Historical Fiction by Black Women

Updated March 19, 2024
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Black cake : a novel
Wilkerson, Charmaine
Paper Book
NOW A HULU STREAMING SERIES * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * Two estranged siblings delve into their mother's hidden past--and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cake--in this immersive family saga, "a...
Take my hand
Perkins-Valdez, Dolen
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction "Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze...an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption."--Celeste Ng Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a...
The fraud
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WRITERS' PRIZE FOR FICTION* Named a Best Book of 2023 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and Publishers Weekly From...
Mademoiselle revolution
Sivak, Zoe
Paper Book
A powerful, engrossing story of a biracial heiress who flees to Paris when the Haitian Revolution burns across her island home. But as she works her way into the inner circle of Robespierre and his mistress, she learns that not even oceans can stop the flames of revolution.
Sister mother warrior : a novel
Riley, Vanessa
Paper Book
ONE OF USA TODAY'S "BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER!" Acclaimed author of Island Queen Vanessa Riley brings readers a vivid, sweeping novel of the Haitian Revolution based on the true-life stories of two extraordinary women: the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a West...
Kindred
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
Selected by The Atlantic as one of THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS.  ("You have to read them.") From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur "Genius" Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner The visionary time-travel classic...
The personal librarian
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world as she helps build a world-class collection. But...
Homegoing
Gyasi, Yaa
Paper Book
A PENGUIN BOOK CLUB PICK "Homegoing is an inspiration." --Ta-Nehisi Coates  An unforgettable New York Times bestseller of exceptional scope and sweeping vision that traces the descendants of two sisters across three hundred years in Ghana and...
Homegoing
Gyasi, Yaa
Paper Book
A PENGUIN BOOK CLUB PICK "Homegoing is an inspiration." --Ta-Nehisi Coates  An unforgettable New York Times bestseller of exceptional scope and sweeping vision that traces the descendants of two sisters across three hundred years in Ghana and...
The love songs of W.E.B. Du Bois : a novel
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller * AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION * ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" * BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York...
The confessions of Frannie Langton : a novel
Collins, Sara
Paper Book
Don't miss the TV miniseries, streaming now exclusively on BritBox! "A blistering historical thriller." -- Entertainment Weekly A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this breathtaking debut that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to...
Half of a yellow sun
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Paper Book
A masterly, haunting new novel from a writer heralded by The Washington Post Book World as "the 21st-century daughter of Chinua Achebe," Half of a Yellow Sun re-creates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in...
The two lives of Sara
West, Catherine Adel
Paper Book
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Ms. Magazine, The Root, Popsugar, Bustle, and many more! "An utterly absorbing and dazzling novel about the stories we tell to stay alive and the secrets we keep to protect ourselves." -- Nancy Jooyoun Kim, New York...
The Davenports
Marquis, Krystal
Paper Book
*Instant New York Times Bestseller* The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked. "The perfect read for fans of escapist historical fiction." --NBC...
The fraud
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WRITERS' PRIZE FOR FICTION* Named a Best Book of 2023 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and Publishers Weekly From...
Black cake : a novel
Wilkerson, Charmaine
Paper Book
NOW A HULU STREAMING SERIES * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * Two estranged siblings delve into their mother's hidden past--and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cake--in this immersive family saga, "a...
Kindred
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
Selected by The Atlantic as one of THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS.  ("You have to read them.") From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur "Genius" Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner The visionary time-travel classic...
Kindred : a graphic novel adaptation
Duffy, Damian
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Octavia E. Butler's bestselling literary science-fiction masterpiece, Kindred, now in graphic novel format. More than 35 years after its release, Kindred continues to draw in new readers with its deep exploration of the violence and...
The Love Songs of W. E. B. du Bois: A Novel
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller * AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION * ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" * BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York...
Let us descend : a novel
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
From Jesmyn Ward--the two-time National Book Award winner, youngest winner of the Library of Congress Prize for Fiction, and MacArthur Fellow--comes a haunting masterpiece, sure to be an instant classic, about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War. "'Let...
Let us descend : a novel
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * Instant New York Times Bestseller * Named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, Time, The New Yorker, and more. "Nothing short of epic,...
Conjure women : a novel
Atakora, Afia
Paper Book
A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing--and for the conjuring of curses--are at the heart of this dazzling first novel   LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times * NPR *...
The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...
The vanishing half : a novel
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...
Homegoing
Gyasi, Yaa
Paper Book
A PENGUIN BOOK CLUB PICK "Homegoing is an inspiration." --Ta-Nehisi Coates  An unforgettable New York Times bestseller of exceptional scope and sweeping vision that traces the descendants of two sisters across three hundred years in Ghana and...
The house of Eve : a novel
Johnson, Sadeqa
Paper Book
1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that...
The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...
Let us descend : a novel
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * Instant New York Times Bestseller * Named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, Time, The New Yorker, and more. "Nothing short of epic,...
River sing me home
Shearer, Eleanor
Paper Book
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother's gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children and piece her family back together is a "celebration of motherhood and female resilience" (The Observer). ...

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