Step back in time with July’s Reading Challenge as we dive into the captivating world of historical fiction! Whether you’re wandering ancient streets, witnessing pivotal moments in history, or uncovering stories from long ago, simply choose a historical fiction novel to participate. After reading, stop by the library to pick up your bookmark of the month and enter your name into a drawing for a $10 Strollo’s Lighthouse gift card – with FIVE winners this month! Find your next read below with a variety of recommendations to get you started, and don’t forget to place your holds on the new historical fiction releases this July!
In Depression-era Mississippi, three women join forces to reclaim control over their lives.
In 1865 Ireland, a father and son help map the country for the Ordnance Survey after the Great Hunger.
In 1938, two giraffes survive a storm and travel across America to the San Diego Zoo during the Great Depression.
In 1870 Los Angeles, three Chinese immigrant women are brought together in a hostile, anti-Chinese society.
In 1879 London, a young thief working in an all-women crime ring dreams of securing a better future for her sister.
In 1930s New York, a pioneering prosecutor and a brothel madam build a case against crime boss Lucky Luciano.
In 1973 Montgomery, a nurse becomes entangled in the lives of two young sisters placed on birth control.
In 1950s Hollywood, a rising Black film star becomes a major studio’s answer to Sidney Poitier.
In a small English town in the 1960s, Sylvia Plath and her family move into the community.
In 1970s Calcutta, a psychiatrist studies a young girl who knows unusual knowledge of marine life to protect endangered wilderness.
In 1851, an eighteen-year-old stows away on her parents’ merchant ship bound from Nantucket to China.
After her kingdom is invaded, Anne of Brittany is forced toward a political marriage that would end her nation’s independence.
In a small Virginia town during WWI, the lives of a young woman and two men are upended as war pulls the men overseas.
In 1930s Britain, Wallis Simpson and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon become rivals at the center of a royal crisis that reshapes the monarchy.
In 1950 Korea, a Chinese American journalist is shot down behind enemy lines and taken in by a woman who claims her as a missing daughter.
Three generations of Chinese women navigate political upheaval from the Communist Revolution through Tiananmen Square.
NEW Historical Fiction Novels Coming This July
In 1967 San Francisco, two sisters take different paths and create lasting family divides.
Coming July 7
In dual timelines, a struggling artist in modern Paris is drawn into a art family’s secrets, while in the 1800s Jo van Gogh fights to preserve Vincent’s legacy.
Coming July 14
In 1980s New York City, a businessman with a criminal past is pulled back into violence as he tries to protect his family.
Coming July 21
In Paris, a dying mother and daughter, a faded rock star, a man seeking a long lost love, and a woman facing her marriage’s collapse all confront love, loss, and second chances.
Coming July 28
