Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on History Through Fiction, an indie publisher focused on "high quality fiction that is rooted in accurate and detailed historical research." Read on to learn about new, recent, and forthcoming releases from this innovative publisher.
Bonus: Get signed books and more in an online silent auction that begins today! Booklovers can bid on signed books, box sets, and even book club and Q&A sessions with authors. Authors can bid on editing, marketing, and consultation services. The silent auction will end during the November 3-4 Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant 24-Hour Live Fundraiser. Auction proceeds will go to the Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant.
Reclaiming Mni Sota: An Alternate History of the U.S. - Dakota War of 1862 by Colin Mustful
New release: October 10, 2023Genre: Historical Fiction
4.3 stars, 37 ratings on Goodreads
From $2.99
Two cultures met in Minnesota—one striving to maintain its homeland and traditions, another trying to create a life of freedom, prosperity, and abundance.
Samuel Copeland was just a teenager in 1859 when he and his family left Vermont for the promise of a new life in Minnesota. But life is harder and more dangerous than he expected. Devastated by the loss of his father at the hands of Indians and seeking to protect his brother, Samuel joins the Union army believing he’d be safe on the frontier.
WaabiskiMakwa was still a boy in 1850 when his father perished at Sandy Lake because of the negligence of U.S. government officials. Seeing his way of life crumbling around him, WaabiskiMakwa leaves his home to mourn his father and seek a new way, one that includes his lost-love, Agnes.
Seeking their own solutions, neither Waabi or Samuel could see the collision course their paths had been set upon by a world in conflict. War was in their future and it was inevitable. But when war breaks out, and their cultures collide, so do their individual paths. Though they can’t stop the war, maybe they can help each other.
Fueled by years of mistreatment and seeing the opportunity provided by the War with the South, Dakota spokesman Little Crow and Ojibwe leader Bagone-giizhig, join forces in an effort to reclaim their Native lands. Spurred by early victories over Fort Ridgley and New Ulm, the Dakota-Ojibwe Alliance heads north to Fort Snelling, the beacon of American strength in the region. Once thought impenetrable, the fort and its small group of volunteer militia fights to hang on when a new enemy arrives from the West.
In Reclaiming Mni Sota, the true and lasting results of history are challenged. Acting as individuals, striving to protect ourselves and our families, it’s impossible to understand our role and impact in the much larger march of time. The United States is an abundant, beautiful land filled with wealth and opportunity, but its history is scarred by inequity and loss. What if the defeated became the victors? What would that mean for the world today and how would that illuminate the wrongs of the past?
Praise for Reclaiming Mni Sota
"Inspires contemplation about what could have happened and what did." ~Linda Ulleseit, author of The River Remembers
"An imaginative and intriguing story of what might have happened...leaves the reader pondering race relationships today." ~Candace Simar, author of the Spur-Award winning Abercrombie Trail Series
"Brings one of the most tragic events in Minnesota's history to life in this carefully researched book." ~Stephen E. Yoch, author of Becoming George Washington
"A compelling re-imagining of history that is accessible to the reader while also creating empathetic characters from both perspectives of the war." ~Jason Lee Willis, author and educator
A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein
Recent release: March 7, 2023Genre: Historical Fiction
4.5 stars, 60 ratings on Amazon
From $6.49
A thrilling tale, based on a true story, of one woman’s tremendous courage and incomparable wit in trying to rescue her husband from the Tower of London the night before he is to be executed.
Bethan Glentaggart, Countess of Clarencefield, is a persecuted Catholic noblewoman determined to try every possible means of saving her husband’s life, with the help of a group of devoted women friends.
Amid the turbulence of the 1715 Rebellion against George I, England’s first German king, Bethan faces down a mob attack on her home, travels alone from the Scottish Lowlands to London through one of the worst snowstorms in many years, and confronts a cruel king before his court to plead for mercy for her husband, Gavin. As a last resort, Bethan and her friends must devise and put in motion a devilishly complex scheme featuring multiple disguises and even the judicious use of poison to try to free Gavin.
Though rich with historical gossip and pageantry, Bethan’s story also demonstrates the damage that politics and religious fanaticism can inflict on the lives of individuals.
Praise for A Noble Cunning
"A riveting tale of one woman's courage and determination." ~David Blixt, author of Her Majesty's Will
"Brings both the Scottish Lowlands and Hanoverian London vividly to life with a keen eye for period detail and a heart-stopping denouement." ~Leslie Carroll, author of Notorious Royal Marriages
"Sumptuously detailed historical novel...based on the remarkable true story of a fiercely courageous woman fighting tirelessly against political and religious tyranny to save her husband." ~Kathleen Kent, NY Times Bestselling author of The Heretic's Daughter
"A compelling and dramatic portrait of Scotland in the perilous time of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. Fans of historical fiction will find much to enjoy in this immersive tale of adventure, rich with period detail." ~Gillian Bagwell, author of The September Queen
South of Sepharad: The 1492 Jewish Expulsion from Spain by Eric Z. Weintraub
Coming: February 20, 2024Genre: Historical Fiction
From $9.49
Fleeing death by the Spanish Inquisition, a Jewish doctor makes an impossible choice between home and faith, then struggles to lead his family on a journey for a new life.
GRANADA, SPAIN, 1492. Vidal ha-Rofeh is a Jewish physician devoted to his faith, his family, and his patients. When Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand conquer Granada they sign the Alhambra Decree, an edict ordering all Jews convert to Catholicism or depart Spain in three months’ time under penalty of death.
Against his wife’s belief that converting is safer than exile, Vidal insists they flee. Unwillingly leaving behind their oldest daughter with her Catholic husband, Vidal’s family joins a caravan of 200 Jews journeying to start their lives anew across the sea in Fez. On the caravan, Vidal struggles to balance his physician duties of caring for the sick while struggling to mend strained relationships with his family. At the same time, his daughter back home finds herself exposed to the Spanish Inquisition living as a converso in a Christian empire.
Presenting readers with a painful but important part of Jewish history, South of Sepharad is a heroic, heart-breaking story of a father who holds tightly to his faith, his family, and his integrity all while confronting the grief of the past and the harsh realities of forced exile.
Advance Praise for South of Sepharad
"An epic, historical novel which brings readers directly into the lives of 15th century Jews during their expulsion from Granada, Spain. A must-read for all those wanting to learn more about this little known event in history which displaced thousands, resulting in untold suffering and death." ~John W. Jarrett, author of The Dark Prairie
"An insightful, compelling, and poignant fictional recreation of the trials of displacement and what it meant to be expelled from or forced to leave one’s home." ~Teofilo F. Ruiz, author of Spain's Centuries of Crisis: 1300 - 1474
"Weintraub takes Jewish historical fiction in a fresh, new direction, bringing readers up close and personal with Spain during the Inquisition." ~Alina Adams, author of My Mother's Secret
"Weintraub personalizes history, bringing heart and humanity to Renaissance geo-politics." ~Jordan A. Rothacker, author of The Pit
About the Publisher
History Through Fiction seeks to provide readers with compelling narratives that also act as valuable historical resources. HTF, though fictionalized, include important primary and secondary source materials that are disclosed to readers through a variety of traditionally nonfiction elements such as footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography. This way, readers may enjoy a fictional narrative while also examining the historical foundation upon which that narrative is based. By combining elements of fiction and nonfiction, HTF authors provide readers with an immersive experience that is both entertaining and educational.Learn more at HistoryThroughFiction.com. Also, be sure to sign up for HTF's newsletter to get monthly updates and special announcements about contests, giveaways, and author signings. And be sure to follow History Through Fiction online:
