Historical Fiction

The Magi, or Three Kings, of the Nativity story are among the best loved yet most mysterious figures in all history. The fleeting and sparse account in St. Matthew's Gospel raises as many questions as it answers. It has been so embroidered over the centuries that the original historical context has been almost completely buried. Yet the world of the early first century was as dynamic and intriguing as any legend - and much more perilous. In his compelling novelization of the journey of the Ma...

The Avengers of the King, by Jean Drault, tells the story of a group of royalists who are determined to undo the French Revolution. After their attempt to rescue King Louis XVI from execution fails, they set out to avenge his death. However, with the Reign of Terror intensifying, their quest may not be successful. Drault's novel is inspired by real persons and events, and it is a tour de force of royalist intrigue, heroic self-sacrifice, and bold counter-revolutionary vengeance. The character...

Glastonbury Abbey was, according to legend, the center from which radiated a Christian presence on that island for two thousand years, a sacred site from which the Christian faith was passed down through the generations. The story begins with the arrival of Joseph of Arimathea and his family, bearing the most sacred relic in all Christendom, the Holy Grail; and continues on to their confrontation with the Druids and the conversion of the new land to Christ; to the persecutions under the Roman...

The year is AD 1523 and the island of Rhodes has just fallen to the Turks. Those sailing away in defeat from this captured bastion are members of an anachronistic crusading order called the Knights of St. John -- otherwise known as the Hospitallers. Among the dejected company is a stalwart young knight named Jean Parisot De La Valette. Were it up to him, the order would have defended the island to the bitter end.  Forty-two years later, history has repeated itself. The Hospitallers are again ...

Here is the tale of Godfrey de Montferrat, a young Templar knight who swore an oath to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It is also the tale of that kingdom, which men called Outremer The Land Beyond the Sea. With the miraculous success of the First Crusade, all said that the heroic tales of old had come to life in that place. But by Godfrey s day the kingdom is dying, chivalry fading, and foes pressing hard from every side. But Godfrey stands in contradiction to the prevailing corruption. Whe...

One of the most coldly calculated acts of Henry VIII during the Reformation was the dissolution of the monasteries. Monks and nuns were driven from their cloisters; the abbeys were plundered and turned over to greedy courtiers. From these ignoble proceedings came Robert Hugh Benson's inspiration for this great historical novel, the story of a house divided against itself. The Torridon brothers are sworn to serve different masters; one is a monk, in love with the Mass and the Faith of Ages, t...

The fates of two young people caught in a conflict of ideals is the theme of this stirring and tragic novel, set in the England of Elizabeth I. At a time when following the Old Religion resulted in penalties stretching from heavy fines to imprisonment and death, Puritan-bred Anthony and Isabel Norris find themselves drawn to the Church of their forefathers. Underlying their struggles and conflicts with Protestant England is the strength and vitality of Catholic Church supporting and drawing t...

Her Frankish mother dead, 17-year-old Aemilia arrives at Soissons in Roman Gaul in search of her Roman father whom she has never met. She knows only that his name is Tarunculus and that he is a former centurion. She finds a firebrand, derided by the townsfolk, trying vainly to ignite a spark of patriotism in his fellow Romans.Soon, Aemilia is caught up in her father's schemes and the intrigues of the Roman nobility in Soissons. But in the end, which side will win her loyalty? In the war betwe...

Death Comes for the Archbishop is a 1927 novel by Willa Cather. It concerns the attempts of a Catholic bishop and a priest to establish a diocese in New Mexico territory. The novel portrays two well-meaning and devout French priests who will encounter a well-entrenched Spanish-Mexican clergy after the United States acquired New Mexico in the Mexican-American War. As a result of the U.S. victory, the dioceses of the new state were remapped by the Vatican to reflect the new national borders. Se...

This panoramic novel of the last days of Christ ranges from the palaces of imperial Rome to the strife-torn hills of Judea-where the conflict of love and betrayal, revenge and redemption, reaches a mighty climax in the drama of the Crucifixion. For this is the full story of the world's most dramatic execution, as it affected one of its least-known participants-the man who hurled his spear into Christ on the Cross. Among his many successful historical novels, Louis de Wohl considered The Spear...

1876, Philadelphia. Caroline Martin's life has finally taken a turn for the better. After years of hard work, she has met a virtuous and wealthy man whose love seems to promise the kind of life realized only within the comforting novels she keeps on her night table. Tragedy, however, will teach Caroline of the complexity with which God Himself authors the lives of those who turn toward him. Gold Medal winner for Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards. Parents Guide WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD...

Daughter of a noble Roman family, Agnella had heard tell of the vain beliefs and foul practices of the Christians. Everyone knew that they murdered infants and drank their blood from silver vessels. They venerated a criminal who died ignominiously on a cross. They worshipped a god with the head of an ass. What good person wouldn t hate such a vile sect? Yet Agnella s experiences of the rites of Aphrodite had given her reason to wonder why her own gods encourage such shameful behavior. When Di...

Dust on the King's Highway tells of Francisco Garcés, the Spanish Franciscan friar whose missionary efforts brought the Catholic faith to the peoples of the Pápago, Yuma, Pima, and Apache tribes. In the summer of 1771, Fray Garcés concludes his offering of Holy Mass and is met by a delegate of four men of the Yuma nation. Having heard of the generosity and good deeds of the "Old Man," they request his presence among their people, the Yumas of the great rivers, that they might give him welcome...

Father Francis Chisholm is a good priest-somewhat peculiar, perhaps, but a good priest all the same. Forged as a youth in the fires of suffering and tragedy, Francis accepts his vocation and strives to serve his people in humility and good humor, with compassion and courageous heart. After two spiritually eventful but conventionally unsuccessful assignments as a curate, Father Chisholm is sent as a missionary to China. Upon arrival, he finds his mission in ruins: the property deserted, the ch...

Historical in substance, romantic in spirit, heroic in scale, A Distant Trumpet is a novel of the American West. At its center is Matthew Carlton Hazard, born in 1857 at Fox Creek, Indiana; raised by his mother after his father's death in the Battle of Chickamauga; and designated, at the solemn age of seven, by President Abraham Lincoln himself to the Army of the United States. Commissioned in 1880 as second lieutenant of cavalry, Matthew reports for duty to Fort Delivery, Arizona, where he w...

The eighth and final installment in the Rose Years series, which tells the story of the spirited daughter of the author of the beloved Little House series. Rose Wilder has become an independent young woman. She leaves Rocky Ridge Farm, first for Kansas City to learn how to be a telegrapher, then for San Francisco. Her dream is to work for a year or two, save a little money, and then marry Paul Cooley, her childhood sweetheart. But the big city has all sorts of surprises in store for Rose, and...

The spirited daughter of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia must adapt to a hard existence on the desolate prairies of the Midwest. Enduring childhood poverty, teenage seduction, and family tragedy, she eventually becomes a wife and mother on a Nebraska farm. A fictional record of how women helped forge the communities that formed a nation, My Ántonia is also a hauntingly eloquent celebration of the strength, courage, and spirit of America's early pioneers.

"The Gaze of Jesus" by Riccardo Bacchelli, translated by Anthony Esolen, explores the life of the Gerasene demoniac after his miraculous healing by Jesus. Rejected from following Jesus closely, he struggles with his newfound freedom and seeks understanding of who Jesus truly is. Through encounters with figures like Herod, Herodias, and Judas, and amidst the complexities of first-century Jewish society, he embarks on a psychological, historical, and theological journey towards faith. This nove...

The novel that first made Willa Cather famous--a powerfully mythic tale of the American frontier told through the life of one extraordinary woman One of America's greatest writers, Cather established her talent and her reputation with this extraordinary novel--the first of her books set on the Nebraska frontier. A tale of the prairie land encountered by America's Swedish, Czech, Bohemian, and French immigrants, as well as a story of how the land challenged them, changed them, and, in some cas...

After acquiring Christ's Robe, Marcellus then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's garment -- a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome.Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

A Novel Based on the Life of St. Augustine of Hippo "You say, the times are troublesome, the times are burdensome, the times are miserable. Live rightly and you will change the times. The times have never hurt anyone. Those who are hurt are human beings; those by whom they are hurt are also human beings. So, change human beings and the times will be changed." -St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 311, 8 Growing up on the northernmost edge of the African continent, young Augustine had never known a ...

A Novel Based on the Life of Luca Pacioli An orphan from a small town in Italy, Pacioli came of age during the Renaissance seemingly destined for a life of struggle and obscurity. But Pacioli had the good fortune of meeting mentors who recognized his uncanny ability with numbers and introduced him to renowned artists and philosophers, royalty, and popes. At a time when many still used Roman numerals and colleges didn't even teach mathematics, Pacioli was determined to share his passion and ma...

A Novel Based on the Life of Thomas Aquinas Entering the world with a burning desire for knowledge, Thomas Aquinas set out on a quest for truth that forced him into captivity. But his thirst for truth never wavered. Known today among many as the most brilliant light of the church, Aquinas was a Catholic priest and a Doctor of the Church. His influence on Western thought as he attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity is considerable. Aquinas is distin...

A Novel Based on the Life of Father Eusebio Kino Through a great and terrible wilderness, with serpents, scorpions, and thirsty ground, he sowed peace and sustenance and left an enduring mark on the New World. A celebrated teacher of mathematics and astronomy, Eusebio Kino's future promised to be comfortable and secure. Jesuit elders urged the young priest to continue his ministry in education. But a greater voice called, and Father Kino answered by pursuing a lifetime of danger and uncertain...

A Novel Based on the Life of Father Matteo Ricci The Forbidden City--home to the opium-addicted Ming Dynasty emperor and protected by thousands of ruthless eunuchs--no European had ever been inside. Would a simple Jesuit priest be the first? Armed with a homemade clock, a wealth of patience, and an uncompromising drive to share his faith with a new people, Father Matteo Ricci would overcome one barrier only to be met by another: treacherous seas, a complex language, and a culture with an unsh...

The gates of Drancy Internment Camp in the northeast suburbs of Paris served as a holding pen for thousands of Jews during the German occupation of France in World War II. Jean Wahl, philosophy professor, poet, bachelor at the top of Parisian society before his arrest, was among those very few who escaped. In this searing historical novel by W. C. Hackett, the story is told in Wahl's own voice, from the moment he passed beyond the gates of the camp to his harrowing flight for the Free Zone in...

Emily's Hope is the gripping story of one young woman's physical, emotional, spiritual journey from high school to adulthood. Interspersed throughout the story are flashbacks to Emily's great-grandmother's troubled life, with a climax culminating in the surprising revelation that Emily and her great-grandmother are connected more deeply than by ancestral ties alone. Based on a true story.

There is something different about Angelina. She is passionate and idealistic by nature, thanks to her Italian mother. But her German father's influence makes her stubborn and headstrong as well. With Europe embroiled in World War II and her father missing on the Russian front, Angelina journeys alone to seek out her mother's family in Italy. There she finds a kindred spirit--her cousin Giulia, two years her senior.Both girls are idealistic atheists and ardent Communists. With Fascist Italy r...