Historical Fiction
A mix of eras, stories, settings and characters in these historical novels chosen by our librarians. (Updated June 2020)
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Miss Austen
After the death of her famous sister Jane in 1817, Cassandra Austen discovers a trove of private letters which bring back rich memories and force her to decide how to protect her sister’s literary legacy.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Simon the Fiddler
At the end of the Civil War, a wandering fiddler in Texas tries to eke out a living while seeking the Irish indentured servant he met on the eve of the Confederate surrender.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Henna Artist
A teenage girl escapes an abusive marriage in 1950s India, fleeing from her rural village to the “pink city” of Jaipur where she strives to create an independent life for herself.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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The Great Unknown
Set in Britain and France in the 1840s, this quietly atmospheric novel explores how controversial new ideas about evolution illuminate the workings of both the natural world and its human inhabitants.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Delayed Rays of A Star
This novel follows the lives of three prominent women in film - Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl - who were photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt at a Berlin party in 1928.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Mirror & the Light
The final book in Mantel’s epic trilogy (start with Wolf Hall) about Thomas Cromwell, the son of a blacksmith who became one of the most powerful men in England as King Henry VIII’s chief minister
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Deep River
This epic saga about Finnish siblings who emigrate to the Pacific NW in the early 1900s is packed with interesting details about old-growth forests, logging, and the emerging labor movement.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Deacon King Kong
Both funny and moving, this novel depicts what happens to the witnesses of a shooting in 1960s New York City, written with McBride’s signature emotional honesty and faith in humanity.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Shadow King
This historical story is a powerful and devastating account of the female soldiers who joined the Ethiopian army when Mussolini invaded in the 1930s.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Gods of Jade and Shadow
This fascinating tale incorporates both historical fiction and Mayan folklore as it follows a young woman’s quest that takes her to Mexico City during the Jazz Age and the underworld.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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