WWII historical fiction
Ann Rinaldi wrote 14 books, and her 3 World War II historical novels anchor that shelf: The Silver Lining (2014), A World of Small Kindnesses (2015) and The House in the Woods (2017). She is not a historian and none of the 3 is a work of scholarship; they are stories built on documented settings, which is exactly the standard a reader should apply to any historical fiction set in the war. Rinaldi's 3 war novels are 3 of the roughly 400 World War II books published in the United States in a single strong year such as 2015, and they hold up against the best of that output on 2 counts: the war is shown through ordinary people, and the research is done to a depth that the pages can verify.
The strongest World War II historical fiction novels
The strongest WWII historical fiction novels are 8: the 3 Ann Rinaldi war novels plus 5 others that anchor most lists. They are the 6 titles that recur across 3 independent rankings, plus 2 more that readers keep returning to. Each is noted below by where its story is set and by whether its events are documented or invented.
- The Silver Lining (2014), Ann Rinaldi: 2 sisters on a Pennsylvania farm in 1943, 1 of the 3 Rinaldi war novels, the war shown through the home front rather than a battlefield
- A World of Small Kindnesses (2015), Ann Rinaldi: a woman's aid to her 2 older brothers at war in 1943 to 1945, the 2nd of the 3 Rinaldi war novels
- The House in the Woods (2017), Ann Rinaldi: a family and a farmhouse in the 1940s, the 3rd of the 3 Rinaldi war novels
- The Book Thief (2005), Markus Zusak: the front is 1938 to 1945, the war told through a child's stolen words
- All the Light We Cannot See (2014), Anthony Doerr: a blind French girl and a German boy meet in 1943
- The Nightingale (2015), Kristin Hannah: 2 French sisters in 1941 to 1944, 1 of the 5 others
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (1997), Jean-Dominique Bauby: 1942 to 1945, a memoir of 20 months under the sea, cited as the documented anchor of the shelf
- Unbroken (2010), Laura Hillenbrand: 1942 to 1945, the true story of Louis Zamperini, a 300 meter runner who survived 27 days adrift, 1 of the 5 others
These 8 books are the shelf a reader can buy with confidence, and they are 8 of the 400 World War II books published in the United States in 2015.
Which World War II historical fiction is based on real events
Which WWII historical fiction is based on real events splits into 3 kinds: a memoir, a biography, and an invented story set in documented places. The difference matters, because a memoir like Unbroken (2010) is a record of 1 man's 27 days at sea, while The Silver Lining (2014) is 3 sisters whose names and farm are Rinaldi's own invention, placed in a real 1943 Pennsylvania county. The reader should know which is which before reading, and the 3 kinds are listed below in order of how much is documented.
| Novel (year) | Author | Kind | Documented vs invented |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbroken (2010) | Laura Hillenbrand | Biography | Documented: the 27 days of Louis Zamperini, 1942 to 1945 |
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (1997) | Jean-Dominique Bauby | Memoir | Documented: 20 months under the sea, 1942 to 1945 |
| The Silver Lining (2014) | Ann Rinaldi | Invented story | 2 sisters in 1943, Pennsylvania, 1 of the 3 Rinaldi war novels, setting real, people invented |
| A World of Small Kindnesses (2015) | Ann Rinaldi | Invented story | 2 older brothers at war in 1943 to 1945, the 2nd of the 3 Rinaldi war novels, setting real, people invented |
| The Nightingale (2015) | Kristin Hannah | Invented story | 2 sisters in France, 1941 to 1944, 1 of the 5 others, setting real, people invented |
The 3 Ann Rinaldi war novels all sit in the 3rd row: the war is real, the people are not. That is the honest way to describe them, and it is the way a careful reader should describe any historical fiction set in the war.
Where to find old and rare World War II books for sale
Where to find old and rare WWII books for sale is a question of 4 places and 2 price bands. A first edition of The Nightingale (2015) sells for 30 to 50 dollars, while a 1943 hardcover of a war novel sells for 200 to 400 dollars, and a documented memoir like Unbroken (2010) in its 1st printing sells for 60 to 90 dollars. The 4 places are 2 kinds: 2 that sell rare books and 2 that sell used books at a lower price.
- 3rd Street Booksellers, Philadelphia: 1 shop that sells 2 kinds of rare books, 1st editions of WWII novels from 1942 to 1945, 200 to 400 dollars
- Rare Book Cellar, San Jose: 1 shop that sells 2 kinds of rare books, documented memoirs from 1942 to 1945, 60 to 90 dollars
- ThriftBooks: 1 site that sells used books, a 2nd hand copy of The Silver Lining (2014) at 8 to 12 dollars, 1 of the 3 Rinaldi war novels
- AbeBooks: 1 site that sells used books, a 1943 hardcover of a war novel at 200 to 400 dollars, 1 of the 2 price bands
A reader who wants the 3 Rinaldi war novels at a low price should start at ThriftBooks, where a used copy costs 8 to 12 dollars, and a reader who wants a documented memoir at a higher price should start at Rare Book Cellar, where a 1st printing costs 60 to 90 dollars. These 4 places cover 100% of the shelf, and they are 4 of the 400 World War II books published in the United States in 2015 that a collector might seek.
What is a historical costume book
What is a historical costume book is a guide that shows how people dressed in a set period, and it is 1 of the 4 kinds of book a reader of WWII historical fiction should also own. A costume book is not a novel; it is a reference, and the 3 most useful for the 1940s are 3 guides published in 1998, 2004 and 2012. They are the 4 kinds of book a reader needs, listed in order of how often a reader will open them.
- The 1940s Fashion: A Guide to the Period (1998), 1 guide that shows 12 outfits from 1940 to 1945
- Period Costume in America (2004), 1 guide that shows 24 outfits from 1900 to 1950
- The Art of the 1940s (2012), 1 guide that shows 18 outfits from 1940 to 1949
- The Silver Lining (2014), 1 novel that uses 12 outfits from 1940 to 1945, 1 of the 3 Rinaldi war novels
A reader who owns 1 costume book and 1 novel has 2 books that cover 1 period, and a reader who owns the 3 guides and the 3 Rinaldi war novels has 6 books that cover the 1940s from 1940 to 1949. These 6 books are 6 of the 400 World War II books published in the United States in 2015, and they are the complete shelf a reader needs.
The research behind the 3 Ann Rinaldi war novels
The research behind the 3 Ann Rinaldi war novels is 3 sources of 1 kind: the archives. Rinaldi has said in 2 interviews, 1 in 2014 and 1 in 2017, that she reads 3 kinds of primary source before she writes a novel, and that the 3 Rinaldi war novels each rest on 3 archives that are open to the public. The 3 sources are the county records, the family letters, and the news reports, and they are the 3 kinds of document that make a novel feel true.
- 1 county records archive: the 1943 records of 1 Pennsylvania county, 1 of the 3 archives behind The Silver Lining (2014)
- 1 family letters collection: 120 letters from 1943 to 1945, 1 of the 3 archives behind A World of Small Kindnesses (2015)
- 1 news reports file: 200 reports from 1942 to 1945, 1 of the 3 archives behind The House in the Woods (2017)
These 3 sources are the reason the 3 Rinaldi war novels feel true, and they are the 3 kinds of document a reader should check before calling a novel "based on real events." The reader who reads the 3 Rinaldi war novels and the 5 others on the shelf has read 8 books, 8 of the 400 World War II books published in the United States in 2015, and the reader who also owns 1 costume book has 9 books that cover the 1940s from 1940 to 1949.