Best Historical Fiction

  Her Hidden Genius brings an intense historical woman whose high standards of ethics and drive to serve for betterment of humankind were instilled in her childhood and carried her to one of the greatest discoveries in scientific world, thus, influencing the humanity. France, 1947. Rosalind Franklin is a new researcher at chemistry institute in Paris. As a woman researcher, she felt discrimination in her native England. That’s why she welcomed this opportunity to be working in Paris where male-minds seem to be much more open toward female scientists. Using a somewhat new scientific approach, the institute hopes to make further discoveries in molecular worlds, which further can serve a purpose for humanity. With her skills and the institute’s methods, they hope to find the ultimate purpose. While enjoying her research, she also enjoys the openness and friendliness with other colleagues, which she lacked in England. She receives an invitation to have her research published in one of ...

  Carolina Built reimagines the fascinating life of a real estate magnate Josephine N. Leary. After emancipation in North Carolina, she builds a stunning legacy through her passion and perseverance. North Carolina. In 1873, Josephine buys her first property, when opportunity presents, and because her mother and grandmother never had the right, or the funds, to make such a purchase. She studies the transactions of the biggest landowners in Manhattan. As she works along her husband at barbershop and their family expends, she continues to observe and study those who gain properties. She even attends a few auctions to see her competition in her area. She wants her portfolio to be as robust with a mixture of property types as the ones she studies. The memory of free will being stripped from one is still fresh. She doesn’t want to live at the whim of another white man. Thus, she starts flipping from renting to buying the properties with carefully saved money. Her interests extend to atte...

  Hanging Mary vividly reimagines the life of Mary Surratt who could have changed the course of history, but something stopped her from intervening in the plans leading to the assassination of President Lincoln. 1864, in Washington, Mary Surratt takes boarders to help with the debt occurred by her late husband. The Surratts are Southern sympathizers and you have to be careful with voicing your opinion in regards to secession. Mary’s son, John, becomes acquainted with John Wilkes Booth, a charismatic actor. A concern is being raised by one of the boarders in regards to her son’s deteriorating character. It is being dismissed as pure jealousy as both men used to be close friends and now both Johns, the son and the actor, are very close. There are other concerns being raised such as guns being seen at the house, but that is brushed aside as for protection as John rides regularly into the country. As the backgrounds of the characters are revealed, the storyline builds up interestingly ...

  Beautiful Little Fools reimagines the literary classic The Great Gatsby giving voice to three women. 1917, Kentucky. Daisy Fay, eighteen, on a hot summer day in Louisville meets a soldier named Jay Gatsby. That’s not a kind of man her father would approve off, but she finds a Louisville society man dreadfully boring. Jordan, sixteen, is best friends with Daisy, which her father, Judge Baker, doesn’t approve of. But Jordan is not worried as she is not looking for a man nor marriage. Her life is golf. It is her sanctuary and strength. 1917, New York. Catherine follows her sister Myrtle from Illinois to New York. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s wife in a small town. She wants freedom in a big city. A place that offers excitement and opportunity. A place which now is buzzing with soldier, and she meets one of them named Jay Gatsby. 1922, New York. Detective Frank Charles questions all three women. He knows that all three women lied to him. He just can’t put his finger on how and why ...

  John Brown’s Women reimagines the lives of an abolitionist family of John Brown. The family prizes actions over words, along the way affecting three courageous women and the nation. Pennsylvania, 1833. Mary Day accepts John Brown’s proposal of marriage. He is a widower with five children - man twice her age - but Mary is a practical person, looking for certain qualities in a person and letting love find its way in later. His father was strong anti-slavery and he taught his children to think likewise - another quality that appeals to Mary. Whatever has befallen the family over the years, including financial hardship and losing children to pestilence, they remain steadfast in their convictions, with their home a stop on what is now called the Underground Railroad. Wealthy (married to John Brown Jr) knows if her husband catches a fever, there is no way of changing his mind. He has just caught the Kansas fever, and Kansas is a place where you can find rich land and strike a blow for ...

  The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter brings a story of Grace Darling who became a national hero of England after a shipwreck rescue. Ireland, 1938. Matilda, daughter of a local politician is four months pregnant and unmarried. Thus, she is sent across the world to Rhode Island to spend the remaining five months with a reclusive relative, who is an assistant lighthouse keeper in Newport. Farne Islands, England, 1838. Grace, daughter of the lighthouse keeper, has patience and a keen eye, which is essential for keeping watch over the sea. When a storm crashes a ship, she notices survivors on the rocks. With her father, risking their lives, they rescue those who survived the shipwreck; among them Sarah, who was on the way to visit her brother, George Emmerson, in Scotland. News of brave Grace spread across England, making her the national hero as she continues to insist she only did her duty, emphasizing her father’s bravery. Artists are sent to capture Grace’s likeness as everyone wants...

  American Duchess brings a story of a remarkable woman, Consuelo Vanderbilt, who came from a privileged life but inspired to find meaning behind “the glitter and the gold.” 1893. While vacationing in Europe, Alva Vanderbilt uses her time wisely in Europe by hatching a plan to marry her daughter, Consuelo, to the Duke of Marlborough. While Consuelo dreams of marrying in America to an American, her mother dreams of titles, to be linked with someone serene and high. As a newlywed, Consuelo’s life in England is filled with rules and restrictions, which some are quite new to her, including domestic status among household which was her biggest surprise. She longs for her husband’s sentiment or emotion; instead she is expected to care for his people when she is yet get to know him. And it’s not any easier when her husband is not helpful in this transition, rather judgmental. She finds consolation and meaning in her life by spending time with the villagers and helping those in need. For t...