New Reviews: Historical Fiction

Four narrators recount this fictitious, challenging account of America's early settlers in Plymouth Colony. Bea Holland voices Alice Bradford, the governor's wife, with a slight lilt reminiscent of her European roots and the quiet confidence of her position. Laurel Lefkow portrays Eleanor Billington, the outcast's wife, with a bit of force and a fearfulness that grows when her... Read More

In a story spanning generations, Bahni Turpin and Sophie Amoss deliver mesmerizing performances. Turpin portrays Hannie Gossett, born a slave, trying to make a life for herself after "the Freedom." Turpin is outstanding as Hannie, who is determined not to be defeated as she searches for her family--last seen on the auction block. Amoss portrays Benny Silva, a thoughtful,... Read More

Diane Kruger anchors a full cast in a meta commentary on the power of storytelling. Set in Ohio just after WWII, this audio drama has a story, read by a full cast as a radio drama, within a story, narrated by Kruger, who shows off her range as she inhabits the voices of multiple characters of different ages, genders, and nationalities. The cast is simply spectacular as they go... Read More

Pete Cross is an effective narrator of this audiobook. In 1943, a group of surrealist artists were forced into exile from France by the Nazis. Now they're living in New York City. When Wilfredo Lam is found dead, dressed in a bizarre assortment of costumes related to a surrealist game, the artist community quickly closes ranks. The police focus on Cuban and Chinese immigrants... Read More

Gabrielle de Cuir's luminous narration transports listeners into the turbulent life of acclaimed nineteenth-century French actress Sarah Bernhardt. So many elements of an absorbing historical audiobook are present here--the Parisian settings, multilayered character portrayals, complex family dynamics, romance, and complicated issues concerning religion, war, and personal... Read More

Richard Armitage is an excellent choice of narrator for this celebration of the famed British author's work. His deep, resonant voice meanders through the stories of seven different people in the small English town of Chawton. These characters share various individual struggles in their own lives, along with a love of the work of Jane Austen. With his crisp delivery and agile... Read More

Narrator Rosalyn Landor is a one-woman full-cast production. Alison Weir turns history into flesh and blood. The combination is extraordinary. The story of Henry VIII's fifth wife reminds us how deadly dangerous he was. Before she even imagines going to live in the court, Katheryn Howard--beautiful, young, willful, and from a prominent family--makes several bad choices in men.... Read More

Kyla Garcia, Rachel L. Jacobs, and Karissa Vacker join forces to narrate this story of three women facing major life changes. Set during the real-life 1935 Labor Day hurricane, the audiobook is told from the viewpoints of three women: pregnant Helen (performed by Vacker), a native of Key West who dreams of leaving her abusive husband; newlywed Mirta (Garcia), who arrives from... Read More

With subtle variations in intonation and accent, narrator Lisa Flanagan contrasts present-day characters with Renaissance Venetian counterparts in this intriguing and romantic audiobook. William Lomazzo, a married artist, brings an old treatise on art that has been in his family for generations to Rose, a book restorer. As they gradually uncover a hidden text, they realize it... Read More

Narrator Raphael Corkhill's unwavering enthusiasm amps up this dynamic novel about four people in Paris over the course of a day in 1927. Camille, former maid to Marcel Proust, has a secret. Armenian refugee Souren is a puppeteer with a haunting adolescence. Journalist Jean-Paul hides behind his subjects rather than face his tragic story. Artist Guillaume is desperate with... Read More

In Dublin, maternity nurse Julia Power grapples with a web of concurrent social issues as she cares for patients during the flu pandemic of 1918 near the close of WWI. A fateful few days unites Julia with two other seemingly dissimilar women: Kathleen Lynn, a compassionate physician with ties to the contentious Irish independence movement, and Bridie Sweeney, a vibrant young... Read More

Siobhan Waring passionately narrates this deeply moving, very personal story about Jewish children spirited out of Germany on a Kindertransport train. In desperation, young mother Ariella Bannon begs Elizabeth Klein, an unknown relative in England, to care for 11-year-old Liesel and 7-year-old Erich. Klein, a childless, grieving widow, unhesitatingly agrees. Listeners will... Read More

Two Boston women, separated by centuries, captivate listeners as each makes choices about patriotism, romantic love, and divine love. Narrator Jane Oppenheimer portrays Emma, a young colonial who falls in love with a Patriot even though her family members are Loyalists. Oppenheimer gives Emma a genteel, warm voice, although when Emma is being tortured in prison, her voice is... Read More

This folkloric tale is ultimately a story of human resilience in the face of unbelievable hardship. Narrator Anoush NeVart recounts the disasters and personal tragedies that beset an isolated village in the Armenian highlands. Her delivery is straightforward and largely dispassionate as she chronicles war, drought, insect infestations, famine, mudslides, and the deaths of so... Read More

Mark Bramhall narrates this globe-trotting work of historical fiction, which focuses on the events leading to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The characters are diverse in background, education, and country. Yet Bramhall manages to capture each regional accent as though he were a native. When FDR speaks in the novel, listeners will be convinced they are listening to newsreels.... Read More

Narrator Bronson Pinchot's range of accents is put to the test in this work of historical fiction set during WWII. While most of Pinchot's narration takes the perspective of a boy living in Prague, the point of view changes and moves all over Europe. At no point will listeners question who is speaking to whom or where that person is from. Pinchot captures the oratorical tones... Read More