The best women's historical fiction
From war-torn Sarajevo to the streets of Salem, the Chicago World Fair to the Glorious Revolution, immerse yourself in the rich, vibrant and impelling settings imagined in the best women’s historical fiction available today.
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE 2023
Sarajevo, spring 1992. When ethnic violence erupts, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety with her daughter in England. Reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a few weeks, she stays behind.
As the city falls under siege, Zora and her friends are forced to rebuild themselves, over and over. Theirs is a breathtaking story of disintegration, resilience and courage.
Sinners of Starlight City by Anika Scott
A page-turning historical novel set against the backdrop of civil injustice and the rise of Fascism
Madame Mystique is a performer at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Of African American and Sicilian heritage, Mystique – aka Rosa Mancuso – moves on the margins.
But her ambiguous status serves a hidden vendetta: she awaits the arrival of Paolo, a dashing pilot sent by Mussolini to dazzle spectators with a phenomenal air show.
Back in Sicily, his band of young Fascists had murdered her relatives as the old Mafia families were brutally swept away. Now Rosa is fixed on revenge…
A page-turning historical novel set against the backdrop of civil injustice and the rise of Fascism
Madame Mystique is a performer at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Of African American and Sicilian heritage, Mystique – aka Rosa Mancuso – moves on the margins.
But her ambiguous status serves a hidden vendetta: she awaits the arrival of Paolo, a dashing pilot sent by Mussolini to dazzle spectators with a phenomenal air show.
Back in Sicily, his band of young Fascists had murdered her relatives as the old Mafia families were brutally swept away. Now Rosa is fixed on revenge…
Hester by Laurie Lico Alabanese
Laced with magic and desire, Hester reimagines the iconic heroine of The Scarlet Letter
Glasgow, 1829: Isobel, a young seamstress, sets sail for a new life in Salem, Massachusetts.
There, she meets Nathaniel, a fledgling writer, and the two are drawn instantly to one another: he is haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows in the witch trials; while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents.
Together, they are dark storyteller and muse; enchanter and enchanted. But which is which?
The Messenger of Measham Hall by Anna Abney
Return to Measham Hall in this 17th-century tale of espionage and intrigue
For Nicholas Hawthorne, the Catholic heir to Measham Hall, subterfuge is everyday. But there are deeper and darker secrets even than his family’s outlawed religion: why is his father, Sir William, so reclusive? What became of his mother, and his boundary-defying aunt Alethea? And who fatally betrayed his cousin Matthew?
As England slides towards invasion by the Protestant forces of Prince William of Orange, Nicholas becomes entangled in conspiracies within King James II’s court – and soon learns that both truth and love come at a high price.
Return to Measham Hall in this 17th-century tale of espionage and intrigue
For Nicholas Hawthorne, the Catholic heir to Measham Hall, subterfuge is everyday. But there are deeper and darker secrets even than his family’s outlawed religion: why is his father, Sir William, so reclusive? What became of his mother, and his boundary-defying aunt Alethea? And who fatally betrayed his cousin Matthew?
As England slides towards invasion by the Protestant forces of Prince William of Orange, Nicholas becomes entangled in conspiracies within King James II’s court – and soon learns that both truth and love come at a high price.
Stanley and Elsie by Nicola Upson
A compelling novel reimagining the family life of famed painter Stanley Spencer
The First World War is over, and artist Stanley Spencer is working on the commission of a lifetime, painting an entire chapel in memory of a life lost in the war to end all wars.
When Elsie Munday arrives to take up position as housemaid to the Spencer family, her life quickly becomes entwined with theirs.
As the years pass, Elsie does her best to keep the family together even when love, obsession and temptation seem set to tear them apart…
The Butcher's Daughter by Victoria Glendinning
‘Historical fiction at its finest’ Margaret Atwood
It is 1535 and Agnes Peppin has been banished, leaving her family home in disgrace to live out the rest of her life cloistered behind the walls of Shaftesbury Abbey.
When King Henry VIII proclaims himself Head of the Church of England, and religious houses formally subjugated, Agnes is at last free to be the master of her own fate.
But freedom comes at a price as she descends into a world she knows little about, using her wits and testing her moral convictions against her need to survive – by any means necessary…
‘Historical fiction at its finest’ Margaret Atwood
It is 1535 and Agnes Peppin has been banished from her family home in disgrace to live out the rest of her life cloistered behind the walls of Shaftesbury Abbey.
When King Henry VIII proclaims himself Head of the Church of England, and religious houses are subjugated, Agnes is at last free to be the master of her own fate.
But freedom comes at a price as she descends into a world she knows little about, using her wits and testing her moral convictions against her need to survive – by any means necessary…
