Best Historical Fiction

  Finding Margaret Fuller vividly brings to life the extraordinary journey of Margaret Fuller, a pioneering woman who relentlessly championed women’s rights and broader humanitarian causes. Her story, set against the backdrop of her remarkable achievements as a writer, unfolds with engaging first-person narration that captures Fuller’s spirited and trailblazing character. The narrative begins in 1836 in Concord, Massachusetts, where Fuller receives an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson to visit him and his family at his Bush estate. Emerson, a profound thinker and staunch supporter of writers, shares enriching conversations with Fuller during their afternoon walks, discussing his essays and her insightful responses. Departing from this idyllic setting leaves Fuller reluctant to leave. In Boston, Fuller takes a tutoring job to support her mother financially. Despite the loneliness of her single room in the bustling city, her life brightens when Bronson Alcott visits and offers her ...

  Set in early 11th century Scotland, this story alternates between Lady Macbeth and the Boy, her son. She is the daughter of a nobleman, and granddaughter of a former Scottish king. At fifteen, she is forced to marry Mormaer of Moray, a violent man. Her story reveals how Macbeth enters the castle with the blood of her husband on his hands, and she doesn’t know his intentions. The Boy reveals how he remembers his father’s rage and storming, and yet he wants him back, not Macbeth – the man his mother marries and falls in love with. As the story progresses is reveals the dynamics between mother and son, and their points of view. Before Macbeth, she is a very protective mother. Once, Macbeth enters their lives she becomes more of an absent parent, which angers the boy even more. This character-driven story delves into the dynamics of those complex characters, but the masculine side of Lady Macbeth for which she is known doesn’t come through in this story. The writing is accomplished, ...