Historical Audiobooks | Fiction

"Brought to you by Penguin. You know her name, you know her story. Just not the right one... Within the depths of the Underworld the formidable snake-haired Gorgon has finally had enough. Tired of being eternally and unjustly brandished a villain, Medusa has found the courage to face her tragic past and speak out. Determined to expose the centuries of lies surrounding her name, Medusa gives unparalleled insight into her cursed life, from her earliest memories and abandonment at birth, right through to her tragic and untimely death at the hands of the hero Perseus. Through telling her story, Medusa finally reveals the lost truth behind antiquity’s most infamous monster. Medusa breathes new life into an ancient story and echoes the battle that women throughout millennia have continued to wage – the opportunity to simply be heard. Praise for Rosie Hewlett 'Delightfully devastating' Bea Fitsgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen 'A fiery and dramatic novel' Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne 'Vivid and powerful' Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros © Rosie Hewlett 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Rosie Hewlett (Author), Kristin Atherton, Rosie Hewlett (Narrator)

Audiobook

Copper Script

"Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe. Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along? But when Joel looks at a powerful man's handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost, unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other."

KJ Charles (Author), Cornell Collins (Narrator)

Audiobook

Measure of Devotion

"Set against the tumultuous backdrop of the American Civil War, this intricately woven novel delves into the life of Susannah Shelburne, a thirty-six-year-old woman residing in South Carolina with her older husband, Jacob. Their son, Francis, defies his parents' wishes by enlisting in the Confederate army, sparking bitter familial discord. In October 1863, devastating news arrives: Francis has been critically wounded near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Susannah embarks on a perilous journey to bring her son home, finding Francis delirious with fever and haunted by the horrors of battle. Their reunion is overshadowed by the conflicts at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, culminating in Francis being captured as a prisoner of war. As the war exacts its toll and tensions escalate between mother and son, Susannah confronts impossible choices amidst harrowing revelations from home. This gripping narrative explores themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the profound impacts of war on family bonds, painting a vivid portrait of one woman's relentless fight for survival and reconciliation in a time of unprecedented turmoil."

Nell Joslin (Author), Courtney Patterson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Queen's Favourite: A novel of the Seymour sisters

"England, 1558 Sixteen-year-old Catherine Seymour has always idolized her elder sister Jane. As a child was groomed to be queen, to marry her cousin King Edward, and since his death she has been determined to restore her family's claim to throne. After spending time at Queen Mary's court, Jane has now returned home to Hanworth Park to the delight of Catherine and their brother Ned. To their surprise, Jane brings with her Lady Catherine Grey, sister of Jane Grey, the ill-fated nine-day queen, and heiress to the throne after Princess Elizabeth. Jane confides in Catherine that she aims to bring about a betrothal between Lady Grey and Ned, so that their brother and his children have a chance to lay claim to the throne. But everything changes when Mary suddenly dies, and Elizabeth succeeds as queen. Luckily, Elizabeth's succession proves advantageous for the Seymour family. Jane is chosen as a lady in waiting and immediately becomes a favorite. Can Jane still bring her plan to fruition? Will it mean betraying the new queen? Or will rumors of a romance between Queen Elizabeth and one of her courtiers change everything for the Seymour sisters . . . ?"

Raymond Wemmlinger (Author), Susan Duerden (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Women of Oak Ridge

"In the hills of Tennessee, two women work at a Manhattan Project site during World War II and uncover truths that irrevocably change their lives in this captivating new story from award-winning Southern fiction author Michelle Shocklee. 1944. Maebelle Willett arrives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, eager to begin her new government job and send money home to her impoverished family. She knows little about the work she will be doing, but she’s told it will help America win the war. Not all is what it seems, however. Though Oak Ridge employees are forbidden from discussing their jobs, Mae’s roommate begins sharing disturbing information, then disappears without a trace. Mae desperately attempts to find her but instead comes face-to-face with a life-altering revelation―one that comes at significant cost. 1979. Laurel Willett is a graduate student in Boston when she learns about the history of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where thousands unknowingly worked on the atomic bomb. Intrigued because she knows her Aunt Mae was employed there, Laurel decides to spend the summer with her aunt, hoping to add a family connection to her thesis research. But Mae adamantly refuses to talk about her time in the Secret City. Mae’s friends, however, offer to share their experiences, propelling Laurel on her path to uncovering the truth about a missing woman. As Laurel works to put the pieces together, the hidden pain and guilt Mae has tried so hard to bury comes to light . . . with potentially disastrous consequences. - Standalone Southern historical fiction great for fans of Lisa Wingate, Donna Everhart, and Lynn Austin - A compelling dual-timeline novel set during WWII and the 1970s about the weight of secrets and the power of forgiveness - Includes discussion questions for book groups"

Michelle Shocklee (Author), Caroline Hewitt (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rise

"In December of 1945, in the Upper Egyptian desert, an Arab farmer and his brother left their village in search of sebakh, a soft soil which was used to fertilize crops, and while digging in the foot-hills of the mountains near the village of Nag Hammadi, they found something else. In the hole the brothers created, they stumbled upon a sealed earthenware jar which contained thirteen books, or codices, all bound in thick leather that was thousands of years old. The Egyptian government caught wind of the discovery and managed to buy all but one of the codices and brought them to Cairo where they were translated from their original Coptic language, and studied. The experts looked at them and where they were found, deliberately sealed and hidden, and deduced that they’d meant to have been preserved through the ages, and were likely hidden there so they weren’t destroyed, because the information they contained showed a vastly different version of our origin and first hours, and how the first of us came to be. The codices begin with the first man, speaking to his son, Seth, just after the death of his wife, and this is what he said: “Listen to my words, my son. When God created me out of the earth, along with your mother, it was her who looked and saw first into the aeon from which we had come forth. And while we were there, together, we resembled angels, and it was her who first taught me all that knowledge, both of the great and eternal God, and of love.”"

Christopher Cosmos (Author), Gary Bennett (Narrator)

Audiobook

DeathQuest

"As King Svenson Two-Sword is about to embark upon his summer viking, Eric steals the king’s most-prized heirloom and sails to England … leaving behind a message of where he’s going. Arriving at Castle Bristlen, Eric offers the king’s golden heirloom as a gift, and they allow Eric inside. Seven hours later, the angry king sails up with his fleet, seven thousand Viking warriors, to recapture his property. With old age sapping his fighting prowess, Eric seeks to impress the Valkyrie by earning the most-glorious death any Norse warrior has ever enjoyed. Unfortunately, his horrified Catholic companions refuse to sacrifice their lives so he can earn his death. Yet they can’t stop Eric from dragging them into every deadly danger he can find or invent on his quest to enter Valhalla. Fleeing across Northumbria with the treasure they stole from Castle Bristlen before it was sacked, and chased by the vengeful Viking army, Eric’s companions must try to keep him (and themselves!) alive until the Saxons raise an army to slay the viking invaders and the war Eric purposefully-engineered begins!"

Jay Palmer (Author), Gabrielle De Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Gilded Heiress: A Novel

"From USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City's Gilded Age. In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend. After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant. Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career. As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding."

Joanna Shupe (Author), Aaron Shedlock, Eva Kaminsky (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Quiet Wife: A Speke Hall Scandal

"All he wants is a quiet wife. But she wants something more . . . 19th Century, Liverpool. As wife to an errant husband, the art patron and industrialist Frederick Leyland, Frances is losing her sense of self. Living in the beautiful Speke Hall with her family, she is shocked when Frederick announces he has commissioned American Artist, James Whistler to paint her portrait and the beautiful old house. Added to that, Whistler is also going to renovate the artwork in their new London home. But when Frederick, as usual, dismisses his wife’s desires to help, telling her she doesn’t have the taste or style needed, this time her focus is drawn elsewhere when James Whistler, the handsome, brooding American artist, arrives at Speke and sweeps Frances and the family off their feet. Unlike her husband, he not only listens to Frances, he sees her. He sees the Frances that no-one else does. Under the painter’s intense gaze, Frances begins to realise that like the house, there is neglected splendour within her, too. Inspired by the possibilities the artist arouses in her, she begins to wonder if love might still be in the picture for her, after all… Based on a true story, this is the heady, slow-burn tale of a woman reinventing herself, while embarking on a daring, forbidden love affair with James Whistler. * * * All of Felicity York's novels can be read as standalones. If you love The Quiet Wife: A Speke Hall Scandal, read The Runaway Bride: A Lyme Park Scandal, and pre-order The Secret Sister: A Chatsworth House Scandal now!"

Felicity York (Author), Allie Croker (Narrator)

Audiobook

Rooms for Vanishing: the breathtaking WWII historical epic

"'I wept, real tears, at least seven times reading this novel, and I intend to return to these pages often' - Moriel Rothman-Zecher, author of Before All the World For fans of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Rooms for Vanishing is an epic novel of grief and hope and one family blown apart - across the globe, across time, across parallel possibilities - by war. For the Alterman family, Fania and Arnold, and their children Sonja and Moses, the universe has been fractured. In 1938 Sonja is lifted onto a Kindertransport train that will take her from Nazi-occupied Austria to London. She is the only member of her family to survive. In 1966 Fania works as a massage therapist in Montreal, a place that has provided her safe haven after she lost her entire family in the war. In 2016 Arnold lives out the last of his days and the last memories he has of his family in the city he has always called home. And in 2000, Moses awaits the birth of his grandson, unaware that the strings that tie him to his past are being drawn tighter and tighter. Surely none of these realities co-exist, and yet they seem to be drawing closer . . . Moving between Vienna and Prague, London and Montreal, New York and Miami, Stuart Nadler's Rooms for Vanishing is a spellbinding exploration of what might happen when grief and hope collide."

Stuart Nadler (Author), Bruce Mann, Kathleen Gati, Mark Bramhall, Orlagh Cassidy (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Chocolate Box Girls at War

"Brought to you by Penguin. York, 1940 World War Two has arrived for the girls of the Rowntrees factory, and with rationing crippling the country, chocolate production has been driven to a bare minimum. It's all change for the Freeman sisters when the Rowntrees factory is turned over to making munitions. Molly is put on the fuse and detonator line, soon becoming skilled at her work despite the dangers. Rose copes with husband Ned’s absence with the RAF by relishing her position on the Board. And Annie joins the Land Army, billeted to a pig farm in Lancashire. Despite the heartache and worry, nothing will stop the Freeman sisters from doing all they can for their men and country. © Gracie Hart 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Gracie Hart (Author), Victoria Brazier (Narrator)

Audiobook

Six Weeks by the Sea

"'No one is better qualified than Byrne to imagine and expand upon Austen’s true romance. Her treasure chest of Austen knowledge and her ability to spiritually inhabit historical figures are displayed to fine advantage' WASHINGTON POST Summer 1801. Sidmouth, England. The Austen Family descends upon a fashionable Georgian seaside resort in Devonshire for a six-week holiday. Jane's brother, Frank, is on leave from the Royal Navy, and dearly wishes to unite his sister with his friend Captain Peter Parker. But another holidaymaker, a handsome stranger, catches sight of Jane and is determined to make her acquaintance. This rival to Captain Parker is Samuel Rose: a lawyer, literary man and abolitionist. As the weeks pass, Jane's relationship with both men brings about unexpected surprises. By the end of the summer, the course of her life will have changed forever. Set against the backdrop of Austen’s family, the tensions of the war against France, and naval and colonial politics, SIX WEEKS BY THE SEA is the fascinating story of how the most famous romance writer of all time fell in love for the first time."

Paula Byrne (Author), Anna Burnett (Narrator)

Audiobook

Historical Audiobooks in Fiction