Books like The imperial wife by Irina Reyn

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

The Orphan Master's Son follows a man's journey through propaganda, identity, and state power in North Korea.

An American college girl in 1947 discovers her belated quest to uncover the fate of her vanished French cousin during WWI, leading her to the shadowy Alice Network where a former spy haunted by betrayal seeks vengeance.

Mario Puzo traces the rise of the Borgia family, revealing the intertwined forces of ambition, faith, and power that shaped one of Italy’s most notorious dynasties.

A historical fiction imagining the life of Fyodor Dostoyevsky in pre‑revolutionary St. Petersburg.

James Salter's 'All that is' is a captivating and sometimes devastating labyrinth of love and ambition. A deeply intimate portrait of the emotional and physical experiences of being alive. Set during the golden decades following World War II, the book captures Salter's lifelong obsession with capturing the intimate, ephemeral spaces that all of us hold and leave behind on paper. After serving as a young officer in Okinawa during the war, Philip Bowman returns home to a small publishing house in New York. The frenetic social scene of New York in the post-war era is a backdrop for the story, where Bowman feels at home. However, his enduring love seems to elude him. When he meets a woman who captivates him, Bowman embarks on a journey that he never intended to take. The book is celebrated for its lyrical evocation of a post-war world imaginatively rendered and beautifully written.

In 1916 a 25-year-old, newly qualified doctor named Mikhail Bulgakov was posted to the remote Russian countryside. He brought to his position a diploma and a complete lack of field experience. And the challenges he faced didn't end there: he was assigned to cover a vast and sprawling territory that was as yet unvisited by modern conveniences such as the motor car, the telephone, and electric lights.

A Chinese mother and her adopted daughter, raised by an American couple, discover how a rare native tea links their worlds and transforms their family's destiny across cultures.

Moving panoramically from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt, The Red Tent is robustly narrated by Dinah, from her upbringing by the four wives of Jacob, to her growth into one of the most infulential women of her time.

Mary Beth Keane’s *Fever* brings the true story of Typhoid Mary to life, exploring her role as a covert public health threat in early 20th‑century America.

A biographical historical novel that follows the budding friendship between a teenage Louise Brooks and a middle‑aged chaperone as they travel to New York City in 1922, showing how the journey reshapes their lives.