Historical Fiction Archive
*The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak
Thu, Mar 01, 2012
“This a sumptuous and richly imagined historical novel featuring the ever fascinating Catherine the Great as viewed through the eyes of a rags- to-riches orphan, Varvara .”
On His Majesty's Service by Allan Mallison
Thu, Mar 01, 2012
Book eleven in the Matthew Hervey saga finds the Lt. Colonel hoping for command of his beloved Sixth Light Dragoons.
Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano
Wed, Feb 29, 2012
“This novel follows many generations of an Italian family that emigrates to New York at the turn of the 20th century.”
Mrs. Nixon by Ann Beattie
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
“Mrs. Nixon almost made me sad for Pat Nixon who once again is obscured by a more dominant personality.”
*The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
“Managing this huge cast of characters is narrator Steve West, who... gives the novel a full-voiced treatment, from the smooth cool Cecil, the boyish stableboy, the autocratic Dudleys, various courtiers male and female, the nasal twang of a murderer, the insinuating voice of Sir Francis Walsingham (eventually Elizabeth's Secretary of State), and the headstrong Elizabeth herself.”
African Dawn by Tony Park
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
“Listeners will get a real feel for how difficult and uncertain life was and is like during the transition to independence [in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe], along with a realistic picture of efforts to save the rhinoceros from extinction.”
A Young Wife by Pam Lewis
Thu, Dec 01, 2011
“Carrington MacDuffie reads with emotion and clarity, bringing Minke’s spirit and innocence and growing independence and toughness to life.”
*Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace
Thu, Dec 01, 2011
“Descriptions of the lovely Auvers countryside and Van Gogh's riveting and glorious artwork, as well as sympathetic, believable characters enrich a somber, fact-based narrative, whose stately prose is given a dignified and empathetic reading by Luis Moreno.”
The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
Sat, Oct 01, 2011
Pullinger based much of this fictional tale on several quotes from the actual letters of Lady Duff Gordon.
Oil on Water by Helon Habila
Mon, Aug 01, 2011
... narrator Richard Allen’s rich deep voice adds gravitas to the story.
*Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar
Mon, Aug 01, 2011
Charlotte Parry is an accomplished reader, and her vocalization of Ellen adds to the lightness of Exit the Actress: young Ellen sounds naïve and sweet, while the Ellen of some eight years later sounds much more world-weary.
*Prophecy by S.J. Parris
Sun, Jul 31, 2011
British actor, playwright, and award-winning audiobook narrator John Lee is known for his deep voice, crisp enunciation, and accents. In Prophecy he gets to do Bruno's Italian, as well as French, Spanish, Scots, and various English characters. Lee's presentation and Merritt's writing are both highly recommended
Elizabeth I by Margaret George
Fri, Jul 01, 2011
While facts yield too frequently to fiction, those who love historical novels won't mind and can enjoy the intrigue and the author's in-depth portrayals of the principal characters.
*Augustus by John Williams
Thu, Jun 30, 2011
A vast story from a vastly talented novelist read by a vastly gifted narrator.
*The Fort by Bernard Cornwell
Wed, Jun 01, 2011
Veteran stage and television actor Robin Bowerman’s full-voiced reading of this historical novel about a little-known American defeat is highly recommended. Bowerman is especially good with Scottish accents and his Paul Revere comes across as an egotistical boor
King of Kings by Harry Sidebottom
Tue, May 31, 2011
Dr. Harry Sidebottom, a fellow at St. Benet's Hall and lecturer at Lincoln College, Oxford University, specializes in ancient warfare and classical art. His Warrior of Rome series takes readers back to the mid-Third Century AD.
The True Memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp
Fri, Apr 01, 2011
Adrienne Sharp entered the world of ballet at age seven and trained at the prestigious Harkness Ballet in New York. She received her M.A. with honors from the Writing Seminars at the Johns Hopkins University. She has been a fiction fellow at MacDowell, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Squaw Valley Writer’s Conference. She is the author of White Swan, Black Swan and The Sleeping Beauty.
*Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie
Fri, Apr 01, 2011
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestselling Medicus, Terra Incognita, and most recently Persona Non Grata. She is married with two sons and lives in Milton Keynes, England.
Vlad by C.C. Humphreys
Tue, Mar 01, 2011
C.C. Humphreys is the author of eight previous novels including THE FRENCH EXECUTIONER, which was runner-up for the CWA STEEL DAGGER. His series of Jack Absolute novels have been published in many languages around the world. He lives with his family in Vancouver, Canada.
Amandine by Marlena DiBlasi
Mon, Feb 28, 2011
Marlena de Blasi, who has worked as a chef and as a food and wine consultant, lives in Italy, where she plans and conducts gastronomic tours of its various regions. She is the author of four previous memoirs—That Summer in Sicily, A Thousand Days in Venice, A Thousand Days in Tuscany, and The Lady in the Palazzo—as well as three books on the foods of Italy.
*The Hittite by Ben Bova
Wed, Dec 01, 2010
A six-time winner of science fiction’s Hugo Award, a former editor of Analog and former fiction editor of Omni, and a past president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America, BEN BOVA is the author of over a hundred works of science fact and fiction.
The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
Wed, Dec 01, 2010
Conn Iggulden is the author of three novels about Genghis Khan, as well as the Emperor novels. He is also the coauthor of the bestseller The Dangerous Book for Boys. He lives with his wife and children in Hertfordshire, England.
*The Heretic's Wife by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
Wed, Dec 01, 2010
BRENDA RICKMAN VANTREASE is a former English teacher and librarian whose bestselling debut, The Illuminator, was translated into over a dozen languages. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
Wed, Sep 01, 2010
Kate Grenville is one of Australia's best-loved authors. Her works of fiction have won numerous awards both in Australia and internationally. THE IDEA OF PERFECTION won the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction and became a long-running bestseller. In 2006 THE SECRET RIVER won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Kate Grenville lives in Sydney, Australia.
The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry
Wed, Sep 01, 2010
Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.
*The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen
Wed, Sep 01, 2010
Lynn Cullen is the author of the young adult novel I Am Rembrandt's Daughter, an ALA Best Book of 2008, and several other acclaimed books for children. She lives with her husband in Atlanta.
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
A. S. Byatt is the author of numerous novels, including the quartet The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman; The Biographer's Tale; and Possession, which was awarded the Booker Prize. She has also written two novellas, published together as Angels & Insects; five collections of shorter works, including The Matisse Stories and Little Black Book of Stories; and several works of nonfiction. A distinguished critic as well as a novelist, she lives in London.
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
Elizabeth Gaskell, like her friend Charles Dickens, wrote socially relevant novels during the Victorian Era. North and South is one of her best known. Her final work, Wives and Daughters, was reviewed in the May edition of SoundCommentary
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of eight novels, including, most recently, Zorro, Portrait in Sepia, and Daughter of Fortune. She has also written a collection of stories; three memoirs, including My Invented Country and Paula; and a trilogy of children's novels. Her books have been translated into more than twenty-seven languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Isabel Allende lives in California.
Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
Belinda Alexandra is the daughter of a Russian mother and an Australian father. She has lived in New York, California and Melbourne and has a Masters degree in Creative Writing and a BA in Asian Studies. She currently lives in Sydney and is studying French and ballroom dancing.
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
Kate Walbert is the author of Where She Went, a New York Times Notable Book of 1998; The Gardens of Kyoto, winner of the Connecticut Book Award for fiction in 2002; and Our Kind, finalist for the National Book Award in 2004. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and numerous other publications. She lives in New York City and Connecticut with her family.
The King's Mistress by Emma Campion
Sun, Aug 01, 2010
EMMA CAMPION did her graduate work in medieval and Anglo-Saxon literature and is the world's foremost scholar on Alice Perrers. She lives in Seattle.
*The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell
Thu, Jul 01, 2010
Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Agincourt; the bestselling Saxon Tales, which include The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, and Sword Song; and the Richard Sharpe novels, among many others. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod.
Warrior by Allan Mallinson
Thu, Jul 01, 2010
Allan Mallinson is a former infantry and cavalry officer of thirty-five years' service. He is also the author of Light Dragoons, a history of four regiments of British Cavalry, one of which he commanded, and which has recently been revised and updated. As well as writing on defense matters for The Times (UK) and formerly for the Daily Telegraph (UK), he is a regular reviewer for The Times, the Spectator and the Literary Review.
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Thu, Jul 01, 2010
Dolen Perkins-Valdez's fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, African American Review, North Carolina Literary Review, and the Richard Wright Newsletter. Born and raised in Memphis, a graduate of Harvard, and a former University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellow, Perkins-Valdez teaches creative writing at the University of Puget Sound. She splits her time between Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Washington. This is her first novel.
*Heresy by S.J. Parris
Tue, Jun 01, 2010
S. J. PARRIS (pseudonym of British journalist Stephanie Merritt) is a contributing journalist for various newspapers and magazines including the Observer, the Guardian, and the New Statesman.
Assassins of Athens by Jeffrey Siger
Tue, Jun 01, 2010
Jeffrey Siger, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, practiced law at a major Wall Street law firm and, while there, served as Special Counsel to the citizens group responsible for reporting on New York City’s prison conditions. He left Wall Street to establish his own New York City law firm and continued as one of its name partners. Now he lives and writes full-time in Mykonos, his adopted home of 25 years.
*The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor
Sat, May 01, 2010
Steven Saylor is the author of the New York Times best-seller Roma, as well as the previous books in the Roma sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder. His books have been published around the world, in twenty languages and been bestsellers in many of them. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and Austin Texas.
*The Information Officer by Mark Mills
Thu, Apr 01, 2010
Mark Mills is the author of The Savage Garden, a #1 bestseller in the United Kingdom, and Amagansett, which was published in a dozen countries and received the John Creasy Memorial Dagger Award. A graduate of Cambridge University, he lives in Oxford with his wife and their two children.
Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy
Mon, Feb 01, 2010
In 1958 Jean Ellroy was murdered, her body dumped on a roadway in a seedy L.A. suburb. Her killer was never found, and the police dismissed her as a casualty of a cheap Saturday night. James Ellroy was ten when his mother died, and he spent the next thirty-six years running from her ghost and attempting to exorcize it through crime fiction. In 1994, Ellroy quit running. He went back to L.A., to find out the truth about his mother--and himself.
Outcasts United by Warren St. John
Mon, Feb 01, 2010
Warren St. John is a reporter for The New York Times and the author of the national bestseller Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer.
White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Ellen Klages lives in San Francisco, California.
Sacred Hearts by Sara Dunant
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestsellers The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan, which have received major acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions, and Mapping the Edge, all three of which are available as Random House Trade Paperbacks. She has two daughters and lives in London and Florence.
* The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
WALLACE STEGNER (1903-1993) was the author of many books of fiction and non-fiction, including the National Book Award-winning The Spectator Bird (1976) and Crossing to Safety. Angle of Repose won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971.
*Turbulence by Giles Foden
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Giles Foden was born in 1967 in England and spent his youth in Malawi. Between 1990 and 2006 he worked as an editor at The Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian. His 1998 book,The Last King of Scotland, won the Whitbread First Novel Award and was later made into a feature film. His second novel, Ladysmith, is set in South Africa during the Boer War. He is a journalist, contributing regularly to the Guardian and book review editor for Conde Nast Traveller Magazine.
*The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by Davi d Mitchell
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
David Mitchell is one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2003. His first novel, Ghostwritten, won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and his second, number9dream, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lives in Herefordshire, England.
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Philippa Gregory is the author of several New York Times bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen’s Fool, The Virgin’s Lover, The Constant Princess, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Other Queen, and now The Cousins’ War books which include The White Queen and The Red Queen. She lives in England.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Philippa Gregory is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance. A writer and broadcaster for radio and television, she lives in England. She welcomes visitors and messages at her website, www.philippagregory.com. Amazon.