In 2026 I spent the year reading through American’s 250 years using historical fiction novels. Because I’m always asked for recommendations, below are the books I read for each period of our nation’s history.
The story of Elizabeth Winthrop, niece of Massachusettes’ first governor John Winthrop, from her childhood in England to immigrating to the New World in the mid 1600s and the settling of these first colonies.
The story of the life of Patsy Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter who essentially became his first lady when he was elected president after her mother died. A remarkable story of a very well educated young woman who influenced a ton our our nation’s early decisions from behind the scenes.
The story of Martha Ballard, a real life midwife in Maine that explores our earliest justice system in our new nation and what a strange and undeveloped system that was! This book was phenomenal.
A fictionalize account of the Donner Party’s fated journey west. This has been my least favorite of the books thus far. Ten years ago I read the book The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown which was a true non-fiction account of the Donner Party and that book is one I still think about to this day. It was incredible. Answer Creek just couldn’t live up to that particular telling of this unbelievably tragic story.
The story of Caroline, a widow of a union soldier who lives just outside of Gettysburg when the famous battle brings the war to her literal doorstep. A wonderful novel showcasing the complications of what happens when fellow citizens are at war with their own country.
A novel I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own but was excellent! Based on the true story of a kingdom that newly freed slaves founded in the hills of western North Carolina. This was a beautiful story of community, new beginnings, and the heartbreaking reality of the way land owned by blacks was systemically taken from them over the years of the reconstruction era.
A novel based on the real life of Arabella Huntington, who went from absolute poverty to becoming one of the richest women in America during the Gilded Age. Wife of railroad tycoon Collis Huntington, a true rags to riches story set in a time period of wealth that fascinated me.
Centered around four women in San Francisco in the days leading up to and the aftermath of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 this was a great look at life in the early days of establishing west coast cities. From Chinatown to the wealthy mansions on Nob Hill of the railroad barons, this was a reminder that even the wealthy were not protected from some disasters that required people to start all over again.
This is the only book on my list not set in America. I know there are great books that would better meet my criteria, but I chose this because it’s been on my TBR list for so long and I love Kate Quinn so I decided I’d make an exception here and read through WW1 in a European setting. This book is phenomenal, Kate Quinn might be the queen of historical fiction for me.
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