I’m a historical fiction fan. I love to be transported to a different time or place, to learn how other people live, and to discover how the events of history affect the lives of ordinary people. So I was not surprised at the popularity of Downton Abbey, the PBS show that took us back to Edwardian England, or of Khaled Hosseini’s books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which opened our eyes to the beauty and horror of living in Afghanistan.
If you’d like to travel without buying a plane ticket or a time machine, visit the library and pick up a historical fiction novel. Here are a few from our New Fiction collection:
If you enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, you may enjoy The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot. Perinot writes about sisters Marguerite and Eleanor, whose marriages to the King of France and the King of England place them on very different paths. Other books from the days of the kings and queens of Europe include the young adult novel Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill, Sacrilege: a thriller by S. J. Parris, A Parliament of Spies: a mystery by Cassandra Clark, The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin, The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, The Forest Laird: A Tale of William Wallace by Jack Whyte, The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melvany, The Queen’s Lover: a novel by Francine Grey, Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown and The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau.
For something a little more edgy, try the thrillers by Tom Robb Smith: Child 44, The Secret Speech, and the newly released Agent 6. These books trace the activities of agent Leo Demidov, whose biggest problems come not from the criminals he is tracking, but the Stalinist government under which he works. Other books about the Soviet Union include The Darkening Field by William Ryan and The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen.
Laurent Binet has written a novel with an intruiging title: HHhH, the engrossing true story of two men who escaped from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and were recruited by the British to parachute back into their native country with the mission of executing Reinhard Heydrich, “the Butcher of Prague”. Millions of Europeans faced life-and death decisions during WWII, and some of their stories are told in books like The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer, No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel , Restoration by Olafur Olafsson, and Trapeze by Simon Mawer.
Moving across the pond to our country, historical fiction novels can take you back to the days of the Civil War. Blue Asylum: a novel by Kathy Hepinstall tells the tale of the wife of a slaveowner who is cast into an insane asylum simply because she does not share the beliefs of her fellow southerners about slavery. Her experiences among her fellow inmates promise to change her life. Other Civil War tales include A Blaze of Glory: a novel of the battle of Shiloh by Jeff Shaara, and The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites.
The immigrant experience is one which all of our ancestors share. Three novels currently on the New Fiction shelf tell the tales of Irish immigrants: The O’Briens by Peter Behrens, a saga of the grandson of an Irish immigrant who rises from poverty to riches, The Gods of Gotham by Lindsay Faye, relating the tale of an Irish immigrant who joins the newly formed NYPD, and May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy, a sweeping novel of four separate individuals who lives become entwined.
Whether you want to travel far or near, to a time centuries ago or just in the last few decades, historical fiction novels can take you there. Come pick one up soon!
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