A visual preview of the winter 2025 season in historical fiction

For this post, I'm looking way ahead to see what's on the horizon for historical fiction this coming winter.  These dozen books have publication dates in the US between January and March 2025.  I may yet do a different post with autumn 2024 releases, but advance publicity for fiction seems to be starting earlier and earlier, and there are so many intriguing-sounding titles here, so let's go...

Five female crime writers unite to (guess what?) solve a challenging murder. You'll recognize the names of these now-famous Golden Age mystery novelists; reportedly this story was inspired by an incident in Dorothy Sayers' life. St. Martin's, January 2025.

To say I've been anticipating this one is an understatement! It also has a terrific tagline. Casati's second novel focuses on Semiramis, reigning queen in ancient Assyria, and her unlikely rise to power. The interest in mythological retellings seems to be encouraging additional novels set in the distant past, which is welcome news. Sourcebooks, January 2025.

Drastic changes on an Alabama plantation in the pre-Civil War years summon the appearance of the ghost of a young enslaved woman's older sister. Speculative historical fiction with themes of freedom, coming of age, and unexpected romance. Ballantine, February 2025.

Nicole Galland's latest takes inspiration from a historical figure, Alexander Cooke, who was a "boy player" of female roles in Shakespearean London, intertwining his story with an intellectual female friend of his, plus philosopher Francis Bacon. A theatrical, gender-swapping plot with political drama. (For another take on Cooke, see Jinny Webber's Bedtrick.)  William Morrow, February 2025.

In 1940s St. Louis, at the time of Jim Crow, a powerhouse upper-class Black couple confronts a sudden tragedy; a debut based on the family history of the author, who happens to be a former diplomat.  Grand Central, February 2025.

Moving between the 1920s and 1950s, Henry's latest women's fiction/mystery novel centers on a daughter seeking answers about her author mother's disappearance, as well as about the manuscript her mother left behind, one written in a language she'd invented as a child. Atria, March 2025.

In 1931, a young Indian man is sent by Gandhi to England, where he's meant to get a legal education to help his country's independence movement, but he risks losing sight of his mission; a novel of colonialism and the desire for belonging.  Crown, January 2025.

Kearsley's novels are always worth waiting for. The latest by this Canadian author focuses on political subterfuge in Scotland in Jacobean times, and centering on a royal messenger with second sight, a sense of integrity, and a duty he'd rather not fulfill. Sourcebooks Landmark, March 2025.

Judith Shakespeare, the title character from Tiffany's earlier My Father Had a Daughter (the twin sister of Hamnet, who died at age 11), returns in a new story; here she's sixty-one, forced out of her hometown of Stratford when she's accused of witchcraft. And thumbs up to fiction featuring older historical heroines. Harper, February 2025.

Alice Marble was an American champion tennis player. She also served as an editor for the Wonder Woman comics; as if that wasn't enough, she was asked to spy for the US on a mission overseas during WWII. Walsh brings her incredible story back into public view. Harper Muse, January 2025.

Another work of biographical fiction, this time about Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, renowned Black American opera singer in the mid-19th century and her surprising, risky, and triumphant career path. William Morrow, January 2025.

The complicated relationship between two young women in 19th-century China, as a handmaiden joining the household of a wealthy family arouses feelings of jealousy and resentment due to her exquisite embroidery skills and bound feet.  Park Row, January 2025.