Best Historical Fiction

  Madwoman by Louisa Treger weaves a fascinating true story of the world’s first female investigative journalist, Nellie Bly. Pennsylvania, 1870. Elizabeth Cochran grows up in a nurturing environment. Her father, a judge, likes discussing politics and history. Thus, she is encouraged to form her own opinions and later to gather information for him as she has a knack for asking the right questions. Later, the witness of her mother’s mistreatment by her second husband makes Elizabeth even more determined to be an independent woman. At twenty, she comes across an editorial – a diatribe against working women. With blood boiling, she writes a piece of her mind, which really gets editorial’s attention. Suddenly, reporting becomes something more achievable rather than becoming a lawyer. Plus, journalism would give her better maneuver to express complicated truths of life. She becomes a bone fide news reporter under a pen name Nellie Bly. Nellie is a woman of strong will. She recognizes wh...

  The Girl from the Savoy brings a story of two women from two different backgrounds, who are connected by the same career path, taking the leading role among the choir girls. London, 1923. Dorothy Lane is a new chambermaid at the Savoy – one of the finest luxury hotels. As a maid she’s been reminded many times that she wasn’t good enough. But there are those close to her who see her becoming someone special. She finds respite in dancing once a week, but she wants more. She dreams of dancing on stage. And the Savoy is filled with people that excite her, who make her dream. She also answers an ad to be a muse to Perry, Loretta’s brother. Loretta May is a daughter of an earl, who chose a life on stage over satisfying her parents and high society. She chose a dazzling stage life over carefully ordered life expected of a woman of her status. Both protagonists have some secrets, which are revealed in layers, holding one’s interest. Both characters are well-developed and offer a glimpse ...

  A Long Petal of the Sea begins in 1930’s Spain and progresses from turbulent times of social conflicts in Spain to the ones in Chile, where the two main characters, Victor and Roser, after leaving their homeland of Spain try to make Chile their new home. Victor Dalmau’s decision of leaving his work as a doctor in the army hospital isn’t easy. His obligation is torn between his patients and to the responsibility he feels toward Roser. She is a gifted music student taken under the protective wings of Victor’s father, who is a music teacher in Barcelona, and in a way is adapted as a family member. As Franco’s Nationalist troops advance, there is an exodus of people trekking toward the French border. And when fascists take over the country, Victor feels responsibility toward Roser. Thus, they sail with about two thousand other Spaniards to Chile. A country, none of them knows anything about. And most of them coming from the concentration camps in France, where men and women with chil...

  Ella is unhappily married when she obtains a position as a reader for a literary agency. Her first assignment is to read and report on a manuscript titled Sweet Blasphemy by an amateur writer. It is about Rumi, a poet and a spiritual leader in the history of Islam, who is also an unconventional dervish full of scandals and surprises. As she reads about his transformation, it sets her on her own revolution. Turkey, 13th century. Following God’s guidance, Shams of Tabriz, a wandering dervish, embarks on an inner journey of Love by traveling to Baghdad to fulfill his destiny to pass on his knowledge to another person. His journey takes him farther to Konya where he meets a respected scholar named Rumi. Shams sees the suffering of ordinary people and questions if Rumi sees them or if he is one of those scholars who fail to see those suffering “while sitting in their ivory towers.” Shams puts Rumi through “trial and tests, states and stages, each of which make Rumi look more deranged ...

  Ines of My Soul brings two historical figures whose paths cross in Peru. She is a poor seamstress with no prospects for a better life in Spain and he is a Spanish war hero who seeks honor and glory. They share the same illusions, him of founding a kingdom and her being part of something grander. The story begins in 1500’s Spain; it is the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. And Ines Suarez, under a pretext of wanting to seek her husband in the New World whose been gone for a few years, leaves the stifling, poor life in Spain to seek adventure in Americas. Pedro de Valdivia, a war hero, finds the biggest pleasure in books. After reading of the voyages of Columbus, Magellan, Vespucci, Cortes, and many others, he starts craving grandeur adventures of the New World, and to leave behind a corrupt and war-ravaged Europe. In Peru, he gets embroiled in a civil war under Francisco Pizarro who names him his field marshal. But he doesn’t want to live in the shadow of Pizarro....

 He was the first one to fly non-stop solo across the Atlantic in 1927. She was the first licensed female glider pilot in the US. This is their life story full of exciting achievements, but not so much of love and warmth. 1927. Anne Morrow, a college student, is visiting her parents and siblings in Mexico City for Christmas break. Her mother is excited to host Colonel Charles Lindbergh and to be able to push the oldest daughter, the beauty, into his arms. But it is the shy Anne that catches his attention. A year earlier, Anne heard his name for the first time, when he flew across the ocean. Now, she shares the sky with him as he takes her flying. Two shy people break the silence to share their dreams. He wants to improve aviation’s future. She wants to write a book. Once the ice is broken, he proposes. Her marriage rubbed of feelings is full of structure, charting new paths and navigating. She loves the part of excitement of something different over ordinary dull life. They...

  The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is based on true events – when clothes rationing during WWII leaves young brides in challenging situations, a group of women comes up with an idea to start a charity to give out white wedding dresses. In the process, they lift spirits and learn resilience. England, 1942. In the village of Aldhurst, as Grace is preparing for her wedding, she finds her mother’s wedding dress visibly damaged by moths, and in need of mending. Thus, she seeks help with the Sewing Circle. In London, Cressida Westcott, a noted couturier, has just lost her home and her design house in the London Blitz. She is forced to seek shelter with her estranged family in Aldhurst. Estrange from her family, because she is a woman of strong character, who broke from conventions and that put a rift between her and her brother, the late owner of Aldhurst Manor. Violet Westcott is ecstatic to have her famous aunt at the manor, but at the same time she receives conscription letter, which i...