Now & Then...

History’s Fictional Archives…

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect” Anais Nin

Reading can feel a little, or a lot, like time travel, no matter when the story is set. Most bookworms have experienced the surreal disorientation of sitting down to read and only emerging from their book-induced reverie hours later, having let the here and now pass by while they explored the worlds wrought on those pages.

Historical fiction can deepen this effect, especially when it's based on real-life events, granting readers permission to blur fact and fiction. A fictionalized retelling reconstructs pivotal events previously known to a reader only through a backwards glance, resulting in a restoration of stories that have lain dormant for too long.

The historical novelist introduces a reader to the inner lives of people across time and place, and in doing so illuminates untold stories, inviting us to connect to a past that feels as if it, and its teachings, are vanishing. It’s the works of these writers that I have gathered for you in this feature.

But remember this as you delve into my recommendations; the past changes a little every time we retell it.

What Doesn’t Kill Us…

…stories of the rebels, misfits and outcasts making history

The Puzzle Master – Danielle Trussoni

Mike is a celebrated and ingenious puzzle creator, he understands patterns no one else can even get a glimpse of. His mental superpower of solving puzzles ordinary people can’t came about when he sustained a traumatic brain injury. The same injury left him isolated and struggling to connect. Everything changes when he meets Jess, a woman imprisoned for murder who hasn’t spoken since her arrest. A woman who has drawn a perplexing puzzle, one Mike determines has a cipher. The quest to solve it takes him through interlocking enigmas, ancient histories, and a maze of clues. Touted to be “The Da-Vinci Code with a sprinkle of Stephen King”. This is a read to call in sick for!!

Time Period & Setting…Past & Present, Here & There.

Essex Dogs – Dan Jones

It’s July of 1346, and 10 men have just landed on a Normandy beach: the Essex Dogs, a tight-knit group of men-at-arms led by an experienced, if slightly over-the-hill, captain. Set during the Hundred Years’ War, over a century of battle for the French throne, this novel examines the harsh realities of medieval warfare from the perspective of soldiers and civilians alike. As the Dogs fight their way toward freedom, they are also fighting to survive in a war in which rules have been abandoned and chivalry cast aside. An audacious and one of a kind offering on well-trodden ground. Great for Game Of Thrones lovers!!

Time Period & Setting…1340’, England.

Hotel Of Secrets – Diana Biller

It’s ball season in Vienna and Maria only wants one thing: to restore her family’s hotel to its former glory. She is not going to let anything get in her way; not her parent’s three decades long affair, not seemingly random attacks by masked assassins, and especially not the handsome foreign agent who has saved her life twice already. He is only there to find who is selling secret codes, arrest them and then go home to his sensible life. But he is swept up into a whirlwind of glitz and glamour and the beautiful hotel keeper. A decadent guilty pleasure full of intrigue and romance!

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, Italy.

The Housekeepers – Alex Hay

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. A place packed with treasures and secrets lurking in the shadows. When she is unceremoniously dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge. A black-market queen out to settle her own scores. An actress desperate for a big role. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And her predecessor, a woman with her own desire for vengeance. The plan, an audacious heist right under the noses of the attendees of a costume ball. Think Ocean’s 8 meets Gosford Park.

Time Period & Setting…1930’s, England.

The Count Of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

The classic tale of Edmund Dantes, self-appointed Count of Monte Cristo who was the victim of a miscarriage of justice, now free he is consumed by the desire for retribution. Full of intrigue, betrayal, and love, this is a powerful epic saga of good and evil. One of my all-time favourites and worthy of a reminder that not all classics are a slog to read!

Time Period & Setting…1800’s, Monte Cristo.

Homecoming – Kate Morton

Christmas Eve, 1959, at the end of what has been a scorching hot day, a local man makes a terrible discovery on the grounds of a grand country house in South Australia. Home for a visit with her grandmother, Nora discovers a true crime book chronicling the baffling and long buried investigation. Soon she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this notorious historical event. A family saga tangled up with a mystery, is there any doubt this will be a keeper?

Time Period & Setting…1960’s, Australia.

The Shadow Of Perseus – Claire Heywood

A retelling of the myth of the hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional telling. Danae, the mother banished from her homeland thanks to a prophecy foretelling her unborn child will one day cause the death of her father, the King.; Medusa, a reclusive woman who took pity on him as an injured boy; and Andromeda, the wife he rescues from a harsh encounter with the Gods. As he becomes obsessed with his own destiny; all their lives will be forever changed. I love a fresh retelling and this author has a gift for them!

Time Period & Setting…Ancient Greece.

The Heights – Ray Franze

Sal can’t believe he has survived long enough to enjoy a midday cocktail on his California tomato farm. The sixty something crime boss helped take out Sicilian gangs, advised Al Capone on some of his biggest moves and rubbed elbows with the Kennedys, Sinatra, and Marilyn, all while avoiding capture. But in hindsight, will it all have been worth it? Based on a real person, this is going to be the best Mafia tale in a long time.

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, New York.

Strangers In The Night – Heather Webb

A fictional spin on the true-life tumultuous romance that scandalized the world. She was a small-town southern beauty transformed into a Hollywood goddess. He was the legendary crooner whose voice transfixed the world. A combination that was destined to implode. With Ava’s star is on the rise just as Frank’s career is taking a hit, jealously and high temper threaten their happiness. The reader will feel like they are getting the inside scoop on a very spicy duo!

Time Period & Setting…1940’s, Hollywood.

Name Of The Rose – Umberto Eco

The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon, all sharpened to an edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where the most interesting things happen in the dead of night.

Time Period & Setting…1300’s, Italy.

Invictus – Ryan Graudin

Far was born outside of time. The son of a time traveler from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Ancient Rome, his very existence defies the laws of nature. All he’s ever wanted was to explore history for himself, but after failing his entrance exam into a government program, he will have to settle for captaining a black-market crew tasked with stealing valuables from the past. During a routine heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl named Elliot who is more than meets the eye. Its Firefly meets Fringe. Yes, I’m a nerd.

Time Period & Setting…Past & Present, Here & There.

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History…

…truer words have never been spoken

The Last Russian Doll – Kristen Loesch

An epic and haunting novel about betrayal, revenge and redemption that follows three generations of Russian women, from the 1917 revolution to the last days of the Soviet Union. A young girl living a happy life in Moscow with her family is torn from everyone but her eccentric mother. Many years later, after the death of her mother, she returns to Russia to finally understand, and bury, the past. But it’s not so simple and a never-ending nest of secrets begin to emerge. A stellar book that will utterly absorb you.

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, Russia.

The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell

Set in Renaissance Italy, this is the story of Lucrezia, who unexpectedly finds herself married to her recently deceased sisters finance, a man desperate for an heir. As she ponders whether her new husband is a kind sophisticate or a ruthless politician, she begins to suspect he wishes her ill. In fact, he might be planning to kill her. This author is a gorgeous writer, and this novel is steeped in illuminating descriptions and intimate character portraits.

Time Period & Setting…1400’s, Italy.

The Starlet Letter – Julie Mathison

When a washed-up Ziegfeld Follies star goes missing, the Van der Beeck twins are on the case. Once ultra-rich and always eccentric, the twins have taken in borders to make ends meet. They have six tenants; a pianist, a poet, an erstwhile diplomat, a psychiatrist, a bootlegger, and a philanthropist who is always short on cash. But things get really interesting when the seventh tenant, and future missing person, checks in, bringing several skeletons to fill her new closet. A delightful romp of a historical mystery!

Time Period & Setting…1930’s, New York.

The Spectacular – Fiona Davis

Young Marion knows she should be happy. Her high school sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone expects for her; a quiet house soon to be filled with the children she will raise. Feeling trapped she jumps at an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes, exchanging a predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. Meanwhile, New York City is reeling from a string of bombings in popular and crowded venues. Desperate to find the bomber, the police turn to Peter, a young doctor with a radical background in psychological profiling. This unlikely pair are soon embroiled in a dangerous search for a killer.

Time Period & Setting…1950’s, New York.

The Sin Eater – Megan Campisi

A wonderfully woven tale of treason, treachery, women, and power. When fourteen-year-old May is arrested for stealing a loaf of bread she is marked to become a Sin Eater, a devastating sentence that will see her shunned by society and exiled to the edge of town. For a Sin Eater hears the confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite and is believed to be stained by those sins. When May is called to hear the deathbed confessions of two of the Queen’s courtiers, she hears whispers of a terrible rumor that her invisibility to those around her allows her to investigate.

Time Period & Setting…1500’s, England.

The Girl From The Savoy – Hazel Gaynor

Dolly is a dreamer; a downtrodden maid who longs to dance on the London stage, but her life has been fractured by war. Memories of the soldier she loved, of secret shame and profound loss hold her back from striving to make a better life for herself. When she finds employment as a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, Dolly finds herself a step closer to the glittering and glamourous lives of others. Thinking she is stuck existing on the fringes of the world she longs to be a part of, her luck turns when she responds to a songwriter’s advertisement for a muse. An enchanting girl is Dolly, you won’t be able to resist her charms.

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, London.

The Porcelain Moon – Jamie Chang

In the final days of the First World War, Pauline runs away from her uncle’s home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. She runs to her cousin Theo, working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside, for help. There Camille is plotting her escape from an abusive marriage and offers Pauline a room in her house. Before long they uncover secrets about each other that could put them both in peril. A story of friendship, forbidden love, and freedom.

Time Period & Setting…1900’s, France.

Luck Of The Titanic – Stacey Lee

Valora Luck has two things: a ticket for the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world, and a dream of leaving England behind and making a life for herself as a circus performer in New York. When they turn her away at the gate, because apparently Chinese aren’t allowed into America, she is desperate. She must get on that ship; her brother has spent two long years working below decks and an influential circus owner happens to be on board as well. When she chooses to stowaway there is no way for her to know what’s coming. A lush and lovely story by an author with plenty more!

Time Period & Setting…1912, Atlantic Ocean.

Summer Of Love – Lisa Mason

The year is 1967 and something new is sweeping across America: good vibes, psychedelic music, designer drugs, protests and marches, and free love. Lost in these strange days is Susan, alias Starbright, who has runaway to San Francisco to find her troubled best friend. Along the way she will cross paths with Chi, a man with whom she will discover a love that will span centuries. But Chi has traveled from his time on a mission, nothing less than saving the universe. Imagine that Terminator landed in Haight-Ashbury in 1967! Are you intrigued?

Time Period & Setting…1960’s, San Francisco.

Queen Of Thieves – Beezy Marsh

London is struggling to rebuild itself after the devastation of the Blitz. Food is rationed, jobs are scarce, and even the most honest of people are forced to take a bit of a crooked path just to survive. Alice Diamond, the Queen of Thieves, rules over her all-female gang with a bejeweled fist. These expert shoplifters have become the scourge of London’s upscale boutiques. Nell is a teenager from the slums, hiding a secret pregnancy when Alice takes her under her wing. Soon Nell is experiencing all the dangers and trappings of an underworld existence, and soon we will discover she is not the pawn Alice thought her to be. She has her own agenda.

Time Period & Setting…1940’s, London.

My Notorious Life – Kate Manning

Axie is the impoverished child of Irish immigrants, destined to grow up to be one of the wealthiest and most controversial women of her day. Flouting convention and defying the law to build a thriving midwifery business, Axie’s story will take the reader from grim tenement rooms to the splendor of a mansion on Fifth Avenue. A brilliant rendering of a real-life historical figure and her rags to riches tale. Vivid and epic!

Time Period & Setting…1860’s, New York.

Accidental Tourist…

…stories that will immerse you in another time and place

The Book Of Everlasting Things – Aanchal Malhotra

On a January morning in 1928, Samir locks eyes with Firdaus through rows of perfume bottles in his family’s shop. Over the years that follow, the perfumers apprentice and the calligraphers apprentice fall in love with their ancient crafts and with each other. But as the struggle for Indian independence gathers force, they find themselves on opposite sides as Samir, a Hindu, becomes an Indian and Firdaus, a Muslim, becomes Pakistani. As their love becomes forbidden and their path’s spiral away from each other, they must each decide their own fate. A lush and poetic tale destined to be a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

Time Period & Setting…1930’s, India & Pakistan

A Gentleman In Moscow – Amor Towles

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, Russia.

The House With The Golden Door – Elodie Harper

The life of a courtesan in Pompei is glamourous yet perilous. At night in the home her patron bought for her, Amara’s dreams are haunted by her past. She longs for the company of the women from the brothel she was forced to leave behind. And worse, finds herself pursued by the cruel and vindictive man who once owned her. To free herself she will need to be as ruthless as he is. Riveting storytelling that walks the line between gutting and hopeful.

Time Period & Setting…Ancient Greece.

L.A. Confidential – James Ellroy

A brilliant novel that defines the crime noir genre. A horrific mass murder invades the lives of victims and victimizers on both sides of the law. Three lawmen, with vastly different definitions of law and order, find themselves caught in a deadly spiral that will test their loyalty and courage. Not sure if this a love letter or a scathing exposition of the time and place, maybe a bit of both? Any way you look at it, it’s fantastic.

Time Period & Setting…1950’s. Los Angeles

The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah

This immersive book looks at a crumbling marriage against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Elsa and Rafe’s marriage is dying, along with all of the crops on their Great Plains farm. Every day is a constant battle, but Elsa is determined not to give up. A showcase of resilience, hope, and hardship among the everyday realities during the Great Depression while spinning a deeply immersive, character-driven story.

Time Period & Setting…1930’s, Texas.

The Metropolitan Affair – Jocelyn Green

For years her explorer father promised Lauren that she would accompany him on one of his Egyptian expeditions. But as the empty promises mount, she is determined to make her own way. Now the assistant curator of Egyptology for the MOMA, Lauren receives two unexpected invitations. Another from her father, and one is a chance to enter the world of New York’s wealthiest patrons who have been victims of art fraud. Enter Detective Caravello, hot on the trail of a notorious forger taking full advantage of the everyone’s sudden interest in Egyptology after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. A thrilling mystery set in the roaring twenties, complete with a swoony romance.

Time Period & Setting…1920’s, New York.

The Lioness – Chris Bohjalian

When Katie, an A-list actress, and her new husband, David, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon Safari, they envision endless days of photographic beauty. What they get is a kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of mercenaries putting guns to their heads. Awash with a cast of characters worthy of Agatha Christie and prose worthy of comparisons to Hemingway, this is a read not to be missed.

Time Period & Setting…1960’s, Africa.

Lily Of The Nile – Stephanie Dray

With both her parents dead, princess Selene and her brothers are left at the mercy of their captors, taken from Egypt and put on display as war trophies in Rome. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage, she struggles for survival in a court of intrigue. This proves challenging when she can’t hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, forcing her into the company of ruthless rulers. A spectacular blend of history and fiction that leaves the reader feeling as if they are there!

Time Period & Setting…Ancient Egypt

We Are Woodstock – Glenn Eldridge

Glenn has quit his job and his girlfriend has dumped him, but nothing is going to stop him from getting to Woodstock for the festival. When he and his friends travel to Yasgur’s farm they have no idea that half a million people will attend the soon to be iconic festival and that eventually the area will be declared a disaster zone. But none of that matters as Gail, a free-spirited flower child becomes the love of Glenn’s young life. Based on personal accounts, old hippies like me will almost hear the music thundering as the pages turn.

Time Period & Setting…1960’s, New York.

Feast Of Sorrow – Crystal King

On a blistering day during the reign of Augustus Caesar, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired by the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius. Wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for meals from exotic places and determined to serve as culinary advisor to Caesar, Marcus will prove a tough task master. With Thrasius’s help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and fantastic meals and quickly enfolds the young man into his family. Soon both find themselves enmeshed in upstairs/downstairs level politics and machinations. Full of fascinating food lore!

Time Period & Setting…Ancient Rome.

The Secret Keeper Of Jaipur – Alka Joshi

Lakshmi, a henna artist, arranges for her protégé, Malik to intern at the Jaipur Palace, were fortune favours the wealthy and certain secrets must stay buried. When the balcony of a state-of-the-art cinema tragically collapses on opening night, the halls of the palace are alight with intrigue that Malik attempts to untangle. A timeless tale of loyalty and ambition steeped in the history it depicts.

Time Period & Setting…1960’s, India.