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Blending historical fact with fiction, a novel set in other times and places can transport you into the past more convincingly than a dry historical treatise - and entertain you in the bargain. What I look for in historical fiction are books by authors who, after reading the histories and doing the research, create stories based in the past that include characters I want to know better and a plot that keeps me turning pages - books like Peter Ackroyd's The Clerkenwell Tales, Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom, and Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth.

Now you can spend less time searching and more time reading as I watch for new historical fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Best bets in recent historical fiction include:

Narrow Gate by Jim Fusilli. AmazonEncore, 2011. Print Length: 575 p. TIME FRAME: New York City from the 1920s to the 1950s. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (9 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Please note: this title is also available as a free loan from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In the years surrounding World War II, a gritty Italian-American waterfront community in the shadow of New York City known as Narrows Gate is home to brutal wise guys, a gifted crooner hell bent on success and two young friends who have no idea what the future holds — or how it can rip them apart. Vivid characters driven by demons and desire clash with gut-wrenching force in Jim Fusilli’s violent, visceral novel as crime, rank ambition and the promise of the American dream battle for the souls of Bebe Marsala, the talented but compromised crooner; the happy-go-lucky Sal Benno, who is trapped by the mob; and Leo Bell, a newly minted member of the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA." - Publisher.

Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman. Putnam, 2011. Print Length: 608 p. TIME FRAME: 12th century England and the Holy Land. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (27 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"They were called 'The Devil's Brood,' though never to their faces. They were the four surviving sons of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine. With two such extraordinary parents, much was expected of them. But the eldest - charming yet mercurial - would turn on his father and, like his brother Geoffrey, meet an early death. When Henry died, Richard would take the throne and, almost immediately, set off for the Holy Land. This was the Third Crusade, and it would be characterized by internecine warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. And, back in England, by the conniving of Richard's youngest brother, John, to steal his crown. In Lionheart, Sharon Kay Penman displays her remarkable mastery of historical detail and her acute understanding of human foibles. The result is a powerful story of intrigue, war, and - surprisingly - effective diplomacy, played out against the roiling conflicts of love and loyalty, passion and treachery, all set against the rich textures of the Holy Land." - Publisher.

Pilgrim by Hugh Nissenson. Sourcebooks Landmark, 2011. Print Length: 365 p. TIME FRAME: 17th century New England. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"...a gripping account of a love-torn Puritan's spiritual struggle for redemption, the finding of an unforgettable romantic love, and his never ending battle to overcome the burden of sin. Charles Wentworth, a heart broken Puritan, comes to the New World from England in 1622 in search of salvation and a new beginning. After the tragic death of his betrothed, Charles abandons his faith and revels in lust until his guilt finally overwhelms him. Now he must travel to Plymouth in hopes of being freed of the temptations that torment him. On his journey Charles falls in love again, this time with a young woman seeking the pious life. In Plymouth, they must overcome a world in which wolves and heathen Indians roam the dark forests, and famine and disease are ever-present threats." - Publisher.

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon. Delacorte Press, 2011. Print Length: 560 p. TIME FRAME: 18th century England. Amazon customer rating: Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"London, 1760. For Jamie Fraser, paroled prisoner-of-war in the remote Lake District, life could be worse: He’s not cutting sugar cane in the West Indies, and he’s close enough to the son he cannot claim as his own. But Jamie Fraser’s quiet existence is coming apart at the seams, interrupted first by dreams of his lost wife, then by the appearance of Tobias Quinn, an erstwhile comrade from the Rising. Like many of the Jacobites who aren’t dead or in prison, Quinn still lives and breathes for the Cause. His latest plan involves an ancient relic that will rally the Irish. Jamie is having none of it - he’s sworn off politics, fighting, and war. Until Lord John Grey shows up with a summons that will take him away from everything he loves - again. A captivating return to the world Diana Gabaldon created in her Outlander and Lord John series, The Scottish Prisoner is another masterpiece of epic history, wicked deceit, and scores that can only be settled in blood." - from the hardcover edition.

The Battle of the Crater by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. Thomas Dunne Books, 2011. Print Length: 382 p. TIME FRAME: Virginia, 1864. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (9 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"June 1864: the Civil War is now into its fourth year of bloody conflict with no end in sight. The armies of the North are stalled in fetid trenches outside of Richmond and Atlanta, and the reelection of Abraham Lincoln to a second term seems doomed to defeat - a defeat that will set off the call for an end to the conflict, dismembering the Union and continuing slavery. Only one group of volunteers for the Union cause is still eager for battle. Nearly two hundred thousand men of color have swarmed the recruiting stations and are being mobilized into regiments known as the USCTs, the United States Colored Troops. General Ambrose Burnside, a hard luck commander out of favor with his superiors, is one of the few generals eager to bring a division of these new troops into his ranks. He has an ingenious plan to break Fort Pegram, the closest point on the Confederate line, defending Petersburg - the last defense of Richmond - by tunneling forward from the Union position beneath the fort to explode its defenses. Burnside needs the USCTs for one desperate rush that just might bring victory. This must-read work rewrites our understanding of one of the great battles of the war, and the all but forgotten role played by one of the largest formations of African American troops in our nation’s history." - Publisher.

The Time In Between by Maria Duenas. Atria Books, 2011. Print Length: 626 p. TIME FRAME: Madrid, Spanish Morocco, and Lisbon in the 1930s and early 1940s. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (10 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"At age twelve, Sira Quiroga sweeps the atelier floors where her single mother works as a seamstress. At fourteen, she quietly begins her own apprenticeship. By her early twenties she has learned the ropes of the business and is engaged to a modest government clerk. But everything changes when two charismatic men burst unexpectedly into her neatly mapped-out life: an attractive salesman and the father she never knew. With the Spanish Civil War brewing in Madrid, Sira leaves her mother and her fiancé, impetuously following her handsome lover to Morocco. However, she soon finds herself abandoned, penniless, and heartbroken in an exotic land. Among the odd collection of European expatriates trapped there by the worsening political situation back on the Continent, Sira reinvents herself by turning to the one skill that can save her: her gift for creating beautiful clothes. As England, Germany, and the other great powers launch into the dire conflict of World War II, Sira is persuaded to return to Madrid, where she takes on a new identity to embark upon the most dangerous undertaking of her career...one of those rare, richly textured novels that enthrall down to the last page. María Dueñas reminds us how it feels to be swept away by a masterful storyteller." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.