10 historical fiction books to transport you this summer

Looking for a good summer read? Transport yourself with these historical fiction works by Canadian authors.

Village Weaversby Myriam J. A. Chancy

Childhood friends Gertie and Sisi are extremely close, despite the socioeconomic differences that separate their daily lives in 1940s Port-au-Prince. An end-of-life secret tears their families apart inVillage Weavers, and we follow the girls across the decades as Sisi moves to Paris and Gertie marries into a rich Dominican family eventually both landing in the United States. A sudden phone call forces their lives back together, where they might finally be able to forgive and trust again.

• Myriam J. A. Chancy's powerful novelWhat Storm, What Thunderexplores the tragedy of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti

Myriam J. A. Chancy is the author of four novels and four books of literary criticism. Her novelThe Loneliness of Angelswon the Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award in 2011 and was shortlisted for the 2011 OCM Bocas Prize in Caribbean Literature for fiction. Chancy was raised in Haiti and Canada and now resides in the United States. Her previous book,What Storm, What Thunder,was longlisted for the2022 Aspen Words Literary Prizeand the2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

LISTEN | Myriam J. A. Chancy talksVillage WeaversonThe Next Chapterwith Ryan B. Patrick:

The Next Chapter18:05Myriam J. A. Chancy tells the story of two friends and the divide between Haiti and the D.R.

Haitian Canadian American author Myriam J. A. Chancy was born in Port-au-Prince. During her formative years, she traveled back and forth between Haiti and Canada. Her latest novel Village Weavers dives into the politics at play between the friendship of two Haitian girls.

The Adversary by Michael Crummey

The Adversarycentres ontwo rivals who represent the largestfishing operations on Newfoundland's northern outpost. When a weddingthat would have secured Abe Strapp's hold on the shore falls apart it sets off a series of events that lead to year after year of violence and vendettas and a seemingly endless feud.

• Michael Crummey's latest novel digs into the inner world of power-hungry characters on the East Coast

Crummeyis an award-winning poet and novelist from Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also the author of the novelsThe Innocents,SweetlandandGaloreand the poetry collectionsArguments with GravityandPassengers. Two of Crummey's novels have been shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction Sweetlandin 2014 andGalorein 2009.The Innocentswasshortlisted for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize,the 2019 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prizeand theGovernor General's Literary Award for fiction.

LISTEN | Michael Crummeyon The Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter13:17Sibling rivalry is at the heart of Michael Crummeys new novel, The Adversary

The Newfoundland author tells a story of a brother and sister who run the largest mercantile firms in the North Atlantic. As animosity and violence grows between the pair, their community becomes increasingly divided.

Learned by Heartby Emma Donoghue

Learned by Heartis a riveting account of the boarding school romance between Anne Lister, a brilliant and headstrong troublemaker, and Eliza Raine, an orphaned heiress banished from India to England. The novel draws on Lister's secret journal and extensive research to craft twolong-buried stories.

Learned by Heartwas shortlisted for the 2023 Writers' Trust Atwood Gibson Prize.

• Emma Donoghue's Learned by Heart is a historical queer romance novel about forbidden young love

Donoghue is an Irish Canadian writer known for her novelsLanding,Room,Frog Music,The Wonder,The Pull of the Starsand the children's bookThe Lotterys Plus One.Roomwas adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Brie Larson.

LISTEN | Talia Kliot recommends three historical fiction books:

The Next Chapter10:21How historical fiction acts as a time machine with Talia Kliot

CBC Books associate producer Talia Kliot shares three historical fiction recommendations that transport you back in time: Learned By Heart by Emma Donoghue, Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward and The Jazz Club Spy by Roberta Rich.

The Laundryman's Boy by Edward Y.C. Lee

Hoi Wing's aspirations of education are dashed when the 13-year-old is forced to work in a Chinese laundromat in St. Catherines, Ont asThe Laundryman's Boy. There, amid the mindless toil of handwashing clothing, he meets Heather. The Irish scullery maid shares Hoi Wing's love of books, and their friendship and reading hideout blooms in secret. An entrepreneur, Jonathan Braddock, is the founder of the Asiatic Exclusion League and if he wins his mayoral bid, Hoi Wing will be deported.

Edward Y. C. Lee was born in Montreal and now lives with his wife and daughter in Toronto. His writing has been published in literary magazines and publications like the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.The Laundryman's Boyis his debutnovel.

The Secret History of Audrey Jamesby Heather Marshall

The Secret History of Audrey Jamestells the story of Audrey James, a pianist who is about to graduate from music school. Living with her best friend IlseKaplan, she dreads returning home to England and leaving Ilsebehind. But as the Nazi party's power increases, Ilse's family is targeted. Her parents and brother disappear and her house is confiscated by Nazi officials. Little do they know, Ilseis hiding in the attic and Audrey becomes their housekeeper in the hopes of saving her friend.

• Heather Marshall's latest novel is a gripping story about resistance against the Nazis read an excerpt now

Heather Marshall is a writer from Toronto. She holds two master's degrees in Canadian history and political science and pivoted to writing fiction after working for many years in politics and communications. Her debut novel,Looking for Jane, was named one of Indigo's Top 10 Books of 2022 and Globe & Mail's Top 100 Books of 2022.

A History of Burningby Janika Oza

A History of Burningis an epic novel about how one act of rebellion can influence a family for generations. It's 1898 and a 13-year-old boy in India named Pirbhai needs to make money to support his family, and ends up inadvertently being sent across the ocean to be a labourer for the British. He has a choice to make, and what he does will change the course of his life, and his family's fate, for years to come. The story takes readers to Uganda, India, England and Canada in the wake of Pirbhai's choice as the novel explores the impacts of colonialism, resistance, exile and the power of family.

A History of Burningwas shortlisted for the 2024 Amazon First Novel Award and the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.

• Janika Oza's A History of Burning is a multigenerational saga exploring the impacts of colonialism and exile

Janika Oza is a writer, educator and graduate student based in Toronto. She won the 2019 Malahat Review Open Season Award in fiction for her short storyExile, the 2020 Kenyon ReviewShort Fiction Award and the 2022 O. Henry Award. Oza made the2019 CBC Short Story Prize longlistfor her storyThe Gift of Choice,which is a chapter inA History of Burning.Her writing is published in a number of journals, including The Columbia Review, Into The Void, Hobart, and Looseleaf Magazine.

LISTEN | Janika Ozaon The Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter21:26Janika Ozas buzzworthy debut novel is an intergenerational family saga that explores colonialism and exile

Ryan B. Patrick interviews Janika Oza about her debut novel, A History of Burning.

The Cure for Drowningby Loghan Paylor

Kit McNair was born Kathleen to an Irish farming family in Ontario and, a tomboy in boy's clothes,doesn't fit in with the expectations of a farmgirl set out for them. When Rebekah, a German-Canadian's doctor's daughter comes to town, she, Kit and Kit's older brother Landon find themselves in a love triangle which tears their families apart. All three of them separate and join different war efforts but all eventually return home and they'll have to move forward from their challenging and storied past.

Loghan Payloris an Ontario-born author currently based inAbbotsford, B.C.They have an MAin creative writing from the University of British Columbia and their short fiction and essays have previously appeared in publications including RoomandPrairie Fire. Their debut novel,The Cure for Drowning, is a historical work that centres queer and non-binary characters and was published in 2024.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn & Janie Chang

The Phoenix Crownis a novelthat follows the intersecting paths of two women in the year 1906. Gemma is an opera singer struggling to become a star;meanwhile Suling is an embroideress in Chinatown escaping an arranged marriage. When they both meet Henry Thornton, a collector of Chinese antiques, his sponsorship may be the answer to both Gemma and Suling's problems.

That is, until an earthquake hits San Franciscoleaving the two women to piece together the mystery of both Thornton's disappearance and the legendary Phoenix Crown.

• Why Janie Chang and Kate Quinn teamed up to write a novel based on the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

Janie Chang is a B.C.-based historical fiction writer who draws inspiration from her family history, ancestral tales and the stories she was told as a child about life in a Chinese small town pre-First World War. Her other novels includeThree Souls,Dragon Springs RoadandThe Library of Legends.

Kate Quinn is an American writer. Her other novels includeThe Alice Network,The Huntress,The Rose CodeandThe Diamond Eye.

LISTEN | Kate Quinn & Janie Changon The Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter16:38Exploring the earthquake that changed San Francisco forever in The Phoenix Crown

Kate Quinn had always been fascinated by the fiery destruction caused by the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Janie Chang wanted to tell the story of a Chinatown woman from that era. The two friends and self-described history nerds came together and meshed those interests to write the novel The Phoenix Crown.

The Jazz Club Spyby Roberta Rich

Set in the 1930s,The Jazz Club Spyfollows Giddy Brodsky, a Jewish girl who makes a living serving cigarettes at a Manhattan jazz club called Sid's Palace. When she thinks she recognizes the man who burned her Russian village to the ground decades earlier, she agrees to become a spy. Betrayals and intrigue ensue as Giddy finds herself in the middle of a political conspiracy on the eve of the Second World War, and has to choose between justice and forgiveness.

• Music, spycraft and political intrigue meet in Roberta Rich's novel The Jazz Club Spy read an excerpt now

Rich is a former lawyer and the bestselling author of a series of historical novels set in Venice in the 16th century that revolve around the life of a midwife. Her books includeThe Midwife of Venice, The Harem Midwife andA Trial in Venice.

In The Upper Country by Kai Thomas

InIn The Upper Country, young Lensinda Martin is summoned to interview an old woman who has killeda slave hunter. The woman, who recently arrived in Dunmore, Alta., via the Underground Railroad, refuses to confess but instead proposes a deal: a story for a story.

In The Upper Countrywon the2023Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction prizeand was a finalist for the2023 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

• Kai Thomas's novelIn the Upper Countryis a fresh take on Black Canadian history & the Underground Railroad

Kai Thomas is a writer, carpenter and land steward. Born and raised in Ottawa, he is of Black and mixed heritage descended from Trinidad and the British Isles.CBC Booksnamed Thomas aBlack writer to watch in 2023.

LISTEN | Kai Thomas discussesIn The Upper Country:

The Next Chapter11:43Kai Thomas discusses his award-winning debut novel, In The Upper Country

In this fictional portrayal of mid-19th century Ontario, a young Black journalist is summoned after a bounty hunter is murdered. In The Upper Country won the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction prize.