While 1 January is a notable day for most people for marking the year, it is a big day for me for another reason. Yes, setting my Goodreads goal for the year. While I don’t meticulously track my Goodreads goal, it is a great reminder to keep reading. And with that reminder, I’m looking to this year’s new books. With the massive delay of books in the second half of 2021, there are more books than ever publishing in 2022, and I could not be happier. These are the 2022 historical fiction books that I’m looking forward to reading!
2022 Historical Fiction Books
Here is my very large disclaimer- this is not an exhaustive list by any means! I’ve tried to highlight authors here that I haven’t featured before. I will also be updating for the summer and fall as more books are announced!
The Christie Affair, Nina de Gramont (1 Feb 2022)
“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. First comes rage, larger than any you’ve ever imagined. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. It conveys a strength you never knew you possessed. Your hands, harmless until now, rise up to squeeze another person’s life away. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”
So begins The Christie Affair, told from the point of view of Miss Nan O’Dea, a fictional character but based on someone real. In 1925, she infiltrated the wealthy, rarified world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. A world of London townhomes, country houses, shooting parties, and tennis matches. Nan O’Dea became Archie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife. In every way, she became a part of their world–first, both Christies. Then, just Archie.
The question is, why?
And what did it have to do with the mysterious eleven days that Agatha Christie went missing?
The answer takes you back time, to Ireland, to a young girl in love, to a time before The Great War. To a star-crossed couple who were destined to be together–until war and pandemic and shameful secrets tore them apart.
What makes a woman desperate enough to destroy another woman’s marriage?
What makes someone vengeful enough to hatch a plot years in the making?
What drives someone to murder?
Why I Want to Read This…
Agatha Christie is obviously one of those super popular authors that never seems to fall out of favour. And having read several of her novels, I completely understand why. However, I find Christie herself infinitely more interesting than her novels. De Gramont’s novel puts Christie at the centre of the story, and hasn’t set it solely in the time where she was missing. I’ve read non-fiction accounts of her life, but I’m really looking forward to getting into a fictional telling. (I’ve also decided to do the official Agatha Christie read-a-long each month, so I’m excited to balance it out!)
The Last Grand Duchess, Bryn Turnbull (8 Feb 2022)
Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the Tsarina has come to rely. Olga’s only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from her aunt, who takes pity on her and her sister Tatiana, inviting them to grand tea parties amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg. Finally, she glimpses a world beyond her mother’s Victorian sensibilities—a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.
But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia’s military officers. As troubling rumours about her parents trickle in from the Front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end 300 years of Romanov rule.
Why I Want to Read This…
If you are newer to the blog, you might not know that the Romanovs are actually how I became interested in history when I was a child. And while I do adore Anastasia, thanks to the movie and the musical, I’ve always wondered about the other three grand duchesses. Especially Olga- she often gets mentioned with Tatiana, or with all of the children, but rarely on her own! And Turnbull is a fantastic author; The Woman Before Wallis was one of my favourite books of 2020! (And being in lockdown for essentially the entire year meant that I read a LOT…) I have an eARC of this from NetGalley and suspect I will be reading this soon.
The School of Mirrors, Eva Stachniak (22 Feb 2022)
Against the tumult of 18th century France, King Louis XV has tired of courtly intrigues and becomes a connoisseur of innocence. On the grounds of the Palace of Versailles lies Deer Park, a hunting ground that also offers another pleasure: a mansion where his young mistresses are housed. But when these girls first arrive at Deer Park, it is under the guise of a different role. They are promised employment in the household of a count, and, eager to improve their stations, they leave their families to serve him.
Veronique is one such girl. She is introduced to the count, and young and naive as she is, she never doubts his identity. And as he begins to bestow affection on her, she quickly becomes consumed with love for him. It is too late when she realizes who he really is, the stakes of their affair and what she will have to give up to survive.
In vivid detail and with a breathless pace, Eva Stachniak captures the story of a fast-changing France, where the once beloved Louis XV is losing ground, his grandson the Dauphin Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are sickening the country with their opulence and the French Revolution is stirring. It is in this France that Veronique’s young daughter, Marie-Louise, will grow up searching for answers about her birth. With stirring insight and dazzling intrigue, this novel questions the true meaning of legacy.
Why I Want to Read This…
Eva Stachniak is a Canadian author that deserves more attention, her historical fiction is wonderful! She has two books based on Catherine the Great’s life, and another on Bronia Nijinsky (the sister of the Russian dancer, Vaslav Nijinksy). I find that her books are slower reads rather than blockbuster, one-day speed reads, and I gravitate towards those for sweeping stories. And Versailles under the Bourbons always makes for a sweeping story. The School of Mirrors has been on my to-read list since August, and I’m looking forward to downloading this on my Kobo in February!
Reputation, Lex Croucher (5 Apr 2022)
Abandoned by her parents, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who lives a life Georgiana couldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams.
Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana falls in with Frances and her unfathomably rich, deeply improper friends. Georgiana is introduced to a new world: drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely arresting hands, and the upper echelons of Regency society.
But the price of entry to high society might just be higher than Georgiana is willing to pay …
Why I Want to Read This…
The Regency is always popular, but it is having a strong surge in popularity. Between Bridgerton and Sanditon, it is dominating the small screen. And Martha Waters’ To Have and To Hoax series is one of my all-time favourites. So, when I see a book pitched as “Jane Austen meets Mean Girls“, I am in. Regency society is often portrayed as rigid and staid- it was anything but! Reputation looks like it will be pure fun to read, and there are few books that I can say that about. (Not to say that I don’t enjoy the books I read, but I wouldn’t describe all of them as pure fun.) I will be saving this for one of my inevitable snow days!
What 2022 historical fiction books are you looking forward to?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Hello! My novel about Ann Lowe, whom you featured in February was published a few weeks ago and is available everywhere books are sold. You might be interested in reading it. It’s called By Her Own Design, and I hope you enjoy!
I am actually starting it tomorrow- I’ve been saving it for after my conference presentation, and that was today, so it’s time to relax with it!! 🥰 I also featured it on my summer Hist fiction list: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/the-best-summer-2022-historical-fiction-books-to-read/ 😊 Hoping to have a review up soon, I am *VERY* excited to start!