Historical Fiction

The Great Alone

“Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone is a powerful, compelling story of survival - survival of the natural elements and of the human spirit. It's 1974, and 13-year-old Leni Allbright lives with her devoted mother, Cora, and abusive father, Ernt, who was a prisoner of war during Vietnam. America is changing after the war, and Ernt thinks their best chance at a fresh start is to move off the grid, to America's last frontier - Alaska. Grizzlies, wolves, and dropping temperatures are Leni's worries outside of her family's cabin, but as Ernt's battle with his demons rages on, it's no safer inside. The result is a beautifully descriptive, heart-wrenching adventure.”

Hillary Taylor, Lemuria Bookstore

Our Woman in Moscow

“Ruth Macallister runs a New York modeling agency, while twin Iris Digby chooses marriage and motherhood, but her diplomat husband turns out to be a spy. Can Ruth extricate Iris from exile in Moscow? A wonderful plot weaves around Red Scare events of the early 1950s.”

Clay Belcher, Signs of Life

The Exiles

“This is an amazing book filled with unforgettable characters and an in-depth exploration of a time from history that I have never seen covered before. But listening to it just makes the experience of the story so much richer! The accents, character names, and places, when read by the talented voice actors, make experience so much more vibrant!”

Kerry, Anderson's Bookshop

With the haunting atmosphere and emotional power of The Language of Flowers, Orphan Train, and The Light Between Oceans, critically acclaimed children’s author Jean E. Pendziwol’s adult debut is an affecting story of family, identity, and art that involves a decades-old mystery.

Though her mind is still sharp, Elizabeth’s eyes have failed. No...

The Age of Light

“Art lovers will enjoy this sexy, brilliant novel about Man Ray and Lee Miller set in Paris during the Jazz Age. Ray met Miller shortly after she arrived in Paris, young and just learning her craft. He became her mentor and lover, an intense relationship with the older man nurturing the younger woman’s talent. But as Miller grew into her art and the relationship shifted, Ray’s ego needed to be first. By WWII, Miller is at the height of her powers, and she leaves behind the safety of shooting portraits for the battlefields of Europe, documenting the horrors of concentration camps. Following Miller from her youth to old age, Scharer explores the passions and creativity of two larger-than-life characters.”

Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music

She asked dozens of young women to lay their lives on the line during the Great War. Can she protect them? Superintendent of Nurses Julia Stimson must recruit sixty-four nurses to relieve the battle-worn British, months before American troops are ready to be deployed. She knows the young nurses serving near the front lines will face a... Read more »

The USA Today Bestseller!

Recommended by Oprah Magazine ∙ Cosmo ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Parade ∙ and more!

An epic saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy.
 
Most castles are protected by men. This one by women.

A... Read more »

If you enjoyed Shantaram, then you’ll love The Four Winds.

“This is one of the best books I’ve listened to in a long time. The historical time period is the backdrop to an outstanding story about the evolution of a woman. The character development is incredibly heartfelt and the words that flow through each narration are beautifully expressed. This book, and the main character Elsa, has stayed with me for days. Definitely worth the time.”

Stephanie, Poet’s Corner Book Shop

The Night Watchman

“The Night Watchman is an extraordinary book based on the life of Edrich's grandfather who was a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant as well as an activitist against Native dispossession. The other featured protaganist is Patrice Paranteau who you will quickly come to adore. The Night Watchman is one of Edrich's best works and I highly recommend it!”

Rachel, Avid Bookshop

"Vivid and remarkably fresh...Philbrick has recast the Pilgrims for the ages."
--The New York Times Book Review

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history
New York Times Book Review Top Ten books of the Year

How did America begin? That simple question launches the acclaimed author of Bunker Hill and Valiant Ambition on an extraordinary journey... Read more »

Winner of the 2015 Audie Award for Fiction

*Winner of the Pulitzer Prize* A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book* A National Book Award Finalist*

From Anthony Doerr, the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of Cloud Cuckoo Land, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a... Read more »

If you enjoyed Catch Me If You Can, then you’ll love The Talented Miss Farwell.

“The Talented Miss Farwell is a fascinating exploration of how one bad decision "just this once" can turn into years of deception and a double life. Inspired by the real life story of a small town comptroller that stole ("borrowed") millions to finance her penchant for horses, Emily Gray Tedrowe takes the reader through all of the steps that could allow this to happen. The Talented Miss Farwell was a suspenseful page turner told with a surprising level of empathy; at least until things get completely out of control.”

Mary, Skylark Bookshop

The Personal Librarian

“I dearly loved this historical fiction based on the life of J.P. Morgan's personal librarian. My favorite combination of entertaining and educational!”

Elizabeth Barnhill, Fabled Bookshop & Café

A tour-de-force from three-time National Book Award finalist Rita Williams-Garcia, this story of an antebellum plantation—and the enduring legacies of slavery upon every person who lives there—is essential reading for both teens and adults grappling with the long history of American racism.

1860, Louisiana. After serving as mistress of Le Petit...

The Lost Girls of Paris

“Pam Jenoff specializes in finding a piece of history that has not been fully explored and that often leaves one thinking truth is stranger than fiction. In The Lost Girls of Paris, she returns to WWII but this time her protagonists are a group of British women recruited to blend into the French countryside and sabotage the Nazi network in preparation for D-Day. The story, told from the perspective of three women, ties up a whodunit in a satisfying knot with a little romance, but it’s really a lot more about women finding out who they are and what role they can play in making a difference in the world.”

Cathy Fiebach, Main Point Books

The Paris Library

“I can’t think of a more perfect novel to recommend to book lovers than The Paris Library! Not only does it bring to life the true story of the heroic librarians of the American Library in Nazi-occupied Paris, its interwoven narrative of a bereft teenager in 1980s Montana who finds a kindred spirit in her mysterious, reclusive, and book-loving French neighbor is a feat of extraordinary storytelling. The Paris Library is a testament to the everlasting power of literature and literary places to bring people together and be a home for everyone, even during our darkest, most hopeless, and divided times.”

Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books

The internationally bestselling author of Paris and New York takes on an exhilarating new world with his trademark epic style in China: The Novel

Edward Rutherfurd has enthralled millions of readers with his grand, sweeping historical sagas that tell the history of a famous place over multiple generations. Now, in China: The Novel, Rutherfurd... Read more »

From "a master of historical fiction" (NPR), Karin Tanabe's A Woman of Intelligence is an exhilarating tale of post-war New York City, and one remarkable woman’s journey from the United Nations, to the cloistered drawing rooms of Manhattan society, to the secretive ranks of the FBI.

A Fifth Avenue address, parties at the Plaza, two healthy sons,...

*Recommended by Parents' Choice*

This program features an author's note read by Dita Kraus.

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, The Librarian of Auschwitz is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Written with touching sensitivity by Antonio Iturbe,...

In the bestselling tradition of Hidden Figures and The Wives of Los Alamos, comes this riveting novel of the everyday people who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

“What you see here, what you hear here, what you do here, let it stay here.”

In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a...