Archives de catégorie : Historical Fiction

THE LEAGUE OF DANGEROUS YOUNG LADIES de J.A. Morgenstein

Enola Holmes meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this thrilling YA fantasy adventure from debut author J. A. Morgenstein, perfect for fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Philip Pullman.

THE LEAGUE OF DANGEROUS YOUNG LADIES
by J.A. Morgenstein
Stonefruit Studio/Sourcebooks, June 2026

It’s 1909 and Rose Moriarty―teenage daughter of Sherlock Holmes’ greatest enemy―has made a name for herself fighting monsters and solving crimes. But that was before Rose met the one mystery she couldn’t solve: the disappearance of her headmistress. Now, her school has shut down, her classmates have scattered, and Rose is on her own.

On the very day Rose receives word that an old friend is dying, the shadowy Count Christoph and his ward Clara show up at her door. Rose has already figured out why they’re here (to hire her) and what’s in their bag (an ancient orb with incredible powers), but questions remain: Can Rose convince these strangers to help save her friend’s life? What are the grotesque, bug-shaped stalkers that plague their every step? And how can Rose pursue this adventure while avoiding a particular boy from her childhood? The only thing certain is that Rose is no longer alone, because danger forges strange alliances . . .

. . . and Professor Moriarty wasn’t the only famous villain to have a daughter.

Unexpected friendships, supernatural mystery, high-stakes heists, and budding romance billow together in this thrilling fantasy adventure, which introduces a motley crew of daredevil heroines who hunt monsters . . . in all their forms.

J. A. Morgenstein has been a competitive ballroom dancer and instructor for the majority of his adult life, but during the lockdown, he found himself with the opportunity to focus his creative energy on his dream of becoming a writer. This started him down a winding road which culminated in THE LEAGUE OF DANGEROUS YOUNG LADIES.

TREPPE AUS PAPIER de Henrik Szántó

What stories would the walls tell, if they could speak? A house and its inhabitants, from the Nazi era to the present day. For fans of Imre Kertész, Saša Stanišić and Jenny Erpenbeck.

TREPPE AUS PAPIER
(Paper Stairs)
by Henrik Szántó
Blessing Verlag/PRH Germany, August 2025

When 15-year-old Nele Bittner and 90-year-old Irma Thon meet in the stairwell of a four-storey period building, their conversation breathes life into what Nele always thought was boring old history.

The narrator of Nele and Irma’s story is the house itself, whose walls, hallways, pipes and nooks and crannies harbour the memories of all those who have lived in it over the past hundred years. Irma has a special connection to the building: she and her Nazi-supporting parents lived here when she was a child. Nele, meanwhile, lives on the top floor, in a flat once occupied by the Sternheim family – and Irma feels responsible for what happened to them.

For this house, everything happens simultaneously: when little Ruth Sternheim skips down the stairs, the house remembers the SA who, years later, will smash the window of the Sternheims’ ground-floor watch shop with their truncheons. While Irma looks back on her life, Nele’s questioning of her own family brings to light things they had hoped to suppress.

A daring, courageous novel about remembrance, responsibility and the shadow cast by history.

Henrik Szántó, born in 1988, is a half-Hungarian, half-Finnish author and presenter living in Hannover. He performs as a spoken word artist on stages across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and has won several fellowships. He also works as an instructor, running poetry, creative writing, public speaking and performance skills seminars, and stages events showcasing both new and experienced voices. He is particularly interested in multilingualism, remembrance and multiculturalism.

IN EVERY BIRD: BEFORE THE GARDEN de Katy Sewall

Sold in a heated 9-person auction in the US, right before Frankfurt, a prequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic The Secret Garden, for fans of Broken Country and The Thornbirds.

IN EVERY BIRD: BEFORE THE GARDEN
by Katy Sewall
Random House, Spring 2027
(via The Friedrich Agency)

A sweeping emotional tale and love story. IN EVERY BIRD: BEFORE THE GARDEN begins at the moment The Secret Garden starts—just as a cholera epidemic is sweeping through India—except this time, we flash back into the life of Mary Lennox’s mother, and the boy who will help her realize how expansive life can be.

“I was captivated and charmed by Katy Sewall’s debut novel, which more than does justice to its classic inspiration. I came into this book knowing as much about The Secret Garden as I did the Olive Garden, but by the end, I wanted nothing more than to stay a little longer in her rich and insightful world.” — Jess Walter, bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins

Katy Sewall is a writer and radio professional based in Seattle. She spent more than two decades working with NPR and currently hosts a weekly podcast called The Bittersweet Life, now in its 11th year.

THE INVITATION de Veronica Henry

Be swept away by the enchanting and devastatingly romantic new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Veronica Henry, set between post-war London and the enchanting Foxwood Manor in the rolling Somerset countryside. Filled with secret love affairs, heartbreak and friendship, expect surprises on every page.

THE INVITATION
by Veronica Henry
Orion, February 2026
(via Mushens Entertainment)

A secret love story.
A chance to stay forever…

London, 1953

Clementine falls for Alfie Arbutus and knows that life will never be the same again. Especially when he invites her to visit Foxwood Manor.

Stella lost a part of her heart when Edwin Arbutus died. Their wartime love affair changed everything, but now she has her son, Ted, to fight for.

Elizabeth hopes that throwing the Foxwood Snow Ball will bring joy to her husband, Michael, for the first time since they lost their son.

Yet as the invitations are sent, the lives of the women collide with unimaginable consequences. Will the secrets of the past break the family apart, or bring them back together?

Veronica Henry is the Sunday Times bestselling author of over 20 bestselling novels published into 25 languages over 30 territories.

Veronica Henry has always been involved in storytelling, from her first job typing scripts for The Archers to being writer-in-residence on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. She was a scriptwriter for many years, working on some of our best-loved dramas including Heartbeat and Holby City. She has written over twenty novels, all published by Orion. She won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award with A Night on the Orient Express. She lives on the North Devon coast where she loves walking on the beach, swimming in the sea or watching the sun set with a killer negroni.

WILD ASTER d’Anna Hogeland

A powerful portrait of an unforgettable woman with a talent for survival, whose life spans the early twentieth century, from a writer acclaimed for her “unwavering passion and insight” (Jess Walter, NYT bestselling author of The Cold Millions)

WILD ASTER
by Anna Hogeland
Bloomsbury, December 2026
(via DeFiore and Co.)

Mae Smith starts her life as a stolen good: her biological mother, Ida, kidnaps her from her adoptive parents, and Mae grows up on the run, constantly changing towns and names, never able to find a home. After her mother’s death, Mae is determined to live a different kind of life. But over the next half century, as she reinvents herself against the backdrop of the Depression and Second World War and pursues stability amid the personal upheavals of marriage and motherhood, she must reckon with the choices she’s made and life’s inexorable turns.

For readers of Zorrie by Laird Hunt, The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott, and The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant, Wild Aster explores the price of security, the drive to be a different mother than your own, and the daily gains and losses that define who we become. Ultimately, Mae’s story challenges us to confront the choices we make for personal fulfillment and family obligation and the perseverance that even a seemingly ordinary life demands.

Anna Hogeland is the author of the novel The Long Answer (Riverhead, 2022). She is a psychotherapist in private practice, with an MSW from Smith College School for Social Work and an MFA from UC Irvine. Her essays have appeared in Literary Hub, Big Issue, Gloss Magazine, Romper, and elsewhere. She lives in Massachusetts.