Showing titles in Historical

** Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2015 ** To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything. A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his...

** LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 ** Brought to you by Penguin. From 'one of the most gifted writers working today' (New York Times) comes an audacious new novel about the bodies we live in and the bodies we desire In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love...

The Bestselling Richard & Judy Summer Book Club Pick 2021 The Bestselling Radio 2 Book Club Selection ‘Tight, clever and riddled with wit. Like discovering Adrian Mole or Bridget Jones for the first time.’ Joanna Nadin, author of The Queen of Bloody Everything ‘A sweet, fizzy sherbet...

Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize 2026 A Finalist in the Nota Bene Prize 2026 ‘Casually magisterial’ Guardian 'Endlessly intriguing' Observer ‘A marvel of a novel’ Ali Smith ‘Jane Eyre by way of Patricia Highsmith’ BBC Radio 4 ‘Puts Stevens in the class of Sarah Waters’...

Brought to you by Penguin. The masterful second novel in Pat Barker's classic 'Regeneration' trilogy - from the Booker Prize-winning and Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the Girls WINNER OF THE 1993 GUARDIAN FICTION PRIZE London, 1918. Billy Prior is working for Intelligence in...

The heartbreaking story of the love of two women – Anne Lister, the real-life inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, and her first love, Eliza Raine – from the bestselling author of Room and The Wonder. 'A rich and spellbinding 19th-century story of forbidden love' – The Independent 'Donoghue...

Death is only the beginning… 'Breathtaking … A new talent [in] the field of gothic historical literature' NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS 'Devilishly macabre … As dark as a midnight graveyard' PATRICE McDONOUGH 'Hauntingly gothic, intimately told, and wickedly, wonderfully grotesque' MARIELLE...

Bloomsbury presents Saltblood by Francesca De Tores, read by Dakota Blue Richards. **WINNER OF THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE ** 'A gripping tale of one woman's extraordinary adventures ... Saltblood is a triumph of the imagination' ELODIE HARPER, author of 'The Wolf Den' trilogy 'A...

January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings—Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy—arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start. After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they're taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in.

'Exceptionally brilliant. Immersive, sensual, compelling' - Marian Keyes 'Intriguing, haunting . . . raw, beautiful' - Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne The gripping, historical novel from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies. Set in an era of superstition...

Bloomsbury presents The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley, read by Jot Davies. A SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 The Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month The truth must come out. In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to...

“Luke” Hamilton has been living as a husband and father for the past 17 years. No one but her wife, Nora, knows she is not the man she appears to be. They have raised their daughters to become honest and hard-working young women, but even with their loving foundation, Amy and Nattie are hiding their own secrets. Just as Luke sets out on a dangerous trip to Fort Boise, a newcomer arrives on the ranch - Rika Aaldenberg, who traveled to Oregon as a mail-order bride, hiding that she’s not the woman in the letters.

Finalist for the 2026 LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist for the 2025 CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Longlisted for the 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award "Jam-packed with queer angst and queer joy . . . and a truly incredible amount of heart. I devoured this novel." —Kristen Arnett, New York Times...

Set in and around the women's prison at Milbank in the 1870's, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery, and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale. Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some 'good work' with the lady criminals of one of London's most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers, and common thieves, Margaret feels herself drawn to one of the prison's more unlikely inmates.

It's 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him. He's used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can't turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It's a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living. With nothing but his satchel and a mongrel dog he's rescued from a bomb site, he sets out to investigate an ancient church in the sleepy village of Droyton.

Brought to you by Penguin. *Shortlist, Debut Fiction, 2023 Nero Book Awards * London, 1894. John and Henry have a vision for a new way of life. But as the Oscar Wilde trial ignites public outcry, everything they long for could be under threat. After a lifetime spent navigating his desires, John...

Oxford, 1883. Young men are being found bound, gagged, and hooded at the gates of their colleges in the small hours. Basil Rice, Jesus College fellow, is asked by the senior proctor to investigate. But investigating matters of sexual purity is dangerous, as it lays Basil open to unwelcome scrutiny of his own private life. Meanwhile, the University Vice Chancellor's Court has wrongly imprisoned a young shopgirl from the town, and she seeks the services of Non Vaughan, a young academic and budding journalist, to clear her name.

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay. Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is—a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

Bloomsbury presents The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley, read by Thomas Judd. WINNER OF A BETTY TRASK AWARD 2016 SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016 FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016 An International Bestseller / A Guardian Summer Read / An...

In this riveting historical thriller, a deadly plot unfolds aboard a train hurtling towards Paris. From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Room, Emma Donoghue takes you on a heart-pounding ride in The Paris Express. 'Ratchets up the pace until it's hurtling along as fast as the train itself'...