Adult Historical Fiction

MONSTER. The word evokes images of fairy tales and horror. But once, in 1850 Philadelphia, it was actually the term commonly used in physician’s case notes for the victims of fire. Conflagrations were common in this period—clothing, especially women’s lace, was highly flammable. Once the flesh was destroyed, there was no cure. These unfortunate souls lived out their lives as MONSTERS, secluded away by family. Once burned flesh gives way to contractures, disfigurements to rival even Bram Stoker’s imagination were born. And the hearts of the people inside the shell perished. Lorelei ...

To Paradise is a fin de siècle novel of marvelous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love—partners, lovers, children, friends, family, and even our fellow citizens—and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

Rhiann knows that demons walk the night. She has been taught to fear them. But from the moment Cade is dragged before her father's throne, beaten and having lost all of his men to her father's treachery, he stirs something inside her that she has never felt before. When Cade is revealed to be not only Arthur's heir but touched by the sidhe, Rhiann must choose between the life she left behind and the one before her - and how much she is willing to risk to follow her heart.

All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation - a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshiping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke. Now, Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage.

Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know if Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her. When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: Hazel has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly granddaughter of King George III.

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the 18-year-old caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when 16-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch.

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories intersect over the course of a romantic Valentine’s Day in medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding and losing love. Arriane pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first - and last - time, Daniel and Luce spend a night together like none other.

Book 4 of The Women In Pants series: When Mary and Katie are kidnapped by a vengeful man and his leering gang, their husbands set out on a ransom-or-rescue mission. But the rest of The Women In Pants are too angry to stay behind, so they reunite for a mission of their own. How long can Mary and Katie keep the lustful men at bay? Can they engineer their own escape? Can their husbands and friends free them before they face a fate worse than death?

In the faith-filled and perilous world of ancient America, Arms of Faith continues the sweeping saga begun in Buried Arms. This powerful sequel follows the descendants of Lamanite converts—families who once buried their weapons in a solemn covenant of peace—as they struggle to protect their children from war while staying true to their faith. Set in the rich historical backdrop drawn from The Book of Mormon, Arms of Faith introduces a new generation of young believers: Amrah, Moleki, Sarah, Zur, and others growing up in the safety of Jershon, unaware of the mounting threats that ...

Now that Sarah has found more Changelings just like her, will they, along with her best friends, Alicia and Ivy, finally defeat Miss Morton and her ever-growing revenant army? Only if they all learn how to work together...easier said than done!

An exploration of ambition and class, autonomy and religion, survival and love, Vesuvius combines the romantic angst of They Both Die at the End and the blended magic and history of The Song of Achilles to show listeners that it is never too late to change your fate—or change the world.

Cairn has finally gained access to the Sanctum…the birthplace of the infernal’s mystic abilities and proving ground for their adolescents, a place filled to the brim with magic and mystery. The power he needs to solidify a major alliance is close at hand. All he needs to do is settle in and prove himself with the help of old friends and new. Simple enough. Or it would be, if Cairn was the only outsider to breach the Sanctum. When he arrives, he discovers an old enemy has sealed the Sanctum from the inside, holding it ransom. Her demands: “Bring me the head of the usurper.”

She's only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she's just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

Secrets deepen, alliances shift—and love is no longer the only risk. As Lady Abigall’s secret romance with Prince Everald grows more serious, she dares to introduce him to the one person she trusts most: her loyal friend and maid, Mairi. But in the shadows, Alisa—driven by ambition and unrelenting desire—schemes to use their forbidden love for her own gain. When Abigall falls unexpectedly ill, a shocking revelation threatens to shatter the fragile world she’s built. As she struggles to hold her secrets together, Mairi finds herself caught up in a budding romance of her own—one ...

Days away from completing her first year at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies, Changeling-born Sarah Smith might just get away with posing as an upper-class Guardian girl named Cassandra Reed. But strange visions of a Lightbourne destroyed by Miss Morton’s revenant army keep Sarah from enjoying her achievement. Plus, the Mother Book, Sarah’s one secret advantage and the ultimate entrée in Guardian society, suddenly stops revealing itself to her...putting her in a precarious position with the Guild.

What would you do if gunshots woke you up in the middle of the night, endangering your family? Bullets whizzed through your tipi dangerously close to your baby son. But who’s attacking you? The Utah War ended without bloodshed. You’re building a new adobe home in peaceful Great Salt Lake City in 1859. Connal Lee and his spouses grabbed their weapons and rushed out to defend their family, camp, and friends from drunken soldiers from Fort Floyd. Other enemies, called Mormon Locusts, continued assaulting their construction camp. The huge Federal Army camped a day’s ride away had made the...

As the dust settles from the devastating Battle of Flodden, the fragile peace between Scotland and England hangs by a thread. In the shadows of political unrest, Lady Abigall of Scotland and Prince Everald of England cling to a secret love that defies centuries of hatred between their nations. But their passion has not gone unnoticed. When a misplaced letter reveals their affair, enemies from both courts seize the opportunity to strike. Everald’s betrothed, the calculating Adelena, will do anything to keep her crown—even as she hides a devastating secret of her own. With betrayal ...

A young dancer realizes her life long dream, if only for a while. At seventeen, Marta Selbryth leaves home for the first time to pursue her life-long dream: dancing with a professional ballet company. But no dream is ever easy. As soon as Marta steps off the bus in Billings, Montana, she discovers that her years of training have taught her to dance, but not to meet the relentless rigors of professional ballet—or of life on her own. Step into Marta’s world of thrilling stage lights and dark, silent shadows, where dancers push themselves beyond their limits to be the best. Where a jaded ...

In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.

Gary Paulsen introduces listeners to Charley Goddard in his latest novel, Soldier's Heart. Charley goes to war a boy, and returns a changed man, crippled by what he has seen. In this captivating tale Paulsen vividly shows listeners the turmoil of war through one boy's eyes and one boy's heart, and gives a voice to all the anonymous young men who fought in the Civil War.