Category Archives: Historical Fiction

by Janet Skeslien Charles Overall: what an incredible love letter to libraries, books, and readers everywhere. The Paris Library moves back and forth in time between Paris in the late 1930s and 1940s and Montana in the 1980s. In Paris, the main character and primary narrator is Odile, a young Frenchwoman who gets her dreamContinue reading “The Paris Library”

by Taylor Jenkins Reid Overall: This book has seen a lot of hype online, and I think it’s justified! I really enjoyed the tale of Evelyn Hugo and her seven husbands.  When Monique gets the call from her editor at Vivant magazine, she’s not expecting an invitation to do a piece on Evelyn Hugo, oneContinue reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”

by Jessica Anya Blau Overall: a sweet coming-of-age novel narrated by 14-year-old Mary Jane in mid-1970s Baltimore.  This would be a great beach read, as it takes place over the summer.  Mary Jane’s stiflingly conservative religious upbringing has prepared her to be an ideal summer nanny – I seriously wished multiple times reading this thatContinue reading “Mary Jane”

by Bonnie Garmus Overall: I loved this book!  Elizabeth Zott is determined to work in her chosen field of chemistry in the 1950s despite the opposition of nearly everyone she encounters.  She has no interest in falling in love or having a family, but when she and famous scientist Calvin Evans end up in theContinue reading “Lessons in Chemistry”

by Maggie O’Farrell Overall: I was late to the Hamnet party.  To be honest, this book sat by my bedside for months.  I have a hard time reading stories about dying children and Hamnet’s age (11) put him squarely between by two girls.  I wish I had not put it off!  This novel deserves everyContinue reading “Hamnet”

by Rosalyn Story Overall: Historical fiction at its best woven together with a modern-day story.  If you like novels with separate characters and plots that interlock over time, you should definitely pick up this book!  In one strand we meet Celia DeMille, who in 1919 is watching both her career and the New Orleans OperaContinue reading “Sing Her Name”

by Jenny Tinghui Zhang Overall: Can your name determine your destiny?  Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang tells the story of Daiyu, a girl born into a happy family in rural China who’s named after a tragic heroine.  The book follows Daiyu through the 1880s as she becomes an orphan, disguises herselfContinue reading “Four Treasures of the Sky”

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon First of all, if you’ve never encountered Ariel Lawhon’s work, you’re missing out.  Flight of Dreams, about the flight of the Hindenburg, was the first book of hers that I read, followed by I Was Anastasia.  As an author she has a great ability to take a familiar storyContinue reading “My Favorite Historical Fiction”