Collection: Historical Fiction

Hemingway's classic novel of post-war disillusionment--the emblematic novel of the Lost Generation--now available for the first time from Penguin Classics, in a beautiful Graphic Deluxe Edition featuring flaps, deckled edges, and specially commissioned cover art by R. Kikuo Johnson and a new introduction by Amor Towles, the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility

A Penguin Classics Graphic Deluxe Edition

It's the early 1920s in Paris, and Jake, a wounded World War I veteran working as a journalist, is hopelessly in love with charismatic British socialite Lady Brett Ashley. Brett, however, settles for no one: an independent, liberated divorcée, all she wants out of life is a good time. When Jake, Brett, and a crew of their fellow expatriate friends travel to Spain to watch the bullfights, both passions and tensions rise. Amid the flash and revelry of the fiesta, each of the men vies to make Brett his own, until Brett's flirtation with a confident young bullfighter ignites jealousies that set their group alight.

An indelible portrait of what Gertrude Stein called the Lost Generation--the jaded, decadent youth who gave up trying to make sense of a senseless world in the disaffected postwar era--The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway's beloved first novel, is a masterpiece of modernist literature and one of the finest examples of the distinctly spare prose that would become his legacy to American letters.

Not all men who abandon their families are scoundrels. A story of love and perseverance set when consumption ravaged America. Anna Patrinos is deserted by her husband. What she doesn't know is he anonymously exiled to a TB sanatorium to protect her and their unborn baby from the deadly disease and the ruinous cost of his care. Anna's battle with ostracism, starvation and assault to keep herself and her child alive interweaves with Charles' fight to survive and return home to his family, which is complicated by his one night of indiscretion. Reunited, Anna and Charles confront what it means to belong and whether love is enough to heal their devastated lives and start anew. Harrowing but ultimately hopeful, The Immigrant's Wife is a compelling story of self-sacrifice, resilience and devotion.

A perfect picture book about perseverance, overcoming challenges, and working hard to achieve your goals!

Sydney learns to conquer her fear of public speaking at school, in this affectionate father-daughter story referencing inspiring role models who dealt with similar issues.

Sydney wants to be a great leader when she grows up. There's just one problem--when she tries to speak in front of the class, she gets nervous, and the words just won't come out.

Readers will cheer for Sydney as "No, I can't" changes to "Yes, I can!"

Sydney's journey includes practice; encouragement from her loving dad; and a dose of inspiration from such luminaries as Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun, Condoleezza Rice, and Kamala Harris.

"Another virtuoso blend of horror, action, and humor. . . . Fans will find this a worthy sequel."--Publishers Weekly

In this thrilling adventure, a blend of enthralling historical fiction and fantastical horror, Matt Ruff returns to the world of Lovecraft Country and explores the meaning of death, the hold of the past on the present, and the power of hope in the face of uncertainty.

Summer, 1957. Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina to mark the centennial of their ancestor's escape from slavery, but an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a life-and-death pursuit.

Back in Chicago, George Berry is diagnosed with cancer and strikes a devil's bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure--but only if George brings Winthrop back from the dead.

Fifteen-year-old Horace Berry, reeling from the killing of a close friend, joins his mother, Hippolyta, and her friend Letitia Dandridge on a trip to Nevada for The Safe Negro Travel Guide. But Hippolyta has a secret--and far more dangerous--agenda that will take her and Horace to the far end of the universe and bring a new threat home to Letitia's doorstep.

Hippolyta isn't the only one keeping secrets. Letitia's sister, Ruby, has been leading a double life as her white alter ego, Hillary Hyde. Now, the supply of magic potion she needs to transform herself is nearly gone, and a surprise visitor throws her already tenuous situation into complete chaos.

Yet these troubles are soon eclipsed by the return of Caleb Braithwhite. Stripped of his magic and banished from Chicago at the end of Lovecraft Country, he's found a way back into power and is ready to pick up where he left off. But first he has a score to settle . . .

"Beautiful and important."--New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn

When a Victorian apothecary hires a stoic private investigator to protect her business, they learn there's only one way to treat true love--with a happily ever after.

When Lucinda Peterson's recently perfected formula for a salve to treat croup goes missing, she's certain it's only the latest in a line of misfortunes at the hands of a rival apothecary. Outraged and fearing financial ruin, Lucy turns to private investigator Jonathan Thorne for help. She just didn't expect her champion to be so . . . grumpy?

A single father and an agent at Tierney & Co., Thorne accepts missions for a wide variety of employers--from the British government to wronged wives. None have intrigued him so much as the spirited Miss Peterson. As the two work side by side to unmask her scientific saboteur, Lucy slips ever so sweetly under Thorne's battered armor, tempting him to abandon old promises.

With no shortage of suspects--from a hostile political group to an erstwhile suitor--Thorne's investigation becomes a threat to all that Lucy holds dear. As the truth unravels around them the cure to their problems is clear: they must face the future together.

Set in a military hospital during the Blitz, Green for Danger is widely regarded as a classic mystery from the Golden Age of the detective story. When a patient and a nurse are murdered, Inspector Cockrill finds himself with six possible suspects.

Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever, is back for the third book in Kate Messner's new chapter book series. This time, he helps two kids navigate the Underground Railroad!

Ranger is a time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training. In this adventure, he goes to a Maryland plantation during the days of American slavery, where he meets a young girl named Sarah. When she learns that the owner has plans to sell her little brother, Jesse, to a plantation in the Deep South, it means they could be separated forever. Sarah takes their future into her own hands and decides there's only one way to run -- north.

This stunningly beautiful picture book from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Eliza Wheeler is based on her grandmother's childhood and pays homage to a family's fortitude as they discover the meaning of home.

Eliza Wheeler's gorgeously illustrated book tells the story of what happens when six-year-old Marvel, her seven siblings, and their mom must start all over again after their father has died. Deep in the woods of Wisconsin they find a tar-paper shack. It doesn't seem like much of a home, but they soon start seeing what it could be. During their first year it's a struggle to maintain the shack and make sure they have enough to eat. But each season also brings its own delights and blessings--and the children always find a way to have fun. Most importantly, the family finds immense joy in being together, surrounded by nature. And slowly, their little shack starts feeling like a true home--warm, bright, and filled up with love.

In a world where magic is tightly controlled, the most powerful man in history must choose between his kingdom and his son in the first book in the epic NYT bestselling Lightbringer series.

Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live.

When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

If you loved the action and adventure of the Night Angel trilogy, you will devour this incredible epic fantasy series by Brent Weeks.

"Start with Douglas Adams's comic science fiction (A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and J.R.R. Tolkien's alternative worlds, mix in James Ellroy's gritty realism and Jonathan Swift's unflinching satire and, if you're lucky, you'll get something like Terry Pratchett's Thud!" --Wall Street Journal

City Watch Commander Sam Vimes must solve the murder of a prominent dwarf or watch as Discworld is plunged into a bloody civil war in Terry Pratchett's delightful Discworld satire, a brilliant tale of prejudice, ancient feuds, and tender fatherhood.

Long, long ago, in a gods-forsaken hellhole called Koom Valley, trolls and dwarfs met in bloody combat. Centuries later, each side still views the other with simmering animosity that has been heightened of late because of one Grag Hamcrusher. The influential dwarf has been fomenting unrest among a section of Ankh-Morpork's citizenry--a volatile situation made far worse when the petite provocateur is discovered bashed to death . . . with a troll club lying conveniently nearby.

If he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office. But more than one corpse is waiting for Vimes in the eerie, summoning darkness of a labyrinthine mine network being secretly excavated beneath Ankh-Morpork's streets. With war-drums beating ever louder, Vimes must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin, and brave any darkness to find the solution. And the darkness is following him, pulling him deep into the muck and mire of superstition, hatred, and fear--and perhaps all the way to Koom Valley itself.

Until six o'clock every day, when without fail, the Commander goes home to read Where's My Cow?, with accompanying farmyard noises, to his little boy. Because there are some things you must do.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Thud! is the 7th book in the City Watch collection and the 34th Discworld book.

The City Watch collection in order:

Guards! Guards!Men at ArmsFeet of ClayJingoThe Fifth ElephantNight WatchThud!Snuff

Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy's curse in this thrilling Veronica Speedwell novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries.

London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can't resist the allure of an exotic mystery--particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.

But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker's past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats--and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe--Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...

A story of telling truth from lies -- and finding out what being a hero really means.

There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games, and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a true-blue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero's welcome upon his return to America.

Now it's decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war - from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there's more to the story than what he's heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather's heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor.

Serafina and Braeden make an epic return in the hotly anticipated fourth installment of Robert Beatty's #1 New York Times best-selling Serafina series.
Serafina, the Guardian of Biltmore Estate, has won battle after battle against the dark forces encroaching on her home. Now, tranquility has returned to Biltmore. Serafina doesn't trust it. She patrols the grounds night and day, hardly sleeping, uncertain of her place after her best friend Braeden Vanderbilt's departure for boarding school in New York.
When Mr. Vanderbilt, the kind master of Biltmore, asks Serafina to move upstairs into one of the house's grandest rooms, she's sure it's to keep an eye on the guests who have arrived for the estate's annual hunt.
But as Serafina investigates, she becomes more and more unsettled by what Biltmore has become--a place haunted by nameless terrors where no dark corridor is safe. Even worse, she begins to doubt her own senses. Is Braeden really hundreds of miles away, or did he return to Biltmore for one strange night before vanishing? Is the bond between them truly broken or is it stronger than ever?
Then Serafina witnesses a crime that turns her world upside down. How can all that once seemed good and worthy of protection now be evil? And how can she guard those around her when she can't even be sure of the truth of her own heart?
Serafina and the Seven Stars marks the return of a heroine like no other, asmaster storyteller Robert Beatty weaves his darkest, most astonishing tale yet.
Read the whole series!

• Serefina and the Black Cloak (book 1)
• Serafina and the Twisted Staff (book 2)
• Serafina and the Splintered Heart (book 3)

Set against the sprawling landscape of the Wild West, this riveting adventure by Spur Award-winning author Loren D. Estleman follows a man on a journey to set his legacy, and the men dedicated to bringing his story to life.

From his youth as a revolutionist to his time as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, aging lawman Iron St. John has become a larger-than-life figure--and in the process, the man has disappeared behind the myth. During his brief, unsuccessful political career, St. John published his memoirs--a sanitized version of his adventures to appeal to the masses. A generation later, the clouded truth of this giant of the Old West has been all but lost.

Now, Buck Jones, a pioneering film star, is vying for a cinematic story that will launch his career to incredible heights. He approaches Emmet Rawlings, a retired Pinkerton detective, to set the record of St. John's life straight once and for all. Twenty years ago, Rawlings accompanied St. John on his final manhunt, and in desperate need for the funding a successful book promises, he dives deep into St. John's past--and his own buried memories--to tell the truth about this part-time hero.

As the story of St. John unfolds, the romance of the period is stripped away to reveal a reality long-forgotten in this unvarnished, heart-racing depiction of the American West by acclaimed author Loren D. Estleman.

This beautiful new edition of Tomie dePaola's 1978 classic retelling of a French legend stars a little juggler whose unique talent leads him to what might be a Christmas miracle.

Little Giovanni is poor and homeless, but he can do something wonderful: he can juggle.

The people of Sorrento marvel at his talents, and before long, he becomes famous throughout Italy for his rainbow of colored balls that delight the nobility and townspeople alike. But as the years pass, Giovanni grows old, and his talents begin to fail him. No longer a celebrated performer, he is once again poor and homeless, begging for his food.

Until one Christmas Eve, when Giovanni picks up his rainbow of colored balls once more. And what happens next just might be a miracle...

Four starred reviews!

"Told in a voice that is so real it reeks of filched peaches, this book is a home run." --Amy Sarig King, Printz Award-winning author of Dig and The Year We Fell from Space

Sandlot meets Esperanza Rising in this "vividly rendered, emotionally vulnerable" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade historical novel about a strong-willed girl who finds her voice in a tale of moxie, peaches, and determination to thrive despite the odds.

When the skies dried up, Gloria thought it was temporary. When the dust storms rolled in, she thought they would pass. But now the bank man's come to take the family farm, and Pa's decided to up and move to California in search of work. They'll pick fruit, he says, until they can save up enough money to buy land of their own again.

There are only three rules at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard:
No stealing product.
No drunkenness or gambling.
And absolutely no organizing.

Well, Gloria Mae Willard isn't about to organize any peaches, no ma'am. She's got more on her mind than that. Like the secret, all-boys baseball team she's desperate to play for, if only they'd give her a chance. Or the way that wages keep going down. The way their company lodgings are dirty and smelly, and everyone seems intent on leaving her out of everything.

But Gloria has never been the type to wait around for permission. If the boys won't let her play, she'll find a way to make them. If the people around her are keeping secrets, then she'll keep a few of her own. And if the boss men at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard say she can't organize peaches, then by golly she'll organize a whole ball game.