land him in the Gulag, and his family who are forced to live in the shadow of all he has not told them.

Ukraine, 2007. Yefim Shulman, husband, grandfather and war veteran, was beloved by his family and his coworkers. But in the days after his death, his widow Nina finds a letter to the KGB in his briefcase. Yefim had a lifelong secret, and his confession forces them to reassess the man they thought they knew and the country he had defended.

In 1941, Yefim is a young artillerist on the border between the Soviet Union and Germany, eager to defend his country and his large Jewish family against Hitler's forces. But surviving the war requires sacrifices Yefim never imagined-and even when the war ends, his fight isn't over. He must conceal his choices from the KGB and from his family.

Spanning seven decades between World War II and the current Russia-Ukraine conflict, Your Presence Is Mandatory traces the effect Yefim's coverup had on the lives of Nina, their two children and grandchildren. In the process, Sasha Vasilyuk shines a light on one family caught between two totalitarian regimes, and the grace they find in the course of their survival.

Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless

The beloved #1 New York Times bestseller, a "fiendishly plotted" (New York Times) "heart-in-your mouth adventure" (Washington Post) that "will take wing and soar into your heart" (Laurie Halse Anderson)

October 11th, 1943--A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

A universally acclaimed Michael L. Printz Award Honor book, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other.