Tuck Lincoln, Mozart, and Eleanor Roosevelt in your suitcase this summer

1 Loot, by Tania James

Tania James’ dazzling, richly embroidered historical novel imagines the journey of a life-size automaton of a wooden tiger – and those connected with it – from late 18th-century India to France and England over 65 years. “Loot” is about the spoils and displacements of colonialism and the quest for betterment, autonomy, and love. 

2 The House of Lincoln, by Nancy Horan

Springfield, Illinois, in the 1850s served as the home, heart, and laboratory of Abraham Lincoln. Nancy Horan’s novel tells of the period’s political tumult, abolitionist fervor, and unchecked violence. With its smartly tuned dialogue and insistence on hope, the novel delivers a forceful, engrossing read.

3 The First Ladies, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The friendship between first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune enriched both women, whose efforts set the stage for the modern Civil Rights Movement. The novel captures their invincibility and conviction.

4 Much Ado About Nada, by Uzma Jalaluddin

From the author of “Ayesha at Last” and “Hana Khan Carries On,” this modern-day romance reinvents Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” into a delightful illumination of Islamic faith, community, and culture in Toronto. It’s a charming tale of great substance.

5 Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith

This haunting novel visits an abandoned villa in Italy harboring World War II secrets. A historian arrives to spend summer with his aunts and grandmother, and discovers a female visitor claiming ownership of his cottage. Themes of loss and the burden of history are seasoned with grace and humor.

6 A Disappearance in Fiji, by Nilima Rao

Police Sgt. Akal Singh, dispirited and homesick, abhors Fiji. Reassigned to the “backwater colony” in 1914 following a career misstep in Hong Kong, the Sikh lawman drags through his days until an Indian indentured worker goes missing. Spurred to act, Akal uncovers suspects, secrets, and injustices among the sugar cane fields. Nilima Rao delivers a slow-boil, effective whodunit that exposes exploitive colonial practices.

7 Forgiving Imelda Marcos, by Nathan Go

Nathan Go’s splendid debut novel follows Lito, a Filipino chauffeur for Ferdinand Marcos-era opposition leader-turned-president Corazon Aquino. Winsome and wise, historical and original, the first-person account bounces among Lito’s childhood, his final outing with the retired Mrs. Aquino, and his contemplative present in a nursing home. The story plumbs the depths of forgiveness, and how cowardice can morph into bravery. 

8 Mozart in Motion, by Patrick Mackie

Historians and musicologists have sought to explain Mozart’s genius and enduring appeal for more than 200 years. Poet and cultural critic Patrick Mackie tackles this topic with a beautifully written and insightful series of essays that connect the biographical details of Mozart’s life with some two dozen of his musical works. 

9 Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, by Peter Moore

Historian Peter Moore notes that Thomas Jefferson’s indelible phrase has had a vibrant afterlife, becoming shorthand for the American dream. But his stirring, stylishly written account focuses on its prehistory, tracing the phrase’s origins to British Enlightenment thinking.

10 Better Living Through Birding, by Christian Cooper

Christian Cooper, a Black birding enthusiast, received worldwide media attention when a video of him being falsely accused of threatening a white woman in New York’s Central Park went viral. In his delightful, edifying memoir, he extols the virtues of bird-watching and charts its decadeslong significance in his life.