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The Help
Kathryn Stockett

Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project. [NoveList]

The Lacuna
Barbara Kingsolver

The story of Harrison William Shepherd, a man caught between two worlds -- Mexico and the United States in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s -- and whose search for identity takes readers to the heart of the twentieth century's most tumultuous events. [Provided by publisher]

A Mercy
Toni Morrison

In exchange for a bad debt, an Anglo-Dutch trader takes on Florens, a young slave girl, who feels abandoned by her slave mother and who searches for love--first from an older servant woman at her master's new home, and then from a handsome free blacksmith, in a novel set in late seventeenth-century America. [NoveList]

The Scarlet Letter : a Romance
Nathaniel Hawthorne

In early colonial Massachusetts, a young woman endures the consequences of her sin of adultery and spends the rest of her life in atonement.[NoveList]

Madame Tussaud: a Novel of the French Revolution
Michelle Moran

What an incredible novel about Madame Tussaud, who was a wax-modeler during the French Revolution. Through her personal story, we see how it was for commoners, especially for strangers. Madame Tussaud's real name is Marie Grosholtz and her family is from Switzerland.

I think the reason why this novel is so wonderful is that we see the world of wax, clay, calipers and the universe of modeling, and at the same time, we have the anarchy of the French Revolution with Robespierre, Camille Desmoulins and other revolutionnaries. Highly recommended.

Burning Bright
Tracy Chevalier

Historical novel set in 1792 that recounts the migration of the Kellaway family who leave Dorsetshire to come make a living in London. The family is neighbour to the poet and artist William Blake who will leave a lasting impression on the children as they come of age and discover the perils of adulthood and life in the big city. A gentle love story unfolds between Jem Kellaway and a steet-smart girl named Maggie. Very enjoyable read that makes one want to learn more about William Blake.