Historical Biographical Fiction

England 1066. The Battle of Hastings is over. The Battle for England is about to begin. King Harold and most of England’s warriors lie dead on the battle-field and William, Duke of Normandy is marching towards London. Refusing to surrender, the English leaders turn to the one person they believe can unite the kingdom against the invaders. Edgar Atheling, the last surviving descendent of Alfred the Great, is proclaimed King of England. He is only thirteen years of age. Edgar leads an English army to meet William in battle. But when they see the strength of the Normans his advisers desert ...

"Once again, David Philips has produced an intriguing counter-history in a narrative that would rival the efforts of Hollywood legends." -Carolyn Korsmeyer, author of Little Follies If you think Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are the first royal couple to alienate themselves from their family, you couldn't be more wrong. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, the former British king, Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson, not only distanced themselves from their royal household. Edward, now styled the Duke of Windsor after his abdication, actively colluded with Britain's enemies...

Author Stephen Harrigan returns to his historical fiction roots, reimagining Abraham Lincoln's early life, when he was a young lawyer and rising politician in Springfield, Illinois. Told from the point of view of Lincoln's best friend, it starts during the Blackhawk War (in which Lincoln served) and ends in the mid-1840s, when Lincoln goes off to Washington after being elected to Congress, and his friend heads west with the Donner party.

Inspired by the extraordinary true stories of World War II’s American Army nurses famously known as the Angels of Bataan and the unsung contributions of Filipinas of the resistance, this novel transports us to a remarkable era of hope, bravery, perseverance, and ultimately—victory.

1st Place in the Readers Choice Awards 2022 - "A compelling and captivating read.” The friendship that changed the destiny of a nation… In the waning years of the thirteenth century, two young noblemen form a bond that forever changes their destiny and that of Scotland’s. Their shared pledge of honor would endure for a lifetime to secure power in the Isles for Angus Og Macdonald and a crown for Robert Bruce. This is the story of their friendship, their times and the battle that secured their future. Standing beside them would be two women from Ireland, Áine O’Cahan, the dark-haired...

In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all. W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart.

The year is 1590, and Queen Elizabeth's Spanish Armada victory has done nothing to quell her brutal persecution of the English Catholics. Katharine de L'Isle is living at Lufanwal Hall, the manor of her uncle, Sir Edward. Taught by her cherished uncle to read when a child, Katharine is now a 31-year-old widow. She has resigned herself to a life of reading and keeping company with her cousins and their children.

The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman. Miyamoto Musashi becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and by whom he has been touched. Inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival.

King Alfred was their lord and protector – until savagery shatters the bonds of love and loyalty. Twins Ulf and Inga have risen quickly in the service of King Alfred of Wessex. Ulf is a King’s-thegn, one of his trusted household warriors. Inga is servant and friend of the King’s eldest daughter Aethelflaed. The peace between Alfred and Guthrum, King of Danelaw East Anglia still holds. But when the Norse chieftain Hrólfr attacks Ulf’s village it unleashes a chain of events which will change forever the lives of Ulf, Inga and their friends. Ulf falls prey to powerful demons and loses...

Del Wensley, wife of the most celebrated preacher in Harlan County, tries to mind her place. Until her husband’s infidelity pushes an already strained marriage to a breaking point. Clinging to her last hope for self-respect, Del turns her back on the rigid life she’s known. A coal train is rolling through the valley. With her eyes wide open to the unfamiliar, and to the freedom she craves, Del takes to the rails.

Married to King Henry III at a young age, Eleanor of Provence navigates a world fraught with court intrigue and baronial wrath. A devoted mother, she defies the monks to care for her ailing son, future king Edward I. A loyal friend to family members, she incurs the jealousy of the nobles, the anger of the common folk. As Simon de Montfort's popularity rises and Henry's wanes, Eleanor must decipher friend from foe. Will her son Edward free his captive father at Evesham? Will Eleanor’s own legacy endure, or fade away like whispers in the wind? Today, Eleanor of Provence is lost to time, one...

Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds.

James, Lord of Douglas, known to his foes as the Black Douglas, leads a flank of the Scottish army in crushing a vast invading English force at the waters of the Bannockburn. Fresh from battle, James revels in honors heaped on him by the Scots and in the hatred of the enemy. When King Robert the Bruce orders him to push their advantage and force the English to the peace table, they both know the only way James can do so is by fire and the sword - the only language King Edward of England understands.

Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home.

Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survives. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.

In September of 1892, Oscar Wilde and his family retreated to the idyllic Norfolk countryside for a holiday. His wife, Constance, has every reason to be happy: two beautiful sons, a stellar reputation as an advocate for progressive causes, and a delightfully charming and affectionate husband and father, who is perhaps the most famous man in England. But as an assortment of houseguests arrive, including an aristocratic young wannabe poet named Lord Alfred Douglas, Constance gradually—and then all at once—comes to see that her husband's heart is elsewhere.

An “extraordinary” (New York Review of Books) novel based on the true story of how German war profiteer and factory director Oskar Schindler came to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other single person during World War II. In this milestone of Holocaust literature, Thomas Keneally, author of The Book of Science and Antiquities and The Daughter of Mars, uses the actual testimony of the Schindlerjuden — Schindler’s Jews — to brilliantly portray the courage and cunning of a good man in the midst of unspeakable evil.

Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo da Pavia return to Florence hoping for peace and quiet. It is not to be! An unwanted gift greets Leonardo as he enters his workshop. The gift he knows comes with “strings” but not accepting it could come with dire consequences. A debt to Cesare Borgia is incurred. Meanwhile, Florence is in turmoil, religious, social and political unrest leads to violence in the streets. Most horrifying – famous paintings are discovered slashed and burned, and sculptures are reduced to rubble. Which one of the disruptive forces terrorizing the city could be responsible. ...

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists.

Love. Scandal. Tragedy. When Maddy weds the wealthy and influential John Jacob Astor IV, she believes she is stepping into a life of privilege, passion, and promise. But beneath the dazzling façade of high society, whispers of scandal, resentment, and betrayal threaten to pull her under. Shunned by New York’s elite for marrying a man nearly three decades her senior, Madeleine soon realizes that love in the gilded age comes at a price. As the Astors embark on their homeward voyage aboard the RMS Titanic, fate sets a course neither could have foreseen. Amid the grandeur of the world’s ...