For Historic Fiction Connoisseurs
Explore the finest historic fiction books for connoisseurs—curated list of must-read novels that bring history to life with rich storytelling and authenticity.
Book
I Am Madame X
by Gioia Diliberto
When John Singer Sargent unveiled Madame X -- his famous portrait of American beauty Virginie Gautreau -- at the 1884 Paris Salon, its subject's bold …
Book
Life Mask
by Emma Donoghue
In eighteenth-century England, the eccentric widow Mrs. Damer works as the period's only woman sculptor, the horse race innovator Lord Derby endures public mockery, and …
Book
Slammerkin
by Emma Donoghue
Mary Saunders' lust for linen, lace and a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution.
Book
The Lady and the Unicorn
by Tracy Chevalier
A tour de force of history and imagination, The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art …
Book
The Birth of Venus
by Sarah Dunant
Turning fifteen in Renaissance Florence, Alessandra Cecchi becomes intoxicated with the works of a young painter whom her father has brought to the city to …
Book
A Conspiracy of Paper
by David Liss
Benjamin Weaver, a Jew and an ex-boxer, is an outsider in eighteenth-century London, tracking down debtors and felons for aristocratic clients. The son of a …
Book
Possession
by A. S. Byatt
BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A tale of two young scholars researching the secret love affair of two Victorian poets that's an exhilarating …
Book
My Dearest Cecelia
by Diane Haeger
As she enters the Commencement Ball at West Point on a spring evening in 1837, Cecelia Stovall looks and feels like the perfect, innocent Southern …
Book
The Secret Wife of King George IV
by Diane Haeger
A fictional portrait of Maria Fitzherbert chronicles the passionate love affair and secret wedding of King George IV with a beautiful Catholic woman whose marriage …
Book
The Passion of Artemisia
by Susan Vreeland
"Susan Vreeland set a high standard with Girl in Hyacinth Blue.... The Passion of Artemisia is even better.... Vreeland's unsentimental prose turns the factual Artemisia …
Book
Girl in Hyacinth Blue
by Susan Vreeland
The New York Times bestselling luminous tale about art and human experience that is as breathtaking as any Vermeer painting “A little gem of a …