10 Historical Novels Perfect for Crisp Autumn Nights

Few authors’ books embody the fall like Kate Morton, and THE DISTANT HOURS certainly does not disappoint. A gothic tale of suspense and grim secrets, the story bounces between the 1990s and World War II–era London after Edie, a young girl working at a local press, shows her mother, Meredith, a long-delayed letter that has been dropped into their mailbox. The message is from Juniper Blythe, the youngest of the Blythe spinster sisters, who were longtime inhabitants of Milderhurst Castle. What Edie doesn’t know is that her mother was evacuated to the castle to flee routine bombing during the war. What follows is a riveting and intricate tale of Meredith’s interactions with the Blythe family, including the father, Raymond, a famed children’s author suffering severe bouts of dementia. Edie learns of her mother’s dashed dreams from half a century ago and Milderhurst Castle’s many mysterious chronicles. Classic Morton and perfect for a cool, crisp autumn night, THE DISTANT HOURS is ready when you are.

A novel about nature and the many transformations of our country’s landscape, Diane Wilson’s THE SEED KEEPER centers on a Native American woman’s journey to recover her family’s traditions and the history that is too often forgotten. After losing her father at a young age, Rosalie Iron Wing is sent to live in foster care. There she remains until, at the age of eighteen, she marries a local white farmer, John Meister, struggling to navigate the introduction of chemical fertilizers and genetically modified seeds that are slowly being introduced into the town. When John dies from those same chemicals years later, their son, Tommy, must reckon with the prosperity of farming upon the stolen land of his and his mother’s ancestors while Rosalie travels back to her original home to reestablish her connection with her native territory. A story of ancestry, the natural world, and family dynamics, THE SEED KEEPER is a transformative tale perfectly timed for the changing of the leaves.

The magic of autumn calls for an equally spellbinding story to transport readers and give them faith in everlasting love. Enter THE TRICK by Emanuel Bergmann. Max Cohn is on a mission to save his parents’ marriage, when he comes across an LP of a famed magician from the early part of the twentieth century. The magician, “The Great Zabbatini,” provides Max with an arsenal of spells but is unable to convey the ultimate love spell that could reinvigorate his parents’ love for each other when the record hits a scratch. Max then takes it upon himself to track down the now very old magician, as Bergmann delicately alternates chapters to follow Max on his quest and then introduces readers to the journey of Moshe Goldenhirsch, the boy who would become The Great Zabbatini. From modern-day Los Angeles to 1934 Prague, we learn of Moshe’s time in a traveling circus, honing his craft, all while Europe slowly descends into war. Love, history, and oh-so-much magic, THE TRICK is historical fiction for any fall day.

At risk of stating the obvious, one of the defining features of the fall is the (playful) fear and horror of Halloween. A holiday that begs for books that ooze psychological suspense and superstition. In Wendy Wallace’s THE PAINTED BRIDGE, a woman is unfairly committed to an insane asylum by her deceitful husband as punishment for her disobedience. Anna Palmer, very much sane, isn’t sure what to expect at Lake House asylum, as she clearly doesn’t belong. But she quickly realizes that her freedom isn’t so easily returned. In fact, the longer she’s at Lake House, the more she begins to question her sanity amid haunting visions and memories. When she befriends a few fellow inmates and ultimately makes plans for an escape, she is stunned to learn a secret about the husband who had her committed. Suspenseful and dramatic, THE PAINTED BRIDGE may just leave you with some excellent Halloween decorating ideas.

Speaking of holidays, Thanksgiving is equally as important to the fall festivities and serves as a yearly excuse for us all to obsess over food and covet delectable recipes. That’s why the perfect pairing for turkey day is Crystal King’s THE CHEF’S SECRET—a novel set in Renaissance Italy about legendary chef Bartolomeo Scappi, the illustrious chef to several popes and author of one of the world’s most famous cookbooks. When Bartolomeo dies, he leaves his fortune and home to his son, Giovionni, along with secretive strongboxes, which Bartolomeo has directed him to destroy to ensure his own safety. As you would imagine, Giovionni is not too easily swayed and seeks out to decipher his father’s journals and decode his many secrets. One of those secrets happens to be the true identity of Giovionni’s mother and an illicit love affair. With chapters of juicy secrets and stories, Giovionni must defeat rival chefs to secure his father’s legacy and defend his family’s reputation. All in a day’s work for Crystal King as she takes historical fiction to another level with a delicious tale of intrigue and passion.

Any rainy fall night requires two things: a glass of wine and an outstanding noir. Luckily, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s VELVET WAS THE NIGHT delivers with a scintillating historical fiction novel set in 1970s Mexico City. A local art student, Lorena, has gone missing. Two people are searching for her but for two very different reasons. Maite, a secretary obsessed with romance novels and tasked with feeding Lorena’s cat, is hoping to track down her neighbor after Lorena disappears under mysterious circumstances. Elvis, an enforcer for a black-ops group, has been assigned a similar mission from his boss, El Mago, but he is doing so to retrieve sensitive photos that Lorena may be in possession of. When Elvis finds himself watching Maite from afar, as they both seemingly search for Lorena, he can’t help but find himself intrigued. The two separately go about their searches, slowly uncovering a conspiracy that encapsulates a whole host of characters and groups until danger eventually envelopes them both. A pulse-pounding read with unforgettable antiheroes, VELVET WAS THE NIGHT is truly unputdownable. Time to uncork the wine.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a husband is accused of murdering his second wife after she “accidentally” fell down a flight of stairs and the leading evidence presented by the trial prosecutor is testimony . . . from a ghost. Well, it happened, and Sharyn McCrumb’s THE UNQUIET GRAVE is based on that bizarre true story in which Zona Hester is allegedly killed by her husband, Erasmus “Trout” Shue. After a pregnancy out of wedlock, the Hesters are concerned their daughter, Zona, will be unable to find a husband, but when the child is adopted, Trout comes along, looking for a bride. Despite Zona’s mother’s protests, the two are hitched, and shortly thereafter, Zona is found dead. When the case is eventually brought to trial, the deceased’s mother, Mary Jane, alerts the prosecutor that Zona’s ghost came to her, insisting that Zona had been murdered. With shifting points of view from the ongoing trial to memories from the lead defense attorney being shared thirty years later, THE UNQUIET GRAVE is spooky, suspenseful, and terrifyingly addictive.

The first, and perhaps most important, novel from Isabel Allende, THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS is historical fiction at its best: mesmerizing writing employed in an intricate plot of richly drawn characters who touch on universal themes in nuanced ways. In other words: pour yourself a glass of cider, find a big comfortable loveseat, and put your phone on Do Not Disturb. Following three generations of the Truebas, Allende’s cast includes father Esteban as an erratic, overly proud man who is tempered only when finding, and falling for, Clara, a soft-spoken young woman capable of telekinesis. As the Truebas family expands, readers embark upon several story lines, including a forbidden love affair between Clara’s daughter, Bianca, and a foreman; Estaban’s obsession with his grandchild, Alba (who will eventually lead the family into war); and the political activities of a volatile leftist movement. I hope you have enough cider for weeks to come, because THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS is a sprawling epic that you’ll want to savor this season.

Elizabeth Macneal’s debut is a haunting historical-fiction tale that is a refreshing new take on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of revolutionary mid-nineteenth-century British painters. Set in London during the 1950s, just as Hyde Park is preparing the Great Exhibition, we are introduced to Iris Whittle, a painter (of miniature faces) and eager to be accepted as a real artist. Luckily, she meets Louis Frost, a member of the Brotherhood, and makes a deal: she will pose for him if he provides art lessons. A partnership and budding romance occurs, leaving Iris in a state of ecstasy. But, unbeknownst to her, she’s become the apple of another’s eye: Silas. An obsessive taxidermist, Silas has become fixated on Iris since the most brief of encounters and has spent his time afterward pursuing her beauty in hopes of attaining it for himself. A dramatic gothic tale, THE DOLL FACTORY leaves readers on the edge of their seats and out of breath. Plus, it’s the perfect read before Elizabeth Macneal’s next book, CIRCUS OF WONDERS, comes out in spring 2022!

I mean, just look at the cover of this book. It absolutely screams autumn. What’s more, Andrew Krivak’s beautiful second novel is founded on the painful cycle of life that one family has endured for three generations and in three different theaters of combat. Bo, the eldest grandson of the family, who has become all too accustomed to a life of pain and grief, seeks to start anew and find a life on the land, as his loved ones slowly pass away. After dedicating his own time to education and a study of the classics—instead of enduring the violence his family has experienced—Bo takes it upon himself to care for his mother and make any attempt to preserve the family’s history and create a hospitable home should his brother, listed as an MIA in Vietnam, ever make it home. Taking place as that war winds down, THE SIGNAL FLAME follows the cycles of the season in one year as a family shaped by war attempts to redefine its legacy.