What many of us appreciate about historical fiction are all the glorious, specific details about the time period in which the story is set. Whether it’s the old-fashioned dresses donned, the music that’s playing on an old radio, the smells of bustling city streets or rural countryside, it’s the cheapest way to hop a time machine and go off on a wild ride. Enjoy the low-cost journeys below.

The Lost Wife
Alyson Richman explores how artists continue to create, even when confronted with horrific circumstances.

When We Danced on Water
In this novel of intimacy and identity, of art and ambition, the line between passion and obsession is as fluid as the lithest dancer.

Home in the Morning
Mary Glickman tells the story of a Jewish family confronting the tumult of the 1960s – and the secrets that bind its members together.

The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker aims to add a little more magic to our world and play with familiar ideas in unexpected ways.