Historical Fiction

Austen fans rejoice! The Knightley's are throwing a summer house party and everyone is invited - including the Darcy's, the Wentworth's, the Brandons, and young Juliet Tilney. Unfortunately another well known Jane Austen character shows up uninvited - Mr. George Wickham. Mr. Wickham has come to collect money from those he has swindled in a… Read More

The Last White Rose by Alison Weir explores the life of Elizabeth of York, the mother of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth grew up and reigned during turbulent times in England. Weir's retelling of Elizabeth's story covers the death of King Edward IV (Elizabeth's father), the disappearance of her brothers (the Two Princes in the Tower),… Read More

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a mosaic of a novel with bits of historical, contemporary, and sci-fi fiction storytelling all in one. The book is narrated by 5 different characters in 3 different timelines: Anna (a young girl in 15th century Constantinople while it is under siege by the Ottoman Empire) Omeir (a… Read More

Joan is 27, lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. She sends a fan letter, along with a small gift of saffron to 59 year-old Imogen, a writer who writes a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine. This begins their friendship by letter, one… Read More

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray is a fictional account of the real-life story of Belle da Costa Greene, who worked as J. P. Morgan's personal librarian. Only her real name isn't Belle da Costa Greene. It's Belle Marion Greener. Long before she worked for one of the wealthiest men in… Read More

Mary Deerfield is twenty four and is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield. It is 1662 and the family lives in Boston, where quiet whispers of the witch trials are starting to occupy more of the usual gossip. Thomas has shown his temper on more than one occasion with Mary - mainly when he's had… Read More

At 128 pages long, this book is a quick read that can be finished in one sitting. Denise Mina's Rizzio is a fictionalization of the murder of David Rizzio, personal secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. Rizzio, who is a favorite of the Queen, is brutally murdered in the Queen's own private chambers during a… Read More

Silence in the Library is the second book in Katharine Schellman's Lily Adler Mystery series. This cozy Regency mystery opens with Lily's estranged father unexpectedly visiting. Lily feels that her father resents having a daughter rather than a son, and they seem unable to have a conversation without arguing. Tensions rise even more when her… Read More

The Social Graces by Renée Rosen explores the rivalry between Caroline Astor and Alva Vanderbilt in the race to dominate society in Gilded Age New York City. Caroline Astor represents the "old money," while Alva Vanderbilt represents the "new money." Despite marrying into one of the wealthiest families in America, Alva is not invited to… Read More

When Emily Warren meets Captain Washington Wroebling through her brother, the two hit it off immediately, and the two soon marry. Visions of a happy home life are interrupted though, when Wash becomes the lead engineer on his father's latest project - building the Brooklyn Bridge. Wash spends long hours on the worksite, accompanying his… Read More