Historical Fiction That Won’t Put You to Sleep

In 1793, the Cook Coffeehouse outside Philadelphia is a haven for those fleeing from the fever sweeping across the mosquito-infested city. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook has just lost her childhood playmate to the fever and struggles to keep her family and her family's business alive.

Anna Comnena has every reason to feel entitled. She's a princess, her father's firstborn and his chosen successor. Someday she expects to sit on the throne and rule the vast Byzantine Empire. The birth of a baby brother doesn't perturb her. Nor do the "barbarians" from foreign lands, who think only a son should ascend to power. Anna is as dismissive of them as are her father and his most trusted advisor -- his mother, a manipulative woman with whom Anna studies the art of diplomacy.

Anna relishes her lessons, proving adept at checkmating opponents in swift games of mental chess. But as she matures into a young woman, her arrogance and intelligence threaten her grandmother. Anna will be no one's puppet. Almost overnight, Anna sees her dreams of power wrenched from her and bestowed on her little brother. Bitter at the betrayal, Anna waits

In 1933 Germany, Daniel Kraushaar is horrified to discover that his mother is Jewish. Daniel realizes he is half-Jewish--and half-human in Aryan eyes. Daniel keeps this secret to himself. But when his friends join the Hitler Youth, it carries fateful consequences for Daniel's family.

Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy," this Printz Honor Book effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and wholly original.

For ten years, from the heights of Mount Olympus, the gods kept watch on the Siege of Troy. But Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is bored with the endless, dreary war and, aided by Eros's arrow, sends two sisters down a bloody path to an awful truth: In the fury of war, love strikes the deadliest blows.

This enchanting new adventure story, set in medieval England, is the tale of two brothers, called by King Richard to fight in the Crusades; the fair maiden they both love; and the small stallion that binds them together.

Set during the tumultuous era of the Civil War in England, this stunning debut by a student of Philip Pullman ("His Dark Materials") captures the superstition, passion, madness, and magic of a vanished age.

In 17th-century London, Hannah arrives to help her sister, Sarah, in her candy shop, The Sugared Plum. But even as the Plague ravages the city and residents begin to flee, Hannah is determined to stay.

Two boys on opposite sides of World War II fear that the war will end too soon, that they won't get the chance to prove themselves. They finally see the action they have been hoping for when their paths collide at the Battle of the Bulge--but war is nothing like they imagined.

Set in medieval times, "The Raging Quiet" is "an ageless story about the power of love that should leave a satisfying and lasting impression on its reader."--"School Library Journal," (starred review).

Told through flashbacks, foreshadowing, and shifting first-person points of view, this novel about slavery in America follows young Emma, who along with readers will discover that every decision has its consequences, and final judgment is passed down not by man, but by his maker.

On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in exploration: the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one.
Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Within months, the Endurance, trapped and crushed by ice, sank. And even Perce, the youngest member of the stranded crew, knew there was no hope of rescue. If the men were to survive in the most hostile place on earth, they would have to do it on their own.
Victoria McKernan deftly weaves the hard-to-fathom facts of this famous voyage into an epic, edge-of-your-seat survival novel.

"From the Hardcover edition."

One of the best reviewed books of 1994, the Newbery author's novel follows five generations of one African-American family from Africa to a South Carolina plantation through the Civil War, the end of segregation and beyond, to a moving finale, when a young drug-addicted cousin is brought home to the glory field for a day of reunion and renewal.

In 1592, Donata is a noble girl living in a palazzo on the Grand Canal. Girls of her class receive no education and rarely leave the palazzo. In a noble family, only one daughter and one son will be allowed to marry; Donata, like all younger daughters, will be sent to a convent. Donata longs to be tutored like her brothers and to see the Venice she has glimpsed only on the map. What is the world beyond her balcony, beyond what she sees when she glides, veiled, in a gondola down the canal? She dresses as a boy and escapes the palazzo on the Grand Canal to see the world before she is shut away, and to try to find a way to escape her fate. Donata risks everything; she changes her life, and her family's life, forever when she walks through the door and encounters a Venice she never knew existed.

"From the Hardcover edition.

Within a page-turning tale of mystery, adventure, and the civilian Civil War experience, a master of stories about people in transition paints a portrait of the lifelong impact that one person can have on another.

In 1815, former emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is the captive of the British and is confined to the home of Betsy Balcombe and her family on the forbidding island of St. Helena. Based on actual events. McElderry.

When her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch, Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to find intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World.

Set in 1912 Maine, this historical novel is based on the true story of a community's destruction. No one in town will let Turner Buckminster forget that he's a minister's son. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves, he enters a whole new world.

It's 1956, and ever since she and her mother rescued Angel Musseldorf from her abusive parents, Frankilee Baxter has been miserable. In addition to being more pretty, popular, and talented than Frankilee, Angel moves in, steals Frankilee's clothing, and begins dating the boy Frankilee likes. At the same time, Frankilee's community is struggling with the issue of school integration.

What keeps Frankilee going is her fantasy about Elvis Presley rescuing her from life in Clover, Texas. But this restless teenager is a realist and doesn't wait around for things to get worse. She devises a plan to get rid of Angel, begins a local Elvis fan club, and works to promote integration. What Frankilee doesn't bargain for is becoming involved in a burglary, an elaborate kidnapping scheme, and a shooting.

With humor and heart, "Dancing with Elvis tel

CCBC Choices - 1994
At the turn of the fourteenth century in England, fourteen-year-old Elenor finds her betrothal to an ambitious lord's son launching her on a memorable pilgrimage to far-off Spain.

When 15-year-old 'thelfl'd is betrothed to an ally of her father, the king, her world will never be the same. For as a noblewoman in the late 800s, she will be expected to be meek and unlearned--and 'thelfl'd is anything but meek and unlearned. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

When a petty thief falls through a glass roof while fleeing from the police, it should have been the death of him. Instead, it marks the beginning of a whole new life. Soon he has become the most successful -- and elusive -- burglar in Victorian London, plotting daring raids and using London's new sewer system to escape. He adopts a dual existence to fit his new lifestyle, taking on the roles of a respectable, wealthy gentleman named Montmorency and his corrupt servant, Scarper.

Nicola is a resourceful jester to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a most unlikely friend to the queen. As fate takes Mary from France to Scotland and into confrontations with rebellious lords and devious advisors, Nicola remains deep in the queen's circle, and later struggles to save her friend.