Ah, summer reading. Arguably, the summer is the season of books, with all-star authors releasing their latest fighting it out against highly anticipated debuts for who will be the blockbuster, bestselling beach read. If you want my guess, any of these 15 best new historical fiction books for 2019’s summer reading could be the next big thing. With new novels from beloved authors and fresh voices hitting the stacks, you can’t go wrong with any of these novels.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (June 4)
The New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love returns with a lush novel set in New York City’s 1940s theatre world. At 95-years-old, Vivian Morris reflects on her youth, starting in 1940 when she was kicked out of college at age 19. Vivian made her way to Manhattan, where she lived with her Aunt Peg, the owner of a midtown theatre, the Lily Playhouse. Vivian lets herself get pulled into the bohemian, romantic, and eccentric lives of the people involved in the theatre, from playwrights to actors. When Vivian makes a fateful mistake, her life is radically altered. Gilbert is known for her rich historical detail (The Signature of All Things) transports you to another time and place in City of Girls. Expect to live and love with Vivian among the streets of Broadway where the theatre industry provided a home for misfits and artists.
How to read it: Purchase City of Girls on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Summer Country by Lauren Willig (June 4)
Lauren Willig is known for her Napoleonic-set novels and brings a similar sweeping historical feel to her latest epic, The Summer Country. The story opens in 1854 and crosses oceans and continents. The novel follows young Emily Dawson, who rises from poverty after an unexpected inheritance gifts her Peverills, a sugar plantation in Barbados. Traveling from Bristol to the Caribbean, Emily wonders why her grandfather would leave her plantation, which nobody in their family knew existed. Emily learns how Peverills complicates her understanding of her family’s secret role in the island’s history. The Summer Country is a thought provoking novel perfect layered with history but rooted in character journeys that bring the past to life.
How to read it: Purchase The Summer Country on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner (June 11)
Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner tells the story of two sisters, Jo and Bethie, over the course of their lives, from their childhood to their older years. The novel drops its anchor in the 1950s and leads up to present day, as each sister is affected by major changes rattling gender history. Weiner examines Jo and Bethie’s identities as Jewish Americans, as women, and as sisters, as the country awakens to feminism. You’ll fall in love with Jo and Bethie and feel deeply engrossed in their stories in Weiner’s novel relatable.
How to read it: Purchase Mrs. Everything on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand (June 18)
The queen of the beach read takes us to 1969 on Nantucket Island. That summer, the Levin family vacations on the small New England island as the radically changing world rocks them, too. The Levin siblings are used to spending part of the summer in their grandmother’s historic downtown Nantucket home, but this year, the brothers and sisters are scattered, each grappling with historical forces like the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and feminism. This is Hilderbrand’s first historical novel and is sure to convert new readers into fans with a taste of her signature complex character dynamics and settings that feel so real you could walk into them.
How to read it: Purchase Summer of ’69 on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali (June 18)
The Stationary Shop centers on Roya, a starry eyed teenager living in Tehran circa 1953. Among the political and social turbulence in Iran, Roya finds refuge in the beautiful objects of Mr. Fakhri’s book and stationary shop in her neighborhood. The shop promises hope for the future and an extravagant luxury of the gorgeous, delicate pens, ink bottles, and writing paper. It’s there that Mr. Fakhri plays matchmaker, introducing Roya to Bahman, who loves poetry and the pursuit of justice. Their romance blossoms, and on the eve of Roya and Bahman’s marriage, they make a plan to meet in the town square. But when an outbreak of violence is unleashed related to the political coup d’etat, Bahman doesn’t show up, and Roya can’t contact him in the frantic weeks after. Then, over sixty years later, the two cross paths again. This passionate novel packed with lyrical language explores the ways that fate and luck can shape our lives, our futures, and our love.
How to read it: Purchase The Stationery Shop on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar (July 2)
This uplifting historical novel about the brave women who joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots will take you higher, literally. This story focuses on Audrey Coltrane, who longs to fly and trains as a pilot. During WWII, she joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots and develops a close kinship with the other women there to serve in a dangerous role. Their bond fortifies Audrey, who is still recovering from trauma due to Pearl Harbor and is missing her friend and love interest, Lieutenant James Hart. Exploring themes like female friendship, courage, and gender during a remarkable time in history.
How to read it: Purchase The Flight Girls on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams (July 9)
With last year’s The Summer Wives, Beatriz Williams announced herself as your go-to beach historical fiction reread, and this summer, Williams is back with a stunning new novel. From the first sentence, you’ll fall down the rabbit hole of history and into the Nassau in the Bahamas during the early 1940s. Leonora “Lulu” Randolph is sent on assignment for a New York society magazine to report on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the pair who set off a royal scandal when the Duke abdicated the throne. A new widow, Lulu is swept up in the drama of the Windsors, getting close enough to realize all is not bright and lovely with the royal outcast couple. As Lulu falls in love with a charming scientist named Benedict Thorpe, she becomes blind to the larger forces at play. This novel promises warmth, passion, and escapism for fans of royal history and high society tales.
How to read it: Purchase The Golden Hour on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess (July 9)
Looking for a breezy, bookish beach read? In The Last Book Party, Karen Dukess takes you back to book world circa the 1980s. At 25, Eve Rosen longs to be an author but has to settle for a low-level pubnlishing job. Eve accepts an invitation to stay at the summer home of a celebrated writer for The New Yorker in the New England coastal town of Cape Cod. It’s easy to get swept into the world of revolving highbrow intellectual writers and artists, but the experience complicates the publishing world for Eve, sparking her to act on her dreams. This poignant coming-of-age novel will wring your heart and make any bookworm smile at the literary references. Definitely a good book club pick.
How to read it: Purchase The Last Book Party on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (July 16)
From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Underground Railroad comes a gritty, searing novel set in South at the end of the Civil Rights Movement. Elwood Curtis is a young man has dreams of college and intend to stick to the nonviolent creed of Dr. King. But one mistake gets Elwood sent to a horrific reform school for boys in Florida called the Nickel Academy. Unlike in The Underground Railroad, this novel does not introduce a surrealist element into the story but rather sticks to realism. Be prepared to be heartbroken and transformed by Whitehead’s novel. This is a difficult but rewarding read, a moving story of courage and human spirit against resounding evil.
How to read it: Purchase The Nickel Boys on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (July 23)
Readers looking for glitz and glamor in a beach read will want to add Meet Me in Monaco to their TBR. In this serene, eye-opening historical novel, Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb take you inside the world of American society girl and actress Grace Kelly. You’ll be swept away by Kelly’s breathless romance and engagement to Prince Rainer of Monaco and the royal wedding that crazed the world with anticipation. Meet Me in Monaco is also anchored in other perspectives of people close to the couple, including the woman who becomes her close friend, perfume boutique owner Sophie Duval, and a British photographer, James Henderson, who falls for Sophie. Get your passport ready; you’ll be swept away to the scenic Côte d’Azur and countless parties of the rich and famous with Meet Me in Monaco.
How to read it: Purchase Meet Me in Monaco on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis (July 30)
The latest from Fiona Davis (The Dollhouse and The Address) continues her themes of female friendship and gender dynamics in Manhattan. In Chelsea Girls, Davis looks at the famous (and real) Chelsea Hotel, a safe haven for artsy types nestled in bohemian downtown New York. Two friends, actress Maxine and playwright Hazel, want more than anything to get their play on Broadway. But in a time when McCarthyism’s red scare plagues the arts, it’s harder than ever for ambitious women to get their show produced. With rumors and betrayal swirling through their circle of friends, Maxine and Hazel will need to stick together to survive the turbulent era.
How to read it: Purchase The Chelsea Girls on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (August 6)
Fan of the Jazz Age? Casiopea Tun would give anything to be where the inventive, swinging new jazz music she hears on the radio is being played, far from her small, quiet Mexican town. When she discovers a strange box in her grandfather’s house and curiosity leads her to open it, Casiopea accidentally unleashes the the Mayan god of death’s spirit, who recruits her help on an epic journey across Mexico to take back the throne from his menacing brother, promising her wishes to come true if she helps. Blending mythology with historical detail, Silvia Moreno-Garcia invites you for one wild ride with a protagonist as strong and fierce as the spirit she’s trying to help.
How to read it: Purchase Gods of Jade and Shadow on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Women of the Copper Country by Maria Doria Russell (August 6)
Mary Doria Russell, the acclaimed author of The Sparrow, is back! In her latest novel, The Women of the Copper Country, this all-star historical fiction author takes us back to the copper-mining American Midwest of 1913. There we’re sucked into the story of Annie Clements, a 25-year-old blue collar worker who is sick of economic inequality. Annie makes a choice to stand up for the people risking their lives in mining that makes other people wealthy, making her an unlikely hero and jeopardizing her relationship with her husband, who doesn’t exactly love her new independence. But Annie’s thirst for justice cannot be tamed, leading to startling, dramatic effects you’ll clear your schedule to read.
How to read it: Purchase The Women of the Copper Country on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca White (August 6)
Did that cover make you look twice? Yes, it’s an optical illusion and a good hint at what to expect from this slick novel set in the 1960s. If you’re feeling Mad Men withdrawal, you’ll definitely want to pick up Susan Rebecca White’s We Are All Good People Here. In this novel, two roommates from opposite sides of the track meet as freshmen at Belmont College. Eve Whalen comes from money, while Daniella is from more humble means with an unconventional mixed-religion household. The two girls become friends even as their lives diverge across the political awakening happening in the United States. Can Eve and Daniella resurrect their friendship when their daughters are caught in a web of secrets? Spanning thirty years, this smart panorama of American class, activism, and, at its heart, an unbreakable bond.
How to read it: Purchase We Are All Good People Here on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Inland by Téa Obreht (August 13)
Take a trip to the Wild West in this novel by the acclaimed author of The Tiger’s Wife. In 1893, Arizona Territory is suffering from a terrible drought that took Nora’s husband from her as he went off looking for water. With her two older boys also gone, Nora’s stuck at home with her youngest son, a boy who claims that a strange beast is treading around their property. Lurie is haunted by ghosts, and not just ghosts of his past life as an outlaw. He’s convinced he can talk to spirits, a gift that is taking him on an epic journey across the West. Together, Nora and Lurie’s worlds collide, sparking events both magical and real.
How to read it: Purchase Inland on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Tidelands (Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory (August 20)
Philippa Gregory’s earned her reputation as a queen of historical fiction by writing unputdownable novels about royalty. With Tidelands, she takes a different approach. This exciting start to a new series promises Gregory’s same irresistible mix of su15spense, immersive historical detail, and a willful, smart, and relatable heroine. It’s 1648 in the south coast of England. On the full moon of Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in a graveyard hoping to find a ghost to rid her of an abusive husband. Instead, she meets James, a man running from demons of his own. Alinor helps James, with dire consequences for her own life. With witchcraft persecution at its peak, Alinor comes under scrutiny for her natural talents and single status. Can she withstand these volatile times? You’ll flip pages to find out.
