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A compelling love story inspired by the author's own family history of the segregated South during and after World War II. Addressing the dangers of passing as white or enlisting as black in a segregated military with grace and showcasing a side of the story that is so rarely told, Inharmonious is the perfect read for fans of Kristin Hannah's The Women and Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half.
All historical fiction is somewhat grounded in truth. Since the genre is defined by a story set in real time in the past and its realistic incorporation of aspects of that time, authors writing historical fiction put a great deal of research into their work. However, while some books in the genre use history as the background for their story, others focus more narrowly on building the life of a real person by using fiction to fill in gaps in the historical record.
The titles below are all based on real people and events, some of whom are very well known, others who have been given only one or two lines in historical documentation. You’ll find recommendations for a travelogue by an enslaved man given only one line to note his survival of a dangerous expedition, the story of the last woman executed in Iceland, and a book that blends historical fiction and horror into an Arctic survival story.
You’ll also discover the stories of women who influenced the Haitian revolution, the novelized version of an unsolved campus mystery, and a book that blends World War II Singapore and the present day. Each of these books stands as both a story in its own right and a jumping-off point for learning about and researching new aspects of history.
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
The Moor’s Account is a novel that imagines the life of Estebanico, an enslaved man who is briefly mentioned in historical accounts of the Narváez expedition as one of four survivors of the ill-fated trip to explore and conquer Spanish Florida. Lalami builds on Estebanico’s story, narrating the expedition through his eyes. Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, known to his Spanish master Andrés de Dorantes as Estebanico, is brought from Morocco to Cuba and then to what is now Tampa Bay in a quest for gold. As the party journeys inland, they encounter disease, wildlife, and dwindling supplies. A year after setting out, only the four survivors remain. Lalami’s book is structured as a travelogue and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015.
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Burial Rites is based on the real-life story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be executed for murder in Iceland. Set in 1830, Kent’s novel centers Agnes, a servant convicted of killing her master; Tóti, the priest who becomes her spiritual advisor as she awaits execution; and the farmer and his family with whom Agnes is sent to live with as she awaits her sentence. Set in a remote region of Iceland, Kent combines the bleak landscape with the question of how Agnes’ story will be remembered by those who were with her as she awaited death.
Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley
Set during the Haitian Revolution, Island Queen tells the story of the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a female warrior who helped drive out the French and secure Haitian independence. Before the revolution, Marie-Claire and Gran Toya led very different lives. Marie-Claire was raised in relative wealth and safety as a free woman with a white grandfathe. Gran Toya (Abdaraya Toya) was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and brought from West Africa to the colony of Saint Domingue. The two women’s paths cross when the island erupts in war. In Sister Mother Warrior, Riley blends historical fiction, romance, and revolution, telling the story of two women who fought to secure Haiti’s independence.
The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Terror is a fictionalized account of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to the Arctic in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage. The book begins when the crews of the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus have been stranded for a year, their supplies rapidly dwindling. As the crew sets out in search of a chance of survival, they find themselves stalked by a menacing force. Based on the actual expedition and drawing on archeological findings of the two ships trapped in the ice, this book blends history and horror for a terrifying story.
Killingly by Katharine Beutner
A gothic campus thriller/mystery set in 1897, Killingly is based on the real life disappearance of Bertha Mellish, a Mount Holyoke student who vanished from campus one day and whose remains were never found. Beutner novelizes this mystery, following the aftermath of Bertha’s disappearance through the perspectives of her best friend, Agnes, and her family. As suspicions and secrets from both Bertha and Agnes’ lives come to light, the search for Bertha becomes increasingly desperate.
How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Set in Singapore during World War II, How We Disappeared sheds light on a lesser-discussed aspect of the Japanese occupation and weaves together the past and present. In 1942, 17-year-old Wang Di is kidnapped and taken to a Japanese military brothel where she is forced to work in sexual slavery as a “comfort woman.” In 2000, her grandson Kevin hears a mumbled admission from his ailing grandmother, which drives him to begin searching for the story of her life. The novel flows between 1942 and 2000, showing how the tragedies Wang Di suffered during the war have affected her and her family’s lives. As she grows more ill, even more secrets are revealed. Praised for its skilled structure and evocative writing, the book was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
For more works of fiction grounded in true stories, check out this list of books from all types of genres, and these books that blend historical fiction and true crime.
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