Open Books Challenge 2025: A Book Set in the Victorian Era (1837-1901)Unpublished

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A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian historical romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other--the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!<...

The true story for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, this page-turning biography reveals the real woman behind the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen--a Victoria for our times. Drawing on previously unpublished papers, this stunning portrait is a story of love and...

From the bestselling author of The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard, comes Atonement meets The Paris Wife, a brilliantly original, profoundly empathetic story about Oscar Wilde's wife Constance and their two sons in the aftermath of the famous playwright's imprisonment for...

A young man searches for the reason behind his best friend's disappearance and the arrival of a magnetic stranger in this haunting retelling of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson and Mexican Gothic. "Addressing invisibility, power, and...

Named a Booklist Top 10 Romance Debut Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity,...

A 2021 Edgar® Award Winner, Best Juvenile A BookPage Best Book of 2020: Middle Grade A Mighty Girl's 2020 Books of the Year Introducing Myrtle Hardcastle, your favorite new amateur detective: a wickedly smart...

What if you could write a new ending for yourself? England, 1898. When Evelyn first married the famous novelist William Aubrey, she was dazzled by his brilliance. But their newlywed bliss is brief when William is gripped by writer's block, and he becomes...

It only takes one strike . . . A powerful, beautifully illustrated feminist reworking of the classic fairy tale, from award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child "You've got a lot to say for a little match girl." On the streets of Victorian London,...

"An immersive horror fairy tale marrying Crimson Peak to Pan's Labyrinth upon strange foundations. You're never really safe here, with Midnight Rooms wondrously defying expectation and refusing obedience. Donyae Coles leads us into a house of sinister magic, full of corners for...

From the bestselling author of The Clockwork Universe and The Writing of the Gods, an "utterly delightful...hugely entertaining" (Air Mail) book about the eccentric Victorians who discovered dinosaur bones, leading to a whole new understanding of human history.

"Beautiful and important."--New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn When a Victorian apothecary hires a stoic private investigator to protect her business, they learn there's only one way to treat true love--with a happily ever after. When Lucinda...

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for rescuing black-market artifacts, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the...

Fans of Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn will adore this opposites-attract romance featuring a dashing duke, a shy bookshop owner, and a wager that will change their lives forever. Evie Harlow runs a quaint little bookshop in London, which is the biggest adventure an...

Of Manners and Murder is the first in the delightful new Dear Miss Hermione mystery series from Anastasia Hastings. "Evokes the shocking revelations of Wilkie Collins, the social acuity of Jane Austen and the comic melodrama of Oscar Wilde."--Wall Street...

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER! "So riotously clever it almost defies description...an alchemy of romantic elements held in perfect harmony."--NPR Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of...

A witty, feminist mystery set in the heart of nineteenth-century London, this daring adventure featuring an intrepid woman detective will thrill fans of Deanna Raybourn and Katharine Schellman. London, 1894. Albertine Honeycombe never wanted a husband and certainly not the...

"Pleasingly subversive."--New York Times Book Review "A perfect mix of slow-burn romance, geopolitical maneuvering and sisterly antics."--The Washington Post One of Library Journal's Best Romances of 2023! A BookList Editor's Pick of 2023!

Scientist. Artist. Rule-breaker. The vibrant and daring life of Marianne North by the award-winning author of Super Women and Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World. In 1882, Marianne North showed the gray city of London paintings of jaw-dropping greenery...

In this delightfully witty Victorian romance, a governess spy running away from her past falls for an ex-soldier turned railroad magnate--perfect for fans of Manda Collins and Bridgerton! The utterly charming Emily Leverton has a dark past and is determined to leave...

"Glorious.... Every scene in this book is a treasure."--The New York Times "A Victorian queer love story that will have you giggling and blushing... This book is full of charm and low-stakes adventure, just the warm and soft romance many of us are looking for."--NPR...

Who is stalking Florence Nightingale and her nurses? Is it the legendary Beast of the Crimean, or someone closer to home? In 1855, Britain and France are fighting to keep the Russians from snatching the Crimean Peninsula from the Ottoman Empire, and Nightingale, a wealthy young society woman, has...

A PopSugar, Oprah Daily, and BookBub Most Anticipated Romance of 2022! Victorian high society's most daring equestrienne finds love and an unexpected ally in her fight for independence in the strong arms of London's most sought after and devastatingly handsome half-Indian tailor....

"A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue." -- Jess Kidd, author of The Night Ship "An immersive blend of historical and science fiction brims with surprises and dark delights. . . . An incisive exploration of women's rights within the field of science....

Don't miss THE AMALFI CURSE! Sarah's next spellbinding book to unearth a centuries-old curse, powerful witchcraft, and perilous love on the high seas.  "An atmospheric and evocative whodunnit steeped in suspense, mystery, and illusion." --Nita Prose, #1...

A young woman searches for the truth about her sister, who boarded a ship headed to the frozen Arctic and never returned in this "engrossing historical mystery" (The Washington Post) from the author of The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives and Moonlight and...

Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction and of the Goodreads Choice Award for History & Biography The award-winning, best-selling true crime book that changes the narrative of the "Ripper" murders forever Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are...

A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where we she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton The library is under lock and...

The New York Times bestseller * One of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year * One of NPR's Best Books of the Year * Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and BookPage * One of Oprah Daily's Best Novels of 2023 "[A] brilliant...

Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Meet Enola Holmes, teenaged girl turned detective and the younger sister to Sherlock Holmes. When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her...

*A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE* A revealing and unique portrait of Victorian life as told through the discovery of one woman's textile scrapbook. In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of...

WINNER OF THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY DAGGER AWARD 'Splendid' Wall Street Journal 'A wry, warm and proper rib-tickling slice of dirty Victorian gothic'...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! A Stonewall Honor Book in Young Adult Literature! A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare. New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White...

"Haunting...Ominous." --The New York Times Book Review A "wonderfully chilling" (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author) polar gothic about a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate-and redemption-from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of...

When one of her readers asks for advice following a suspected murder, Victorian countess Amelia Amesbury, who secretly pens the popular Lady Agony column, has no choice but to investigate in this first book in a charming new historical mystery series. Amelia Amesbury--widow,...