Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie Jenner graduated from the University of Toronto with consecutive degrees in English Literature and Law, and has worked for decades in the legal industry. She also founded the independent bookstore Archetype Books in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. A lifelong devotee of all things Jane Austen, THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY is her first published novel.
The Last Secret (2024) Maia Caron "With The Last Secret, Maia Caron firmly establishes herself as one of the most powerful, truthful and poetic voices in Canadian historical fiction"
The Hitchcock Hotel (2024) Stephanie Wrobel "Stephanie Wrobel cements her status as one of the most original and exciting writers of suspense working today... In this both fun and frightening tribute to Hollywood's master of suspense, Wrobel conveys the psychology of very flawed characters grappling with sudden vulnerability and suppressed guilt, and ratchets up the intrigue step by meticulous step until the reader is racing through the pages to uncover the underlying menace. Releasing just in time for the 150th celebration of Hitchock's birth, THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL is a pitch-perfect rendering of what makes his movies special and a singular story of thrills in its own right."
All the Summers in Between (2024) Brooke Lea Foster "Foster's crisp delineation of character, skill at suspense, and ability to evoke an intriguing time and place hit a new high: I simply could not put this mesmerizing book down. Two friends, two very different decades (the 60s and 70s), and all the mounting tension and trust issues that friendships in our youth can uniquely forge and sustain long after they may have run their course. In Thea, Foster's very real and relatable protagonist, readers will see themselves and experience her every hopeful move and misstep as girlhood pal Margot re-enters her calm domestic life ten years later like a time bomb. Another beautifully written historical fiction from a great storyteller, just in time for summer."
The Goddess of Warsaw (2024) Lisa Barr "Lisa Barr's new historical fiction, The Goddess of Warsaw, gifts the reader with jaw-dropping moments worthy of a Tarantino film, a story that could not be more timely, and a heroine whose ferocity and valor knows no bounds. Bina Blonski is forced to lose and remake her identity time and time again, both to survive the Warsaw Ghetto and to carry out her secret mission years later as a Hollywood actress. Unrelentingly immersive and suspenseful to the very end, The Goddess of Warsaw spins a haunting tale of the cost of survival, sacrifice, and the long-denied secrets of the past."
Woman in the Sable Coat (2024) Elizabeth Brooks "Reading Elizabeth Brooks's new novel The Woman in the Sable Coat feels like stepping into an alternate version of I Capture the Castle written by Patricia Highsmith and filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. A mesmerizing, psychologically complex story about two women who meet at an impromptu dinner party in the 1930s English countryside-an encounter that sets off a decade of secrets and betrayals--only to discover their dreams of romance might be the greatest self-betrayal of all. From quaint village life and a war-time RAF airbase, to the snowy wilds of Canada and a storm-tossed ocean liner, The Woman in the Sable Coat spins a literary tale full of penetrating detail, enigmatic characters, and delicious plot twists. Not since Atonement have I read a book so unexpected in its telling, or its power."
The Wildest Sun (2023) Asha Lemmie "Lemmie follows up her smash debut Fifty Words for Rain with a poetic and moving portrayal of Delphine Auber, a lost young woman searching for the man she needs to believe is her father: Ernest Hemingway. Rarely has a literary protagonist grown on this reader more, as Delphine builds a new family for herself in post-war America and pre-revolutionary Cuba, and commits to her own unique gifts in life. The Wildest Sun is an entrancing and wonderfully surprising novel that explores the burden of memory, the bounty of the past and the true source of all great endeavor: ourselves."
Bonfire Night (2023) Anna Bliss "A remarkably impressive debut and a most tender work of art, providing a heartrending look at a couple in love while the world implodes and explodes around them. With the eye of a painter, Bliss uses the finest of brushes to vividly and crisply depict her characters while displaying an astonishing breadth of compassion for the situations in which they must struggle and persevere. Bonfire Night is a treasure of a novel, beautifully written with the unflinching style and subtle psychological insights of such masters as Ian McEwan and Graham Swift."
Someday I'll Find You (2023) C C Humphreys "Based on his own family's history, Humphreys's newest novel is a beautiful, morally complex, and achingly honest portrayal of people caught up in the violence and uncertainty of war while trying - and sometimes failing - to do their best. So much comes alive on the pages of Someday I'll Find You: riveting aerial battles over the Mediterranean, cloak-and-dagger espionage, underground shelters during the Blitz, and a Canadian pilot and Norwegian spy falling in love in the midst of it all. The reader will be fully swept away by the romance, moved by each character's profound plight, and transported back in time. Someday I'll Find You is, simply put, Canadian historical fiction at its best."
The Keeper of Hidden Books (2023) Madeline Martin "The Keeper of Hidden Books is yet another expertly researched and inspiring work of historical fiction from Madeline Martin. As Zofia Nowak and her young friends fight for their fellow Polish and Jewish citizens during the horrific German occupation, they witness again and again the power of friendship and literature in even the darkest times. With her direct, brave and thoughtful manner (so wonderfully reminiscent of Jo March), loyalty and love for her Jewish best friend, and touching first love with a fellow resistance fighter, Zofia is destined to capture readers' hearts everywhere--rarely have I loved or admired a character more. A heart-pounding, illuminating, and very important addition to the canon of WWII fiction."
Counting Lost Stars (2023) Kim van Alkemade "Powerful and haunting, Counting Lost Stars is historical fiction at its finest. Brilliantly connecting two time lines, Van Alkemade explores a little-known aspect of Nazi depravity in using techonology to further its murderous aims, a technology that computer programmer Rita Klein years later will ultimately turn to redemptive and life-changing use. Counting Lost Stars offers moments of connection and reconnection that will leave the reader breathless, and a much-needed portrayal of humanity at its finest, and most selfless, to inspire us all."
Starring Adele Astaire (2023) Eliza Knight "Be swept away to London and New York between the wars with Starring Adele Astaire, a bittersweet true-life tale of one of early last century's greatest dancers and most famous siblings. By so deftly and compassionately bringing Adele to life, Knight gives us a most memorable and vital heroine for any age."
Such Good Friends (2023) Stephen Greco "Fascinating and effervescent... Using a brilliant narrative overlay, author Stephen Greco brings the charismatic author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood to life with the type of biting wit, trenchant social commentary, and keen grasp of human nature for which he was celebrated. Insightful, intriguing and endlessly entertaining, Such Good Friends captures a platonic yet deeply passionate friendship that had all the faultlines of a doomed romance, and the seismic influence of Capote and Radziwill on their respective worlds, and each other."
The Paris Deception (2023) Bryn Turnbull "The Paris Deception is a moving and intimate look at two sisters-in-law whose friendship has fractured as the Second World War exacts its catastrophic moral, physical and emotional toll. In devising a way to save modern masterpieces of art stolen from Jewish owners, Sophie and Fabienne must overcome the pain of the past and combine their strengths as restorer and painter to deceive the Nazis and pull off an impressive heist of their own. Another thought-provoking, impressively researched and richly realized work from one of Canada's best historical fiction authors."
The House is on Fire (2023) Rachel Beanland "Beanland has an uncanny skill for capturing the voices of a range of people at a time in history when only a few had their experiences recounted, making THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE an enriching and elucidating blend of both historical fact and fiction."
Once We Were Home (2023) Jennifer Rosner "Rarely have I read such subtle and precise prose, and rarely have I been more moved. One turns the final page with tears of happiness and satisfaction, but above all, with a new appreciation for our unknowable connections, our shared humanity, and our universal desire for home."
The London Seance Society (2023) Sarah Penner "At turns spooky and sexy, sly and subversive, The London Seance Society fully immerses the reader in nineteenth-century Paris and London, a time when loved ones would suspend all manner of disbelief in the hope of communicating with the dead. With her skill at conjuring atmosphere and conveying both deceit and desire, Penner has crafted another blockbuster novel that is magically even better than her first."
Dust Child (2023) Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai "Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is one of the most unique storytellers of our time. She creates plots which are Dickensian in their breadth and mastery, while bravely probing the complex emotional challenges of living in a modern world full of disruption and displacement. In Dust Child, Quế Mai displays the same tenderness and compassion for her characters, hard-earned understanding of human trauma, and poetically evocative language that made her debut novel The Mountains Sing an international bestseller beloved around the world."
Daughters of Nantucket (2023) Julie Gerstenblatt "Vibrates with fascinating history, evocative setting and one of the more colorful casts of characters in recent literature. A novel to be both savoured and raced through, and the kind of book that makes reading such a joy."
My Secret to Keep (2022) Barbara Conrey "There's nothing I love more than reading a new work by a wonderful author whose love for people shines through every word. My Secret to Keep is an extremely moving and heartfelt tale that again proves Conrey as a genuinely affecting voice in fiction."
Acts of Violet (2022) Margarita Montimore "A skillful blend of genres, from moving family drama and twisty thriller to insightful social commentary on fame, feminism, magic and media. Smart, suspenseful, and always tantalizing, Acts of Violet will be your perfect summer read."
Bluebird (2022) Genevieve Graham "Full of wartime heroics, rollicking rumrunners, and star-crossed lovers, Bluebird has it all. But most of all, it is full of compassion for the men and women who served in the first global conflict facing our world. No one writes Canadian historical fiction with more heart than Genevieve Graham, and this pure and ennobling tale is exactly what our own hearts need now."
The Christie Affair (2022) Nina de Gramont "Immersive, reflexive and propulsive, The Christie Affair is an extremely impressive literary debut which reveals its hidden themes and secrets through a narrative dance brilliantly done. This tale of two very different women who want the very same things in life forges surprising bonds both with its characters and the reader, deliciously subverting our notions of what makes a heroine, mother, writer and wife."
Maggie Finds Her Muse (2021) Dee Ernst "Maggie Finds Her Muse is just like the dream vacation to Paris it centers around... This book will make you want to catch the next plane to Paris, eat kouign amman and drink cafe crème, and tour the City of Light with the thoughtful, self-deprecating and delightful Maggie Bliss as your friend and guide."
The Heiress (2021) Molly Greeley "With stunningly lyrical writing, Greeley elevates Austen-inspired fiction onto a whole new plane."
The All-Night Sun (2020) Diane Zinna "A mesmerizing, disturbing, and heart-wrenching read about loneliness and grief. Diane Zinna writes sentences that will break you, and then suddenly everything on the page lights up again, and you go on the rollercoaster that is love, and loss, and life. With poetic and hypnotic prose, The All-Night Sun is an essential addition to fiction on grief and a compelling story about female friendship, its limits and constraints, and the surprising ways it can make us whole."
Miss Austen (2020) Gill Hornby "Fans of Austen will rejoice in the chance to enter this fictional world and spend time with the extended Austen family as Cassandra and Jane navigate the demands of her genius and temperament in the face of the many pressures single women have endured throughout history."
