Adult Historical Fiction

Adult Historical Fiction

Updated January 23, 2026
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1

The last days of Marilyn Monroe
Patterson, James
Paper Book
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Discover the story of Marilyn Monroe and take a deep dive into the shocking circumstances of her death... 'Electrifying . . . A spellbinding new account of the star's final days by the world's greatest thriller writer' - ...

2

The divorcées
Beaird, Rowan
Paper Book
A dark and dazzling US debut from a beguiling new voice - for fans of Beautiful Ruins and Lessons in Chemistry.

3

Miss Morgan's book brigade a novel
Skeslien Charles, Janet
Paper Book
" The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the "captivating, richly drawn" (Woman's World) The Paris Library returns with a brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson--the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France...

4

Shelterwood a novel
Wingate, Lisa
Paper Book
USA TODAY AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER * "Wingate's stellar latest explores a centuries-long legacy of missing child cases. . . . Her portrayal of the region's history, culture, and landscape enthralls. Wingate is at the top of her game."--Publishers Weekly, starred...

5

The Briar Club
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950 Everyone keeps to themselves at...

6

The safekeep : a novel
Wouden, Yael van der
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE 2025 LONGLISTED FOR THE WINGATE PRIZE 2025 An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and...

7

Tiananmen Square
Wen, Lai
Paper Book
A stunning, deeply moving autobiographical novel about growing up in Beijing in the 1970s and 80s and taking part in the Tiananmen Square protests.

8

The shadow of war a novel of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Shaara, Jeff
Paper Book

9

Time of the child
Williams, Niall
Paper Book
**Winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award** **Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award** **The instant Irish Times Top Ten bestseller** A heartbreaking and life-affirming novel about small towns and second...

10

The great when
Moore, Alan
Paper Book
A propulsive tour through a fantastical London, where history and myth collide, murder stalks the streets and the mundane becomes very magical indeed... The year is 1949, the city London. Amidst the smog of the capital is Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless eighteen-year-old...

11

The king's messenger
Kearsley, Susanna
Paper Book
New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one's duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.<...

12

Isola : a novel
Goodman, Allegra
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * "A shocking story, made all the more stunning by the fact that it has its roots in true history."--Jodi Picoult, author of By Any Other Name "A new generation of survival story . . . an extraordinary book that reads like a...

13

Polostan
Stephenson, Neal
Paper Book
'Inventive' THE TIMES From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new trilogy--an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age. ...

14

The improvisers
Glover, Nicole
Paper Book
For fans of Nghi Vo, P. Djèlí Clark, and Alix E. Harrow: a new stand-alone set in the world of the critically acclaimed Murder and Magic series during Prohibition. The Improvisers is the tale of Velma, a barnstorming pilot and former magic bootlegger, who pursues dangerous enchanted...

15

The sirens a novel
Hart, Emilia
Paper Book
A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Weyward 2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover's throat. Horrified,...

16

The murder at world's end
Montgomery, Ross (Fiction writer)
Paper Book
***A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK *** Get ready to meet your favourite new detective duo... Downton Abbey meets Knives Out in this witty and gripping historical cosy crime series. 'A tantalising whodunnit with some of the funniest dialogue I've read...

17

The marriage portrait
O'Farrell, Maggie
Paper Book
WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici...

18

Wandering stars
Orange, Tommy
Paper Book
Following its unforgettable characters through almost two centuries of history, from the horrors of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1865 to the aftermath of a mass shooting in the early 21st century, Wandering Stars is an indelible novel of America's war on its own people. It is also...

19

The forest of vanishing stars
Harmel, Kristin
Paper Book
Parade "Best Books of Summer" pick * Real Simple summer reading pick * SheReads "Best WWII Fiction of Summer 2021" pick The New York Times bestselling author of the "heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism" (P...

20

The glassmaker
Chevalier, Tracy
Paper Book

21

The Briar Club
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950 Everyone keeps to themselves at...

22

The third wife of Faraday House : a novel
Myers, B. R.
Paper Book
"A deliciously chilling gothic mystery with a smart and resourceful heroine . . . What more could fans of Jane Eyre and Rebecca want" -- Carol Goodman, two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award winner Two brides band together to unravel the secrets at the heart of...

23

Butcher : father of modern gyno-psychiatry
Oates, Joyce Carol
Paper Book
From one of our most accomplished storytellers, an extraordinary and arresting novel about a women's asylum in the nineteenth century, and a terrifying doctor who wants to change the world In this harrowing story based on authentic historical documents, we follow the career of Dr...

24

The frozen river a novel
Lawhon, Ariel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GMA BOOK CLUB PICK * AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR * From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha...

25

The little liar
Albom, Mitch
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Moving' Daily Mail 'It will stay with you' Independent 'Profound' Irish Examiner ____________________ A moving new novel from the...

26

The cabinet of Dr. Leng
Preston, Douglas J.
Paper Book
Preston & Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they cross paths with New York's deadliest serial killer ...Pendergast's own ancestor ... and now his greatest foe. AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY<...

27

Sisters under the rising sun
Morris, Heather (Screenwriter)
Paper Book

28

The invisible hour
Hoffman, Alice
Paper Book
One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia's mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community -- an oppressive cult in western...

29

I am homeless if this is not my home
Moore, Lorrie
Paper Book
From one of the most celebrated imaginations in American literature, Lorrie Moore's new novel is a magicbox of longing and surprise.

30

Stars in an Italian sky
Santopolo, Jill
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret. Genoa, Italy, 1946....

31

Mrs Porter calling
Pearce, A. J.
Paper Book

32

Flags on the Bayou a novel
Burke, James Lee
Paper Book

33

Canary girls : a novel
Chiaverini, Jennifer
Paper Book
Rosie the Riveter meets A League of Their Own in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini's lively and illuminating novel about the "munitionettes" who built bombs in Britain's arsenals during World War I, risking their lives for the war effort and discovering camaraderie...

34

The spectacular : a novel
Davis, Fiona
Paper Book
New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion is over the moon to have been selected to be one of the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall's glamorous precision dancing troupe. It's an honour to perform in the world's most spectacular theatre, an art deco masterpiece. But with four shows a day as well...

35

The vaster wilds
Groff, Lauren
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Exhilarating' GUARDIAN 'Her writing has a timeless quality' THE TIMES '[Has] a visionary quality' OBSERVER A profound and explosive novel about a spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive

36

The Mitford affair
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
"Plunges readers into a world of glamorous, charismatic young British debutantes and then turns that shiny world on its head...the most delicious storytelling." --Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post From New York Times bestselling...

37

The heart's choice
Peterson, Tracie
Paper Book

38

Loyalty
Scottoline, Lisa
Paper Book

39

CALDER AT HEART
DAILEY, JANET.
Paper Book
In a tale perfect for fans of Yellowstone, the legendary New York Times bestselling author brings America's frontier to vivid life in a saga of love, hope and endurance in 1919 Montana, as the end of the Great War, the looming start of Prohibition, and reignited rivalries put a...

40

The perfumist of Paris
Joshi, Alka
Paper Book

41

Dawnlands : a novel
Gregory, Philippa
Paper Book
Palace intrigue, defiant heroism, and a long-awaited love fulfilled from New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory in her Fairmile series. It is 1685 and England is on the brink of a renewed civil war. King Charles II has died without an heir and his brother James...

42

The golden doves
Kelly, Martha Hall
Paper Book
Inspired by true events, The Golden Doves is an unforgettable story about the fates of the Nazi doctors in the wake of WWII, and the unsung females spies who risked it all to fight for justice. As part of the French Resistance in Paris, Arlette LaRue and American Josie...

43

The girl in the castle
Patterson, James
Paper Book
My Name is Hannah Dory and I need you to believe me NOW- Hannah is brought to Belman Psych, told she is suffering from hallucinations and delusions. Hannah knows the truth- she must return to the past and save her sister. 1347- Hannah and her village...

44

Carrie Soto is back a novel
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "An epic adventure about a female athlete perhaps past her prime, brought back to the tennis court for one last grand slam" (Elle), from the author of Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

45

The house of doors
Tan, Twan Eng
Paper Book
From the Booker-shortlisted author of The Garden of Evening Mists comes an evocative, rich tale of love, betrayal and morality in 1920s Penang.

46

Trust
Da?z, Hern?
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE "Buzzy and...

47

Booth
Fowler, Karen Joy
Paper Book
A major new novel from million-copy bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

48

The good left undone
Trigiani, Adriana
Paper Book
Domenica Cabrelli had two great loves of her life. First, her childhood sweetheart, from the small, sun-drenched Italian town of Viareggio. A romance that was over before it had a chance to begin. Then, on an wartime French coastline, her second love affair - a mysterious captain, with a future on...

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