My summer and fall historical fiction picks, part 1

A heads-up that this will be a very self-centered post!  Here are ten books, published between now and this fall, that are on my personal wishlist.  I had a hard time limiting this down, so I'll be posting a second set of ten later on.  While nearly all of them are written by women, they offer much more diversity in terms of historical milieu.

Thanks to the generosity of the publishers and authors, copies of half of these titles are either here or on the way, meaning that reviews will be posted in due course.



A novel about a real-life woman from early American history?  I'm there.  I'm already hearing excellent things about this story recounting Mary Rowlandson's capture by Indians in 1676 Massachusetts and her subsequent difficulties returning to her old life.   NAL, July.  [see on Goodreads]



A brilliant evocation of late medieval Germany.  I was astonished to discover that this story about the creation of the Gutenberg Bible in 15th-century Mainz was based on real characters and events – and wondered why it hadn't been told in fiction before.  (This is the only one of the ten I've read so far.)  Harper, September.  [see on Goodreads]



The paths of a blind French girl and a German boy collide and intertwine in occupied Paris.  I've been hearing so many superlatives about the author's compelling, generous storytelling that I have to add it to the list.  Scribner, May.  [see on Goodreads]



Because I loved the author's Flint (reviewed here in 2009), I was excited to see she had a new novel in the works. In this literary adventure, a young woman takes to the Spice Road in the 13th century to search for her storyteller grandfather.  Honno Welsh Women's Press, August.  [not on Goodreads yet]



A debut novel that follows several generations of a family living in coastal North Carolina around the time of the Revolution.  It's an unusual perspective on a familiar war, and since I already gravitate towards literary sagas, this looks right up my alley.  Harper, August.  [see on Goodreads]



Fiction about the women in Genghis Khan's life; set in late 12th-century Mongolia.  Kudos to the author and publisher for continuing to take on the stories of important women from non-Western history.  NAL, November.  [See on Goodreads]



One of the author's specialties is Anglo-Saxon England, and here she interprets the life of Acha of Deira, a young woman married off into a harsh, unfamiliar land in the early 7th century. Since I'd enjoyed her previous A Swarming of Bees, a mystery set at the time of the Synod of Whitby, The Tribute Bride was a natural choice for the TBR.  Acorn Digital Press, April.  [see on Goodreads]



The life of Dorothy Richardson, lover of H.G. Wells, and an important 20th-century British writer in her own right.  What a breathtaking cover!  Not only do I want to read more about this unconventional woman's life, I want to hang the jacket art on my wall.  Thomas Dunne, October.  [see on Goodreads]



A recent Bryn Mawr grad gets drawn into learning more about the mysterious aunt whose existence was erased from their family history.  Romance, secrets, and a setting that sweeps from WWI-era Germany to NYC in the Swinging Sixties; it looks like the perfect read for summer vacation.  Putnam, May.  [see on Goodreads]



You can always count on Barbara Wood for skillful storytelling, adventurous women, and out-of-the-ordinary settings.  Her latest takes place in Honolulu in the early 19th century and focuses on the female half of a young missionary couple.  Turner, September.  [see on Goodreads]