Historical Fiction - Hidden GemsLike this list

15 items

• Four Treasures of the Sky

  Zhang, Jenny Tinghui

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  Set in late‑1800s China and the American West, a kidnapped girl fights to reclaim her identity while confronting violence, displacement, and the struggle to survive in a hostile new world. Read if you like: Chinese history, immigrant stories, hope…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Maiden of Florence

  Mezzacappa, Katherine

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  Set in Renaissance Florence, a young woman’s life is reshaped by political intrigue, shifting loyalties, and the dangerous power struggles surrounding the Medici family. Read if you like: Renaissance intrigue, feminism, Italian history.

• The House Is on Fire

  Beanland, Rachel

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  Richmond, Virginia, winter 1811. When a theatre goes up in flames in the middle of a play, the lives of four people involved in the tragedy are intertwined in the aftermath. Read if you like: multiple perspectives, redemption stories,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Moth

  Razak, Melody

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  A family in 1940s Delhi is violently torn apart by the brutality of the Partition and the collapse of the British Raj, seen through the eyes of the soon to be married 14-year-old Alma. Read if you like: stories of resilience, intimate experiences of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Good Lord Bird

  McBride, James, 1957-

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  A young slave in 1857 Kansas flees town with the abolitionist John Brown, but must pretend to be a girl in order to survive. Read if you like: satire and humour, stories of adventure and survival, American Civil War history.

• Seascraper

  Wood, Benjamin, 1981-

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  In the coastal town of Longferry in the 1960s, the quiet life of a young shrimp catcher is disrupted when a Hollywood director comes to town and ignites his ambitions. Read if you like: quiet but moving stories, introspective characters, Claire…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Wolf Den

  Harper, Elodie

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  Set in ancient Pompeii, a Greek woman sold into prostitution navigates survival, friendship, and the pursuit of freedom within the city’s bustling brothel district. Read if you like: Ancient Rome, found families, gritty characters, women fighting…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Gallows Pole

  Myers, Benjamin, 1976-

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  A counterfeiting ring led by David Hartley in 18th‑century Yorkshire rises in power as growing suspicion and internal strain threaten the group’s survival. Read if you like: True crime inspired, rebellion, dark atmosphere.

• Glorious Exploits

  Lennon, Ferdia

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  In ancient Syracuse, two friends try to free captive Athenian poets, revealing the costs of war, loyalty, and survival through their risky plan. Read if you like: the Greek dramatists, dark humour, unusual friendships, the power of storytelling.

• Sisters of Night and Fog

  Robuck, Erika

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  Set in Nazi‑occupied Europe, two women, one American, one French, join the resistance, their separate paths converging as they face capture, courage, and the brutal realities of war. Read if you like: WWII resistance, true history, female…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois

  a Novel

  Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne, 1967-

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  In search of her own identity, Ailey traces her family’s long tangled history across generations of Black life in the deep American South. Read if you like: themes of heritage and belonging, immense but intimate stories, the past intersecting with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Square of Sevens

  Shepherd-Robinson, Laura

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  In Georgian England, an orphaned fortune teller is enfolded into high society and uncovers shocking truths in searching for answers about her mother. Read if you like: immersive and atmospheric settings, surprising plot twists, subterfuge,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Rapture

  Maguire, Emily, 1976-

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  In ninth-century Mainz, the daughter of a priest secures a place at a monastery by disguising herself as a man, becoming the legend of Pope Joan. Read if you like: feminist literature, intricately researched history, captivating protagonists.

• The Sandcastle Girls

  a Novel

  Bohjalian, Chris, 1962-

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  Set in Syria and the United States, the story follows a woman uncovering her grandparents’ past during the Armenian genocide and how it shapes her own life. Read if you like: Dual time lines, family secrets, Armenian history, truama.

• The Piano Tuner

  Mason, Daniel (Daniel Philippe)

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  Set in 1880s Burma, a London piano tuner is sent to repair an instrument for a mysterious surgeon, uncovering political tension and personal transformation in an unfamiliar land. Read if you like: Colonial adventure, slow-burn, political tension.