Popular North American Historical Fiction Books

Find historical fiction books written by authors from North America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (204)

141.

The Girl in His Shadow by Amelia Blake EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
The story of one woman who believed in scientific medicine before the world believed in her Raised by the eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft after losing her parents to a deadly pandemic, the orphan Nora Beady knows little about conventional life. While other young ladies were raised to busy themselves with needlework and watercolors, Nora was trained to perfect her suturing and anatomical illustrations of dissections. Women face dire consequences if caught practicing medicine, but in Croft's private clinic Nora is his most trusted--and secret--assistant. That is until the new surgical residen... continue

142.

The Girl with the Hazel Eyes by Callie Browning EN

0 Ratings
Description:
The beautiful island of Barbados, world-renowned for white sand beaches and tranquil blue seas, became the scene of an international crime in 1967. Forty years after Susan Taylor's whistle-blowing novel, 'The Unspeakable Truth' became the most famous novel by any Caribbean author, she reaches out to a young writer to write her biography. Lia Davis has no idea why Susan would choose her, but there's more to Susan's story than meets the eye. The Girl with the Hazel Eyes will show you just why there is trouble in paradise.

143.

The Golden Horse : A Novel about Triumph and Tragedy Building the Panama Railroad by Juan David Morgan EN

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Description:
"The Golden Horse by Juan David Morgan is a sweeping saga, painting a vivid, personal portrayal of the events that transpired as a result of the rivalry between New York shipping magnates, William Aspinwall and Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the enormous personal cost that was borne by the people involved in the construction of the Panama Railroad-- the first transcontinental train in the Americas-- built during the California Gold Rush. Thousands of people died during the construction, succumbing to tropical diseases and natural disasters. Despite the danger, the lust of gold fever and the challen... continue

144.

The Great Believers : A Novel by Rebecca Makkai EN

0 Ratings
Description:
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by Amy Poehler “A page turner . . . An absorbing and emotionally riveting story about what it’s like to live during times of crisis.” —The New York Times Book Review A dazzling novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is ... continue

145.

The Great Divide : A Novel by Cristina Henriquez EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
"A novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, following the intersecting lives of the local families fighting to protect their homeland, the West Indian laborers recruited to dig the waterway, and the white Americans who gained profit and glory for themselves"--

146.

The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald EN

Rating: 4 (90 votes)
Description:
Fitzgerald's classic tale of jazz-era New York and the mysterious, party-throwing millionaire Jay Gatsby. It's 1922 and New York is electric. A hotbed of jazz, glamour and scandal. The playground of the super-rich. And the new home of Nick Carraway, a Mid-Western man chasing his American dream. For eighty dollars a month, Carraway finds himself the unlikely neighbour of his beautiful cousin Daisy Buchannan and a mysterious millionaire - Jay Gatsby. From the shadow of Gatsby's mansion, Carraway is drawn into the glittering, captivating world of the wealthy - their parties, their love affairs, a... continue

147.

The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A NETFLIX FILM • A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. “Treat yourself to this book, please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love “I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that sh... continue

148.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store : A Novel by James McBride EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Description:
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR/FRESH AIR, WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, AND TIME MAGAZINE ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 “A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel . . . Charming, smart, heart-blistering, and heart-healing.” —Danez Smith, The New York Times Book Review “We all need—we all deserve—this vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah’s Book Club pick D... continue

149.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett EN

Rating: 4 (4 votes)
Description:
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel and basis for the Academy Award-winning film—a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a... continue

150.

The Home for Unwanted Girls : The heart-wrenching, gripping story of a mother-daughter bond that could not be broken – inspired by true events by Joanna Goodman EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
Philomena meets Orphan Train in this suspenseful, provocative novel filled with love, secrets, and deceit—the story of a young unwed mother who is forcibly separated from her daughter at birth and the lengths to which they go to find each other. In 1950s Quebec, French and English tolerate each other with precarious civility—much like Maggie Hughes’ parents. Maggie’s English-speaking father has ambitions for his daughter that don’t include marriage to the poor French boy on the next farm over. But Maggie’s heart is captured by Gabriel Phénix. When she becomes pregnant at fifteen, her parents f... continue