Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction

You love history.  You love history ebooks.  But, you also love fiction--and you're not afraid to admit it.  Why not have the best of both worlds? Authors who promote their Historical Fiction ebooks on our website always do so for free or at a discounted price.  Bestsellers, new releases, and authors you'll be glad to have discovered.  See the past through the eyes of these creative heroes!

 

Definition of "Historical Fiction Genre": The most important part of ebooks in this genre are their settings.  Yes, characters and plot matter.  But, beyond all else, the details associated with the setting must be accurate. This takes a tremendous amount of research and familiarity from the authors who delve into this genre of ebooks.  These ebooks can focus on actual historical figures, or they can insert more fictionalized elements into the plot.  It is always a balancing act between the history and fiction, and is something the best authors in this genre navigate with aplomb.  

 

Some examples of bestselling ebooks in the Historical Fiction genre are Erik Larson (Devil in the White City), Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), Patrick O'Brian (Aubrey/Maturin Novels), and Mary Renault (The Persian Boy).

The Orphan's Tale: A Novel

by Pam Jenoff


Look out for Pam's new book, The Lost Girls of Paris, a story of friendship and courage centered around three women and a ring of female spies during World War II—coming soon!

A New York Times bestseller!

"Readers who enjoyed Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants will embrace this novel. " —Library Journal

"Secrets, lies, treachery, and passion…. I read this novel in a headlong rush." —Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival 

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night. 

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

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Jesus Was a Time Traveler (WATT Book 1)

by D.J. Gelner


Time travel. Every sober scientist thinks it’s utterly impossible.

Of course, Phineas Templeton is no sober scientist in any sense of the word. A quirky English chap with a taste for fine scotch, Dr. Templeton builds a time machine at the behest of his mysterious Benefactor. His mission? To meet Jesus Christ Himself, and garner all of the fame, recognition, and accolades that writing an epic time travelogue would bring.

Unfortunately for Finny, Jesus is actually a fellow time traveler, a hippie named Trent from Colorado. While He explains that the past is fixed and immutable (“What happened, like, HAPPENED, man…"), Dr. Templeton realizes that he’s made a horrible oversight in his calculations, and can’t return to his own time period.

The only way home is to follow a list of very specific instructions his Benefactor has hidden on the time machine, which sends him on a madcap, at times hilarious voyage from watching his hero, Sir Isaac Newton, be berated by a high school physics teacher, to hunting dinosaurs, to rescuing two colorful American soldiers and fighting Nazis hellbent on his destruction.

All the while, Phineas is left to question his Benefactor’s true intentions. Just who is the shadowy person pulling the strings of a conspiracy thousands of years in the making? And why is Finny so key to their machinations?

A novel that’s been called “equal parts ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and ‘Back to the Future,’" "Jesus Was a Time Traveler" is a book that will please fans of Dan Brown and Douglas Adams alike with quirky humor, thought-provoking puzzles, cryptic clues, and a finicky universe that would like nothing more than to keep things as they are.

HERE'S WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING (In addition to the great reviews on Amazon below!):

"A thoroughly enjoyable novel: equal parts 'Da Vinci Code' & 'Back to the Future' make it a novel you don't want to put down! I thoroughly enjoyed this philosophical--and funny--adventure through the centuries!" -Another Merchant Site

"I found the book engrossing. The trip through history and our future was fun to take with the Doc!!" -Another Merchant Site

"it made me want to keep turning the page to see what would happen next. It was engaging and I thought the plot was creative and interesting." -Goodreads

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Saving Grace: A Victorian Mystery

by Hannah Howe


Based on a true story and written by Hannah Howe, author of the Amazon #1 Sam Smith Mystery Series, Saving Grace, "the courtroom drama of the year."

The Western Mail

2 August 1876

Sensation in the Charles Petrie Case!

Readers may recall that a young banker, by name Mr Charles Petrie, with every opportunity of succeeding in his profession, and commanding a not illiberal income, returned home after riding his horse to dine with his wife, Grace, and her companion, Mrs Quinn. During and after dinner he had nothing to excite him save the receipt of a letter which somewhat annoyed him, and that his wife consumed rather more wine than he considered to be good for her health. Immediately after retiring to his room he was seized with symptoms of irritant poisoning, and despite every effort made on his behalf, he succumbed to its effects. An inquest was held, which vexed the minds of the Coroner’s jury to a degree without precedent in Coroners’ Inquest Law, and an open verdict was returned. However, the matter will not rest there, for after questions in Parliament, a second inquest has been called under suspicion that Mr Charles Petrie was murdered.

* * *

Who poisoned Charles Petrie? Dr James Collymore, a man familiar with poisons, a man harbouring a dark secret that, if exposed, would ruin his career; Florrie, the maid who supplied Charles with his bedtime drink; Bert Kemp, a disgruntled groom, who used poisons in his work, who four months previously had predicted Charles’ dying day; Mrs Jennet Quinn, a lady’s companion with a deep knowledge of poisons, and a deep fear of dismissal; or Grace Petrie, Charles’ wife of four months, a woman with a scandalous past, a woman shunned by polite society.

With crowds flocking to the courtroom and the shadow of suspicion falling upon Grace in the shape of the hangman’s noose, could dashing young advocate, Daniel Morgan, save her?

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The Man With Two Names: A Novel of Ancient Rome (The Sertorius Scrolls Book 1)

by Vincent B. Davis II


"Is it better to be a bad man and accomplish great things, or be a great man and accomplish nothing?"

Quintus Sertorius has spent the first 20 years of his life training horses on his family farm, but this must end when his father dies and his village's political connections to Rome are severed. For the sake of his family, Quintus must leave his village for the Eternal City.
If he succeeds, his people will be fed. If he fails, his people will starve.
He begins his political career under the most influential men in Rome, but soon discovers that those in the Senate are less inclined to help him than he had hoped. His journey takes him from the corrupt and treacherous Forum to the deadly forests of Gaul, making powerful friends and enemies along the way.
But it will take more than allies to succeed. He will have to decide what compromises he is willing to make, and what risks he is willing to take, if he is to secure a future for himself and his people.

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The Last Midwife: A Novel

by Sandra Dallas


SANDRA DALLAS is the author of fourteen novels, including A Quilt for Christmas, Fallen Women, True Sisters, The Bride's House, Whiter Than Snow, Prayers for Sale, Tallgrass and New Mercies. She is a former Denver bureau chief for Business Week magazine and lives in Denver, Colorado.

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The Silent Christmas: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery Novella

by M J Lee

 

In a time of war, they discovered peace.

When David Wright finds a label, a silver button and a lump of old leather in a chest in the attic, it opens up a window onto the true of joy of Christmas. 

Jayne Sinclair, genealogical investigator, has just a few days to unravel the mystery and discover the truth of what happened on December 25, 1914.

Why did her client’s great grandfather keep these objects hidden for so long? What did they mean to him? And will they help bring the joy of Christmas to a young boy stuck in hospital?

This is the fifth Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery but it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel.

 

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The Blue

by Nancy Bilyeau


‘Nancy Bilyeau's passion for history infuses her books’ – Alison Weir

'Historical fans will be well satisfied.' - Publishers Weekly


In eighteenth century England, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities.

In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice.

When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelein, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the colour blue…

The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.

With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?

Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, DuJour, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. She is currently a regular contributor to Town & Country, Purist, and The Strand. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

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The Weight of Ink

by Rachel Kadish


WINNER OF A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

"A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion."—Toni Morrison


Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. 
 
When Helen is summoned by a former student to view a cache of newly discovered seventeenth-century Jewish documents, she enlists the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive "Aleph."
  
Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries—and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.  

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The Welsh Guardsman

by Ann Brough


Based on a true story…

Goodbyes were always hard, especially when it might be forever. The women on the station turned away with tears, images of their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and boyfriends disappearing through the smoke. Dorothy stood there alone, until every trace of smoke from the train engine had dissipated. She suddenly felt cold and alone. She finally turned and followed the other women down the metal steps, off the station and back to Edward Street.

1927. The poverty-stricken streets of Neck End in England’s industrial midlands, were a lonely and miserable place for a little girl. Abandoned by her mother, Dorothy clings to the memory of her father, who lives in the capital city. London seems an entire world away, as she hopes for the day when he might send for her and she can finally get out.

Twelve years later, the country is plunged into war with Germany and Dorothy’s world is thrown into chaos. Can she have a life in London with her father despite the dangers of war or will a chance encounter with a dashing soldier change her path for good? 

Torn between loyalty to her father and the possibility of love, Dorothy struggles with the greatest decision of her young life. A decision influenced by war and the love of two strong, yet vastly different, men.

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Secrets Revealed: Book Two in the Eidel's Story Series

by Roberta Kagan


Secrets Revealed

Hitler has surrendered. The Nazi flags, which once hung throughout the city, striking terror in the hearts of Polish citizens, have been torn down. It seems that Warsaw should be rejoicing in its new-found freedom. But Warsaw is not free. Instead it is occupied by the Soviet Union, held tightly in Stalin’s iron grip. Communist soldiers, in uniform, now control the city. Where once people feared the dreaded swastika, now they tremble at the sight of the hammer and sickle. It is a treacherous time. And, in the midst of all of this danger, Ela Dobinski, a girl with a secret that could change her life, is coming of age.

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The Orchardist: A Novel

by Amanda Coplin


At once intimate and epic, The Orchardist is historical fiction at its best, in the grand literary tradition of William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison.

In her stunningly original and haunting debut novel, Amanda Coplin evokes a powerful sense of place, mixing tenderness and violence as she spins an engrossing tale of a solitary orchardist who provides shelter to two runaway teenage girls in the untamed American West, and the dramatic consequences of his actions. 

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World Gone By: A Novel (Coughlin Series Book 3)

by Dennis Lehane


Dennis Lehane, the New York Times bestselling author of Live by Night—now a Warner Bros. movie starring Ben Affleck—delivers a psychologically, morally complex novel of blood, crime, passion, and vengeance, set in Cuba and Ybor City, Florida, during World War II, in which Joe Coughlin must confront the cost of his criminal past and present.

Ten years have passed since Joe Coughlin’s enemies killed his wife and destroyed his empire, and much has changed. Prohibition is dead, the world is at war again, and Joe’s son, Tomás, is growing up. Now, the former crime kingpin works as a consigliore to the Bartolo crime family, traveling between Tampa and Cuba, his wife’s homeland.

A master who moves in and out of the black, white, and Cuban underworlds, Joe effortlessly mixes with Tampa’s social elite, U.S. Naval intelligence, the Lansky-Luciano mob, and the mob-financed government of Fulgencio Batista. He has everything—money, power, a beautiful mistress, and anonymity.

But success cannot protect him from the dark truth of his past—and ultimately, the wages of a lifetime of sin will finally be paid in full.

Dennis Lehane vividly recreates the rise of the mob during a world at war, from a masterfully choreographed Ash Wednesday gun battle in the streets of Ybor City to a chilling, heartbreaking climax in a Cuban sugar cane field. Told with verve and skill, World Gone By is a superb work of historical fiction from one of “the most interesting and accomplished American novelists” (Washington Post) writing today.

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Conrad Monk and the Great Heathen Army

by Edoardo Albert


'If I was being invaded by raping, massacring Vikings, Conrad would be the perfect companion to lighten the mood.' - Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and The French Revolution & What Went Wrong

'An engrossing plot, powered by a realistic measure of laughs – imagine Cadfael, if Ellis Peters had just had a long lunch with Terry Pratchett.' - Jem Roberts, author of Tales of Britain


Conrad is a monk, but he has become a monk through trickery and against his will. So, it is fair to say that his heart isn't really in it.

Conrad is also clever, charming, entirely self-serving, self-absorbed and almost completely without scruple — but in Anglo-Saxon England, when the Danish invaders come calling, those are very helpful attributes to have.

And so it comes to pass that Conrad finds himself constantly dodging death by various means, some reasonable, some... less so. His tricks include selling his brother monks into slavery, witnessing the death of a king, juggling his loyalties between his own people and the Danes, robbing corpses and impersonating a bishop.

By his side throughout is the gentle and honourable Brother Odo, a man so naturally and completely good that even animals sense it. He is no match of wits for the cunning Conrad but can he, perhaps, at least encourage the wayward monk to behave a little better?

Conrad Monk and the Great Heathen Army takes the reader on a hugely entertaining and highly informative trip through the Anglo-Saxon world, in the company of a persuasive and likeable — if frequently despicable — tour guide. It is a story that combines painstakingly accurate depictions of history with a fast-moving and often hilarious plot, and as such is bound to appeal to lovers of history, historical fiction and character-driven fiction alike.

Edoardo Albert is a writer of Sri Lankan and Italian descent based in London. He has written a number of full length novels, as well as shorter stories for publications ranging from Daily Science Fiction to Ancient Paths. He has written features for papers and magazines including Time Out, Sunday Times and History Today.

'I loved this book as a total immersion historical adventure. Conrad – the hero - is selfish, opportunistic, amoral, and he made me laugh over and over again.' - John Drake, bestselling author of the Fletcher series

'The pagans are coming...but Conrad is one shameless con man who will keep one step ahead of them, and charm you while he does it. He lies—he cheats—and I loved every minute of it.' - Wendy Bertsch, author of Once More, from the Beginning

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The Emerald Scepter (A Matinicus “Matt” Hawkins Adventure Book 1)

by Paul Kemprecos

“ 'The Emerald Scepter' just might be the perfect speculative thriller, offering up a seasoned blend of legend and folklore mixed brilliantly with actual historical fact. James Rollins and Clive Cussler have nothing on Paul Kemprecos who has been and continues to be a master of the form and then some. This is everything a great read should be, a riveting, tried-and true tale of quests and daring-do, of great heroes and equally contemptuous villains. There’s a reason why Kemprecos is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and it’s all on display here.”

—Jon Land, bestselling author of ”Pandora’s Temple”

“A brilliant mystery that combines suspense with exciting adventure. Intriguing plot twists from beginning to end shrouded under genuine history.”
—Clive Cussler, New York Times bestselling author of “Zero Hour”

Something bad happened to Matinicus "Matt" Hawkins in Afghanistan.

The ex-SEAL was grievously wounded in an ambush that killed men under his command and almost ended his life. When he pushed for an investigation, he was kicked out of the Navy with a psychiatric discharge. The doctors put his shattered leg back together, but the bitterness destroyed his marriage.

Five years later, Hawkins is jerked out of his tranquil life as a designer of undersea robots. A super-secret government group wants him to go back to Afghanistan on a strange and dangerous mission.

A Georgetown University historian has unearthed evidence that could lead to the fabulous treasure of Prester John, a legendary Christian ruler of an eastern empire.

The historian has disappeared, and the government wants Hawkins to track down the treasure as a matter of national security. The centerpiece of the trove, an emerald-encrusted gold scepter, is the linchpin in the Prophet's Necklace, code-name for a plot that is intended to kill more people than the attack on the Twin Towers and rally others to the terrorist cause.

Hawkins sees his mission to foil the plot as an opportunity to search for answers. He pulls together an eclectic team that includes his ex-wife, a former comrade-in-arms and a mentally unstable computer whiz.

Backed by his unlikely team, Hawkins will travel thousands of miles and hundreds of years on an amazing time-space odyssey. He'll face off against a cold-blooded killer. Probe the underwater secrets of an ancient tomb. Navigate the treacherous stands of an unimaginable conspiracy. And in the process, will discover that there are treasures even more valuable than gold.

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Amongst My Enemies: A Cold War Spy vs Spy Action Thriller

by William F. Brown

Inside a rusting German U-Boat are millions in gold bars, stolen art, and a secret that could tear NATO apart.
The KGB, the CIA, Nazi SS hitmen, even the Israeli Mossad – everyone is willing to kill for it, but only former US Airman Mike Randall knows the truth in this Cold War spy versus spy thriller.

After his B-17 crashes in East Prussia in the winter of 1945, Randall finds himself in a Nazi forced labor battalion in Konigsberg on the frozen Baltic coast, surrounded by the Red Army. Also in the old port is Kapitan Eric Bruckner, one of Germany’s last surviving U-Boats, and SS Major Heinz Kruger, Martin Bormann’s sinister hatchet man.

Unaware that the U-Boat has been tapped for a top-secret mission, Randall manages to stow away. After a British bomber sends the U-boat to the bottom, he is the lone survivor and the only one who knows what is really inside.

Seven years later, when Randall finally speaks up, he puts a target on his own forehead, one that the Russians, the West Germans, the U-boat’s former Nazi owners, the US government, and even the Israeli Mossad quickly take aim at.

Some want the gold, some want Randall dead, and some want proof that there is a high-ranking spy inside NATO itself.

What Mike Randall wants is much simpler. Caught between the Kremlin’s spies, the CIA, the Mossad, and a new, deadly, 4th Reich, all he wants is to pay an old debt with a steel-jacketed bullet.

Looking for a good beach book or something to curl up wit in front of the fire, this fast-moving conspiracy thriller i/s from the author of Burke’s Gamble, Burke’s War, The Undertaker, Amongst My Enemies, Thursday at Noon, and Aim True, My Brothers, with over 500 Kindle 5-Star Reviews. Enjoy!

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The Promise (The Golden City Book Three)

by A.B. Michaels

HE’LL RISK EVERYTHING TO KEEP HIS WORD
... IF THE GOLDEN CITY WILL LET HIM

April 18, 1906. A massive earthquake has decimated much of San Francisco, leaving thousands without food, water or shelter. Patrolling the streets to help those in need, Army corporal Ben Tilson meets a young woman named Charlotte who touches his heart, making him think of a future with her in it. In the heat of the moment he makes a promise to her family that even he realizes will be almost impossible to keep.

Because on the heels of the earthquake, a much worse disaster looms: a fire that threatens to consume everything and everyone in its path.

It will take everything Ben’s got to make it back to the woman he's fallen for—and even that may not be enough.
The Promise , a stand-alone novella, is Book Three in A.B.Michaels' historical fiction series "The Golden City."
 

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A Pledge of Silence

by Flora J. Solomon


2014 Winner — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — General Fiction

When Margie Bauer joins the Army Nurse Corps in 1941, she is delighted to be sent to Manila, the Pearl of the Orient. Though rumors of war circulate, she feels safe, trusting the island is fortified and the Filipino troops are well trained.

On December 8, 1941, her dreamworld shatters when the Japanese invade the Philippines. The US Army evacuates to the Bataan Peninsula, where she cares for the wounded soldiers in a field hospital, and then in a catacomb of tunnels on Corregidor Island. Ultimately captured, she is interned in Santo Tomas, a Japanese prison camp, where for three years she endures escalating danger, starvation, and loss.

At once an epic tale of a nation at war and the deeply personal story of one woman’s intense journey, A Pledge of Silence vividly illustrates the sacrifices the Greatest Generation made for their country, and the price they continued to pay long after the war ended.

Revised edition: This edition of A Pledge of Silence includes editorial revisions.

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The Beekeeper's Promise

by Fiona Valpy


Heartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howes takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman’s story, a story that could change the course of her summer—and her life.

In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue. In its shadow she meets Mathieu Dubosq and falls in love for the first time, daring to hope that a happy future awaits. But France’s eastern border is darkening under the clouds of war, and history has other plans for Eliane…

When she is separated from Mathieu in the chaos of German occupation, Eliane makes the dangerous decision to join the Resistance and fight for France’s liberty. But with no end to the war in sight, her loyalty to Mathieu is severely tested.

From the bestselling author of Sea of Memories comes the story of two remarkable women, generations apart, who must use adversity to their advantage and find the resilience deep within.

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Night over Water

by Ken Follett


#1 New York Times bestselling author Ken Follett takes to the skies in this classic novel of international suspense. Set in the early days of World War II, Night over Water captures the daring and desperation of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances—in prose as compelling as history itself. . . . 

September 1939. England is at war with Nazi Germany. In Southampton,  the world's most luxurious airliner—the legendary Pan Am Clipper—takes off for its final flight to neutral America. Aboard are the cream of society and the dregs of humanity, all fleeing the war for reasons of their own . . . shadowed by a danger they do not know exists . . . and heading straight into a storm of violence, intrigue, and betrayal. . . .

Look out for Ken Follett's newest book, A Column of Fire, available now.

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Night (Night Trilogy)

by Elie Wiesel


A New Translation From The French By Marion Wiesel

Night is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man's capacity for inhumanity to man.

Night offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.

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