Collection: Historical Fiction

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road continues. As Anis and Sherine settle into a new life built on love and friendship, tragedy and destruction have thrown the Eihons' village into turmoil. Conflict with neighboring tribes has taken its toll, leaving Pariya's family home in ruins. Though no one was hurt, little survived the assault, including the fabrics meant for Pariya's dowry. Her passionate, frank personality has made things difficult for Pariya in the past, and being forced to delay marriage talks--now that she's finally found an interested suitor--drives her to despair. Despite her anxieties, staying with the Eihons during the reconstruction gives Pariya the opportunity to learn from Amir and her family and build up her self-confidence as she prepares for a hopeful future. Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

A sweeping wartime tale of secrets and love, mystery and redemption, moving from the snow-capped Himalayas to the steamy heat of battle in the Burmese jungle.

Perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries, Victoria Hislop and Rosie Thomas.

Hampshire, UK, 2015. When Chloe Harper's beloved grandmother, Lena dies, a stranger hands her Lena's wartime diary. Chloe sets out to uncover deep family secrets that Lena guarded to her grave.

Darjeeling, India, 1943, Lena Chatterjee leaves the confines of a strict boarding school to work as assistant to Lieutenant George Harper, an officer in the British Indian Army. She accompanies him to Nepal and deep into the Himalayas to recruit Gurkhas for the failing Burma Campaign. There, she discovers that Lieutenant Harper has a secret, which she vows never to reveal.

In Kathmandu, the prophesy of a mysterious fortune teller sets Lena on a dangerous course. She joins the Women's Auxiliary Service Burma (the Wasbies), risking her life to follow the man she loves to the front line. What happens there changes the course of her life.

On her quest to uncover her grandmother's hidden past, Chloe herself encounters mystery and romance. Helped by young Nepalese tour guide, Kiran Rai, she finds history repeating itself when she is swept up in events that spiral out of control...

Love changes you. So do the Outer Gods.

"An extraordinary departure. Dante splices genre in a beautiful and brutal Horror Romance a la The Shape of Water and Midnight Mass. Someone call Guillermo Del Toro, because Providence Girls deserves an adaptation." - Freydís Moon, bestselling author of Heart, Haunt, Havoc

Now: Alone in a cottage, Lavinia writes to the woman she loved.

Fifteen years ago: Middle-aged Lavinia Whateley escapes her hilly Massachusetts town when the townsfolk decide to sacrifice her on Halloween. After almost dying in the woods, she's saved and housed by the stoic and mysterious Asenath Waite, or Azzie. On the coastal outskirts of East Providence, they start to fall in love.

However, things change when Azzie, with her secret past and the strange "scars" on the side of her neck, begins to transform into an eldritch creature of the deep.

A story inspired by the "doomed" women in H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep" and "The Dunwich Horror."

Martin and Asta came to America in 1913 to homestead and create a better life for themselves and a hoped-for family. Nineteen years later during the difficult years of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, they intend to improve the lives of three of their nine children by sending their eighteen-year-old daughter with her two younger sisters to Norway to live with relatives for two years.

But things do not go according to plan.

The oldest sister falls in love with and marries a young Norwegian man leaving the two younger sisters with no one to take them home. By 1940, when Germany invades Norway, the two younger sisters were living with the family relative who in the meantime married a Quisling, a member of the Norwegian Nazi Party. The two sisters miss the last US evacuee ship out of Petsamo, Finland, and soon German soldiers take one sister to Grini, a concentration camp north of Oslo. Eventually she and her older sister both marry men active in the Norwegian Resistance Movement of WWII.

Will the entire family ever reconnect?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - An enthralling feat of historical suspense that unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or the thief of another woman's legacy?

"Tantalizing, surprising, compelling, and utterly fascinating."--Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.

Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia, where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.

Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water or even acknowledge her rescuers, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious young woman claims to be the Russian grand duchess.

As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre at Ekaterinburg, old enemies and new threats are awakened. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling saga is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.

Don't miss Ariel Lawhon's new book, The Frozen River!

The author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Unterzakhn now gives us a heart-wrenching, phantasmagorical tale of love, loss, and trauma both personal and global, set during World War II in Brooklyn, New York, and in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp.

One of a group of women working as welders in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Rose Arensberg has fallen in love with a disabled veteran while awaiting the return of her husband, Sam, a soldier in the American army serving in Europe. As we follow the bittersweet, heartbreaking stories of Rose and her fellow Rosie-the-Riveters, we're immersed in the day-to-day challenges of life on the home front as seen through the eyes of these resilient women, as well as through the eyes of Eleanor, Rose's impressionable young daughter, and Ruth, the German Jewish refugee Rose has taken into their home.
Ruth's desperate attempt to exorcise the nightmare of growing up in pre-war Nazi Germany takes her into the world of professional women wrestlers--with devastating consequences. And Sam's encounters with the horrors of a liberated concentration camp follow him home to Brooklyn in the form of terrifying flashbacks that will leave him scarred forever.
Victory Parade paints a deeply affecting portrait of how individuals and civilizations process mass trauma. Magnificently drawn by Leela Corman, it's an Expressionist journey through the battlefields of the human heart and the mass graves of genocide.

Based on a true story, Wagon Wheels tells a powerful and overlooked story of the country's post-Civil War era.

Formerly enslaved Ed Muldie and his family travel to Kansas in 1878 to claim land under the Homestead Act. Mother dies on the journey from Kentucky. The family joins a free Black community in Nicodemus, Kansas. They survive a difficult winter thanks to help from the Osage Native community. But in spring Daddy must leave the boys to find better land for farming.

The two older boys, eleven and eight, take care of their three-year-old brother in these difficult times. Then a letter arrives via Pony Express. Daddy has settled and gives the boys a map to follow. The three boys must begin their own journey. They must care for one another as they travel 150 miles on foot to join him in their new home.

"The Muldies' story gives beginning readers a glimpse of homesteaders' life and, specifically, an awareness of the Black groups in Kansas--and the boys' impressive feats of coping make for...genuine human interest." (Kirkus)

Wagon Wheels is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level Three books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories.

"Utterly captivating. What a lovely summer novel!" --Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author

"On Gin Lane encapsulates the very best of historical fiction." --Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author

After her fiancé whisks her off to the glistening shores of Southampton in June of 1957, one young socialite begins to realize that her glamorous summer is giving her everything--except what she really wants--in this new novel from the author of Summer Darlings.

Everleigh "Lee" Farrows thinks she finally has life all figured out: a handsome fiancé named Roland, a trust in her name, and a house in Bronxville waiting for her to fill it with three adorable children. That is, until Roland brings her out to the Hamptons for a summer that will change everything.

Most women could only dream of the engagement present Roland unexpectedly bestows on Lee--a beachside hotel on the prized Gin Lane--but Lee's delight is clouded by unpleasant memories of another hotel, the Plaza, where she grew up in the shadow of her mother's mental illness. Shaking off flashbacks, Lee resolves to dive into an unforgettable summer with poolside Bellinis, daily tennis matches, luncheons with her Manhattan circle, and her beloved camera in tow. But when tragedy strikes on the hotel's opening weekend, the cracks in Lee's picture-perfect future slowly begin to reveal themselves, and Lee must look deep within herself to determine if the life she's always wanted will ever truly be enough.

From the regal inns to the farmland, the well-heeled New Yorkers to the Bohemian artists, the East End of Long Island is a hodge-podge of the changing American landscape in the late 1950s--and the perfect place for Lee to discover who she really is.

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road heads back to Amir and Karluk. In the year since his marriage, Karluk has grown a good deal, but Amir can't help but feel overprotective of her much younger husband. Karluk wants nothing more than to prove that he can be a strong and competent man--and he may soon have the opportunity to prove just that. Desperate for land to feed their flocks, Amir's former tribe prepares to attack her village with a fearsome arsenal of cannons and guns provided by their new allies. This time the Halgals are not interested in capturing Amir--no one is safe from their terrible assault! Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

A Deadly Game in the Heart of a Historic City: Where Shadows Whisper Secrets and Every Corner Holds a Clue.

In the echoing alleys of New Bedford, a city steeped in history and immortalized by Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", a sinister plot begins to unravel. A fire, not just any fire, but one that consumes a commercial scalloper, draws the attention of the world. But as the ashes settle, a crew member's absence ignites a spark of suspicion that quickly turns into a blazing investigation.

Enter Rob Ragusa, a seasoned detective from the Boston FBI Field Office. But for Rob, this is no ordinary assignment. The heart of the mystery, Widows Cove, is a tavern he knows all too well. Thirty years ago, its walls echoed with the chords of his rock band. Now, it's a key piece in a puzzle that threatens to shatter his world.

Navigating a city transformed by time, where old haunts have given way to new-age elegance, Rob finds an unlikely ally in Steve Poole, the tavern's bartender. Steve's vast knowledge of the waterfront and its shadowy figures unravels a massive drug smuggling operation. But the deeper they delve, the murkier the waters become.

Dive into a thrilling tale where the line between the past and present blurs, where romance kindles amidst danger, and where every twist and turn takes you closer to the heart of a city that still whispers tales of its glorious past. This isn't just a murder mystery; it's a journey through time, love, and the very soul of New Bedford.

For fans of gripping narratives and intricately woven plots, this book promises to keep you on the edge, guessing till the very end. The game is afoot, and in New Bedford, everyone's a player. Will you uncover the secrets of the cove?

Paul Rooney, a debut author, holds a PhD in Psychology and runs a private psychotherapy practice in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His rich insights into human behavior and his connection to New Bedford's history vividly come alive in his writing. Residing in Wareham, Massachusetts, Paul is surrounded by his loving family - wife, two children, two stepchildren, five grandchildren, and a loyal dog, Rory. His maiden novel, Widows Cove: A Rob Ragusa Thriller, mirrors his passion for storytelling, psychology, and his city's legacy.

"Li Kao may have a slight flaw in his character but the book has none. I recommend it unconditionally and I predict Barry Hughart has quite a future as a fantasy writer."--Anne McCaffrey

When the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure.

The quest led them to a host of truly memorable characters, multiple wonders, incredible adventures--and strange coincidences which were really not coincidences at all. And it involved them in an ancient crime that still perturbed the serenity of Heaven. Simply and charmingly told, this is a wry tale, a sly tale, and a story of wisdom delightfully askew. Once read, its marvels and beauty will not easily fade from the mind.

The author claims that this is a novel of an ancient China that never was. But, oh . . . it should have been!

From Simone Van Der Vlugt comes her European bestselling novel of a young woman's rise as a painter in Holland's Golden Age--perfect for readers of The Miniaturist, Tulip Fever, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Amsterdam 1654: against the backdrop of Holland's Golden Age, a dangerous secret threatens to destroy a young widow's new life.

Following the sudden death of her husband, twenty-five-year old Catrin leaves her small village and takes a job as a housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family. Amsterdam is a city at the peak of its powers: science and art are flourishing in the Golden Age and Dutch ships bring back exotic riches from the Far East. Madam Van Nulandt passes her time taking expensive painting lessons from a local master, Rembrandt van Rigin, and when Catrin takes up a brush to finish some of her mistress's work, Rembrandt realizes the maid has genuine talent, and encourages her to continue.

When a figure from her past threatens her new life, Catrin flees to the smaller city of Delft. There, her gift as a painter earns her a chance to earn a living painting pottery at a local workshop. Slowly, the workshop begins to develop a new type of pottery to rival fancy blue-on-white imported Chinese porcelain--and the graceful and coveted Delft Blue designs she creates help revolutionize the industry. But when tragedy strikes, Catrin must decide whether to defend her newfound independence, or return to the village that she'd fled.

These detailed spreads charting the course of a year in a fantasy medieval castle are packed to the brim with charming characters and hilarious adventures that young readers will return to again and again.

There's a lot going on in the castle of King Bolebor--a peace- loving gardener--and Queen Drogomira--a brilliant inventor. There's a princess learning sword fighting so that she can become a knight; a sweet dog in search of an owner; a dragon hiding in the cellar; a gold-counting treasurer; a friendly ghost; an annoying jester, a burly blacksmith--and many others.
Vibrant and intricately detailed spreads take readers through a year in the castle, showing how an innocent mishap leads to war with the neighbors; how lives in the castle change from month to month; and how each season brings its own surprises.
Gently humorous and filled with opportunities to play "I Spy," this delightful picture book also provides ample opportunities to talk about all sorts of topics from history and gender stereotypes to gnomes, ghosts and chess-playing frogs.

"Flawlessly researched with characters that come alive on the page, debut author Janis Robinson Daly writes with a fresh voice that brings her readers instantly into a story that, in many ways, is shockingly similar to today's world." -Barbara Conrey, USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye

"An often riveting fictional testament of a doctor's life at the turn of the 20th century." -Kirkus Reviews

The Unlocked Path presents and embraces a "New Woman" of the early 20th century: educated, career-minded, independent. In 1897 Philadelphia, after witnessing her aunt's suicide, Eliza Edwards vows to find ways to help and heal. Rejecting her mother's wishes for her society debut, Eliza enters medical college at a time when only five percent of doctors are female. With the support of a circle of women and driven by a determination to conquer curriculum demands, battle sexism, and overcome doubts, Eliza charts a new life course. Combining science and sympathy, can she triumph to heal others and herself?

When her best friend is sacrificed to the devil, she'll go to hell and back for him

Plain, poor, plus-size, and autistic, Alesta grew up trying to convince her beauty-obsessed kingdom that she's too useful to be sacrificed. Their god blessed their island Soladisa as a haven for his followers, but to keep the devil at bay, the church sends a child sacrifice to hell's entrance every season--often poor or plain girls just like Alesta.

With a head full of ideas for inventions, Alesta knows her best shot at making it to adulthood is to design something impressive for the festival exhibition so she might win a spot in the university--acceptance could guarantee her safety. But Alesta's flying machine demonstration goes awry, a failure that will surely mean death. What happens is worse: Her best friend and heir to the throne, Kyrian, takes the blame expecting leniency but ends up sacrificed in her place.

To stop the sacrifices forever, Alesta plans to kill the monster that killed her friend. Prepared to save her kingdom or die trying, she travels to the depths of hell only to find Kyrian--alive, but monstrously transformed.

There is no escaping hell or their growing feelings for one another, and the deeper they descend into hell, the closer they come to uncovering a truth about the sacrifices that threatens to invoke the wrath of not only monsters but the gods as well.

A novel of a father and son in search of each other on the Australian frontier of the 1870s: "Brutal, brilliant, beautiful" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

It is the summer of 1874. Launceston, a colonial outpost on the southern Australian island of Tasmania, hovers on the brink of anarchy, teeming with revolutionaries, convicts, drunks, crooked cops, and poor strugglers looking for a break. Outlaw Thomas Toosey races to this dangerous bedlam to find his motherless twelve-year-old son before the city swallows the child whole, but he is pursued by more than just the law. Hindering his progress at every turn is a man to whom he owes a terrible debt: the vengeful Irishman Fitheal Flynn, whose hooded companion hides a grotesque secret . . .
Based on real events, this prize-winning novel of vengeance and redemption, set against the sweeping, merciless grandeur of the frontier, "brings to mind the prose of Cormac McCarthy, Joseph Conrad and William Faulkner [and] catapults us into the vicious, impoverished world of a colonial town in Tasmania" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

"Readers who admired the propulsive plotting, atmospheric sense of place, and fierce family loyalty in Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers and Cormac McCarthy's The Road should be equally taken with Wilson's superb novel. Highly recommended."--Library Journal (starred review)

Winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the Adelaide Festival Award for Best Novel