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1780 - 1900

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.
A Nigerian man who worked hard to attain prosperity loses everything during the era of colonialism.

Boris Akunin, The Winter Queen.
When a student from a wealthy family shoots himself in Moscow’s Alexander Gardens, it seems like a clear-cut case of suicide, but a new detective is determined to learn why he did it.

Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia.
A part-Chilean, part-Chinese woman is forced to recognize her betrayal by the man she loves and to explore the mystery of her past.

David Ball, Empires of Sand.
Two French cousins explore the Sahara, one as part of a French expeditionary force, the other with the nomadic Tuareg, a race of warriors who live by the harsh desert code of honor.

Kathleen Cambor, In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden.
As the dam separating the lake resort from the town below begins to fail, the people of Johnstown, Pa., go about their lives unaware of the danger while the wealthy vacationers ignore the warning signs.

Caleb Carr, The Alienist. Mystery
Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt enlists a reporter and a psychologist to help track a serial killer on the prowl in New York City.

Frederick Chiaventone, Moon of Bitter Cold.
The Lakota leader Red Cloud forms a union with other tribes to prevent the white man from taking over their lands.

Don Coldsmith, Child of the Dead.
When a smallpox epidemic decimates the Plains tribes, the widow Running Deer moves to a death camp where she finds a girl who’s the sole survivor.

Maryse Conde, Segu.
The flourishing African kingdom of Segu is affected by the spread of Islam and the slave trade.

Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Rifles.
Raised from the ranks, Lieutenant Richard Sharpe of the 95th Rifles must earn the trust of his men as he leads them through the enemy-infested mountains of Spain. Part of a series.

Emma Drummond, A Question of Honour.
Four siblings from a military family find it impossible to live up to the example set by their brother who died heroically at Khartoum. First in a series.

Loren Estleman, Billy Gashade.
A 16-year-old flees Boss Tweed’s wrath and heads West where he becomes a piano player in a saloon.

Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal & the White.
In Victorian London, a prostitute who longs to escape the brothel for a better life becomes the mistress of a perfume maker with a troubled family.

Jim Fergus, One Thousand White Women.
A fictional journal of a pioneer woman who married a Cheyenne man as part of a U.S. government program to assimilate Native Americans.

Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain.
A disillusioned Confederate soldier avoids returning to battle by leaving the hospital before his wound is healed and encounters a variety of people on his long journey home to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Amitav Ghosh, The Glass Palace.
In 19th century Burma, a poor boy who becomes a wealthy man in the teak trade goes in search of the woman he loved in his youth.

C.S. Godshalk, Kalimantaan.
A remarkable tale of adventure, ambition, loss and love in 19th century Borneo.

Tracy Grant, Daughter of the Game.
A couple who met during the Peninsular War must revisit their past when someone kidnaps their son.

Sandra Gulland, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
A fictionalized account of the diaries and letters of Josephine, who grew up in Martinique and went to France where she met Napoleon. First of a trilogy.

Brian Hall, I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company.
This fictional retelling of the journey of Lewis & Clark focuses on the thoughts and motivations of the two explorers.

Philip Hensher, The Mulberry Empire.
A British explorer finds himself caught in the middle while acting as an emissary of the Empire to the court of the Amir in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Georgette Heyer, Faro’s Daughter.
In Regency London, a gambler's daughter who supports herself at cards pits her skill against an arrogant man who thinks she led his cousin astray.

Paulette Jiles, Enemy Women.
A girl accused of being a Confederate spy for trying to rescue her father is sent to a women’s prison where she wins the admiration of the commandant.

Charles Johnson, Middle Passage.
A freed slave trying to escape bill collectors stows away on a ship that turns out to be heading to Africa to acquire slaves.

M. M. Kaye, The Far Pavilions.
An English orphan in India becomes a rajah’s servant and falls in love with a princess, who he meets again years later on the eve of her wedding.

Carla Kelly, Reforming Lord Ragsdale. Romance
An Irish lady tries to reform a lord to make him suitable for marriage to another.

Alexander Kent, Signal, Close Action!
As commodore of a newly formed squadron, Richard Bolitho must seek out a massive and well-armed French armada that is rumored to be in the Mediterranean. Part of a series.

Garry Kilworth, The Winter Soldiers.
Sergeant Jack Crossman battles the Russians and uncovers corruption as the British army faces a terrible winter in the Crimea. Part of a series.

Daniel Mason, The Piano Tuner.
An Englishman travels to a remote outpost in Burma to tune the piano of an eccentric and controversial British commander.

Takashi Matsuoka, Cloud of Sparrows.
A samurai, a geisha and a two missionaries find their lives in jeopardy while Japan faces threats from external influence and internal dissension.

Colleen McCullough, Morgan’s Run.
An Englishman who is sent to the penal colony in Australia for a crime he didn’t commit serves his sentence and starts a new life there.

Miriam G. Monfredo, Seneca Falls Inheritance. Mystery
A librarian in Seneca Falls, N.Y., investigates a murder during the first Women’s Rights Convention. First in a series.

David Nevin, 1812.
In 1812, President James Madison must decide whether to lead the new nation into war.

Charles Palliser, The Quincunx.
A young man from northern England goes to London to solve the mystery of his birth and comes to believe he’s the victim of an ancient conspiracy.

Ann Parker, Silver Lies. Mystery
In a Colorado silver mining town, a saloon owner investigates the discovery of a frozen corpse found behind her saloon.

Owen Parry, Call Each River Jordan.
An agent for the Lincoln Administration is sent to uncover the truth behind the massacre of 40 runaway slaves. Part of a series.

Anne Perry, Seven Dials. Mystery
Detective Thomas Pitt travels to Egypt to investigate the murder of a diplomat while his wife Charlotte remains in London seeking a missing valet. Part of a series.

Belva Plain, Crescent City.
The daughter of a Jewish merchant in New Orleans leads a charmed life until the Civil War forces her to choose between her duty and a forbidden love.

Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels.
The story of the four bloody and grueling days of the Battle of Gettysburg is told in vivid detail by the leaders of the Northern and Southern forces.

Robert Sole, The Photographer’s Wife.
A photographer’s wife whose skill with the camera far eclipses her husband’s must choose between the role of a wife and that of an artist during the rise of nationalism in 19th century Egypt.

Rosemary Stevens, Death on a Silver Tray. Mystery
Beau Brummell agrees to investigate when a lady’s companion recommended by his friend is accused of poisoning her unpleasant employer. First in a series.

Jean Stubbs, An Imperfect Joy.
Conflict arises among siblings when one son maintains the old ways on the family farm, another works in the new iron industry, and their sister fights against the injustices of industrialization. Part of a series.

Mario Vargas Llosa, War at the End of the World.
In 19th century Brazil, a charismatic leader gathers a group of outcasts in a libertarian commune, but the government perceives them as a threat

Penelope Williamson, The Passions of Emma.
A privileged lady’s world changes when a boy dies in her fiance’s mill and she meets an Irish activist.