Historical Fiction

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The Coffee Trader is a 2003 historical novel by American author David Liss. Set in Amsterdam in 1659, the story centers around Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jewish merchant, and his foray into the trade of coffee, a new commodity on the market. The story surveys the everyday dealings at the Amsterdam Exchange at the middle of the 17th century and provides perspective on the various cultures (Dutch, Portuguese) and religions (Christian, Jewish) practiced by the... Read The Coffee Trader Summary

The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron, is a work of historical fiction that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967. The first-person account of the 1831 Virginia slave revolt begins and ends in the prison where Nat Turner, an African American slave, was held before, during, and following his trial. Turner awaits execution as the leader of the two-day slave rebellion that started in Southampton County and ended with the death of approximately 55... Read The Confessions of Nat Turner Summary

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Hannah Foster’s The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton, was first published, anonymously, in 1797. The book was not attributed to Foster until 1856, more than a decade and a half after her death. The Coquette is the story of the seduction of a young socialite woman, Eliza Wharton, by the devious Major Peter Sanford. The Coquette is an epistolary novel: it is comprised of dozens of letters written by its main characters. This... Read The Coquette Summary

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas, originally published in serial form between 1844 and 1846, which is reflected in the novel’s episodic structure, large cast of characters, and frequent shifts of scene. The novel has been translated into English several times, usually in abridged form. This guide follows the translation and abridgment by Lowell Blair, first published in 1956.Content Warning: The source material includes suicide, suicidal... Read The Count of Monte Cristo Summary

The Crucible is a Tony Award-winning play by Arthur Miller. The play is a partially fictionalized dramatization of the Salem witch trials, which took place from February 1692 to May 1693. Premiering in 1953 at the height of the McCarthy trials, Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory for the paranoia, fear-mongering accusations, and circumstantial evidence he witnessed. Accused of being a communist himself, Miller faced questioning by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American... Read The Crucible Summary

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton is a tragicomedy of manners that explores themes of greed, ruthless ambition, progress, and gendered ideas. Wharton, who was herself a member of the New York City elite, was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and her novels are pieces of classic American literature for their social commentary, multilayered characters, and analysis of American culture.Published in 1913, this novel can be read as... Read The Custom of the Country Summary

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The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (the pseudonym for Scottish writer Elizabeth MacKintosh) is the story of a man’s quest to solve a centuries-old historical mystery. The novel was published in 1951, shortly before Tey’s death the following year. It explores themes of historical relativism and the importance of an objective search for truth. Repeatedly voted as a top mystery novel by critics and readers alike, it is considered one of the best books... Read The Daughter Of Time Summary

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was originally published in 2003 and has become an international bestseller, with sales of over 80 million. It was made into a popular movie starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou, and Ian McKellen. The novel is Brown’s fourth, a fast-paced thriller with political, historical, and religious overtones. Its initial release generated controversy for perceived condemnation of the Catholic Church and historical inaccuracies. Despite the charges, The Da Vinci Code... Read The Da Vinci Code Summary

The Dew Breaker is a 2004 novel by Haitian American author Edwidge Danticat. The novel focuses partly on life in Haiti under the totalitarian regime of Francois Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Duvaliers were deposed in 1986, and book offers glimpses into the lives of Haitians and Haitian Americans in the aftermath of the regime. Some of these historical events are mentioned directly. Most of the time, though, historical events are revealed indirectly... Read The Dew Breaker Summary

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The Dutch House is the eighth novel of Ann Patchett, an award-winning author of contemporary fiction. Published in 2019, the novel tells the story of what happens to Danny Conroy and his older sister Maeve Conroy when their stepmother, Andrea Smith, expels them from their sumptuous childhood home after the death of their father, Cyril Conroy. Set in the Dutch House—located in the outskirts of Philadelphia—and New York, the novel is literary fiction with fairy-tale... Read The Dutch House Summary

The Enchantress of Florence is a 2008 magical-realist novel by Salman Rushdie. The story incorporates many fantastical, folkloric elements as it portrays life in the Mughal Empire and Renaissance Florence in the 16th century. In the novel, a mysterious European man arrives in the Mughal court with a story which can only be told to the emperor. Rushdie described the novel as his most heavily researched work and The Enchantress of Florence was praised by... Read The Enchantress Of Florence Summary

The End of the Affair is a romance novel and work of psychological fiction written by British author Graham Greene, originally published in 1951. The narrative takes place in London between 1942 and 1946, during the middle and end of World War II. The work is comprised of five books, or parts, which center around the tryst of three primary characters: Maurice Bendrix, a blossoming writer; Sarah Miles; and Sarah’s ineffective husband, Henry Miles, who... Read The End Of The Affair Summary

The Essex Serpent is a novel by Sarah Perry, released in 2016. Set in 1893, it tells the story of Cora Seaborne, a recently widowed woman with a burning interest in the natural sciences. Escaping London, she visits a small village in the Essex countryside. There, she finds a population in thrall to the local legend of a sea monster lurking in the nearby estuary and a village priest who is desperately trying to dissuade... Read The Essex Serpent Summary