2021 Historical Fiction Reading List

Most, but not all, of these titles are in the 1666 Coffman Library collection.  Most are shelved in the FICTION section; a few are shelved in the MYSTERY/SPY/ADVENTURE section.  Each entry includes author and title.  Data in parentheses shows place and time period. Titles not in the Coffman collection are likely available at one of the local public libraries. ​

• Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  (Nazi Germany/1939-1943)
• Dissolution by C. J. Samson.  (Dissolution of English monasteries/1600s)
• Emigrant Novels by Vilhelm Moberg. (The Emigrants; Unto a Good Land; The Settlers; The Last Letter Home) (Sweden to Minnesota/1850s)
• Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.  (Moscow/1920s)
• Giant by Edna Ferber. (Texas/1925-1950)
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  (Ghana/mid 1700s–2000s)
• I, Claudius by Robert Graves. (Ancient Rome)
• Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  (Afghanistan/1970s-2001)
• A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende.  (Spanish Civil War and Chile/1930-1990s)     
• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.  (A slice of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life [1907-1914] as told by his second wife)
• Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series by Jacqueline Winspear. (16 titles/1910-WWII)
• My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.  (Wife of Alexander Hamilton/1757-1854)
• Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. (Medieval Europe)
• New York by Edward Rutherfurd.  (New York City/pre-colonial through 9/11/2001)
• Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. (Turtle Mountain [Chippewa Reservation], 1950s)
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. (France/World War II)
• O Pioneers by Willa Cather. (Nebraska/19th century)
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  (San Francisco/Japanese internment period)
• Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen.  (Kenya/1914-1931)
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. (Korean immigrant family in Japan/1910-21st century)
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  (American family in the Congo/1959-1970s)
• Russka by Edward Rutherfurd. (Sweeping tale spanning 1,800 years of Russian history)
• The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.  (Southern Minnesota’s Dakhóta people/pre-white settlement through present)
• A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith.  (U.S. & France/Post WWI-1930s)
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.  (Vietnam and California/ post-Vietnam War)
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  (Alabama/Depression era)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. (American South/pre-Civil War)
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.  (Russia/1805-1820)
• Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel. (Wolf Hall; Bringing Up the Bodies; The Mirror and the Light) (England/1485-1540)