Step into one of history’s most vibrant and varied periods, the 19th century, with historical fiction titles that capture the essence of a tumultuous time when many were experiencing the industrial revolution, westward expansion, civil war and more.
“Historical Fiction Set in the 19th Century” is one of the themes for this year’s Amazing Book Challenge, which encourages adult and teen readers to broaden their reading interests by discovering new subjects, series, or authors.
For a full list of recommendations and to see the rest of this year’s themes, go to www.naperville-lib.org/ABC.
“Daughter of Fortune” by Isabel Allende
Raised in the British colony of Valparaíso, Chile, English orphan Eliza Sommers meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín Andieta, a lowly clerk with ambitious dreams. When gold is discovered in the hills of northern California, Eliza and Joaquín head north to seek their fortune. Amongst the wicked world of greedy men, Eliza soon discovers that her search for love has become a quest for personal freedom.
“Carolina Built” by Kianna Alexander
When Josephine moves to North Carolina from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams. As the demands of life tear at Josephine’s attention, she struggles to balance her real estate aspirations with the realities of daily life. With each passing year, it grows more difficult to focus on building her legacy from the ground up. Moving and inspiring, Josephine Leary’s untold story speaks to the part of us that dares to dream bigger, tear down whatever stands in our way and build something better for the loved ones we leave behind.
“The Lioness of Boston” by Emily Franklin
Young Isabella Stewart Gardner, a newcomer to Boston, craved the approval of the city’s elite. However, tragedy and societal rejection forced her to forge a new path of travel and intellectual pursuits. From London to Asia, Isabella developed a discerning eye for art, befriended feminists and shed societal expectations. Transformed into a flamboyant rebel, she commissioned a daring portrait by John Singer Sargent and even walked lions in public. “The Lioness of Boston” is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled.
“Hold Fast” by J. H. Gelernter
The year is 1803, and the British Secret Service contends with a belligerent France under Napoleon. The service suffers a blow in the loss of a prime agent, Thomas Grey, who–despondent at his wife’s untimely death–resigns from British Intelligence and departs England for Boston, where he intends to become a lumber merchant. His plan to start a new life is thrown abruptly off course when a French intelligence network attempts to recruit him as an informer, exposing a grave new threat to Britain that Grey can’t ignore.
“The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma, becomes a botanist of considerable gifts. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction–into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist–but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.
“Circus of Wonders” by Elizabeth Macneal
1866. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea. When Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is sold by her father. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her. In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. But who gets to tell Nell’s story and what happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her?
“What the Lady Wants” by Renée Rosen
In late-19th century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer and led to an infamous love affair. Leading the way in rebuilding after the Great Fire, Marshall Field reopens his well-known dry goods store and transforms it into something the world has never seen before: a glamorous palace of a department store. Delia and Marshall first turn to each other out of loneliness, but as their love deepens, they will stand together despite disgrace and ostracism, through an age of devastation and opportunity, when an adolescent Chicago is transformed into the gleaming White City of Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893.
Ashlee Conour is the marketing specialist at Naperville Public Library.
