5 new historical novels that whisk you away to another century

Washington Post

02-05-2025

The 20th century looms large in this selection of five new historical novels. Momentous events — the sinking of the Titanic, life after World War I, the Hollywood blacklists — shape the lives of protagonists in stories that are both relatable and enlightening.
As literary editor of the NAACP's magazine 'The Crisis,' Jessie Redmon Fauset was pivotal in championing the poets and authors of the Harlem Renaissance, nurturing the works of authors whose names remain familiar to us today: Nella Larsen, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer and Countee Cullen among them. Murray's fictionalized account of Fauset's life shows that she was battling not only racism and misogyny but also rumors about her love life and relationship with the magazine's founder and editor, W.E.B. Du Bois. In tracing Fauset's journey, Murray artfully re-creates the excitement and exhilaration of Harlem at the blossoming of its literary and cultural heyday.
As literary editor of the NAACP's magazine 'The Crisis,' Jessie Redmon Fauset was pivotal in championing the poets and authors of the Harlem Renaissance, nurturing the works of authors whose names remain familiar to us today: Nella Larsen, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer and Countee Cullen among them. Murray's fictionalized account of Fauset's life shows that she was battling not only racism and misogyny but also rumors about her love life and relationship with the magazine's founder and editor, W.E.B. Du Bois. In tracing Fauset's journey, Murray artfully re-creates the excitement and exhilaration of Harlem at the blossoming of its literary and cultural heyday.
Elinor Coombes, an unhappily married British aristocrat, finds a new life in a most unusual way. She and her infant son survive the sinking of the Titanic, and taking on new identities, start over in New York. Quinn's third novel, the first to be published in the United States, skillfully contrasts the claustrophobic world of Britain's upper classes with the bustle of New York City in the early 20th century. Despite its crowds, hubbub and packed tenements, the city proves a place where secrets and lies all too easily come bubbling to the surface as Elinor tries to build her new existence.
Elinor Coombes, an unhappily married British aristocrat, finds a new life in a most unusual way. She and her infant son survive the sinking of the Titanic, and taking on new identities, start over in New York. Quinn's third novel, the first to be published in the United States, skillfully contrasts the claustrophobic world of Britain's upper classes with the bustle of New York City in the early 20th century. Despite its crowds, hubbub and packed tenements, the city proves a place where secrets and lies all too easily come bubbling to the surface as Elinor tries to build her new existence.
In mid-1950s California, actress Melanie Cole finds herself in exile in Malibu, her reputation tarnished by recent association with a blacklisted Hollywood star. Hiding out in her rented mansion, Melanie's only company is her reticent Eastern European housekeeper Eva, her agoraphobia screenwriter neighbor Elwood and his sister-in-law June. But Eva and June harbor secrets of their own, the truth of which could shatter the lives of all three women. Set over the course of three sultry December weeks, Meissner's fast-paced story deftly captures how the Red Scare unsettled Hollywood and beyond.
In mid-1950s California, actress Melanie Cole finds herself in exile in Malibu, her reputation tarnished by recent association with a blacklisted Hollywood star. Hiding out in her rented mansion, Melanie's only company is her reticent Eastern European housekeeper Eva, her agoraphobia screenwriter neighbor Elwood and his sister-in-law June. But Eva and June harbor secrets of their own, the truth of which could shatter the lives of all three women. Set over the course of three sultry December weeks, Meissner's fast-paced story deftly captures how the Red Scare unsettled Hollywood and beyond.
Fact and memory are woven with imagination in this work of memoir-come-fiction. Peggy, a woman in her 60s, lies in her bedroom, cancer ravaging her body but not her mind. Summoning up her memories of the final tragic year of World War I, Peggy longs to share with her granddaughter what she remembers from the cataclysmal year of 1918, when the boy she loved was sent to fight in Europe and her city succumbed to savagery, followed shortly by sickness. Kephart approaches her grandmother's story with compassion, patching over the gaps in the history with her own interpretations to create a tender story of one woman's life.
Fact and memory are woven with imagination in this work of memoir-come-fiction. Peggy, a woman in her 60s, lies in her bedroom, cancer ravaging her body but not her mind. Summoning up her memories of the final tragic year of World War I, Peggy longs to share with her granddaughter what she remembers from the cataclysmal year of 1918, when the boy she loved was sent to fight in Europe and her city succumbed to savagery, followed shortly by sickness. Kephart approaches her grandmother's story with compassion, patching over the gaps in the history with her own interpretations to create a tender story of one woman's life.
It may seem hard to believe, but Oxford University only began awarding women degrees in 1920. Miller's debut novel, set in this pivotal year, follows four young women housed on Corridor Eight of the university's St. Hugh's College as they navigate life away from home. Despite their enthusiasm for their studies, they encounter an Oxford that isn't always welcoming and where they must learn to navigate the university's sometimes archaic rules and misogynistic encounters with male students. Miller, an Oxford graduate, takes a sympathetic hand in crafting these four equally compelling women. Marianne, Otto, Dora and Beatrice are each hampered by pasts that loom over their present — and threaten to overshadow their futures.
Kat Trigarszky writes historical fiction under the pen name of Katharine Rogers.
It may seem hard to believe, but Oxford University only began awarding women degrees in 1920. Miller's debut novel, set in this pivotal year, follows four young women housed on Corridor Eight of the university's St. Hugh's College as they navigate life away from home. Despite their enthusiasm for their studies, they encounter an Oxford that isn't always welcoming and where they must learn to navigate the university's sometimes archaic rules and misogynistic encounters with male students. Miller, an Oxford graduate, takes a sympathetic hand in crafting these four equally compelling women. Marianne, Otto, Dora and Beatrice are each hampered by pasts that loom over their present — and threaten to overshadow their futures.
Kat Trigarszky writes historical fiction under the pen name of Katharine Rogers.