15 Immersive Historical Fiction Books About Overlooked Events –

When they rescue an orphaned boy named Alexandre, a friendship blossoms, and he joins the circus as Theo's apprentice. From the prolific Amy Tan comes The Kitchen God's Wife, a story of friendship, survival and secrets between women and their experiences in China during World War II. As they create a new home in Chinatown, they survive crushing expectations of their in-laws and a country that does not want them. The proportion of historical settings was considerably lower for popular fiction, though there seems to have been a sizeable uptick since 2010–2014, the last period analyzed by English. New Historical Fiction Not Set During World War II. Filled with romance, hardship and hope, this 2019 tale has something for everyone. Follow Claire as she ventures into a world totally foreign (in so many ways) to her.

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It would go on to win the Booker and the Best of the Booker awards. By Lauren Wilkinson. Barbara Kingsolver expertly weaves a story about the Prices, a missionary family who relocate from the U. state of Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo in 1959. A New York Times bestseller, City of Thieves is a WW2 historical fiction coming-of-age story. With alternating points of view and intricate storytelling that interweaves the stories and lives of a blind French girl and a German boy, this moving book will linger in your mind long after you've finish it. With the help of her foster father, she learns to read and shares the books she steals with her neighbors and the Jewish man hidden in her basement. The Aggressive peddling of doctored versions of history that support a particular political narrative has been a common strategy for hyper-nationalist leaders. These other sad books will also tug at your heartstrings.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. Setting: 1940s, North Carolina. Pu blishers Weekly praised this 2019 novel as "intricate, tender and convincing. This riveting story is one of friendship and survival, and you won't want to miss it. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, a stain on her family history that she cannot erase amongst her hurting community. English posits that the acceptability of literary historical fiction was a result of the revamping of well known literary prizes, Salman Rushdie's success, and the emergence of postcolonial studies as an academic field. This luminous and spellbinding story takes place over two decades as World War II escalates around Lena and Alexandre. Explore more about the effects of war through a variety of perspectives. This sweeping novel has been lauded for its historical accuracy and for bringing an overlooked period in history to light with compelling characters and a deeply romantic love story. Another Pulitzer Prize–winning classic that deserves its rightful spot on our list of the absolute best historical fiction books, Toni Morrison's 1987 bestseller tells the story of Sethe, an escaped slave living in post–Civil War Ohio with her daughter, her mother-in-law and the spirit of her unnamed child, who calls herself Beloved. Setting: 1900s, Japan. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Magsalin reads Chiara's film script and writes her own version. As Julia runs into Sarah's stories, she begins uncovering secrets about Sarah's tragedy.

While you may know contemporary author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her 2013 novel, Americanah, or her 2014 nonfiction book, We Should All Be Feminist s, her 2007 historical fiction work, Half of a Yellow Sun, is just as evocative and engaging. All that is forgotten isn't always lost—or so says Kristin Harmel's 2020 historical novel, The Book of Lost Names. If it's a novel by Obreht, you can expect gorgeous language and lyrical prose, and Inland definitely delivers. Everyone knows Helen and Achilles and Hector and Odysseus. In addition to the well-off (and well-crafted) family at the center of the book, you'll meet the likes of Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, Sigmund Freud and more. Been dreaming of a "Stitch Fix for books? " Marie Benedict has returned to us with a propulsive historical fiction thriller that is un-putdownable. By J. Courtney Sullivan. Setting: 1940s, Trinidad. She heads to Guernsey where she learns about a group of people who formed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society during the war. If you're looking for something that sticks a bit more to the facts, try this list of the best biographies. From daily life in a concentration camp to the death march of 1945, these brave young women do whatever it takes to stay alive and united. The Golem and the Jinni.

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Another 2020 biographical historical fiction release, meet the woman responsible for killing an infamously savage Nazi, leading a covert part of the French Resistance with British help, and saving thousands of people's lives. Audible Plus: From Amazon, listen to Amazon Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks. A vivacious dance-hall girl in 1930s colonial Malaysia is drawn into unexpected danger by the discovery of a severed finger that is being sought by a young houseboy who would protect his late master's soul. A New York Times bestseller, The Paris Wife chronicles the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, and is told from the latter's perspective.

Gods of jade and shadow. It's time to get whisked away in a whirl of ball gowns, glitz and glamor. Don't miss our Master WW2 Books Reading List too. She must care for herself, two daughters, and mother on this isolated and heavily restricted island where it is becoming harder and harder to survive. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she's willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she'd find. American spy: a novel. Full of paranormal hijinks, the story features messages from the dead, vengeful spirits and a doomed romance. Sounds like one of the best historical fiction books to us!

If you love WW2 historical fiction books with romance, head to France in The Socialite. Please let us know in the comments. Based loosely on the document forgers that helped children escape the Nazis by crossing the Swiss border with new identity papers, find a historical fiction romance filled with danger, love, and family. After Willowjean "Will" Parker and Lillian Pentecost become an unlikely detective duo, the two are faced with the case of Abigail Collins, who was murdered in the very same spot her husband had shot himself years before. After a whirlwind courtship and engagement in Chicago, the two set sail for Paris in the 1920s. Fictionalized accounts of the tragedy were not common, though survivors' memoirs were published. This look at the world of ancient motherhood is not only passionate but also essential in offering a new view of biblical women's lives. Debut author Jenny Tinghui Zhang's story of China and the US in the 19th century is eye opening, beautiful, brave, sad, and empowering. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

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This 1999 novel, inspired by the famous 17th-century Johannes Vermeer painting of the same name, is for art and history lovers alike. This Pulitzer Prize–winning tale of romance, survival and the human spirit hardly needs an introduction. A group of schoolgirls whose eyes have seen inconceivable atrocities at such young ages have taken refuge in a church. Four women enter the competition with different reasons for wanting to win, but will they band together when they need it most, or will their competitive streaks break them apart?

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Meanwhile, young lawyer Gaetano Catalano is part of a secret society of aristocrats who investigate crime. And probably the most unfortunate use of war in literature is as a prop – a compelling, high stakes setting for stories that might not fundamentally have anything to do with the war, and could be transplanted into a different context without much alteration. Hilary Mantel's addicting novel Wolf Hall takes you back in time to England during the early 16th century for a classic tale of betrayal and strategy.

Just how far will she go to save the people she loves? A Virginia slave narrowly escapes a drowning death through the intervention of a mysterious force that compels his escape and personal underground war against slavery. CAN'T FIND IT?, collapsed. This sanctuary was a neutral zone for the safety of innocents, but the Japanese did not respect international law barring them from such a space in a time of war.

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The more recent rise in the number of historical narratives in literary fiction coincides with the rise of exclusionary nationalist politics and the decline in democratic freedom all over the world. Join the free Reader's Digest Book Club for great reads, monthly discussions, author Q&As and a community of book lovers. Thus, World War II has been featured in everything from superhero comics (which were highly popular in America during the second world war, and were used as a vehicle for wartime propaganda) to romance novels. Each character is based loosely on Hunter's own family members. Readers around the world have completely fallen for Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, a four-volume series of literary fiction. This elegant and finely constructed novel is sure to pull you away from the current realities of the world and take you to an era of both violence and refinement. Both books have connections to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, but The Tattooist of Auschwitz takes place almost entirely during WWII, and Cilka's Journey takes place both during and after the war. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. While this is Claire's journey, this is really the story of Talitha (and tangentally) Paul Getty. Time period: 1900s Philipines and today. If you want a book that will remind you of the way that people try to be good to each other against all odds, then this book will warm that place in your heart that's looking for a little bit of sunshine after months of clouds. The queen of the night.

Open the book, start reading, and you'll see why…Whitehead has crafted a historical story that feels fresh, new, and emotionally engrossing. With the famous Nazi murderer, The Huntress, on her tail, she might not survive. It just might be the perfect beach read for your next escape. Travel around the world with the Uncorked Reading Challenge. Setting: 1880s, the Great Plains. 1955: Serafina Bettini, an investigator with the Florence Police Department, finds herself digging into past secrets about the Rosati family that will reveal a breathtaking story of moral paradox, human frailty, and the mysterious ways of the heart. The War Outside takes place on American soil and tells the story of a young Japanese girl and a young German girl who live in an internment camp in Texas during the war.

Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad is one of the most celebrated books of the 2010s, having won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in the same year. Plus, you'll learn some (real) facts from reading them along the way, so it's a win-win! But a word of warning: Gone with the Wind 's depiction of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era in the American South isn't particularly accurate and is highly whitewashed, which is why it's also on this list of beloved books that didn't age well. Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara. As the Nazis round up Jews and place them in the Krakow ghetto, Tomasz joins the Polish resistance to fight for his country.

Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro's inner circle, Beatriz Perez, who is consumed with revenge and the desire to reclaim the life she lost in the Cuban Revolution, will risk everything--including the man who has stolen her heart.