New Books in Historical Fiction

Feb 04 2025 299 ep. 42 mins 1.9k

New Books in Historical Fiction Podcast artwork

Interview with Writers of Historical Fiction about their New Books

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Allegra Goodman, "Isola" (The Dial Press, 2025)

Feb 04 2025 23 mins

Today I talked to Alegra Goodman about her novel Isola (The Dial Press, 2025) After Marguerite is orphaned as a young girl, her guardian leaves her alone in her family’s enormous home, where servants see to her needs until he hires a mother and daughter to tutor her in the ways of wealthy 16th century lords and ladies. The guardian sells her home and spends her fortune, betting o

Rod Carley, "Ruff: A Novel" (Latitude 46, 2024)

Jan 18 2025 37 mins

RuFF (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2024) is Rod Carley’s highly-anticipated fourth novel. This historical fiction transports us to Elizabethan England, where we witness Shakespeare struggling through a midlife crisis while trying to win a national play competition to secure the King’s business. Hilarious hijinks ensue, with whip-smart dialogue and a captivating tale that touches on

Fiona Davis, "The Stolen Queen" (Dutton, 2025)

Jan 09 2025 28 mins

Charlotte Cross has built a satisfying career as assistant curator in the Department of Egyptian Art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum. It’s 1978, the museum has just opened the Temple of Dendur and is preparing to become the last US stop for the King Tutankhamun exhibit, and Charlotte at sixty has almost completed her long-planned article on Hathorkare, one of ancient Egypt’

Sara Lodge, "The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective" (Yale UP, 2024)

Dec 29 2024 45 mins

In The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective (Yale UP, 2024), Sara Lodge tells stories of women who brought 19th century criminals to justice, in real life and popular culture, as unacknowledged crime-fighters and feminist icons. On stage and in fiction, women detectives were sensational figures who fascinated the public with cross-dressing, fist-swinging heroines who

Kim Fahner, "The Donoghue Girl" (Latitude 46, 2024)

Dec 26 2024 35 mins

The Donoghue Girl (Latitude 46, 2024) is heart-wrenching historical fiction from beloved Canadian author, Kim Fahner. .With her incomparable ability to create immersive worlds, Fahner tells the story of an Irish Catholic family in a Northern Ontario mining town almost a hundred years ago. Willful, headstrong Lizzie is our relatable protagonist and we follow her through an uncertain

Rob Osler, "The Case of the Missing Maid" (Kensington, 2024)

Dec 24 2024 30 mins

Set in 1898, Harriet Morrow is 21, supports her 16-year-old brother, and has been accepted as the first female detective at the Prescott Agency. She’s given one week to find Agnes, maid to the wealthy Pearl Bartlett, who lives in one of the Prairie Street mansions on the south side of Chicago. Harriet, who prefers wearing men’s shoes and hats and has no intention of ever gettin

Robert G. Penner, "The Dark King Swallows the World" (Radiant Press, 2024)

Dec 19 2024 43 mins

Robert Penner’s best-selling novel, The Dark King Swallows the World (Radiant Press, October 2024) is a phenomenal genre-bending read. A coming-of-age, historical fiction, and fantasy novel that simultaneously engages with and dismantles the cliches of its many genres, The Dark King Swallows the World is a totally unique and totally fresh story that is both engaging and emotional

Suzanne Allain, "The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right" (Berkley Books, 2024)

Dec 18 2024 35 mins

Arabella Grant doesn’t want to deceive London high society. It’s her cousin Lady Isabella, known as Issie, who convinces Arabella to take over so that Issie can nurture her frail health and spend her time reading, which she much prefers to parties. It’s only for three months, after all. Of course, things don’t go as planned. While Arabella meets the lord of her dreams but c

Monica Chenault-Kilgore, "The Jewel of the Blues" (Graydon House, 2024)

Nov 19 2024 49 mins

Life is tough for people of color in the early twentieth century—not only in the Southern states, which have put Reconstruction firmly behind them in favor of Jim Crow laws. Even so, Lucille Love, known as the Little Girl with the Big Voice, dreams of making her name on Broadway and eventually moving to Paris, leaving behind the prejudices that restrict black women in the United

A. D. Bergin, "The Wicked of the Earth" (Northodox, 2024)

Nov 17 2024 38 mins

October, 1650, traumatised Parliamentarian spy James Archer returns north seeking his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle’s recent witch trials. Aloof, enigmatic Elizabeth Thompson draws him to investigate the ongoing killing of women who had worked to free the accused. But when Elizabeth herself becomes hunted, the only chance of escape lies in Archer setting himse