5 Historical Fiction Stories Featuring Tough, Tenacious Women

by Susan Roberts

This must be the week for historical fiction as Donna reviewed a WWII homefront novel on Monday, and yesterday, MK had reviews for a novel set in 18th century Japan and one of the novels I'm also reviewing today. 

I have reviews of five new historical fiction novels - one is about Queen Elizabeth and her first Christmas as Queen , one takes place during World War I and the other three all take place during World War II.  The one thing that all five books have in common is that they feature tough and tenacious women who made a major difference in their worlds.

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Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

November 2024; William Morrow; 978-0063276215
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); historical fiction

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change. 

Princess Elizabeth became the Queen in February 1952 when she was just 25 years old.  As this story begins, it's getting close to Christmas and the Queen is worried about her first Christmas Day radio broadcast.  England and the other colonies are still suffering from the results of the war and she wants to give a speech that is hopeful and uplifting and show her plans for changes in the upcoming year.

Olive is working for the BBC.  She's in a clerical position but she wants to be a reporter.  When the reporter who covers the Royal Family becomes ill, she begs to take his place for the Christmas celebration at Sandringham House.  They agree to give her a chance so she leaves her young daughter with her parents and goes to spend Christmas with the royal family.  She has a chance encounter with the Queen and ends up helping her with her Christmas address.  While she is there, she runs into Jack who is the newest addition to the kitchen.  He is an old friend and a recent widower who took a job with the royal family to help him deal with his grief over losing his wife.  Olive and Jack had been friends several years before but after Jack got married they lost touch with each other. When they meet again, there are sparks between the two of them.  But they both have their new careers to work on so they say goodbye with no plans to meet again.  Over the next five years, Olive and Jack continue to run into each other and get closer but Olive can't let it go too far because she is keeping a big secret from him that will alter their relationship if he ever finds out.  Will their relationship continue to grow or is it doomed for failure?

I always admired Queen Elizabeth and even though this was fiction, the authors provided us with an inside glimpse of her as not only Queen but also as a wife and mother.  I enjoyed reading about all of the hard work that went into the meals that the family ate especially for Christmas.  Plus there was a lot of talk about food - preparing it and trying new recipes that was fun to read.  I also really enjoyed the characters of Olive and Jack.  They were very well written and their growth as characters throughout the story was very well done.

This book is not just about the Queen but is also a love story of second chances for Olive and Jack. When she reveals her secret to Jack, will that be the end of their relationship or will the spirit of Christmas give their relationship a chance?

Buy Christmas with the Queen at Amazon

The Liberty Scarf by Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan

November 2024; Harper Muse; 978-1400246700
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); WWI historical fiction

In the midst of a seemingly endless war, a scarf connects three women in the cold winter of 1917 . . .

Three different authors wrote a novella about three different women and how they are connected to each other by a scarf. Each of their stories is very different and basically unconnected but it's all pulled together at the end.

Iris lives in London and works as a color artist for the famous Liberty Co.  She feels that the scarves she is coloring tend to be pretty outdated and she has dreams of having one of her own designs full of color accepted by the company.  She meets Captain Conrad Jones who is recovering from wounds and when she is resistant to his charm, he soon wins her over.  He encourages to follow her dream and continue to work on designs for her scarf.  She is saddened when he is healed enough to return to battle.  They agree to meet in Strasbourg, France after the war.  

Geneviève Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator in Maine and enlists in the Signal Corp to serve as a bi-lingual operator in France.  While there she meets Captain Maxime Auvray a winemaker.  They begin to spend a lot of time with each other but she sees no future for them because she wants to return to the US and he plan to remain in France.  

Clara Janssens is a Flemish Nurse, and violinist Roman Allaire is from Strasbourg.  He's chosen to play for an orchestra that is touring the front lines.   She works in hospitals also near the front lines.  Their love of music brings them together and as the sparks begin to fly between them, the war gets between them and it begins to look as though they will never see each other again.

This was an interesting well-told collection of connected novellas about the horror and destruction of World War I and how an item as small as a scarf could bring happiness to several different people.

Buy The Liberty Scarf at Amazon

The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers

October 2024; Sourcebooks Landmark; 978-1464219047
audio, ebook, print (400 pages); biographical fiction

Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America's most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now.

This book was an interesting look at Julia Child before she became the French chef that we all watched on television.  She was 30 years old, 6'2", unmarried, and from a well-to-do family when she decided that she wanted to do her part to help America win the war.  She became part of General "Wild Bill" Donovan's secret File Registry that was part of the Office of Strategic Services. She was a vital member of the team in Washington but when there was a job in the Far East, in Asia's remote frontlines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, she begged for the transfer.  Her boss finally relented and authorized the move but told Julia that he expected her to keep him informed of what was going on and be a spy for the US.  She made several friends on the long voyage to the Far East and the ship came close to being destroyed.  She soon settled into her job and made a lot of new friends.  One of the people she met that she didn't really like was Paul Child but time soon changed their feelings for each other.  Julia thrived on the adventure of being in a new location that at times was very dangerous.  She was brave and tenacious and strived to do her best to help her country. It was very interesting to see the person she was and the difference she made before she became known as a French chef.  I'll never think of her the same again.  The author did extensive research on Julia's war years.  At times the story moved much too slowly but overall it was a great read!

Buy The Secret War of Julia Child at Amazon

The Last Fashion House in Paris by Renee Ryan

December 2024; Love Inspired Trade; 978-1335090430
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); WWII historical fiction

In the heart of occupied WWII Paris, an elegant fashion house is the unlikely headquarters of a daring resistance network. Behind closed doors, courageous women vie to save loved ones and strangers alike from the Nazis in this powerful story of survival, friendship, and second chances.

This is an exciting and page-turning story about a young spoiled French woman who finds redemption working for the resistance in Paris.  The author did extensive research about the way that the resistance worked and about dress shops during the war.  They were one of the few French businesses that were allowed to stay open because the German wives wanted clothes designed for them by  a Paris designer.

Paulette was a spoiled young woman who spent her days partying and flirting with the available men in her family estate outside of Paris.  Since there were few eligible French men available, she began to flirt with the Germans who occupied her home.  She erred by trusting the wrong person and she and her mother ended up in prison.  She was released and when she got home, her sister banished her to Paris to work for her mother's best friend as an apprentice seamstress.  She blamed herself for her mother's arrest and was willing to go to Paris where she went from a well-to-do person who had clothes fitted at the salon to a worker who sewed the designer dresses.  She made few friends in the beginning but eventually became friends with Nicolle who often disappeared from the salon.  Paulette started to pay attention and realized that Maison de Ballard was more than a fashion shop.  The owner controlled a huge network of resistance people who helped downed flyers return to their country and helped Jewish people escape.  She wanted to become part of the resistance so she was assigned to start attending parties to pick up information that the network could use.  Soon she finds herself in situations that are very dangerous but she is able to use her new skills to keep herself out of danger.  When her friend disappears, she realizes how much danger she is in and has to make some important decisions on who to trust and how she can help the resistance the most.

This book was a real coming-of-age story for Paulette - she changed from being a spoiled brat only interested in herself to putting herself in dangerous situations to help save other people.  One of the most difficult things was learning who to trust - she had made a mistake with trust when she lived at home and had a lot to learn about trust when she joined the resistance.  This was another wonderful World War II story about a strong woman who puts her life on the line to help save her country and the people she loves.

Buy The Last Fashion House in Paris at Amazon

The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth

December 2024; Harper; 978-0063371811
audio, ebook, print (288 pages); WWII historical fiction

Set during World War II, an unforgettable historical novel about love, war, family, and loyalty told in the voices of two women, generations apart, who find themselves connected by a mysterious and valuable bottle of wine stolen by the Nazis.

This dual-timeline novel takes place in Paris in 1942 and 1990.  The two time periods are joined together by a bottle of wine that was worth over $100,000 in 1990.  Where did the wine come from and why was it worth so much?

1942 - Martine is 6 years old and lives with her father at a winery.  Her father claims that she understands the grapes and the process of growing grapes more than anyone.  Unfortunately, she and her father are Jewish and when the Nazis storm into their home, her father hides her in an armoire with a note and a bottle of wine.  When it gets quiet in the house again, she starts looking for the caretaker but when she hears the Nazis in the orchard, she drops the bottle of wine and hides in the woods.  After a scary train ride to Paris to try to find her aunt, she finds out that she too has been taken away.  She falls asleep in a doorway is found by Sister Ada who takes her to an abbey.  To keep her safe from any Nazis who come to the convent, she is taught Catholic prayers and told to never tell anyone that she is Jewish.  

1990 - Charlotte is a pilot for one of the major airlines and flies to Paris often.  She has a boyfriend who is starting a wine collection.  When he bids on a box of wine from WWII, he discovers that three of the bottles are worthless so they drink two bottles and he gifts one bottle to Charlotte.  She removes the label and finds a note underneath and based on that note starts visiting wineries near Paris to try to find out more about the person who wrote the note and the daughter he wrote it to.

The bottle of wine connects these two women who live almost 50 years apart.   Charlotte is convinced that Martine died during the war but she wants to find out whatever she can about her life and family.  Her search exposes her strength and tenacity.  This is a well-researched story about family and love, luck and loyalty.  It's a story that you don't want to miss.

Buy The French Winemaker's Daughter at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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