Click here for an introduction to this 10 Days of Reading series, as well as links to past days.
Did you know I was a history major in college? True story. (I doubled in History and Journalism.) It follows that I have a soft spot for historical fiction. I love old stories, and I particularly love old stories re-imagined and woven into fiction. Characters we know and love, reanimated with fresh dialogue and detail. Scenarios we know with brand new perspectives and explanations for why things ended up the way they did. Enjoy my favorite historical fiction reads!
The Maeve Chronicles (Series)
by Elizabeth Cunningham
This epic tale re-imagines the life and death of Jesus from the perspective of Mary Magdalen. If you were sitting next to me over tea I would lend you my copy and tell you to brace yourself for the most heart-wrenchingly raw and beautiful story you’ve ever heard. It reads like a long-lost myth buried for thousands of years. This one’s not for the faint of heart. It will make you cry and ache, don’t say I didn’t warn you. (WORTH IT.) I started with The Passion of Mary Magdalen, but the first official book in the series of 4 is Magdalen Rising.
Elizabeth Cunningham is one of my favorite authors, I also loved How to Spin Gold (a Rumpelstiltskin story) and The Wild Mother (an Adam and Eve and Lilith story, set in modern times).
The Moon Under Her Feet
by Clysta Kinstler
Another beloved fiction tale in the “Jesus and Mary Magdalen” genre…different than the Maeve Chronicles, but captured my heart just the same.
The Red Tent
by Anita Diamont
More biblical fiction, can you tell I was raised religious? This one is about the power of story and sisterhood; its words are woven magically together in a way that will make you feel new and ancient and everlasting when you are done reading.
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
A World War II story of a little foster girl, Liesel, living in Germany and sharing her stolen books during air raids with neighbors and the Jewish man living in the basement. This book is highly unusual in that it is narrated by Death.
Tiger Lily
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
This one’s not really historical fiction, but it’s a re-imagined fairy tale, so it counts. Right? Right. Meet Peter Pan, told by his first love Tiger Lily. Bet you never knew there was a lady before Wendy, did you? I found this read to be good for an aching heart. Even though parts of it made me ache more, it was nice to have company.
