Novels Set In Another Time That Will Sweep You Off Your Feet

If you're looking for a way to escape from pressures of modern life for a few hours, look no further. These books, curated by our friends at the library, will sweep you off your feet and into a bygone world with tales of duty, romance, danger, and adventure that will take you into another world. 

Whether you're longing for adventure in the heady streets of Paris in the early 1900's, mystery and grandeur in 17th century Amsterdam or post war drama in London or Cornwall, there's something on this list for everyone. All you have to do is choose the story, find a quiet corner and settle in for a good read.

 

 

1.  The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley.

The Seven Sisters is the story that began it all. An epic tale of love and loss, it tells the stories of the D’Aplièse sisters, all adopted as babies by the enigmatic billionaire they affectionately call Pa Salt.

This is Maia’s story. When Pa Salt dies suddenly, the bereaved sisters gather together at their childhood home, a spectacular secluded castle on the shores of Lake Geneva. Each of them is handed a tantalising clue to their heritage and Maia finds herself on a journey across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Eighty years earlier, Izabela Bonifacio’s father had aspirations for her to marry into the aristocracy. But Izabela longs for adventure, and convinces him to allow her to first travel to Paris. In the heady, vibrant streets of the city, Izabela meets an ambitious young sculptor, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

What links these two young women? In the beautiful city of Rio, will Maia find the answers she needs to understand who she truly is?

Book, eAudiobook

 

2.  Wait For Me by Santa Montfiore.

Cornwall, 1944. When Rupert Dash is declared missing, presumed dead during the Battle of Arnhem, his wife, Florence, is devastated. She can't accept that he has gone from her life forever, and so when she finds a poem called 'Wait for Me' hidden in an old book, she believes it's a sign from her husband. A promise that he will return to her. London, 1988 Since childhood Max has suffered from a recurring nightmare. Surrounded by the horrific chaos of war, he has an urgent mission he knows he must complete.

But time after time, the dream ends with him awaking in terror, his heart pounding from the horror of the battlefield. Desperate to understand why he is haunted by such terrible visions, Max embarks on a journey that leads him to Cornwall and a man named Rupert Dash.

Book, eBook

 

3.  Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers.

1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud.

As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness. But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.

Book

4.  The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.

On an autumn day in 1686, 18-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways.

Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all.

Book, eAudiobook

 

5.  The Women by Kristin Hannah.

Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, twenty-year-old nursing student Frances 'Frankie' McGrath has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is about to discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.

Book, eBook, eAudiobook

 

6.  The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye.

The Far Pavilions is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about an English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess. 

It's a story of divided loyalties, of tender camaraderie, of greedy imperialism and of the clash between east and west. To the burning plains and snow-capped mountains of this great, humming continent, M.M. Kaye brings her quite exceptional gift of immediacy and meticulous historical accuracy, plus her insight into the human heart.

Book