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Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

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May 12, 2025

The Queen's Musician by Martha Jean Johnson

May 12, 2025/ Janet Wertman
The Queen's Musician by Martha Jean Johnson

A novel about the doomed musician caught up in the downfall of Anne Boleyn

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May 12, 2025/ Janet Wertman/
The Queen's Muscian, Martha Jean Johnson, Mark Smeaton, Tudor fiction, Tudor history, Tudor England, historical fiction
January 14, 2025

To Save the Man by John Sayles

January 14, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
To Save the Man by John Sayles

A new novel from John Sayles about the infamous Carlisle School for ‘reforming’ Native Americans

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January 14, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
To Save the Man, John Sayles, fiction, historical fiction
October 05, 2024

The Talnikov Family by Avdotya Panaeva

October 05, 2024/ Siddharth Handa
The Talnikov Family by Avdotya Panaeva

A new translation of a century-old Russian novel

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October 05, 2024/ Siddharth Handa/
The Talnikov Family, Avdotya Panaeva, Fiona Bell, fict4ion, fiction, historical fiction
June 24, 2024

The Throne by Franco Bernini

June 24, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
The Throne by Franco Bernini

Historical fiction about Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia

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June 24, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
The Throne, Franco Bernini, Oonagh Stransky, Cesare Borgia, Machiavelli, fiction, historical fiction, Italian Renaissance
March 19, 2024

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

March 19, 2024/ Amberlee Venters
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

A generational historical novel set in the American West

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March 19, 2024/ Amberlee Venters/
The Bullet Swallower, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, fiction, historical fiction
February 20, 2024

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

February 20, 2024/ Amberlee Venters
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

A full, quirky novel about grief and mystery and humor

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February 20, 2024/ Amberlee Venters/
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, Shubnum Khan, historical fiction, fiction
January 31, 2024

Wolves of Winter by Dan Jones

January 31, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
Wolves of Winter by Dan Jones

In this sequel, Dan Jones continues the adventures of his band of warriors during the Hundred Years War

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January 31, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
Wolves of Winter, Dan Jones, Essex Dogs, fiction, historical fiction, Hundred Years War
January 19, 2024

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook

January 19, 2024/ Amberlee Venters
Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook

A historical novel in which a woman searches for her missing sister

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January 19, 2024/ Amberlee Venters/
Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge, Lizzie Pook, fiction, historical fiction
January 18, 2024

The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks

January 18, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks

The famous novelist Edith Wharton tries to solve a murder

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January 18, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
The Wharton Plot, Mariah Fredericks, fictoin, fiction, historical fiction, Edith Wharton, murdery mystery, murder mystery, mystery fiction
December 08, 2023

The Best Books of 2023: Historical Fiction!

December 08, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2023: Historical Fiction!

The best historical fiction of 2023!

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December 08, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
The Best Books of 2023: Historical Fiction, historical fiction, best historical fiction 2023, Glutton, AK Blakemore, Wolves of Winter, Dan Jones, Sally Brady's Italian Adventure, Christina Lynch, The Temple of Fortuna, Elodie Harper, Sparrow, James Hynes, The Princess, Wendy Holden, The World and All It Holds, Aleksandar Hemon, The Auburn Conference, Tom Piazza, Flags on the Bayou, James Lee Burke, The Midnight News, Jo Baker, Steve Donoghue
September 16, 2023

On the Way to the End of the World by Adrianne Harun

September 16, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
On the Way to the End of the World by Adrianne Harun

A random group of small town acquaintances set out on a 50-mile walk in Adrianne Harun’s new novel.

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September 16, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
Historical Fiction
On the Way to the End of the World, Adrianne Harun, fiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, Steve Donoghue, Acre Books, 2023
July 10, 2023

The Boy in the Rain by Stephanie Cowell

July 10, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
The Boy in the Rain by Stephanie Cowell

A new novel about two young men falling in love in Edwardian England

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July 10, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
Literary Fiction
The Boy in the Rain, Stephanie Cowell, fiction, gay fiction, historical fiction, Steve Donoghue, 2023
May 22, 2023

The King's Pleasure by Alison Weir

May 22, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
The King's Pleasure by Alison Weir

A prolific historian and novelist turns her attention to King Henry VIII.

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May 22, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
History
The King's Pleasure, Alison Weir, fiction, historical fiction, Tudor fiction, Steve Donoghue, 2023
March 07, 2023

Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

March 07, 2023/ Christina Nellas Acosta
Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

The life of Jane Austen provides the raw material for Gill Hornby’s new novel.

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March 07, 2023/ Christina Nellas Acosta/
Fiction-Romance
Godmersham Park, Gill Hornby, Jane Austen, fiction, historical fiction, Christina Nellas Acosta, 2023
September 18, 2022

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

September 18, 2022/ Micah Cummins
Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

A historical novel in which the killers of King Charles I are ruthlessly hunted.

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September 18, 2022/ Micah Cummins/
Historical Fiction
Act of Oblivion, Robert Harris, King Charles II, historical fiction, Micah Cummins
April 30, 2022

M: Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati

April 30, 2022/ Steve Donoghue
M: Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati

The bestselling Italian novel about Benito Mussolini gets a sterling English-language translation.

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April 30, 2022/ Steve Donoghue/
History, Nonfiction Translations
M: Son of the Century, Antonio Scurati, Anne Milano Appel, fiction, historical fiction, literature in translation, Mussolini, Steve Donoghue
June 05, 2021

Dominus by Steven Saylor

June 05, 2021/ Steve Donoghue
Dominus by Steven Saylor

A big historical novel about two families living through some of the most turbulent years in Rome’s history.

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June 05, 2021/ Steve Donoghue/
Historical Fiction
Dominus, ancient Rome, Roman historical fictoin, historical fiction, Steven Saylor, Steve Donoghue
October 27, 2020

The Masochist by Katja Perat

October 27, 2020/ Jennifer Helinek
The Masochist by Katja Perat

Jennifer Helinek reviews Katia Perat’s debut novel.

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October 27, 2020/ Jennifer Helinek/
Fiction-Translated, Historical Fiction
The Masochist, Katia Perat, fiction, Jennifer Helinek, Slovenian translation, historical fiction, Katja Perat
September 01, 2020

It’s a Mystery: “God may not play dice, but he enjoys a good round of Trivial Pursuit every now and again”

September 01, 2020/ Irma Heldman
It’s a Mystery: “God may not play dice, but he enjoys a good round of Trivial Pursuit every now and again”

Penny’s deft touch with plotting only enhances her in-depth character studies.

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September 01, 2020/ Irma Heldman/
Fiction - Historical, Fiction-Mystery/Suspense
It's a Mystery, Irma Heldman, Louise Penny, Minotaur Books, mystery fiction, historical fiction
May 16, 2020

Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir

May 16, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir

Historian Alison Weir writes a long novel about King Henry VIII’s very young fifth wife.

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May 16, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Historical Fiction
Alison Weir, Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen, Tudor fiction, historical fiction, Steve Donoghue
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Editors:

Steve Donoghue
Sam Sacks
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Olive Fellows
Jack Hanson
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