What’s New in Historical Fiction brings together four authors whose recent novels explore the lives of women shaped by secrecy, conflict, faith, art, and community. Moderated by Colin Mustful, founder of History Through Fiction, this panel offers a wide-ranging conversation about how historical fiction gives voice to overlooked experiences and reframes familiar moments from the past.
Featured Authors and Novels:
Isabelle Schuler, The House of Barbary
Carol M. Cram, The Choir
Kerry Chaput, The Secret Courtesan
Molly McNett, Child of These Tears
Isabelle Schuler — The House of Barbary
Beatrice Barbary has been raised to accept that some questions should never be asked. When her father—one of the most powerful men in Bern—is murdered, the foundations of her life collapse. As Beatrice investigates his death and her own carefully controlled upbringing, she uncovers the existence of the Order of St. Eve and the violent secrets it has kept from her. Set in a city under strain, The House of Barbary examines the fine line between justice and revenge, and the risks of confronting entrenched power.
Carol M. Cram — The Choir
In a bleak Yorkshire mill town in the 1890s, Eliza Kingwell is struggling to survive while caring for her five daughters. When loss destroys her plan to escape poverty, she turns to an unlikely opportunity: a local singing competition. Gathering a group of working-class women, Eliza forms a choir and pursues a prize that could change all their lives. Meanwhile, her former friend Ruth Henton—once a celebrated singer, now disgraced by scandal—reenters her orbit as a judge in the competition. The Choir is a story of music, friendship, and women finding strength together in a society that often ignores them.
Kerry Chaput — The Secret Courtesan
In present-day Venice, art historian Mia races to prove that an unearthed erotic statue was created by a courtesan whose work has been erased from history. Her search leads her into a dangerous web of deception, art theft, and powerful interests determined to control the narrative. Four hundred years earlier, Sofia, a courtesan in 1609 Venice, risks everything to pursue her artistic ambitions, only to face betrayal and theft. The Secret Courtesan weaves together past and present to explore who gets remembered, who is erased, and the high cost of uncovering the truth.
Molly McNett — Child of These Tears
Set during Queen Anne’s War, Child of These Tears follows young Constance Baker, who is taken captive during a winter raid on her New England settlement and marched north to Canada. Adopted into a Mohawk community, Constance’s life becomes entwined with the competing claims of her English family, her Indigenous kin, and a French Jesuit priest tasked with her spiritual care. Told through multiple voices and forms, the novel explores memory, belonging, faith, and the lasting impact of displacement and survival.