Genre fusions are having a bit of a moment right now, so today I want to talk about one of my favorites: historical fantasy.  Plenty of fantasy novels have, for lack of a better word, historical vibes: most people are familiar with the basics of the ‘generic medieval fantasy setting’, even if they don’t read much fantasy themselves. But today I want to go beyond that, and explore books that introduce fantastical elements into real-world history.  In a historical fantasy novel, an author has an opportunity to inject the unexpected into the familiar, and a historically inspired setting provides a window to explore what fantasy can be outside of the ‘medieval Europe but not quite’ formula.  Here’s a selection of works of historical fantasy, all available through the Monarch Library System, that will appeal readers who love both genres and what happens when the two combine.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

In the middle of the 14th century, China is wracked by famine and scarred by war.  This is the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the period of the Mongol Empire’s rule.  After the death of her brother, a young girl assumes his identity to become Zhu Chongba, rising from obscurity to become a great military commander – but when faced with the brutal calculus of war, she must make an unspeakable choice.  She Who Became The Sun bears some similarities to the legend of Hua Mulan, but readers shouldn’t expect anything like Disney’s cheery musical rendition of the story.  Rather, Zhu Chongba resembles the thorny antiheroines of Seth Dickinson’s The Traitor Baru Cormorant and R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War.  The setting of this book is brilliantly realized: the bleak portrait of the famine-stricken village of Zhu Chongba’s childhood forms one of the most effective prologues I’ve read in a genre novel in some time.  Parker-Chan also presents a brilliant antivillain in Ouyang, a captive who has risen high in the army and royal court of Henan. I couldn’t put this book down, and the ending left me with a fierce book hangover.  Luckily, She Who Became The Sun is the first of a completed duology, and the conclusion, He Who Drowned The World, is also on the shelf at Mead, ready for avid readers to pick up right away.

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

The year is 1491, the twilight of the Emirate of Granada, and the arrival of the nascent Spanish empire at the gates will upend not only the balance of power, but the lives of two young people: Fatima, an enslaved Circassian girl, and Hassan, a creator of unusual maps – maps that would certainly be considered sorcerous by the Spanish Inquisition.  Together, Fatima and Hassan take a wild leap into the unknown, searching for a mysterious island in the West – an island thought to be mythical, that Hassan’s maps might nevertheless allow them to reach.  The setting of The Bird King is richly realized, and the characters beautifully drawn: Fatima and Hassan are instantly loveable, and Luz, the Inquisition agent who pursues them, is a chilling and believable portrait of zealotry.  I also appreciate how this book chooses to foreground the friendship between Fatima and Hassan first and foremost, rather than opting for romance.  While Fatima does have some feelings for Hassan, it’s pretty clear that they spring from loneliness and desperation rather than True Love, and that actually pursuing this relationship would be a very bad idea. If you’re hungry for a historical fantasy that exemplifies the best of what the subgenre can be, The Bird King deserves a spot on your TBR.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

In any discussion of historical fantasy, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is the Big One, the landmark that other works in the genre are inevitably compared to, for better or worse.  It’s hard not not to be staggered by what Susanna Clarke achieved here: a tome over 900 pages long that’s enchanted readers and won multiple awards.  The book opens in the year 1806 in an England that was once magical, but no longer – until prickly academic Gilbert Norrell demonstrates once that practical magic is still possible.  The magical display rockets Norrell to a fame he is absolutely unprepared for, but earns him a protegée in Jonathan Strange.  However, as Strange’s own fame grows, the differences between the two men threaten to become irreconcilable – and meanwhile, the machinations of a faerie entity known as The Gentleman With The Thistledown Hair threaten those they hold dear and may spell magical disaster.  Since its publication in 2004, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has become one of the most essential works of fantasy of the current century – in some respects, it is worth being mindful of that publication date, and go in ready for some aspects that haven’t aged well.  Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has become something of a mountain for fantasy fans to climb, nearly as foreboding as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion – and just as rewarding.  And in my opinion, it’s also one of the best things a very long book can be: another world, intricate in detail, that a reader can get positively lost in.

Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce

Against the backdrop of the Reconstruction, Phee St. Margaret, the sheltered daughter of a family of successful Black business owners, yearns to assert herself against her overbearing mother.  Her opportunity arrives in the form of a tragedy – her estranged Aunt Cleo has died, and someone must perform the role of pomp for her homegoing.  When Phee accepts the task, she finds a house full of secrets and a social minefield in the town of New Horizon.  But if Phee can discover the truth of her aunt’s wishes and find out what really caused the rift in their family, she might also find the chance to finally build a life of her own.  The atmosphere of this book is pitch perfect: with the combination of gothic mystery and emotional earnestness that Royce presents, I found myself reminded of Over the Garden Wall and the very best of Tim Burton. Royce’s writing also skillfully touches on deeper themes, such as the realities of grief, toxic family dynamics, and the personal and societal scars left by the horror of slavery.  Psychopomp and Circumstance is the perfect companion for a rainy day, a book that will enchant you, make you tear up, and also make you think.