Historical Fiction – Page 29 – Trigger Warning Database

The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

No one in 1840s New York likes fires, copper star Timothy Wilde least of all. After a blaze killed his parents and another left him with a terrible scar, he has avoided flames of all kinds. So when a seamstress turned arsonist threatens Robert Symmes, a corrupt tycoon high in the Tammany Hall ranks, Timothy isn’t thrilled that Symmes consults him. His dismay escalates when his audacious and charismatic older brother, Valentine, himself deeply politically entrenched, decides to run against the incumbent, who they suspect is guilty of assault and far darker crimes. Immediately after his brother’s courageous declaration… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism
Burn scars mentioned
Murder & torture
Fire

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

August 1845 in New York; enter the dark, unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points. After a fire decimates a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last forms an official Police Department. That same summer, the great potato famine hits Ireland. These events will change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadn’t wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st, on his way home from the Tombs defeated and disgusted, he is plotting his resignation, when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel, crashes into him; she… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism
Religious discrimination (anti-Catholic rhetoric in relation to anti-Irish sentiment)
Underage sex work (implied)
Burn scars mentioned

A Treacherous Curse byDeanna Raybourn

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1888. As colourful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumours abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Racism
Antiziganism
Misogyny
Slut-shaming
Cheating recounted
Suicide, on-page
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Mild blood depiction & serious physical injuries
Death of a husband & father
Murder by poison
Attempted murder by fire
Gun violence
Disappearance
Hostage situation
Bullying

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

These ominous words are the last threat that Sir Edward Grey receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, he collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests. Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that her husband was murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers damning evidence for herself and realizes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Antisemitism
Homomisia
Racism & racial slurs
Antiziganism
Cheating
Attempted suicide mentioned
Abortion mentioned
Murder
Arson

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1887. At the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task–saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Ramsforth, accused of the brutal murder of his mistress, Artemisia, will face the hangman’s noose in a week’s time if the real killer is not found. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Racism mentioned
Homomisia mentioned
Cheating discussed
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Infertility & miscarriage mentioned
Death of a sister in childbirth mentioned
Mild blood & injury depiction
Exsanguination
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Knife violence
False incarceration

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn

Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian colleague Stoker’s brother calls in a favour. On the pretext of wanting a companion to accompany him to Lord Malcolm Romilly’s house party, Tiberius persuades Veronica to pose as his fiancée—much to Stoker’s chagrin. But upon arriving, it becomes clear that the party is not as innocent as it had seemed. Every invited guest has a connection to Romilly’s wife, Rosamund, who disappeared on her wedding day three years ago, and a dramatic dinner proves … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antiziganism (g slur)
Misogyny
Slut-shaming
Cheating recounted
Domestic abuse recounted
Suicide discussed
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Dead bodies
Death during childbirth recounted
Death of a wife recounted
Death of a child recounted
Murder & attempted murder, including the murder of a pregnant woman
Gun violence
Hostage situation
Near-drowning incident

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo. Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the…Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antisemitism
Murder
War themes

Fear by KA Merikan

Fear by K.A. Merikan

London, 1907, twenty years into the zombie plague. Reuben is a baker living in the slums of London, sharing a room with his father and an extended family of cockroaches. Poor, uneducated, and repressing all his sexual desires, he leads a life of misery, only sometimes sprinkled with gin and a rough tumble in a filthy back alley. But when he is abducted into Bylondon to be the slave of a wealthy crime family member named Erik Dal, his values are put to the test. His new master is obsessed with all things equestrian, and Reuben soon learns that if he obeys and performs well… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Rape
Sexual assault
Kidnapping
Poverty

Object of Desire by Dal Maclean

Object of Desire by Dal Maclean

Tom Gray is one of the world’s top models–an effortless object of desire. Self-contained, elusive and always in control, he’s accustomed to living life entirely on his own terms. But when Tom comes under suspicion in the gory death of his employer, his world spirals into chaos. But when Tom comes under suspicion in the gory death of his employer, his world spirals into chaos. And as old secrets come to light, Tom finds his adversary always one step ahead.. And as old secrets come to light, Tom finds his adversary always one step ahead… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Animal mutilation (cat)

Rogue Countess by Amy Sandas

Rogue Countess by Amy Sandas

Forced into marriage by her family and abandoned by her husband, Anna vowed to never again be anyone’s pawn. Her only weakness might be the love she still harbours for the man who betrayed her. A wicked and deceitful plot brought about the unwanted marriage between young Anna Locke and Jude Sinclair, the handsome son of an earl. Furious over his new circumstances, the groom left his bride and England behind to travel the world. When he returns after eight long years, his first intention is to put an end to his farce of a marriage once and for all. But he never expected the woman his wife has become, or his… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Drug use
Blackmail