Staff Picks - Historical Fiction

Updated December 4, 2025
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Metropolis
Kerr, Philip
Paper Book
"[Metropolis is] a perfect goodbye--and first hello--to its hero...Bernie Gunther has, at last, come home."--Washington Post New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr treats readers to his beloved hero's origins, exploring Bernie Gunther's first...
Metropolis : a Bernie Gunther novel
Kerr, Philip
Paper Book
"[Metropolis is] a perfect goodbye--and first hello--to its hero...Bernie Gunther has, at last, come home."--Washington Post New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr treats readers to his beloved hero's origins, exploring Bernie Gunther's first...
The orphan collector
Wiseman, Ellen Marie
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller From the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval-a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah-set in Philadelphia...
The orphan collector
Wiseman, Ellen Marie
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller From the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval-a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah-set in Philadelphia...
The summer wives
Williams, Beatriz
Paper Book
"The Summer Wives is an exquisitely rendered novel that tackles two of my favorite topics: love and money. The glorious setting and drama are enriched by Williams's signature vintage touch. It's at the top of my picks for the beach this summer." --Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Perfect...
The summer wives
Williams, Beatriz
Paper Book
"The Summer Wives is an exquisitely rendered novel that tackles two of my favorite topics: love and money. The glorious setting and drama are enriched by Williams's signature vintage touch. It's at the top of my picks for the beach this summer." --Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Perfect...
The women
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times! From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women--at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a...
The women
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times! From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women--at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a...
The women
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
"Women can be heroes, too." When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in...
The women
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times! From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women--at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a...
The book of longings
Kidd, Sue Monk
Paper Book
"An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling." --Associated Press "A true masterpiece." --Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from...
The book of longings
Kidd, Sue Monk
Paper Book
"An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling." --Associated Press "A true masterpiece." --Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from...
The last runaway
Chevalier, Tracy.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this...
The last runaway
Chevalier, Tracy.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this...
The last runaway
Chevalier, Tracy.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this...
Deacon King Kong
McBride, James
Paper Book
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction   Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
Deacon King Kong
McBride, James
Paper Book
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction   Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
The love songs of W.E.B. Du Bois : a novel
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
A Kirkus "Best Book of the 21st Century" 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...
The love songs of W.E.B. Du Bois : a novel
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
A Kirkus "Best Book of the 21st Century" 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...
The marriage of opposites : a novel based on the life of Rachel Pizzarro
Hoffman, Alice.
Paper Book
"[A] luminous, Marquez-esque tale." -O, The Oprah Magazine From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who...
The marriage of opposites : a novel
Hoffman, Alice.
Paper Book
"[A] luminous, Marquez-esque tale." -O, The Oprah Magazine From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who...
The marriage of opposites : a novel based on the life of Rachel Pizzarro
Hoffman, Alice.
Paper Book
"[A] luminous, Marquez-esque tale." -O, The Oprah Magazine From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who...
The marriage of opposites : a novel based on the life of Rachel Pizzarro
Hoffman, Alice.
Paper Book
"[A] luminous, Marquez-esque tale." -O, The Oprah Magazine From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who...
Outlander
Gabaldon, Diana.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The first book in Diana Gabaldon's acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series--season 8 coming in March 2026! One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS's The Great American Read!
Outlander
Gabaldon, Diana.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The first book in Diana Gabaldon's acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series--season 8 coming in March 2026! One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS's The Great American Read!
Things fall apart
Achebe, Chinua.
Paper Book
"A true classic of world literature . . . A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world." --Barack Obama "African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe." --Toni Morrison "A...
I was Anastasia : a novel
Lawhon, Ariel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An enthralling feat of historical suspense that unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or the thief of another woman's legacy? ...

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