Historical Fiction France

By Cecile depicts post-World War II France as it reels from war and recovery. In Paris, an orphan girl, Cecile, finds refuge with an older man. He introduces her to nightclubs, intellectuals, artists (Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Eartha Kitt!), and non-monogamy. When she falls for his mistress, she begins to live a life she deems worthy of writing about...but only under the pseudonym of her husband.

Thomas of Hookton is a seasoned veteran of King Edward's army and a natural leader in what will be remembered as the Hundred Years' War. Accompanied by a small but able band of soldiers, Thomas is sent to Gascony to capture the castle of Astarac. But he has ulterior motives for accepting the charge: Gascony is the home of the black knight, Guy de Vexille, who brutally slaughtered his father. It is also reputed to be the place where the Grail was last seen.

The terrors of a young soldier come to life in shocking, almost hallucinatory detail in a powerful first novel that follows in the footsteps of The Red Badge of Courage and Farewell to Arms.

In France in the year 1096, everyone in the Jewish community is terrified of the Crusaders, who have been known to burn Jewish houses in the name of religion. One cold Sabbath afternoon, while 12-year-old Elvina is alone in the house, three soldiers pound on her door. One of them is wounded. Elvina has only a moment to make a difficult choice that could put her family and the entire community at risk. Can her guardian angel guide her now?

The gallows, the rack, and angry mobs are part of the menace in this horrific novel set in 15th century Paris. Quasimodo, the kind-hearted, hunchbacked bell ringer and the lovely La Esmaralda struggle to survive the brutality that surrounds them.

Les Misérables emphasizes the three major predicaments of the 19th century, each symbolized by a major character: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness.

The tulip craze of 17th century Holland has a dark side! Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy but naive tulip grower, finds himself entangled in the deadly politics of his time, and he must decide where his true love lies.

Yet there is one other person who may have known all, Marie Dernanaud, the priest's housekeeper and, some say, his lover. Interweaving the history of France at the turn of the twentieth century, scenes of ancient Judea, and the romantic and religious journey of a spirited and intense heroine, The Priest's Madonna gives Marie a chance to tell her version of what transpired, as well as her own story of belief, doubt, and illicit passions.

Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable property of the royal court, Ada was in service to the Five Gods and to the Gods-ordained rulers of Verdania—until she had enough of injustice and bloodshed and deserted, seeking to chart her own destiny. When mysterious assassins ferret her out after sixteen years in hiding, Ada, now a rogue Chef, and her beloved Grand-mère run for their lives, only to find themselves on a path toward an unexpected ally.

In this lush, lyrical, and marvelously evocative novel, Catherine Texier takes a mystery from her family's past and draws from it a portrait of a remarkable woman, her great-grandmother Victorine. A young schoolteacher in a quiet province in France, Victorine had married and had two children. But when she falls desperately in love, she makes a startling choice, leaving her family for her lover and a new life in Indochina.

Alexandre Dumas écrit La Route de Varennes dans un souci de vérité historique. Reprenant tour à tour les différents récits historiques pour en montrer les erreurs, l'auteur s’attache à reprendre la même route que Louis XVI et sa famille lors de leur fuite de Paris, pas à pas, pour trouver traces et témoignages de ce grand fait historique. Alexandre Dumas signe ici un un petit roman aussi instructif que réjouissant.

Washed up on a foreign shore, Tristan is lucky to be alive. As before, it seems to be a miracle - the Holy Grail the young Templar squire is protecting has saved his life yet again. But now he is lost in a strange land, and he doesn't know if his friends, the fiery archer Robard Hode and the Saracen assassin maid Maryam, still survive. Tristan's knack for getting into trouble is alive and well, though.

The tale of lineage and legacy continues with Annabelle's escape into Indian Territory after fleeing from her cruel slave masters in Mercy, Missouri. In the wild west prairie lands of Oklahoma, she finds protection with her rescuers' Cherokee family and has to learn how to survive hidden within the Cherokee Nation. As she learns about Cherokee history, including the Trail of Tears, she also seeks guidance from an elder to heal from the traumas of her own past.

One woman battles the coming Dark Ages. "Twilight Empress" tells the little-known story of a remarkable woman: Placidia, sister to one of the last Roman Emperors. Roman Empress and Gothic Queen, Placidia does the unthinkable: she rules the failing Western Roman Empire. A life of ambition, power, and intrigue she doesn't seek, but can't refuse, her actions shape the face of Western Europe for centuries. A woman as well as an empress, Placidia suffers love, loss, and betrayal. Can her intelligence, tenacity, and ambition help her survive and triumph over scheming generals, rebellious children, and Attila the Hun?

In February, 1815, after nine months in exile, Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed Emperor of the French, escaped from the Isle of Elba. Seizing the initiative while the European powers bicker amongst themselves at the Congress of Vienna, Napoleon advances towards Belgium with an enormous army, where the combined forces of Prussia and England are cantoned. In Belgium, Captain James Henry Webster has finally returned to a line regiment after being terribly wounded at the Siege of Badajoz three years prior.

Autrefois pilleur de tombes, aujourd'hui médecin, William Graves a voué sa vie à protéger et aider les autres. Son âme n'a aucune chance de rédemption, il n'a aucun droit d'aspirer au bonheur et à l'amour... et pourtant, il ne peut détourner les yeux de Winifred Buckland, duchesse d'Avendale. Son courage et sa détermination à vivre l'attirent irrésistiblement, et le désir est trop fort pour être ignoré... surtout lorsqu'elle l'entraîne au cœur de la nuit et de ses jardins.

H.G. Wells sets forth an intriguing first-hand observation of Italy, France, and Britain under severe duress during the "War to End All Wars," World War I. He insightfully examines the technological effects of modern warfare, particularly the introduction of the tank and aerial bombing on human nature.

The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask triumphantly solves an enduring puzzle that has stumped historians for centuries and seduced novelists and filmmakers to this day. Who was the man who was rumored to have been kept in prison and treated royally during much of the reign of Louis XIV while being forced to wear an iron mask? Could he possibly have been the twin brother of the Sun King?

After seizing Europe, the Nazis begin to execute the final solution by conducting a census of Jews in each of the occupied countries that is driven by IBM technology. After the census in Holland, the Nazis murdered 75 percent of the Dutch Jews. After the census in France, 25 percent of the country's Jews are murdered. What made France different? At Vichy Frances National Statistical Service headquarters in Lyon, General René Carmille and his aide Miriam Dupré know spies are everywhere.

After becoming the lover of King Henry II, Princess Alais' bid for the throne fails. As Richard the Lionheart, King Henry's son, will not honor their engagement, Alais is sent away to a nunnery to live out the remaining years of her life. Imprisoned at the hands of her enemies, Princess Alais of France finds a way to escape and returns to her home in Paris.