Historical Fiction, So HOT Right Now

I have been reading quite a bit lately and many popular books right now are Historical Fiction—you cannot escape it! Even author Stephen King has gotten into Historical Fiction bandwagon with his bestseller 11/23/63 about the JFK Assassination. My Book Club’s Historical Fiction Reads include: The Irresistible Henry House, The Glass Room, Loving Frank, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  

 Book Club Recommendations:

The Irresistible Henry House

In the 1950’s there were college home economic programs that utilized “practice babies”. These were real babies, who had been given up for adoption and then taken to the school so that college women could learn to “mother” by changing diapers, feeding and caring for a baby. The author supposes what would happen, what could have happened to such a baby as he grew up. With such an interesting premise, this book will make for a most interesting book club discussion.

Loving Frank

A well-researched novel told from the perspective of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mistress, Mamah Borthwick. The author researched the novel for 7 years and even found copies of letters that Mamah wrote, which the author used to create a more authentic voice for Mamah.

The Paris Wife

This story follows Hadley Richardson as she meets and then quickly marries Ernest Hemingway. Soon the newlyweds embark for Paris, meeting and partying with Gertrude Stein and Ella and F Scott Fitzgerald in the Jazz Age Paris. As of today, this popular book ranks #4 for Book Club selections and is near the top of my “to Read” shelf.

Lastly, World War II Historical Fiction is UBER HOT right now (stories set in WWII, not necessarily focusing on the war). Here are some top Historical Fiction choices set in the time period of WWII:

Sarah’s Key, The Postmistress, The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society, The Glass Room, The Piano Teacher, The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Book Thief

*My focus in this article was 20th Century Historical Fiction