Historical Fiction Library

Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.

Read by Fenella Woolgar, known for her role as Sister Hilda in BBC series Call the Midwife. Three women united by their love of books. One library that has the power to change lives, even in wartime . . . When Juliet begins work ats Bethnal Green Library, she discovers it is far from the...

Finding an old manuscript in the attic has always been a fantasy of Sylvia’s. She just never expected the fantasy to come true, or for it to lead her to answers about her mysterious family.

Two women, torn apart by war. One shared belief in the power of books... London, 1939. When war breaks out on librarian Joyce Kindred's doorstep and a call for help rings out across the libraries of London, she's determined to act. Joyce knows only the world of books can offer safety and comfort...

War brings them together. Liberation will tear them apart. A POWERFUL PORTRAIT OF WAR. A HEARTBREAKING STORY OF LOVE. THE EXTRAORDINARY NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF WHILE PARIS SLEPT. Paris 1944. Elise Chevalier knows what it is to love...and to hate. Her fiancé, a young French soldier, was...

When a set of bound manuscripts written on magician-made paper is brought to the Glass Library, Sylvia and the professor send the owner away. After all, the library collects books about magic, not containing it. But the murder of the bookbinder who bound them sees the books returned to the library, along with Gabe in his role as consultant for Scotland Yard. When his investigation uncovers a link to Sylvia’s past, they’re even more determined to find the murderer. But they’re not the only ones searching for answers.

An ancient family diary. A timely prophecy. An epic conclusion. As Sylvia prepares to meet Gabe’s parents for the first time, the last thing she needs is for her long-lost father to cause trouble. While his answers to her questions finally bring clarity, they also usher in danger. But that's not all her elusive father brings into Sylvia's life. His treasured gift of an ancient journal passed down through the generations, connects her to the past with its mystical spells and captivating stories.

With her sharpened magical senses, Sylvia recognizes invisible writing while cataloging an obscure book for the library. She’s shocked to discover the message, written many years earlier, pleaded for help. She’s even more shocked to discover the author of the message was married to a paper magician. Could there be a connection to Sylvia’s father? With a magical mystery on her hands, Sylvia engages the help of Gabe Glass, and together they follow the clues to the location of two hidden ledgers that implicate a very dangerous individual in an illegal bookmaking scheme.

London, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country's only underground library, built over the railway tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a whole community thrives: with hundreds of bunk beds...

This novel centres on the friendship of William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and the elderly Lord Nantwich, who is searching for someone to write his biography.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the...

A road trip with Gabe and her friends leads Sylvia to discover more about her mother’s veiled past yet throws up several questions, too. The stack of unopened letters addressed to her family will hopefully provide answers. As she delves into the contents, a startling revelation emerges: the letters allude to a clandestine union between two magician families, hinting at the elusive identity of Sylvia’s father. Full of hope, she embarks on a quest to find the author of the letters.

Have you ever wondered why first impressions are so often wrong, and why love has a way of finding us when we least expect it? Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a brilliant dissection of human nature and the delicate dance of courtship. In a world where financial security depends on marriage, Elizabeth Bennet refuses to settle. When the enigmatic Mr. Darcy arrives, their initial clash of pride and prejudice gives way to one of literature's most compelling emotional journeys.

Birmingham, 1858: Dora, a spirited young maid with a vivid imagination, finds solace in the library of the esteemed family she works for. But when a forbidden love leads to a secret that could ruin her, Dora has no choice but to leave the only place that has ever offered her security and...

In the spirit of the author’s massively popular Twitter thread, Tucker Shaw’s When You Call My Name is a heartrending novel about two gay teens coming of age in New York City in 1990 at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H. K. Choi. Film fanatic...

*BASED ON A TRUE STORY, CONTAINS 50+ PAGES OF EXTRA CONTENT ON THE REAL PEOPLE THE BOOK IS INSPIRED BY* Jersey, 1943. When the German Army invades the tranquil island, librarian Grace La Motée is determined to keep her services running. Ordered to destroy books which threaten the Nazi regime...

Rolf, son of Hiarandi the Unlucky, is a character who exemplifies the effect of Christ's teachings upon the Icelandic people during their heroic age. The book is set in Iceland in the days when Christianity has come to the island though the old customs still linger. Hiarandi, at the urging of his wife, does an unprecedented thing: he lights a signal fire on a dangerous point of his land, thereby challenging the accepted custom which places lucrative salvage at higher value than the saving of life.

New York Times Bestseller! "Masterly crafted"—The Wall Street Journal For readers of Between Shades of Gray and All the Light We Cannot See, bestselling author Ruta Sepetys returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies...

From the Newbery Award-winning author of The Moorchild comes an enchanting historical adventure, set in ancient Egypt, where a brave young slave girl has agreed to spy for her enemies—until she falls for one of them. “Dangerous espionage, an unusual love story, and richly drawn background...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A critically acclaimed, multi-layered young adult romance set in the perilous days of World Wars I and II, where gods hold the fates—and the hearts—of four mortals in their hands. “Pick an adjective—sweeping, sprawling, epic, Olympian—and yet none quite...