Historical Biographical Fiction

Does it matter how a man fills out his regimentals? Miss Austen never considered that query. Yet, this question marks the beginning of an education - and the longest life - in the Bennet Wardrobe saga. Lydia Bennet, Longbourn’s most wayward daughter, embarks on her quest in The Pilgrim: Lydia Bennet and a Soldier’s Portion. This biography reveals how the Wardrobe helps young Mrs. Wickham learn that honor and bravery grow not from the color of the uniform - or the gender of its wearer - but rather from the contents of the heart.

In 410 CE, arrogant 16-year-old Magonus Sucatus Patricius denounces Christianity as a religion for cowards when the Roman legions withdraw, leaving Britain vulnerable to raiders from the west. Determined to wield a sword despite being the grandson of a priest, the affluent young man is taken captive by barbarians and sold into slavery to a cruel Irish king. On a mountaintop in Eire, a shepherd strips him of his grand Roman name and calls him Padraic, marking him a man of no consequence.

First captured in The Life of John Wesley Hardin (1896), the life of America’s most dangerous outlaw was raw, violent, and astonishingly unrepentant. In Hardin Unbound, this Rebirth Series edition reshapes his story into a vivid, cinematic retelling — restoring Hardin’s myth, pride, tragedy, and humanity. From his first kill at fifteen to his fall at the hands of an assassin, Hardin’s journey defies easy judgment. Was he a monster, a martyr, or the inevitable child of a savage frontier?

1966. Jimmy James is a struggling guitarist, hungry and desperate enough to sign any contract for a meal—or a tab of acid. A year later, he's rock legend Jimi Hendrix, electrifying stages from Swinging London to Monterey Pop. But when a shady old contract surfaces, Hendrix finds himself pursued by ruthless Tin Pan Alley goombahs determined to cash in on his rising fame.

Los Angeles, 1942: Normas Kindheit ist einsam, ihr Zufluchtsort das Kino, wo die Hollywood-Schauspielerinnen so viel selbstbewusster sind als sie. Mit ihrer arrangierten Ehe muss sie den Traum, selbst ein Star zu werden, aufgeben. Dennoch wird Jim ihre erste Liebe und erweckt ihre Sinnlichkeit. Dann will ein Fotograf sie als Fotomodell berühmt machen. Vor der Kamera sprüht Norma vor Lebendigkeit, alle Selbstzweifel sind vergessen. Und plötzlich weiß sie: Sie will ins Rampenlicht, nur das macht sie glücklich.

Mandukhai has been given a sacred mission by the spirit of Genghis Khan, but to preserve his empire, she first must keep the Mongol Lords from raising the black banner of war. In a nation torn apart by powerful men, one woman rises. Hear the second book in this award-winning, gritty, dark true story of the life of Mandukhai.

Destiny is a sweeping family saga that spans four centuries. It is the story of two great nations and Randy Willis' ancestor’s struggle from tyranny - religious and political. A powerful epic with love stories, battles, testimonies, drama, politics, history, and even humor. Inspired by true stories.

Together, Justinian and Theodora reach for greatness, albeit in different areas: Justinian aims to simplify thousands of old Roman laws into one codex, as well as reconquer Rome and other lands lost to barbarians. Theodora longs to close the chasm between two religious beliefs, establish significant rights for women, and ensure that the Justinian-Theodora bloodline continues.

Before Graceland is the coming-of-age story of the most enduring pop-cultural icon of all time. Follow 11-year-old Elvis Presley through the highs of experiencing his first crush, getting his hands on his first guitar, and securing a spot to compete on Children's Day of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. Follow him through the hardships of his birth home's foreclosure, his beloved mother's health problems, and his father's imprisonment. Book one of the Before Graceland trilogy frames the journey of the boy who would be king as never before.

Als Elisabeth (Sisi) durch Heirat zur Kaiserin von Österreich wird, betritt sie eine streng geordnete Welt voll steifer Konventionen und langweiliger Empfänge. Ausbrechen kann sie nur auf ausgedehnten Reisen und bei Aufenthalten auf ihrem ungarischen Schloss Gödöllö. Dort kann sie ungezwungen leben und ihrer größten Leidenschaft nachgehen: wilden Reitjagden. Sisi gehört zu den besten und tollkühnsten Reiterinnen ihrer Zeit. Bei einem Aufenthalt auf Gödöllö lädt Sisi ihre reit- und fechtkundige Nichte Marie Louise von Wallersee zu sich ein.

In this work, set during the turbulent period of Irish Independence 1921–22, Somerville finds herself at a crossroads. Her position as a member of the ascendancy is perilous as she struggles to keep her family home, Drishane House in West Cork, while others are burned out. After years in a successful writing partnership with Violet Martin, Edith continues to write after her partner’s death, comforted in the belief they continue to connect through automatic writing and séances.

Based on a true story, this is the tale of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard’s fight to take her rightful place in the competitive art world of 18th-century Paris. With a beautiful rival who’s better connected and better trained than she is, Adélaïde faces an uphill battle. Her love affair with her young instructor in oil painting gives rise to suspicions that he touches up her work, and her decision to make much-needed money by executing erotic pastels threatens to create as many problems as it solves.

Eine Liebe zwischen Poesie und Wirklichkeit. Paris, 1958: Als der Schweizer Dramatiker Max Frisch dem glamourösen Literaturstar Ingeborg Bachmann begegnet, ist es für ihn Liebe auf den ersten Blick. Auch sie verliebt sich, doch anders als Max, der bodenständige Genussmensch, ringt die sensible Ingeborg im Schreiben – wie im Leben – um jedes Wort. Und sie hat die Trennung von ihrem Geliebten Paul Celan noch nicht überwunden, was die Beziehung schon bald auf die Probe stellt. Doch Ingeborg kann nur eine Liebe leben, in der sie ihre Freiheit nicht preisgeben muss.

Sangre del Unico begins The Solomon Chronicles, a series of historical fiction novels. The story begins in the year 1392 and traces the rise of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon to the united throne of Spain. With help from an unlikely group of dedicated servants of the Prophecy of Solomon, Sangre del Unico takes one along for the ride as the story weaves an altered version of how the Catholic monarchs became the most powerful force in Europe and the world.

Part diary, part scientific journal, part detective story, part love story: The Case of Emily V is thoroughly post-modern in its deliberate blurring of the distinction between fact and fiction, its cavalier blending of literary genres. But Oatley's first novel also resembles old 19th-century literature. His characters are dynamic, his storylines complex and suspenseful, his social commentary broad and integral to the plot.

Oktober 1944. Mit sechsundachtzig Jahren steht Max Planck vor der schwersten Aufgabe seines Lebens. Der Nobelpreisträger soll ein «Bekenntnis zum Führer» verfassen. Viel hängt daran, denn Plancks geliebter Sohn Erwin, der am Hitler-Attentat vom 20. Juli beteiligt war, sitzt im Todestrakt von Tegel. Planck denkt zurück an frohe Tage und die dunkle Zeitenwende. Gefährten sind im Exil, vor allem vermisst er Albert Einstein.

Pamela Binnings Ewen’s newest novel reveals the story of Émilienne, once the most beautiful, sought-after woman in Paris during the Belle Époque, the era of peaceful years just before World War I. As a girl, Émilienne fights her way through poverty in Montmartre, drawn to the lights of Paris below. Soon, she stars at the Folies Bergère, mistress of kings and princes, known as the most beautiful woman in Europe.

The daughter of a wealthy merchant, young Dolça Llull Prat is besotted with the dashing, bootstrapping Miguel Cervantes from their first meeting. Despite Miguel’s entreaties, the ever-practical Dolça, with her love of luxury and her devotion to her own art, repeatedly refuses to upend her life for him, although she always welcomes his attentions on her own terms. When Miguel renders her as the lowly Dulcinea in his great Quixote, revealing their association, he commits an unforgivable offense and their decades-long affinity is severed—until he reaches out to her one last time.

Kalifornien, 1940. Für die kleine Dian steht früh fest: Sie will einmal mit Tieren arbeiten. Viele Jahre später reist Dian tatsächlich nach Afrika, um dort die bedrohten Berggorillas zu erforschen. In den Nebelwäldern gelingt ihr Bemerkenswertes: der direkte Kontakt zu den scheuen Tieren. Eine einzigartige Freundschaft entsteht, die bald die ganze Welt kennt. Aber nicht nur den Tieren gehört Dians Herz. Als sie dem Fotografen Bob begegnet, verliebt sie sich Hals über Kopf in den verheirateten Mann.

At the time of her death in 1815, twenty-nine-year-old Ellen Hutchins had catalogued over a thousand species of seaweed and plants from her native Bantry Bay. Ireland’s first female botanist, Ellen was a major contributor to nineteenth-century scientific discovery. And yet, like so many brilliant women lost in history, it is her personal story that will resonate today. In her remarkable debut novel, Marianne Lee fuses fact with fiction to imagine Ellen’s rich but tormented inner life, repressed by the gender and class confines of her time.