BACK TO THE TUDORS with Carolly Erickson for a lively novel about Catherine Howard, the 5th Mrs. Henry VIII.

GRANDLY SPRAWLING HISTORICAL novel follows the abdication of Edward VIII from both “upstairs” and “downstairs”.

MURDER AND COURT INTRIGUE play out against a vivid backdrop of feudal Japan; well-crafted historical whodunit.

UNUSUAL HISTORICAL DRAMA revolves around the smuggling trade that trafficked Flemish lace into 1630s France.

JUICY COURT INTRIGUE, this time revolving around Napoleon’s second wife, Maria Luisa of Austria. Delightful!

META-HISTORICAL META-NOVEL about the lingering specter of World War II and the utter impossibility of fiction.

RAMBUNCTIOUS VAN GOGH fanfic extravaganza from Christopher Moore: a surreal carnival ride through art history.

HISTORICAL MYSTERY HAS a fascinating setting—a Maine Shaker settlement in 1795—if a somewhat threadbare plot.

A CHINESE EXPATRIATE in wartime Saigon seeks security and a safe future for his son. Exquisite, touching novel.

A NAIVE AMERICAN COUPLE face the complexities of oil-company politics in 1967 Saudi Arabia. Evocative in parts.