historical fiction - Tor/Forge Blog

Take It Back Now Y’all: 7 Books For Historical Fiction Fans

October 13, 2022April 24, 2024Ariana Carpentieri

By Athena Palmer:

With all the hype that time travel books are getting right now, it’s a good time to take a moment and talk about an under-appreciated form of time travel: historical fiction! Here are 7 of our favorite historical fiction books for when you need a break from the present.

For readers who believe in the power of friendship:

The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi

After being lied to by a matchmaker and marrying a man who wants nothing to do with her, Willow’s life is disrupted even further by the disorganized rise of the Korean Independence Movement. Never one to be deterred, Willow forges ahead to create a new life for herself and the people she loves. Who among us doesn’t love a bold woman with a plan?

If you want something more family-focused:

Midnight on the Marne by Sarah Adlakha

Set during the heroism and heartbreak of World War I, and in an occupied France in an alternative timeline, this book explores the responsibilities love lays on us and the rippling impact of our choices. Playing with time is a tricky thing. On the run from a victorious Germany, George and Marcelle begin a new life with Philip and Marcelle’s twin sister, Rosalie, in a brutally occupied France. Together, this self-made family navigates oppression, near starvation, and unfathomable loss, finding love and joy in unexpected moments.

For the romance lover:

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra

What happens when true love at first sight turns into a fight for freedom? Set against the backdrop of Partition, The Book of Everlasting Things explores this question and more in the form of an epic romance story that will leave you breathless.

For when you need a good cry:

The Kingdom of Sand by Andrew Holleran

Andrew Holleran is back with his first new book in 16 years, and WOW was it worth the wait. The Kingdom of Sand is a heart-wrenching yet beautiful meditation on life, love, and loneliness set during the height of the AIDS epidemic. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably need a few days to stare at the wall and just FEEL once you finish.

When you’re hungry for bite-sized historical fiction:

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

The secrets behind the mysterious horses of Iceland are brought to light in this mystical novella by poet and author Sarah Tolmie. A Norse trader travels the continent for riches, and while he barters for horses the magic that follows them will stay with him for much longer than gold.

Historical fiction with a fantastical twist:

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

If any novel was meant to be a Netflix original series, it’s Ordinary Monsters. Set in the Victorian era, Ordinary Monsters follows a group of children with magical gifts and the adults sworn to protect (or in some cases destroy) them as they unravel the secrets of the Institute that connects them all.This novel is dark, funny, scary, and so very binge-able.

For the detectives:

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret—but it’s not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they’ve needed to keep others out. And now they’re worried they’re keeping a murderer in.

Lists

Real Life Historical Figures in Irish Above All

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020torforge

By Jennifer McClelland-Smith

Inspired by the life of her great aunt, Mary Pat Kelly continues the incredible saga of Nora Kelly in opens in a new windowIrish Above All (now available in paperback). Maybe it’s the real life inspiration, or maybe it’s just a mark of great historical fiction, but this novel had us raring to read up on its wild real life inspiration.

In Irish Above All, it’s 1923 and Nora Kelly has returned to the United States after ten years abroad in Paris, where she established herself as a photographer (quite the feat for a woman in 1923!). Her life only gets more exciting as she witnesses history and encounters some of the twentieth century’s most notable figures. Here’s a glimpse at the real life characters that color Irish Above All, plus a sneak peek at how they and Nora cross paths!

Poster Placeholder of - 23 — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, distant cousin to former president Theodore Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt – Nora Kelly is a witness to history as she photographs the attempted assassination of FDR. Roosevelt was less than a month away from his inauguration when he gave a fateful impromptu speech in Miami, Florida; fueled by his “hate for all rulers,” Giuseppe Zangara shot at and missed the newly elected president, mortally wounding Chicago mayor Anton Cermak instead.

Joseph “Joe” Kennedy – While accompanying Roosevelt on his trip to Florida, Nora finds herself in the company of Joseph Kennedy. Not just a leader in the Irish-American community and the Democratic party in the early twentieth century, he was the patriarch of a storied political dynasty that continues to this day. Kennedy would work closely with FDR as the first head of both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Maritime Commission, as well as the US Ambassador to the UK.

Placeholder of -95 — Joe Kennedy, father of the political dynasty

Ed Kelly – Nora’s cousin Ed Kelly succeeded Anton Cermak as mayor of Chicago after his untimely death. He remained in office from 1933 to 1947 and oversaw the 1933 World’s Fair and the completion of Soldier Field.

General Italo Balbo – Nora Kelly’s camera captured figures on the right side of history—and the wrong side as well. General Italo Balbo was a top general and “heir apparent” to Benito Mussolini. The National Fascist Party leader still has a presence in Chicago today: Mussolini gifted the city with a monument after Balbo’s visit to the 1933 World’s Fair. There is currently an effort to remove the monument and rename Balbo Drive, which runs through downtown Chicago.

Al Capone – Since he was at her cousin Ed Kelly’s side during his rise through Chicago’s political machine, it was inevitable that legendary gangster Al Capone would become a presence in Nora Kelly’s story. Capone was also a major factor both times Big Bill Thompson was elected mayor of Chicago (after Thompson hinted that he’d reopen illegal saloons).

Image Place holder of - 11 — Al Capone, infamous American gangster

Order Your Copy

opens in a new window

Video

Book Trailer: A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

May 27, 2015May 17, 2024torforge

opens in a new windowA School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure “completely original and totally engrossing.”

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts….

A School for Unusual Girls is a great next read for fans of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series and Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassin series.

Follow Kathleen Baldwin on Twitter at opens in a new window@KatBaldwin, on opens in a new windowFacebook, or visit opens in a new windowher online.

What's New

Starred Review: Ask Not by Max Allan Collins

October 9, 2013May 15, 2024torforge

“A master at thoroughly believable historical re-creations of unsolved or covered-up crimes, Collins is the perfect fiction writer to tackle the JFK assassination, and he does so brilliantly, working the edges of the story by focusing on the little-known raft of questionable suicides—all documented in the historical record… Even readers who aren’t conspiracy theorists will find themselves utterly drawn into the story and convinced by Collins’ version of what happened. And, best of all, it’s a terrific detective novel, compelling and well constructed even without the historical connection.”

Max Allan Collins’ Ask Not got a starred review in Booklist!*

Here’s the full review, from the August issue:

The third in Collins’ trilogy of Nathan Heller novels about JFK, this one jumps from a few weeks before the assassination (Target Lancer, 2012), when a planned attempt on the president’s life in Chicago was aborted, to several months after the events of November 22, 1963. Heller becomes involved when he and his son are nearly run down as they leave a Beatles concert. Recognizing the driver as one of the Cubans involved in the Chicago plot, Heller sets out to take his family off the assassins’ radar and soon finds himself even deeper in hot water, as he follows the trail of a host of spurious suicides by witnesses of the shooting in Dallas whose versions of what happened conflict with the official, “one-man, one-shooter” version being promulgated by the Warren Commission. Teaming with TV star and investigative reporter Flo Kilgore (read Dorothy Kilgallen), who is on the verge of exposing the cover-up — and its ties to several LBJ cronies — Heller ruffles feathers at the CIA, in the Mob, and possibly even in (or very near) the White House. A master at thoroughly believable historical re-creations of unsolved or covered-up crimes, Collins is the perfect fiction writer to tackle the JFK assassination, and he does so brilliantly, working the edges of the story by focusing on the little-known raft of questionable suicides — all documented in the historical record — and making great use of the Kilgore/Kilgallen character, who was herself one of the unlikely suicides. Even readers who aren’t conspiracy theorists will find themselves utterly drawn into the story and convinced by Collins’ version of what happened. And, best of all, it’s a terrific detective novel, compelling and well constructed even without the historical connection. — Bill Ott

Ask Not will be published on October 22nd.

Booklist is a subscription-only publication.

What's New

Starred Review: The Confessions of Al Capone by Loren D. Estleman

June 21, 2013May 15, 2024torforge

“Estleman’s Capone is a complex and multifaceted figure: jovial family man, convivial host, sharp-dressed fashion plate, and pensive retiree contemplating his memories and mortality. Although mentally deteriorating, he is still, on his good days, a canny judge of character who is capable of ruthless retaliation. Verdict A tense and thoughtful historical thriller, recommended for all fans of crime fiction and historical novels.”

Loren D. Estleman’s The Confessions of Al Capone gets a starred review in Library Journal!

Here’s the full review:

In 1939, Al Capone was released from Alcatraz after serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for income tax evasion. Suffering from the effects of syphilis he had contracted as a young man, the former gang boss retired to a palatial beach house near Miami, where he lived with his wife and son until his death in 1947. Into this historical scenario, Estleman, the popular and award-winning author of 70 novels, weaves a gripping fictional tale of a young FBI agent on a perilous mission. Owing to his family connections with the Capone “outfit” and his training at a Catholic seminary, Peter Vasco is seen by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover as an ideal tool with which to infiltrate Capone’s household, masquerading as a priest, and collect information that can be used to investigate Capone’s family and associates. In addition to this difficult mission, Vasco faces the awkward duty of mending his strained relationship with his father, whose link to the Capone gang during Peter’s childhood years remains murky and unexplained, and his own unresolved feelings about his unfinished religious training. Estleman’s Capone is a complex and multifaceted figure: jovial family man, convivial host, sharp-dressed fashion plate, and pensive retiree contemplating his memories and mortality. Although mentally deteriorating, he is still, on his good days, a canny judge of character who is capable of ruthless retaliation.

Verdict A tense and thoughtful historical thriller, recommended for all fans of crime fiction and historical novels. [Previewed in Kristi Chadwick’s “Following the Digital Clues: Mystery Genre Spotlight,” LJ 4/15/13.—Ed.]—Bradley Scott, Corpus Christie, TX

The Confessions of Al Capone was published on June 11th.

What's New

Starred Review: Hell or Richmond by Ralph Peters

May 30, 2013May 15, 2024torforge

“One of the great Civil War novels of our time.”

Ralph Peters’ Hell or Richmond gets a starred review in Booklist! Here’s the full review:

The author of Cain at Gettysburg (2012) now offers what is intended to be the first of a trilogy taking the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia through their last and worst year of fighting. The setting, superbly researched and brought to life, supports three masterful battle pieces: the Wilderness, the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania, and the doomed Union assault at Cold Harbor. The real strength of the book is the way the characters, all of them historical, are given life, even if some of them have to be reconstructed. We have a dysentery-ridden Robert E. Lee and an authentically laid-back Ulysses S. Grant. We meet Francis Barlow, a New England aristocrat; Stephen Oates, an Alabama brawler; and John B. Gordon, a Georgian with a natural gift for both combat leadership and inspiring speeches. We meet the Fiftieth Pennsylvania, a motley array of veteran canal men seen through the eyes of Sergeant (and later reluctant Lieutenant) Charles Brown. This is not a book for the squeamish—the effects of canister against massed troops and the uncensored language of Stephen Oates and Generals Charles Griffin and Philip Sheridan come to mind. But none of this should daunt readers who want to pick up one of the great Civil War novels of our time—and are prepared to risk not being able to put it down until they are done. — Roland Green

Hell or Richmond is out now!