Historical Fiction

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Defending Britta Stein makes vivid an important part of Holocaust history, one that is less familiar to the general public and deserves all the more to be better known. . . .

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“Based upon eyewitness accounts, journal entries, interviews, letters, and journals, this is an outstanding record of the activities and events in the life of Josef Mengele as a notorious f

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“A fascinating visit to a little-known pocket of U.S. immigrant history.”

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Wry, sly, and nicely dry, Kate Atkinson’s 13th outing is stuffed with runaway waifs, toffs, female pickpockets, “merry maid” hostesses, bent coppers, murdered girls, a melancholy detective, an intr

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A key challenge in writing historical fiction is balancing the mores and ethos of the time described with those of the time the narrative will be read in.

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“Cruz has created an unforgettable character in Cara. And readers will feel like they’ve made a new, fascinating friend.”

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In the 1940s, thousands of Jews and others the Nazis considered "undesirable" are transported to Auschwitz in Germany where their heads are shaved, their bodies disinfected, and then they are sent

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“Brilliantly conceived. . . . There are court intrigues, whispered rumors, a clever subplot about the power of painting, what it reveals as well as what it hides . . .

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“A powerful story of community, faith, and belief, and which ones truly matter versus ones that are false distractions.”

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In the early- to mid-20th century, a state school named Willowbrook was located in Staten Island, New York.

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“Early 20th century writing, especially translated from one language to another, can be challenging to read, but Nèmirovsky’s story and Smith’s translation make Master of Souls

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Louisa Treger opens her historical novel about the life of intrepid reporter Nellie Bly in 1887 as she arrives on Blackwell Island, home of the notorious women’s insane asylum.

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“tightly crafted women’s fiction, with a sensitive look at love, conscience, and loyalty.”

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C. J. Carey’s novel, Widowland, couldn’t be more chilling—or dystopian—given the frightening political landscape confronting women in America and elsewhere.

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“Readers may never know if or how that near-death experience [Wiggins' stroke while writing] may have altered Wiggins’ concept of Properties of Thirst.

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The writing is so smooth and consistent, and the narrative unfolds so steadily, it’s hard to look up from.”

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When Isabel "Izzy" Cooper loses her beloved brother Walt after he gets shot down in Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in World War II, she wonders how she can go on.

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The Last White Man works as a kind of message-heavy fable . . .”

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It is 1945 and sisters Lillian and Eleanor Kaufman live in New York City. Lillian is older than Eleanor, her identical twin by seven minutes, and the two are as different as day and night.

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It is April 1943, and World War II is raging throughout Europe. In Washington, D.C., Ava Harper is working as a librarian at a job she loves in the Rare Book Room at the Library of Congress.

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Historical fiction that features real people can be problematic.

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In January 1940, 16-year-old Lucie and her mother, Yvonne, leave Australia after their home is destroyed by a fire where Lucie's father has perished.

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“a journey into the heart and longing of a spirited woman discovering her identity outside societal expectations, her search for personal freedom, her courageousness, and her empathy.”

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Nothing is more heartbreaking and disturbing than war.

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