Announcing Season 10 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast
Season 10 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast is almost here! Thirteen brand-new weekly episodes begin Monday, January 12—each one bringing the past to life through extraordinary stories and unforgettable characters.
This season, we sail the Caribbean with a legendary female pirate, follow sisters navigating the dangers of postwar Hollywood, uncover family secrets across oceans and centuries, and witness women claiming their voices in worlds that try to silence them. From thrilling historical epics to intimate, deeply human journeys, these stories will transport you across time, place, and emotion.
Join bestselling and acclaimed authors as they guide us through courage, ambition, love, and resilience—the lives behind the legends, the history behind the stories. Tune in, listen closely, and experience the adventure, the intrigue, and the power of storytelling—only on History Through Fiction: The Podcast.
January 12 – Vanessa Riley, Fire Sword and Sea
Join acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley as she reclaims the true, often-erased history of piracy in Fire Sword and Sea. Set in the Caribbean of 1675, the novel follows Jacquotte Delahaye—a mixed-race woman who defies the limits placed on her gender and race to become a feared pirate captain. Drawing on remarkable research and rich sensory detail, Riley delivers a sweeping tale of disguise, found family, love, and resistance, transforming high-seas adventure into a powerful story of identity, freedom, and rebellion.
January 19 – Gabriella Saab, The Star Society
Join Gabriella Saab as she weaves postwar Hollywood glamour with the lingering shadows of World War II in The Star Society. Inspired by the resilience of Audrey Hepburn, the novel follows two sisters—once separated by war—who reunite amid the paranoia of the Red Scare, where fame, politics, and buried secrets collide. As a rising movie star and a government investigator circle one another with hidden agendas, Saab delivers a gripping story of loyalty, justice, and the cost of survival in a world where the past refuses to stay buried.
January 26 – Lynn Cullen, When We Were Brilliant
Join Lynn Cullen as she reimagines the extraordinary friendship between Marilyn Monroe and photographer Eve Arnold in When We Were Brilliant. Set in the early 1950s, the novel traces a pivotal creative partnership—one woman crafting an image the world would never forget, the other determined to capture the truth behind it. With elegance and emotional depth, Cullen explores ambition, artistry, and the fierce bond between two women who dared to define themselves on their own terms.
February 2 – Deepa Anappara, The Last of Earth
Join award-winning author Deepa Anappara as she leads readers into the forbidden landscapes of nineteenth-century Tibet in The Last of Earth. Following two outsiders—an Indian schoolteacher coerced into spying for the British Empire and an English woman determined to claim her place in the world of exploration—the novel confronts the arrogance of empire and the human cost of ambition. Sweeping, perilous, and deeply intimate, Anappara’s story explores friendship, love, and the enduring question of what it truly means to leave a mark on the world.
February 9 – Loretta Ellsworth, The Jilted Countess
Join Loretta Ellsworth as she brings a remarkable true story to life in The Jilted Countess. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the novel follows a displaced Hungarian countess navigating heartbreak, immigration, and reinvention in postwar America. With emotional nuance and historical insight, Ellsworth explores identity, resilience, and the courage it takes to build a new future when the life you imagined has been lost.
February 16 – Mirta Ojito, Deeper Than the Ocean
Join Pulitzer Prize–winning author Mirta Ojito as she traces a century-spanning story of love, loss, and resilience in Deeper Than the Ocean. Moving between 1919 Spain and 2019, the novel follows a young woman forced across the sea by circumstance and her descendant uncovering the truth she left behind. Sweeping and intimate, Ojito’s dual narrative explores motherhood, memory, and the powerful bonds that endure across generations, oceans, and time.
February 23 – Carol M. Cram, The Choir
Join Carol M. Cram as she brings the voices of working-class women to the forefront in The Choir. Set in a gritty 1890s Yorkshire mill town, the novel follows a mother and her unlikely band of singers who dare to challenge hardship through music, while a fallen stage star seeks redemption from the other side of the judging table. Uplifting and richly emotional, Cram’s story celebrates sisterhood, second chances, and the power of women who refuse to be silenced.
March 2 – Cecil Armstrong, The Blood of Englishmen
Join us as we explore The Blood of Englishmen, an award-winning anthology drawn from the History Through Fiction Short Story Contest. Spanning continents and centuries, these stories uncover lives lived beyond the margins of official history—moments of courage, loss, and transformation that echo across time. With each tale offering a vivid encounter with forgotten voices, this collection celebrates the enduring power of storytelling to make history feel immediate, human, and alive.
March 9 – Janet Rich Edwards, Canticle
Join debut author Janet Rich Edwards as she transports readers to thirteenth-century Bruges in Canticle. Centered on a visionary young woman who seeks love, learning, and belonging beyond the confines of marriage and Church authority, the novel illuminates the lives of medieval women who dared to claim spiritual and personal agency. Lyrical and immersive, Canticle is a luminous exploration of faith, freedom, and the quiet power of community on the brink of change.
March 16 – Liisa Kovala, Like Water for Weary Souls
Join Liisa Kovala as she brings Depression-era Northern Ontario to life in Like Water for Weary Souls. Set against a stark landscape shaped by poverty, mining towns, and hard choices, the novel follows an immigrant woman determined to uncover truth and heal the wounds within her family. Gritty, compassionate, and deeply human, Kovala’s story explores sisterhood, justice, and the resilience required to endure—and hope—when the world offers very little.
March 23 – Katherine Scott Crawford, The Miniaturist’s Assistant
Join Katherine Scott Crawford as she weaves a tale across centuries in The Miniaturist’s Assistant. Alternating between 1804 and 2004 Charleston, the novel follows an art conservator haunted by a miniature portrait and a Quaker artist whose past intertwines with hers. Rich in history, mystery, and emotion, Crawford’s story explores time, love, and the enduring power of choices to shape lives across generations.
March 30 – Veronica Leigh, The Keeper of Lost Daughters
Join Veronica Leigh as she tells a story of courage, motherhood, and survival in The Keeper of Lost Daughters. Set in 1941 Krakow, the novel follows Lidia Sobieska, who risks everything to protect two young girls from the horrors of war. Poignant and deeply human, Leigh’s narrative illuminates the power of love, bravery, and chosen family in the darkest of times.
April 6 – Tiffany L. Warren, A Harlem Wedding
Join Tiffany L. Warren as she brings the glamour, intrigue, and romance of the Harlem Renaissance to life in A Harlem Wedding. Centered on Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, the novel follows a young woman navigating love, duty, and scandal amid the glittering social scene of 1928 Harlem. Vibrant, witty, and richly immersive, Warren’s story explores desire, ambition, and the complexities of creating a life true to one’s heart in a world of expectation and prestige.
