Fictional Biographies

Dawn over Kitty Hawk: A Novel of the Wright Brothers by Walter J. Boyne
Boyne, an expert in aviation history, has authored numerous books on aeronautics. In this historical novel, he displays an extraordinary knowledge of early flight and the men who invented and flew the "heavier-than-air flying machines" of the early 1900s.

The Sand-Reckoner by Gillian Bradshaw
The moving, human account of the life of Archimedes, a brilliant young man who is blessed by all the Muses and who experiences fame and loss, love and war, wealth and betrayal – none of which affects him nearly as much as the divine beauty of mathematics.

The Stone Garden by Bill Brooks
In a lively and original tale of the Old West, Brooks takes potshots at the conventional understanding of what really happened to Billy the Kid in that fateful ambush in 1881. Two narrators tell the story. One is Billy; the other is Manuella, Billy's lover of many years. In a casual vernacular, Billy maintains that he was not killed by sheriff Pat Garrett that night at Pete Maxwell's ranch. This well-crafted tale is a graceful song, alive with drama, biting wit and just enough well-substantiated doubt to make you wonder.

Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War by Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown's fascinating re-creation of the life of Dolley Madison is a masterful blend of fact and fiction. Dolley was the remarkable First Lady who had the President's ear and the nation's heart, a Washington hostess of world-renowned charm, and a legendary figure who barely escaped as her beloved city burned.

Elvis in the Morning by William F. Buckley
Orson Killere, whose widowed mother works at the military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, in the 1950s, becomes a fan of Elvis Presley. When 15-year-old Orson gets caught stealing Elvis's latest album from the base's PX, Presley (stationed nearby) comes to Orson's home to meet him and his closest friend (and fellow Elvis fanatic), 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, with whom Elvis falls instantly in love. Although their lives inevitably veer off in different directions, Orson remains Elvis's one true fan (and we know what happened to Priscilla).

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Speaking from the grave, out of 19th-century Australia rides a hero of his people – Ned Kelly – a mythic outlaw whose life embodies tragedy, perseverance and freedom. Executed more than a century ago, he resonates still as that country's most potent legend.

Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell
Long before Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber, his musical and personal life was intertwined with her family. Here, Sophie, the youngest of the four Weber sisters, recalls events from 60 years earlier that reveal how the sisters influenced Mozart's music. Cowell vividly brings to life not only the Webers and the Mozarts but also dozens of minor characters and their era. Fans of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring will relish this exploration of family demands and the creative drive.

Kleopatra by Karen Essex
High drama and ancient history combine in this spellbinding novel of the early life of Egypt's infamous queen, at once a beautiful seductress, brilliant politician, and the most powerful ruler of her time. For other takes on Cleopatra, see When We Were Gods: The Story of Cleopatra by Colin Falconer and Throne of Isis by Judith Tarr.

I Should be Extremely Happy in your Company: A Novel of Lewis and Clark by Brian Hall
Narrated in multiple distinct voices, this retelling of the story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's legendary expedition is less a historical blow-by-blow than an engaging character study of the two men. Hall focuses on a few significant episodes in the journey – such as the hunting accident that wounds Lewis and causes him to sink into his famous depression – as seen through the eyes of Lewis, Sacagawea, Clark and Toussaint Charbonneau, Sacagawea's French fur trader husband. The result is a memorable portrait of the expedition leaders. For another account, see Sign-Talker: The Adventure of George Drouillard on the Lewis and Clark Expedition by James Alexander Thom.

Longing by J.D. Landis
The tempestuous marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann has inspired many a biographer, but Landis translates the familiar tale into glorious fiction. In the 1830s and '40s, German Romanticism is at its peak. Brilliant and obsessive, composer Robert Schumann and pianist Clara Wieck Schumann perfectly embody the age's glories and excesses. Expansive and engrossing, this is historical fiction at its best, true to its subjects and steeped in the past.

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
In what is arguably his greatest book, America's most heroically ambitious writer follows the short, blighted career of Gary Gilmore, an intractably violent product of America's prisons who – after robbing two men and killing them in cold blood – insisted on dying for his crime.

Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
Historical fiction acquires new luster and credibility in Min's brilliant evocation of the woman who married Mao and fought to succeed him. Madame Mao has become a myth, but Min has the background and the insight to imagine her afresh, and to create a complex psychological portrait of a driven, passionate woman and a period of history in which she would suffer, rise and prosper, and then fall victim to her own insatiable thirst for power.