The past, a vast and intricate tapestry, beckons us with its untold stories and forgotten lives. What if we could step through a portal and witness history firsthand? That’s the magic of historical fiction, a genre that masterfully blends factual events with imaginative narratives, allowing us to time travel through pages and experience bygone eras. From the grandeur of ancient empires to the intimate struggles of ordinary people, these books offer a unique window into the past, transporting us to worlds both familiar and foreign. Join me as we embark on a journey through some of my favorite historical fiction novels, where history comes alive and the past feels remarkably present.
Who She Left Behind
A BookLife Editor’s Pick!
“Who She Left Behind” is a captivating historical fiction novel that spans multiple generations and delves into the emotional lives of its characters.
Set in various time periods, from the declining days of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey to Armenian communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts during the 1990s, the book provides a deep immersion into a lesser-known era. The story revolves around themes of survival, motherhood, and love, drawing inspiration from the author’s own family history. The narrative is framed by a mysterious discovery of Armenian dolls at Victoria’s grave many years later, which leads her on a quest for redemption as an immigrant, wife, sister, and aunt.
If you love “The Sandcastle Girls” by Chris Bohjalian, “Orhan’s Inheritance” by Aline Ohanesian, “Rise the Euphrates” by Carol Edgarian, or “All The Light There Was” by Nancy Kricorian, then this book is for you!
“Victoria Waterman’s captivating debut is a searing, multi-generational account of one family’s legacy of love, trauma and resilience. With events unfolding in Massachusetts, modern Turkey and the Syrian desert, Who She Left Behind, is a harrowing tale of the Armenian Genocide which highlights the female voices long since erased or forgotten from history. Waterman breathes life into her characters, mothers and daughters separated and displaced by war, who join forces to uncover and heal historical and familial wounds. Her sumptuous writing and uncommon wisdom about the human spirit will haunt readers as much as it beguiles them. Who She Left Behind is a book about the beauty and terror of what it means to be human.” – Aline Ohanesian, author of “Orhan’s Inheritance”
No Place For Us (The Aeternum Saga Book 1)
The year is 1792. Four strangers climb on board the Endeavor, the last ship out for the season filled with immigrating passengers, a stout crew, and cargo for their new lives. The journey promises to be one of hopeful expectation for: the new apprentice doctor, a timid but aspiring preacher, one arrogantly displaced Frenchman, and a Spanish blacksmith who has spent the majority of his life under an oppressive prejudice. A Christmas arrival in the colonies complete with everything they have been dreaming about awaits them on the other side of the ocean.
Yet a sudden turn of events upends all their carefully laid plans, erasing whatever last shred of hope remains for that future. Fighting against a hurricane that is tearing apart the very means of their survival, the four men find themselves unexpectedly marooned on an unfamiliar island, dealing with the aftermath of sinister forces that have threatened on more than one occasion to end their very lives.
Whether they want to or not, each man is now forced to come to terms with the dark creature that he has become and accept certain new truths regarding his physical and spiritual limitations. Can the doctor still practice medicine when the very treatments he uses drag him closer to the darkness he is trying to escape? Does God still have a plan and a purpose for the preacher, or has he been forced onto a very different timeline than what God had ever intended? Is the blacksmith willing to risk the very safety of his family in order to return to them, or must he now accept a life of solitude like the man who rescued them? And finally, will the French prisoner find what he is searching for as he embraces his new identity, or will his selfish choices only serve to destroy him from the inside out like all the others before him?
As events unfold, though other questions and trials do persist, each man must also find the answer within himself for only one question alone. One overarching theme that will forever motivate his decisions and choices thereafter—
Do I want to live forever?
Maya’s Quest (Timeless Journeys Book 1)
From the year 3000 BC comes a thrilling time travel tale about an unexpected friendship and forbidden love. Two women: a future time traveler and the free-spirited daughter of the village chief find themselves in a race against time.
Maya’s encounter with time traveller Marvi will have far-reaching consequences, influencing not just her community but also future generations. Following an accident, Maya learns more about Marvi and finds herself falling in love for the first time. Marvi’s predicament has repercussions beyond anything Maya could have imagined. It’s a race against time to repair the timeline before everything changes.
The Chronocar: An Urban Adventure In Time
Imagine being born the son of a slave with the mind of a genius. That was Simmie Johnson in the years following the Civil War. After a perilous escape from lynch mobs in Mississippi, he manages to earn a PhD in physics at Tuskegee, and in his research discovers the secret of time travel. He develops a design for a time machine called a Chronocar, but the technology required to make it work does not yet exist.Fast forward 125 years. A young African American Illinois Tech student in Chicago finds Dr. Johnson’s plans and builds a Chronocar. He goes back to the year 1919 to meet the doctor and his beautiful daughter, Ollie, who live in Chicago’s Black Belt, now known as Bronzeville. But he has chosen an unfortunate time in the past and becomes involved in the bloodiest race riot in Chicago’s history. 2015 Black Science Fiction Society Book of the Month2018 Best Indie Book Literary Award, Science Fiction Category2019 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner
Hidden in the Roof: A Story of Resistance, Heroism, and Sacrifice in the Second World War
He’s a proud Nazi soldier. She’s a half-Jewish woman, keeping her identity hidden in the shadows. And they are married. In the heart of Munich during World War II, Adelaide Strauss has a mission. Inspired to join the Nazi Resistance and covertly fight against Hitler and his hateful regime, she undertakes dangerous and treasonous assignments for the organization. From stealing her husband’s classified letters to hiding people in her home, Adelaide must balance her allegiance to her husband, country, family, and persecuted people. Adelaide often wonders what fate awaits her if her husband finds out that he’s married to a Jewish woman and that he’s unwittingly harboring enemies of the Third Reich in his home. All goes well until one fateful September morning when secrets are revealed, lives are at stake, and Adelaide’s entire world comes crashing down in a few dramatic hours.
*Please note: In the book, Adelaide and her husband were married in 1932, seven years before World War II began. The Nazis did promote anti-semitic ideology as their political party strengthened, but their campaign against the Jews greatly intensified in 1933 when Hitler became Chancellor. It started with the National Boycott of Jewish Businesses in 1933. While largely unsuccessful, they had made their point clear: that Jewish people were not welcome in Germany and beyond. The Nuremberg Laws were introduced in 1935, followed by Kristallnacht in 1938. If Adelaide felt hesitant to reveal her heritage to her husband before any of these anti-Jewish laws and pogroms, she definitely would not want to now. Staying silent and continuing to outwardly support her husband’s job and political affiliations was her best chance for survival.
And so, we return from our literary time-traveling expeditions, leaving behind the echoes of historical voices and the lingering images of bygone eras. These stories, with their meticulous research and captivating narratives, have not only entertained but also enlightened, reminding us that the past is not just a distant memory but a living, breathing entity that continues to shape our present. I hope this exploration of historical fiction has ignited your own curiosity about the past and inspired you to embark on your own literary journeys through time. May your reading adventures be filled with discovery, empathy, and a deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry of human history.