Historical Fiction American Literature

When it was first published in 2006, then-literary critic and poet Alejandro Zambra’s first novel, Bonsai, caused a sensation. Here, in a brilliant new translation from four-time International Booker Prize nominee Megan McDowell, is the little book that started it all: The story of Julio and Emilia, two Chilean university students who, seeking truth in great literature, find one another instead. As they fall together and drift apart over the course of young adulthood, Zambra spins an emotionally engrossing, expertly distilled, formally inventive tale of love, art, and memory.

Cranky and jaded Lord Fine—Wesley, now, to the kind-hearted lover he cynically doubts life will let him keep—arrives in Manhattan with one goal: find the American paranormals and get their help with the relic burdening Sebastian. His plans are upended when the other paranormals seem to have vanished, and a mysterious letter warns Wesley that he’s in danger.

One of romance fiction’s most popular storytellers, Catherine Anderson hits the New York Times best-seller list with each of her scintillating works. Reissued after being out of print for many years, Indigo Blue is one of Anderson’s early gems. In it, a high-spirited woman named Indigo—who is half Comanche and half white—lives a solitary existence among the Oregon folk who don’t understand her. But that all changes when Jake Rand rolls into town.

New York Times best-selling author Catherine Anderson delivers a heartwrenching romance that blooms amidst tragedy and reproach. Handsome, strong, and just a bit dangerous, Comanche Chase Wolf is used to getting what he wants. So when he sees Franny - a golden-haired angel with deep green eyes, delicate features, and the sweetest smile - he sets out to make her his. But Franny is far from the innocent she seems. And the truth may be more than Chase can bear.

While attending the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, Winnifred Wylde believes she witnessed a woman being kidnapped. She tries to convince her father, an inspector with the Chicago police, to look into reports of mysterious disappearances around the White City. Inspector Wylde tries to dismiss her claims as exaggeration of an overactive imagination, but he eventually concedes to letting her go undercover as secretary to the man in question - if she takes her pistol for protection and Jude Thorpe, a policeman, for bodyguard.

The Conquistadors Trilogy is a sweeping historical fiction epic that explores the violent and horrific Spanish Conquest of the New World from the years 1527 to 1542. Told through the eyes of a Spanish soldier named Sardina, each journey, from the jungles of Peru, through the vast Arizona deserts, and finally to the great Mississippi River, brutally reveals the traumatic events of the Spanish Conquest of the Natives of the Americas. But each story also depicts the beauty and bravery of these people, and the unyielding courage of each tribe, kingdom, and village.

Twelve-year-old Marwand's memories from his previous visit to Afghanistan six years ago center on his contentious relationship with Budabash, the terrifying but beloved dog who guards his extended family's compound in the rural village of Logar. But eager for an ally in this place that is meant to be "home", Marwand misreads his reunion with the dog and approaches Budabash the way he would any pet on his American suburban block—and the results are disastrous: Marwand loses a finger, and Budabash escapes into the night.

When young queer dancer Wilbess “Bessy” Mulenga is arrested by corrupt police, fresh-from-the-village rookie lawyer Grace Zulu takes up his cause in her first pro bono case. Presented with a freshly beaten client, Grace protests to the police and gets barred from accessing Bessy, who then disappears from the system—and the world—without a trace. As she fights for justice for Bessy, Grace must navigate a dangerous world of corrupt politicians, traditional beliefs, and deep-seated homophobia.

With a newborn in tow, Bubbles Jones escapes a brutal sanctuary for “wayward girls” to confront the hypocritical shame of her pastor father and the betrayal of a lover. But Bubbles is accompanied by a woman who offers her shelter and a dream. Forging an unpredictable path ahead, Bubbles will not yield and will not hide in her unwavering commitment to make a big life real in a world determined to keep her small.

Tracks is a tale of passion and deep unrest. Over the course of ten crucial years, as tribal land and trust between people erode ceaselessly, men and women are pushed to the brink of their endurance—yet their pride and humor prohibit surrender. The listener will experience shock and pleasure in encountering characters that are compelling and rich in their vigor, clarity, and indomitable vitality.

Paris was born and raised a slave on a South Carolina rice plantation. As a young boy, he used to look up at the birds, flying freely above him. He longed to be free like the birds, but in 18th century, pre-Revolutionary times, it seemed impossible. However, when the British came seeking slaves willing to desert their masters to fight their cause, a 15-year-old Paris saw his chance, and took it.

Lady Io Hale has no time for men. And certainly no time for her older brother's stuffy, grumpy, and oh-so-proper best friend, Corbin Masterson, who believes he is so morally superior to everyone else, especially her. Io might have been wrenched from her home in New York, dragged to London, and forced to attend ton parties and balls, but she is drawing the line at tolerating Masterson's snooty, judgmental, and accusatory looks for one second longer.

Of best-selling husband-and-wife writing team W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, Booklist proclaims that “nobody does Native Americana better than the Gears.” Coming of the Storm launches a series featuring Black Shell, a Chicazaclan trader, and his struggles with Hernando de Soto, an invader intent on spreading Catholicism at the point of his sword.

When three impoverished young ladies brought up in America decide to fulfill their late mother's dream of successful marriages and seasons, they concentrate their resources on sending the prettiest to London to make a brilliant match. But whom does she see but the man who had broken her heart years before?

This audiobook tells the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

During the turbulent months following the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, 21-year-old Emi Kato, the daughter of a Japanese diplomat, is locked behind barbed wire in a Texas internment camp. She feels hopeless until she meets handsome young Christian Lange, whose German-born parents were wrongfully arrested for un-American activities. Together they live as prisoners with thousands of other German and Japanese families but discover that love can bloom in even the bleakest circumstances.

In vivid, brilliant fiction that illuminates the dark psychology of soldiers, Jeff Shaara brings to life the familiar characters, stunning triumphs, and soul-crushing defeats of the fascinating, long-forgotten Mexican-American War.

Running into a long-ago friend sets memories from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything - until it wasn't. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliant - a part of a future that belonged to them.

After two bestselling series examining the Civil War and WWII, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen have turned their sharp eye for detail on the Revolutionary War with To Try Men's Souls. The story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington's army.

Acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti’s Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.