Books like

Books like The Rose Garden

12 books with a reading profile close to The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. Practical, clear-cut and escapist; an easy read.

1

The Indigo Girl

by Natasha Boyd

Also practical and clear-cut · history, romance

In 1739, sixteen-year-old Eliza Lucas is left in charge of three South Carolina plantations while her father pursues military ambitions in Antigua.
2

Revolution

by Jennifer Donnelly

Also clear-cut · history, romance

In modern-day Brooklyn, Andi Alpers is a gifted musician struggling with clinical depression and failing grades following the death of her younger brother.
3

From Sand and Ash

by Amy Harmon

Also clear-cut · history, romance

Set in 1943 Italy, the narrative follows Eva Rosselli, a Jewish woman, and Angelo Bianco, a Catholic priest, as they navigate the German occupation of Rome.
4

Last Christmas in Paris

by Hazel Gaynor

Also practical and clear-cut · history, romance

In 1914, Evie Elliott waves goodbye to her brother Will and his friend Thomas Harding as they depart for the front lines of World War I.
5

At the Water's Edge

by Sara Gruen

Also clear-cut · history, romance

Set against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands during the height of World War II, this historical novel follows Ellis and Maddie Hyde, an elite socialite couple searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
6

Lovely War

by Julie Berry

Also clear-cut · history, romance

Set in 1917 and 1944, this historical novel uses Greek deities as narrators to chronicle two unfolding romances during World War I.
7

Love and Ruin

by Paula McLain

Also practical and clear-cut · history, romance

In 1937, Martha Gellhorn travels to Madrid to report on the Spanish Civil War, where she begins an intense affair with Ernest Hemingway.
8

The Room on Rue Amelie

by Kristin Harmel

Also clear-cut · history, romance

The story centers on Ruby, an American woman who moves to Paris in 1939 with her French husband.
9

Katherine

by Anya Seton

Also practical and clear-cut · history, romance

Anya Seton’s novel recreates the fourteenth-century romance between Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
10

The Sandcastle Girls

by Chris Bohjalian

Also clear-cut · history, romance

In 1915, Elizabeth Endicott travels from Boston to Aleppo with a relief committee to provide food and medical aid to Armenian refugees.
11

The Lost Wife

by Alyson Richman

Also clear-cut · history, romance

Set in pre-war Prague, the narrative follows Lenka, an art student, and Josef, a medical student, who fall in love and marry just as the German occupation begins.
12

Inés of My Soul

by Isabel Allende

Also clear-cut · history, romance

Inés Suárez is a seamstress in sixteenth-century Spain, whose husband has left for the New World and not returned.

Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.

Get papr

Your library, beautifully understood.