Collection: Historical Fiction

A woman journeys into a submerged world of gods and myth to save her home in this powerful historical fantasy that shines a light on the drowned Black towns of the American South.

"Our home began, as all things do, with a wish."

Jane Edwards hasn't spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she's found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.

Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.

Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

For more from Leslye Penelope, check out The Monsters We Defy.

Best friends Donají and Itzcacalotl stumble into dangerous political intrigue in this follow-up to the young adult epic Codex Black: A Fire Among Clouds!

In 15th-century Mesoamerica, Donají and Itzcacalotl travel to the Oracle of Lyobaa in the hopes of learning the secret behind Donají's missing father. But instead of receiving information, they find themselves roped into a quest to stop the assassination of the great Emperor Ahuizotl! This is easier said than done when faced with a mysterious group of black-clad killers who want nothing more than to send the known world tumbling into chaos.

Along the way, the two will have to navigate new friends, old enemies, and corn people as they try to save the emperor...before it's too late!

As a young child, Zerryn grew up on tales of the Lord of Death, Erlik Khan, and his penchant for stealing wild girls. In her small village, she keeps to herself and tends to the temple gardens, spending her days with her best friend Çelik. But when Çelik begins to act strangely and removes himself to live on a crumbling estate atop Mount Ida, the rumors of him becoming possessed by a demon begin to swiftly arise. Each month that passes the demon within him grows stronger, his demands of the villagers growing oddly disjointed and nonsensical.

Her chances of saving him become all but impossible once Zerryn learns that it is no lesser demon that has a hold of him but Erlik Khan-a demon of untold power who lords over the dead. It isn't long before word spreads that he is in search of a bride, and creatures of untold power come before him to rule by his side. Zerryn knows that she cannot take down Erlik without power and she cannot gain power without becoming his bride.

But becoming Erlik's wife is nothing as simple as an offer for his hand. To become the queen of the Underworld, she must complete three impossible tasks or risk losing everything she holds dear.

It's 1937, and Heath Barrington is a naïve twenty-two-year-old about to set sail across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary. While on board, he meets the handsome Lord Simon Quimby, who invites Heath to his estate. Heath falls for Simon hard, but Simon soon becomes withdrawn and distant. Is Simon all he appears to be, or is there more to him than meets the eye? And what of the old gypsy curse Simon claims his family is under? Did it really cause his mother's death, his sister's suicide, and his father's murder, or did Simon have something to do with it all? It's up to Heath to uncover the truth, despite his heart telling him otherwise.

In this prequel to the Detective Heath Barrington Mystery series, Heath discovers that first love changes you forever and drives you to become the person you're destined to be.

I know what you are. Five words scrawled on a note, and Heath knew his life was now in jeopardy. He had no choice but to confront the blackmailer and find out what proof he had. But what then? Pay up and risk demands for future payments? Or not give in and throw his life away?

The decision's made for him when the blackmailer turns up dead. Is Heath a murderer? Even he isn't sure, thanks to several double martinis. Other suspects include a voluptuous neighbor, a smarmy grocer, a ruthless gangster, Heath's cousin Liz, who was once married to the blackmailer, and Miss Caldwell, a wily librarian who has eyes for the blackmailer's current wife, Alice. Heath tries to read between the lines to solve the case of a death overdue before he's arrested for the crime.

In this Gilded Age gothic homage to "Gaslight" starring Ingrid Bergman, a wealthy young newlywed in early 20th century New York is isolated within her opulent, yet ominously empty mansion by the charismatic and controlling new husband plotting to undermine her sanity...

1908, Long Island: For Millie Turner, the young and beautiful wife of a powerful New York stockbroker, Rose Briar Hall--a gleaming edifice of white marble on the North Shore--is more than a home. Every lavish detail speaks of Charles Turner's status and wealth, and its stylish interior is testament to Millie's sophistication. All that's left is to prove her worthiness to be his bride. What better way than to throw a grand party for New York's social elite?

After painstaking planning, the night of the event arrives and all is perfection--until Millie wakes to a cold, eerily quiet house, and a gray cloud where her memory should be. Can it be true that she has been in and out of consciousness for weeks, ever since the party took a terrifying turn? Millie recalls nothing. But her friends have shunned her, and it soon becomes clear that if she can't find out what really happened that night, much more than her reputation will be at risk . . .

As the house that promised so much happiness begins to feel more like a prison, Millie wonders whether a woman alone, even a wealthy one, can ever be entirely safe. And if she succeeds in finding the truth, will it bring relief, or shake her marriage, and her life, to the core?

Punk rock meets Orwell's 1984 in this story of a group of theater kids who take on a political regime, perfect for readers who love books by A.S. King and Marie Lu.

In an alternate 1991, the authoritarian US government keeps tabs on everybody and everything. It censors which books can be read, what music can be listened to, and which plays can be performed.

When her best friend is killed by the authorities and her theater teacher disappears without a trace, Gigi decides to organize her fellow Champaign High School thespians to put on a production of Henry VI. But at what cost?

From New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes a classic historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama, now back in paperback!

Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.

So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love--a story in which very little is as it seems.

With an author Q&A and reading group guide!

An unbreakable, life-changing friendship will lead two young girls from different worlds to rebel against the sexism, prejudice, and injustice they face living in 1930s Italy in this moving novel that echoes the spirit of Elena Ferrante and Adriana Trigiani

It is 1936, and in the small Italian city of Monza, on the pebbled bank of the Lambro, two frantic girls scramble to bury a body--the dead son of the city's most prominent fascist. If they are discovered, their lives and the fierce friendship they share will be in jeopardy.

A year earlier, Francesca Strada, the respectable and well-behaved daughter of bourgeois parents, yearns for a life beyond provincial conformity. She is fascinated by Maddalena, the town's rebellious outcast whom neighbors call "the cursed one." Stubborn and proud, the young girl embraces their scorn, flouting social convention and gaining both ire and disapproval. Her indomitable nature-the unrestrained spirit of someone completely unafraid-fascinates Francesca. Then, one day, escaping the vigilant eye of her parents, Francesca finds herself caught in her first ever lie trying to protect Maddalena only to befriend her.

Quickly becoming inseparable, Maddalena teaches Francesca to defy animals, overcome her fear of blood, and revel in her body, recognizing it as something alive and present. But the threat from Mussolini's fascist goons is growing and Maddalena and Francesca become increasingly aware that as girls, they are not the free and independent individuals they yearn to be. Set against the backdrop of the Abyssinian war, The Cursed Friend is a timeless tale of female friendship, navigating loss and adolescence, and discovering the courage to denounce oppression and patriarchy.

Translated from the Italian by Elena Pala

Portugal, 1967. Sónia thinks she knows what her future holds. She'll become a poet, and together she and her artist boyfriend, Zé Miguel, will rise above the government restrictions that shape their lives. The restrictions on what Sónia can do and where she can go without a man's permission. The restrictions on what music she can enjoy, what books she can read, what questions she can ask.

But when Zé Miguel is arrested for anti-government activities and Sónia's family's restaurant is shut down, Sónia's plans are upended. No longer part of the comfortable middle class, she's forced to leave school and take a low-paying, grueling, dangerous job. She thought she understood the dark sides of her world, but now she sees suffering she never imagined.

Without the protection of her boyfriend or her family, can Sónia find a way to fight for justice?

This remarkable collection of short stories-vivid, haunting, detailed-is based on life in Egypt more than 3000 years ago, during what we now call the New Kingdom. It was a time when Egyptian life was at its most colorful and varied, when Egypt virtually dominated the entire Mediterranean Sea, and its Pharaohs and merchants had acquired quite unbelievable wealth and power, while the masses of poor people and slaves conquered from other lands had nothing whatever to call their own.

"There was nothing dull about life to the Egyptians. These stories, which might have been told or might have happened, give a picture of a people who were intensely alive. It is this quality that makes them exciting to read about, even though their civilization has long gone by."

-Olivia Coolidge

A stunning debut novel of music, intoxication, and betrayal inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, a Venetian orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi and ultimately became his star musician--and his biggest muse.

Anna Maria della Pietà was destined to drown in one of Venice's canals. Instead, she became the greatest violinist of the 18th century.

Anna Maria has only known life inside the Pietà, an orphanage for children born of prostitutes. But the girls of the Pietà are lucky in a sense: most babies born of their station were drowned in the city's canals. And despite the strict rules, the girls are given singing and music lessons from an early age. The most promising musicians have the chance to escape the fate of the rest: forced marriage to anyone who will have them.

Anna Maria is determined to be the best violinist there is--and whatever Anna Maria sets out to do, she achieves. After all, the stakes for Anna could not be higher. But it is 1704 and she is a girl. The pursuit of her ambition will test everything she holds dear, especially when it becomes clear that her instructor, Antonio Vivaldi, will teach Anna everything he knows--but not without taking something in return.

From the opulent palaces of Venice to its mud-licked canals, The Instrumentalist is a portrait of opportunities dangled only to be snatched away. It is the story of one woman's irrepressible ambition and rise to the top. And it is the story of the orphans of Venice who overcame destitution and abuse to make music, and whose contributions to some of the most important works of classical music, including "The Four Seasons," have been overlooked for too long.

For fans of The Queen's Gambit and Fingersmith, The Instrumentalist is a searing exploration of art and ambition, genius and exploitation, and loss and triumph.

A surreal and darkly comic collection of stories that offer a fresh and irreverent look at life in contemporary Northern Ireland from "one of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation" (The Sunday Times, London).

Humorous and horrifying, tender and absurd, the stories in Quickly, While They Still Have Horses offer a fresh, irreverent look at life in post-conflict Northern Ireland. From first loves to strained relationships, the thrills and terrors of growing up to the dangers and challenges of parenthood, Carson infuses all her stories with empathy, dark wit, and a surreal edge.

In "A Certain Degree of Ownership," a distracted couple on a beach fail to notice their baby crawl perilously toward the sea. In "Grand So," the ghost of a car's previous owner haunts the backseat. In "Troubling the Water," a rumor of miraculous healing creates chaos at a public swimming pool. Carson never fails to shock and delight as kids go missing in jungle gyms, a baby washes up on a riverbank in a biscuit tin, and a bloody hand appears (and reappears) in a refrigerator. Every so often, these stories travel into alternate versions of our world where pillars of fire are a new treatment for mental illness and animals deemed nonessential are going extinct by legislative orders.

While the legacy of the Troubles is never far from Carson's mind, it is only a backdrop to the worlds she's woven in these stories, driven by characters who feel real enough to touch. This stunning collection marks the arrival of a "bracingly fresh, darkly funny, [and] unwaveringly compassionate" (The Irish News) writer to North American readers.

A young technomancer teams up with a handsome thief to save her sister in this propulsive, magic-filled young adult fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gearbreakers and Iron Widow.

Adya wants nothing more than to be left alone. Content to be loyal to no one but herself in the isolated jungles of South India, she dreams only of finding her lost sister, Priya, and making enough money to take care of their family. It's too bad that her rare ability to wake electric machines--using the magic that wiped them out five centuries ago--also makes her a coveted political pawn. Everyone seems to believe that her technomancy can help them win the endless war for control over the magic's supernatural source.

These senseless power struggles mean little to Adya. But when her enemies dangle news of her sister before her, she's all too quick to leap at the chance to bring Priya home--even if it means teaming up with a rakish, disreputable thief in order to do it. With the threat of invasion looming ever larger on the horizon, Adya must reconcile the kind of person she is with the kind of person she wants to be and untangle the web of intrigue, conspiracy, and deceit that threatens to take all of India down with it.

Opposites attract and sparks fly when the vivacious Arabella falls for a baron who lives under the shadow of a scandalous family secret.

1815, London

Arabella Latham is a free spirit who longs to feel the spark of true love, but few men can match her passion for Shakespeare or her zest for life. Though her prospects seem slim, Arabella knows she can always count on the handsome but stoic Lord Henry Northcott, dubbed "The Brooding Baron" by the ton, to be willing to engage in intelligent conversation and even share a congenial dance with her at almost every ball. His quiet demeanor is the opposite of her vivacious personality, and she finds herself drawn to him, despite their differences.

Lord Northcott has quietly admired Arabella for years, grateful that his friendship with her brother has allowed him to share in her company and even begin to secretly imagine a life together with her. But he knows he cannot pursue a romantic relationship with any woman--let alone someone as bright and beautiful as Arabella--because of the shadow that an old family scandal has cast over his life. He has vowed to preserve what is left of his family's reputation by holding himself above reproach apart from society and focusing the majority of his efforts at Parliament.

But Arabella is determined to show Lord Northcott that life is meant to be enjoyed, and she sets out to see what is behind the walls the Brooding Baron has built around himself. Could the spark of true love be enough to drive away the shadows holding Henry back?