20th Century
Arrows of Desire
Life is hard for Beth Somerville in a Glasgow torn apart by the Second World War. Her sweetheart, Teddy,…
The Importance of Being Kennedy
Nora Brennan, newly arrived from Ireland, narrates her life as nursery and companion servant of the renowned Kennedy family.…
Raisins and Almonds
This is the ninth installment in Kerry Greenwood’s series featuring Phryne Fisher, a wealthy, fashionable private investigator in Melbourne,…
The Story of a Marriage
This is a book that prides itself on its plot surprises, and begs readers not to give them away. So,…
The Lazarus Project
History and literary narrative are inextricably interwoven in MacArthur “Genius Grant”-winner Hemon’s latest work. Two stories are told: one…
The Man Who Killed Shakespeare
In 1932, Shakespeare, New Mexico, is barely surviving the Depression and quietly, steadily slipping downhill. Lett Halsey has inherited…
Birds in the Spring
It is 1920 and women are no longer prepared to take a back seat in business. Fiona MacDowell is…
The Invention of Everything Else
In 1943 Louisa and her father Walter live alone in a house in Hell’s Kitchen. Louisa is a chambermaid…
The Penny Bangle
It is 1942 and a nineteen-year-old munitions worker, Cassie Taylor leaves Birmingham to become a land girl in Dorset. When…
The Diplomat’s Wife
This is the follow-up to the author’s debut novel, The Kommandant’s Girl, a tale centering on a woman reluctantly…
About our Reviews
Over the last 15 years The Historical Novels Review (the society’s print magazine for our members) has published reviews of some 12,000 historical fiction books. We plan to upload them all and make them searchable here.
