What we read: 5 historical fiction books to read this fall
If you’re a longtime Mistress of Books reader, you know how much we love historical fiction! It’s one of my personal favorite genres and I usually read at least five titles per year — if not more.
I wanted to share my passion for history and the many stories that can be created from it with you all. This reading list features a few new books and others that have been out for a couple of years. Read through and add them to your TBR piles, and leave me a comment with any titles you would add to the list!
Lost Souls of Leningrad (Suzanne Parry)
Full disclosure: This book was graciously sent to me by She Writes Press. They also seem to be aware of my historical fiction obsession as they reached out with a bunch of titles for my consideration! As soon as I started this book I was immediately sucked into it. It takes place in Leningrad during World War II, almost immediately before Hitler attempted to starve its inhabitants and obliterate the city. The two main characters — a woman named Sofya and her granddaughter Yelena — struggle to survive as the Nazis surround the city. I enjoyed reading from an older woman’s point of view, as I’m usually more drawn to narrators who are my age or only slightly older or younger. The book is well written, the story captivating, and I grew very attached to the characters as I read. It should come as no surprise that there are some devastating moments in the story — but I really enjoyed reading about a fragment of the horrors of WWII that I must say I wasn’t aware of. A must if you want to learn more about Russia’s history as well as the Second World War.
This book made its rounds in the bookstagram sphere a while ago (it was also featured as a to-be-read in our last historical fiction listicle!) and has been on my to-read list ever since. It tells the fictional tale of William Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, who died when he was eleven years old. While the Bard is required reading for most, we never really learn much about his personal and family life. Hamnet is said to be the inspiration by a play of a very similar name, Hamlet, and yet, if you aren’t a real Shakespeare buff, you probably have never heard of him. The story is centered around the emotional repercussions of losing a child. Agnes, Hamnet’s mother, is my favorite character. She is a healer and feels most like herself when wandering the woods. It’s a study of motherhood: from conception to pregnancy, to childbirth, and to the inevitable (and untimely) death of a child — something no parent ever wishes to experience. And, as we navigate this post-pandemic world, the section that describes how the disease that will eventually kill Hamnet (the bubonic plague) comes to be is pertinent to our modern world.
The Mercies (Kiran Millwood Hargrave)
I first read this book for an FBC Paris book club book and as soon as I started it I couldn’t put it down. The Mercies is set in Norway in the early 17th century. When a coastal storm takes the lives of most of the men in the community, the women are left to fend for themselves — and when they do a remarkable job of it, it attracts the attention of the government. Eventually, a man known for his involvement in the killing of “witches” in Scotland arrives to take over the coastal town. The main character, Maren (who lost her brother and father to the storm), is determined not to let the newcomer disrupt the peaceful life that the women have constructed. It doesn’t take long for the community to start to turn in on itself and soon women are being accused of witchcraft. The book is based on true events — the witch trials of 1620 — which would go on to inspire the people behind the trials in Salem in the 1690s.
‘Til All These Things Be Done (Suzanne Moyers)
This is another title from She Writes Press. When I read the description, “Set during the often-overlooked history of 1920s Blacklands, TX where the Progressive social unrest collides with the second coming of the KKK and the Influenza epidemic, this historical debut novel is based on the author’s long-standing family mystery and the real twist of fate that inspired its fictional resolution,” I knew I had to read it! I love a good mystery almost as much as I love historical fiction and this novel is a wonderful meeting of the two. The story will keep you on your toes throughout and is mostly centered around the main character Leola. Her father disappears after a move to Houston (to earn money before the rest of the family could join him) and 150 pages in and you’re still no closer to finding out where he is — if he has succumbed to the influenza outbreak, simply missing, or something else. You’ll want to finish this book to the very last drop (or page) to figure out what happens. What makes it even more interesting is that it is based on the author’s own family.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton (Sara Collins)
Intrigued by the cover art, I snagged The Confessions of Frannie Langton at a book swap earlier this year. Set in Jamaica and London in the mid-19th century, this historical fiction read tells the story of Frannie, a maid who is accused of murdering her employers. I was completely hooked — like all of the books on this list, are you sensing a theme here? — and remember staying up way too late finishing it. Throughout the novel I found myself going back and forth between believing Frannie’s claims and wondering if she actually did commit murder. It’s an excellent look at the psychological slavery and servitude can have on a person, as well as the discrimination BIPOC and LGBTQI+ folks have experienced since what seems like the dawn of time. It’s another historical fiction meets mystery and I promise you’ll be just as intrigued as I was — and not only by the cover art.
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