Historical Fiction – Page 28 – Trigger Warning Database

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to wage war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history scatters its survivors to the wind, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine-year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her and follow her own destiny through the…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape recounted
Domestic violence
Cheating mentioned
Sexual assault
Death of a son
Imprisonment
War themes & battle scenes

A Flawed Scotsman by Hildie McQueen

A Flawed Scotsman by Hildie McQueen

Ruari Ross, cousin to the laird, ponders a marriage arrangement that would ally Clan Ross with Clan Fraser. After a lonely youth, Ruari wants the companionship of a wife without the complication of a love match. When he stumbles upon an injured woman in the forest, he not only saves her life but changes the course of his entire future. Strong-willed daughter of Laird Fraser, Esme has avoided all her parents’ matchmaking attempts. Above all else, she wishes to avoid marrying a Ross. During a jaunt in the forest, she is mortally wounded and left for dead. When she awakens, she realizes he… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape, implied

The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh

The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh

When Kieran Ransome’s latest antics result in a massive scandal, his father issues an ultimatum: find a respectable wife or inherit nothing. But as one of London’s most inveterate scoundrels, Kieran doesn’t know any ladies who fit the bill. Or does he? Celeste Kilburn is a society darling, beloved by influential members of the ton. But keeping a spotless reputation leaves little room for adventure and she longs to escape her gilded cage, especially with her impending engagement to a stuffy earl. When Kieran—her older brother’s best friend and an irresistibly… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Classism
Death of a parent recounted
Blackmail
Poverty recounted

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

Why did a Hercules C130, the world’s sturdiest plane, carrying Pakistan’s military dictator General Zia ul Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988? Was it because of: Mechanical failure, human error, the CIA’s impatience, a blind woman’s curse, generals not happy with their pension plans and the mango season. Or could it be your narrator, Ali Shigri?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Torture

Facing the Flame by Jackie French

Facing the Flame by Jackie French

There have been fires before, but not like this. In 1978, as the hot wind howls and the grass dries, all who live at Gibber’s Creek know their land can burn. But when you love your land, you fight for it. For Jed Kelly, an even more menacing danger looms: a man from her past determined to destroy her. Finding herself alone, trapped and desperate to save her unborn child, Jed’s only choice is to flee – into the flames.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape recounted
Sexual assault by a step-parent recounted
Death of a baby recounted
Bushfire
Animal death

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed young widow who’s running her late husband’s shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw and irresistible. From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: avoid being killed…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexism
Classism
Parental abandonment
Infertility
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a spouse recounted
Explosion

Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

In Regency London, Zacharias Wythe is England’s first African Sorcerer Royal. And that’s only the first of his problems. He must juggle the conflicting demands of a wayward Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, where a faction schemes to remove him from his position by fair means or foul. He must cope with the Fairy Court refusing to grant Britain the magical resources it needs. And now the British Government is avid to deploy this increasingly scare magic in its war with France. He must also contend with rumours that he murdered his predecessor and guardian… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Colourism
Misogyny
Classism
Slavery & indentured servitude
Hallucinations mentioned
Suicide recounted
Alcohol consumption
Burns
Dead bodies
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a husband
Death of a father
Murder discussed
Fire
Death by drowning recounted
War & colonialism themes
Workplace bullying

Hush by Dylan Farrow

The Butcher’s Hook by Janet Ellis

Anne Jaccob is coming of age, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. When she is taken advantage of by her tutor — a great friend of her father’s — and is set up to marry a squeamish snob named Simeon Onions, she begins to realize just how powerless she is in Georgian society. Anne is watchful, cunning, and bored. Her saviour appears in the form of Fub, the butcher’s boy. Their romance is both a great spur and an excitement. Anne knows she is doomed to a loveless marriage to Onions and she is determined to escape with Fub and be his mistress. But will Fub ultimately be… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexual assault
Miscarriage
Death of a child
Murder

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe

As the owner of the city’s most exclusive casino, Clayton Madden holds the fortunes of prominent families in the palms of his hands every night. There is one particular family he burns to ruin, however, one that has escaped his grasp… until now. Florence Greene is no one’s fool. She knows Clayton Madden is using her to ruin her prestigious family… and she’s using him right back. She plans to learn all she can from the mysterious casino owner—then open a casino of her own just for women. With revenge on his mind, Clay… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Gentrification
Death of a sibling
Police raid

Scandalous Passions by Nicola Davidson

Scandalous Passions by Nicola Davidson

Lady Janet Fraser didn’t earn her reputation as Scotland’s most notorious sinner by following the rules. A former mistress of King James IV, she’s content to live her life from pleasure to pleasure. Even if those pleasures—and people—are forbidden. People like Sir Lachlan Ross, given the moniker The Highland Beast, a man as intimidating in battle as he is in size. A beast she discovers secretly wishes to be tamed and submit to her dominance. Or like her new ward, Lady Marjorie Hepburn, a convent-raised virgin with a desire to be taught all the sensual secrets of the marriage bed. Things that Janet is fully willing to teach… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Fatmisia
Sexual assault
Infertility
Death of a spouse recounted