Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie: 2022 Historical Fiction About Real People

I often enjoy reading novels telling the fictionalized story of a real person. We’re half way through 2022, and right now I haven’t read any of this type historical fiction released in this year. I’ve only read Hamnet, released in 2020). I’ve read some new books based on real events or real people, but none that tell the story of an actual real person. I thought I’d look and see what some of the possibilities were from the 2022 books. Here are a few that interest me.

I usually also try to read a few of Reece Witherspoon’s book club choices, but I’ve only read one so far this year. Maybe this will be the second–it’s also a historical fiction telling the story (Honor by Thrity Umrigar) of a real person, in this case writer Agatha Christie. Christie disappeared for a few weeks and this story proports to fill in the blank of that time in her life. The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont.

Two new books, one out the other coming this Fall, tell part of the story of Jackie Kenney’s life. I recently had the audio of Jackie & Me, but did not like the narrator, so I will try that one in print. Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah comes out this Fall, Jackie & Me by Louis Bayard is out now.

I keep seeing new “industries” of books. Mrs. Hemingway books, novels about the Windsors, and now the Romanovs–especially the tragic family of the last Tzar Nicholas II. The Last Grand Duchess is about one of the daughters of that family–Grand Duchess Olga. The Tzarina’s Daughter takes us back to an earlier Romanov family–that of Peter the Great.

While I’ve never cared to watch Sister Wives, I’ve always been fascinated by cultish religion so Warren Jeffs and his crew have long been a group I’ve read about. This is the story of how it all began–seen through the eyes of the first wife of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints–i.e. “The Mormons.” The Prophet’s Wife by Libbie Grant.

While Marie Antoinette’s fate was worse, her little sister Charlotte faced an unhappy future, too. Antoinette’s Sister: A Novel by Diana Giovinazzo.

While I’ve been hit-or-miss with Allison Pataki’s books, I do want to try this one. Top Drawer Society–what’s not to enjoy? The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki.

The so-called Golden Age of Hollywood makes a great backdrop for a novel. Toss in a castle and a newspaper magnate and this should be a good one. The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack.

And a high-society decorator? Sure! Grand Design by Joy Calloway.

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