Historical Fiction audiobooks

The Curse of Penryth Hall

By: Jess Armstrong

Narrated by: Emma Love

Length: 10 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the... Read more

The Jazz Club Spy

By: Roberta Rich

Narrated by: Helen Laser

Length: 7 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

From the author of the “riveting” (Chicago Tribune) The Midwife of Venice, a fresh and sweeping historical novel following a Jewish woman attempting to bring justice to her family on the eve of World War II.

New York City, 1939: At the height of the Great Depression, a time when President Roosevelt is trying to keep America out of World War II,... Read more

The Porcelain Maker

By: Sarah Freethy

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton

Length: 11 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

An epic story of love, betrayal, and art that spans decades, through the horrors of World War II to 21st century America, inspired by an actual porcelain factory in Dachau.

Two lovers caught at the crossroads of history.
A daughter’s search for the truth.

Germany, 1929. At a festive gathering of young bohemians in Weimar, two young artists, Max, a... Read more

Our Divine Mischief

By: Hanna Howard

Narrated by: Angus Yellowlees, Elle Newlands & Cathleen McCa...

Length: 11 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

A sweeping YA fantasy inspired by Scottish history and folklore, Our Divine Mischieftakes readers on a journey told in three voices: a determined heroine, an outcast young man, and a wish-granting canine. Their adventure spans an island fishing village to the king’s court in a story about identity, belonging, and the love between a human and her... Read more

Queen Hereafter

By: Isabelle Schuler

Narrated by: Sara Vickers

Length: 12 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

“A bruising tale of passion, ambition, power, vengeance, and desire . . . a stunning retelling.” —Entertainment Weekly, Most Anticipated Books of Fall“Suspenseful, atmospheric and full of twists and turns, I loved the brutal, backstabbing world that Isabelle Schuler conjures up where only the most ruthless can survive. A thoroughly enjoyable... Read more

The Golden Gate

By: Amy Chua

Narrated by: Robb Moreira, Suzanne Toren & Tim Campbell

Length: 13 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

"Moreira displays his many years of dramatic training and extensive theatrical experience as he animates characters as diverse as low-life thugs, the upper-class Bainbridge women, and even Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Tim Campbell and Suzanne Toren ably narrate the court deposition sequences. This audiobook is part hard-boiled detective story, part... Read more

One Blood

By: Denene Millner

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Joniece Abbott-Pratt & Tina Lifford

Length: 18 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

This program features multicast narration. It also includes a poem, book club reading guide, and acknowledgments, all read by the author.

Homegoing meets The Mothers where three women are tied together by blood, love, and family secrets in this searing novel by New York Times bestseller Denene Millner.

Raised by her beloved grandmother in... Read more

Learned by Heart

By: Emma Donoghue

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio

Length: 8 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

A heartbreakingly gorgeous novel based on the true story of two girls who fall secretly, deeply, and dangerously in love at boarding school in 19th century York, from the bestselling author of Room and The Wonder.
 
Drawing on years of investigation and Anne Lister’s five-million-word secret journal, Learned by Heart is the long-buried love... Read more

Trinity

By: Zelda Lockhart

Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman

Length: 9 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

The Hurston-Wright Award Finalist makes her long-awaited return with this electrifying saga—as moving and indelible as The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, The Turner House, and The Love Songs of W. E. B. DuBois—that explores three generations of a family trying to overcome trials and trauma and free themselves from the darkness of the past.Lottie... Read more

Return to Valetto

By: Dominic Smith

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 8 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

"Edoardo Ballerini’s adroit narration conveys the subtle changes in
the family, set against the splendor of Valetto’s changing landscape."- Bookpage

From the bestselling author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Dominic Smith’s Return to Valetto tells of a nearly abandoned Italian village, the family that stayed, and long-buried secrets from... Read more

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea

By: Rita Chang-Eppig

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 10 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

For listeners of Outlawed, Piranesi, and The Night Tiger, a riveting, roaring adventure novel about a legendary Chinese pirate queen, her fight to save her fleet from the forces allied against them, and the dangerous price of powerWhen Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die.... Read more

The Poisoner's Ring

By: Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by: Kate Handford

Length: 14 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

A modern-day homicide detective is working as an undertaker's assistant in Victorian Scotland when a serial poisoner attacks the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion.

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid... Read more

The Haunting of Alejandra

By: V. Castro

Narrated by: Raquel Beattie

Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

A woman is haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona in this “utterly terrifying and wholly immersive . . . story about generational trauma, colonization, systemic oppression, and the horror at the heart of motherhood” (Library Journal, starred review).

“Castro is one of the most exciting genre authors on the scene right now, and this might... Read more

The Trackers

By: Charles Frazier

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

From the New York Times bestselling author of Cold Mountain and Varina, a stunning new novel that paints a vivid portrait of life in the Great DepressionHurtling past the downtrodden communities of Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he’s landed a New Deal... Read more

The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho

By: Paterson Joseph

Narrated by: Paterson Joseph

Length: 10 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author, who also plays the lead role of Sancho in his play, Sancho: An Act of Remembrance.

"To be able to speak these intimate words into a listener’s ears is this writer-performer’s dream. I have always loved the spoken word, as it strikes me as the purest form of performance. In public storytelling terms, it is... Read more

The Scandalous Ladies of London

By: Sophie Jordan

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan kicks off her amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton. They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London’s... Read more

The Attic Child

By: Lola Jaye

Narrated by: Lola Jaye, Lucian Msamati & Nneka Okoye

Length: 14 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

A hauntingly powerful and emotionally charged novel about family secrets, love and loss, identity and belonging.

Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a shared secret.Early 1900s London: Taken from his homeland, twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of the time locked away in the attic of a large house by the... Read more

The Thread Collectors

By: Shaunna J. Edwards & Alyson Richman

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 10 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

“An unforgettable story of female strength, hope and friendship. This collaborative work is magnificent—a true revelation!” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star

“A brilliant story brimming with unexpected friendships and family ties. Historically sound and beautifully stitched, The Thread Collectors will... Read more

The Italian Ballerina

By: Kristy Cambron

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

Length: 10 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save innocent lives in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events. Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Ariel Lawhon.Rome, 1943. With the fall of Italy's Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British... Read more

The Twilight World

By: Werner Herzog

Narrated by: Werner Herzog

Length: 3 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

“A potent, vaporous fever dream; a meditation on truth, lie, illusion, and time that floats like an aromatic haze through Herzog’s vivid reconstruction of Onoda’s war.” —The New York Times Book Review

The national bestseller by the great filmmaker Werner Herzog.

The great filmmaker Werner Herzog, in his first novel, tells the incredible story of... Read more

The Foundling

By: Ann Leary

Narrated by: Laura Benanti

Length: 12 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good House, the “harrowing, gripping, and beautiful” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) story of two friends, raised in the same orphanage, whose loyalty is put to the ultimate test when they meet years later at an institution—based on a shocking and little-known piece of American... Read more

A Rip Through Time

By: Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by: Kate Handford

Length: 14 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, a modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.

"A great read." —Charlaine Harris

May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one... Read more

The Good Left Undone

By: Adriana Trigiani

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Lisa Flanagan, Edoardo Baller...

Length: 13 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"[An] immersive saga. . . . A celebration of family and a paean to the power of storytelling.”—People, "Book of the Week"

"Trigiani conveys the beauty of Italy, the hardships of war, the taste of family recipes, and the enduring love of family."—Library Journal (starred)

“The beauty of any book by Adriana... Read more

Four Treasures of the Sky

By: Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Narrated by: Jenny Tinghui Zhang & Katharine Chin

Length: 12 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

“Narrator Katharine Chin’s outstanding performance will have listeners weeping as they hear Zhang’s debut novel, based on actual events.” – Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Reader Katharine Chin has a young, clear voice that captures Daiyu’s determination and spirit. Chinese names and phrases flow easily, and Chin voices the cast of characters... Read more