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Historical Fiction Author Spotlight

Take a trip back through time with these novels that blend fact and fiction. The titles in our Historical Fiction Author Spotlight feature stories that unfold against the backdrop of some of history’s most prominent events, with protagonists interacting with some of the world’s most famous, fascinating and fearsome personalities.

Sandra Dallas, author of Fallen Women

Wealthy New York socialite Beret Osmundsen has been estranged from her younger sister, Lillie, for a year when she gets word from her aunt and uncle that Lillie has died suddenly in Denver. What they do not tell her is that Lillie had become a prostitute and was brutally murdered in the brothel where she had been living. When Beret discovers the sordid truth of Lillie’s death, she makes her way to Denver, determined to find her sister’s murderer.

Chris Bohjalian, author of The Sandcastle Girls

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, Chris Bohjalian's 15th book, is a spellbinding tale that travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012 --- a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, a subject his legions of fans have been asking him to write about for years.

Lisa T. Bergren, author of Glamorous Illusions: The Grand Tour Series, Book 1

It’s the summer of 1913, and Cora Kensington’s life on the family farm has taken a dark turn. Not only are the crops failing, but someone dear to Cora is failing as well. In one fateful afternoon, a stranger comes to call, and Cora discovers a terrible secret about her past…a secret that will radically change her future.

Sandra Dallas, author of True Sisters

TRUE SISTERS tells the story of four women, brought together on the harrowing journey of the Martin Handcart Company, and united by the promises of prosperity and salvation in a new land. Through the ties of female friendships and the strength born from suffering, each one tests the boundaries of her faith and learns the real meaning of survival along the way.

Eva Stachniak, author of The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great is one of history’s most fascinating rulers --- a monarch whose 34-year reign brought Russia into the modern industrial world, whose affairs were the scandal of her court, and who truly embodied the ideals of the Enlightenment. Drawing on letters, diaries, and on-the-ground research in St. Petersburg, Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo, award-winning author Eva Stachniak delivers a passionate novel that illuminates the early life of one of history’s most enigmatic and powerful women. THE WINTER PALACE tells the epic story of Catherine’s improbable rise to power, as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.

Click here to see our readers' comments on THE WINTER PALACE by Eva Stachniak.

Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Ballad of Tom Dooley: A Ballad Novel

A literary triumph --- what began as a fictional re-telling of the historical account of one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time became an astonishing revelation of the real culprit responsible for the murder of Laura Foster.

, author of

Growing up isn't easy for little Carolyn Arundel. With her mother, Hildemara, quarantined to her room with tuberculosis, Carolyn forms a special bond with her momma, Marta, who moves in to care for the household. But as tensions between Hildie and Marta escalate, Carolyn believes she is to blame.

Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Devil Amongst the Lawyers: A Ballad Novel

 In 1935, when Erma Morton, a beautiful young woman with a teaching degree, is charged with the murder of her father in a remote Virginia mountain community, the case becomes a cause célèbre for the national press.

Mitchell James Kaplan, author of By Fire, by Water

Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition.

, author of

The first in an epic two-book saga by beloved author Francine Rivers, this sweeping story explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters over several generations.