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On a train from Ukraine to Germany, Lisa Smirnova is terrified for her life. The train is under Nazi command, heading for one of Hitler’s rumored labor camps. As she is taken away from everything she holds dear, Lisa wonders if she will ever see her family again. Meanwhile, in Nazi-occupied Kiev, Irina Antonova risks her life by secretly helping her neighbors while her husband has joined the Soviet partisans, who are working to stop the Germans. When Lisa’s train is intercepted by the partisans, Irina’s husband among them, these women’s lives will take an unimaginable turn.
I don’t know about you, but with the nights getting dark earlier and earlier and the cold creeping in, I’m definitely in need of some uplifting books to read right now. And those can be a little harder to come by when it comes to historical fiction. There’s a lot to be said for sad books and stories that explore difficult topics, but somethings you just need something a little lighter. That’s certainly where I’ve been lately.
And while these historical fiction books are cover to cover sunshine and daisies, they’re still overall pretty heartfelt and uplifting. So if you’re looking for some easy historical fiction reading on these dark winter days, maybe give one of these five gems a try.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
While her father works as a lexicographer for the first Oxford English Dictionary, Esme begins secretly collecting cast off words. The first word she rescues from the floor is ‘‘bondmaid’ and from there she discovered a whole world of overlooked words–mostly words describing women in a field being dictated by men.
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
Take a tour through the bawdy criminal underworld of eighteenth-century London as an increasingly unhinged professor tries to authenticate a mysterious manuscript that may depict the only known confession of an infamous jailbreaking criminal from the 1700s. It’s an imaginative retelling of Brecht’s Threepenny Opera all about gender, love, and liberation.
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
Open up an electrifying oral history of a fictional rock duo from the 1970s following their meteoric rise to fame, sensational breakup, and the highly publicized and politicized concert riot at the end of their career. As the duo considers reuniting decades later, the first Black editor of a storied music magazine jumps at the opportunity to take down an oral history of her musical idol. Sunny thought she knew everything there was to know about Opal, but full truth of the story will surprise even her.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Most of you have probably already heard of this cozy historical fiction novel about an author searching for a new book to write after WWII, but if you haven’t you’re in for a real treat. As London emerges from the shadow of war, Juliet begins exchanging letters with a community in the island of Guernsey who survived German occupation by claiming to be part of a book club.
When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky by Margaret Verble
The Glendale Park Zoo becomes the new home of Two Feathers, a young Cherokee horse-diver, in 1920s Nashville. When disaster and strange occurrences begin haunting the park and its performers, Two and an eclectic cast of characters have to dig into the past to face off against lingering spirits.
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If you want to talk books (historical or otherwise), you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, Litsy, and occasionally Twitter.
Right now I’m reading The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa. What about you?