“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”
The Women is a 2024 historical fiction book by Kristin Hannah. Having spent twenty years in the making and inspired by Hannah’s own experiences growing up during the war era, the story centres on Frances ‘Frankie’ McGrath, a young Californian nurse who serves in the United States Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War, returning home to find her own nation in the midst of turbulent change and conflicted attitudes about the conflict. Debuting at number one on The New York Times bestseller list, The Women is a poignant homage to the strength of women in the face of adversity and chaos. If you’re looking for more immersive historical tales brimming with resilience, spirit and growth that are sure to tug at your heartstrings, join us at What We Reading for the best books like The Women!
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah
Kicking off our list of the best books like The Women is another one of Kristin Hannah’s best works, The Nightingale. Set in France in 1939 in the sleepy village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he sets off for the front. Following the German invasion of the country, an enemy captain requisitions Vianne’s home. Without food, money or any means of escape, she is forced to jump from one impossible choice to the next just to keep her family alive.
Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old living in Paris and looking for a purpose. There she meets Gaetan, a partisan who believes that the French can fight from within the country. Before long, Isabelle finds herself falling head over heels in love with the enigmatic fighter. However, when he betrays her, she joins the Resistance and plunges headfirst into risking her life time and time again to save others.
All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy the city. She and her father flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo. With them is potentially the most valuable and dangerous jewel in the museum. Elsewhere, Werner Pfennig is an expert in building and fixing things, two skills that become handy for him to track down the Resistance.
All the Light We Cannot See is a historical fiction book similar to The Women by Anthony Doerr. The lives of Marie-Laure and Werner are deftly interwoven together, illuminating the ways in which, against all odds, people try to do good to one another in a way that any fans of Kristin Hannah are sure to resonate with.
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The Ways We Hide – Kristina McMorris
After being raised in the tough surroundings of Michigan’s Copper Country, Fenna Vos has learned how to focus on her own survival before anyone else. She performs on-stage as an assistant for an escape artist but is secretly the true mastermind behind the act. After all, the ability to control her surroundings and escape entrapments is what she uses to suppress the memories of her past.
For all her planning, however, Fenna doesn’t expect to be recruited by British Intelligence as the Second World War gets underway. She is tasked with creating escape tools to thwart the Germans. Whilst she reluctantly agrees to join the team as an inventor, a test of her loyalty soon leads to her discovery that no mission is more treacherous than escaping one’s own past. Inspired by remarkable true accounts, Kristina McMorris’ The Ways We Hide is a compelling exploration of courage, love and loss, perfect for any fans of The Women.
The Beantown Girls – Jane Healey
It’s 1944, and Fiona Denning has her whole future mapped out. She’ll work in city hall, settle down in the Boston suburbs and marry her fiance once he returns home from the war. That is until her fiance is reported missing after being shot down. Determined to learn his fate, Fiona leaves Boston to volunteer overseas as a Red Cross Clubmobile girl.
Joining her are her two best friends. Viviana is more than happy to leave her secretarial job behind in search of adventure. Dottie is a shy music teacher whose talents promise to bring heart and hope to the men on the front. Despite their strength and charms, however, the trio isn’t prepared for the chaos of conflict. Like with The Women book, Jane Healey’s The Beantown Girls follows the three friends as they tackle the challenges of adapting to war, finding new friendships, romances, unimaginable dangers and unexpected dreams along the way.
The Light Over London – Julia Kelly
Cara Hargraves has always found it easier to bury herself in the past rather than confront the present. Which is why working with an antiques dealer suits her just fine. While clearing out an estate, she stumbles upon a diary from the Second World War, and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Keen to learn more, she digs further into the soldier’s life. But she soon realises that she may not be ready to fully understand what life in wartime London really entailed.
In 1941, nineteen-year-old Louise Keene was told to wait in her small village for her wealthy suitor to return from war to ask for her hand in marriage. But everything changes when she suddenly encounters the dashing Flight Lieutenant Paul Bolton. When Bolton is deployed without warning, Louise joins the British anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. But, as the bombs rain down over London, she soon learns that wartime romances can have a dark side when her unopened letters to Paul are returned to her.
The World Played Chess – Robert Dugoni
Another one of the best historical fiction books like The Women set during the heyday of the Vietnam War, The World Played Chess is a 2021 story by Robert Dugoni. It is 1979, and Vincent Bianco has just graduated from high school. Eager to earn a little money and enjoy his final summer before college, he picks up a job as a labourer working alongside two Vietnam veterans. With one of the vets suffering from PTSD, Vincent soon gets the education of a lifetime.
Four decades on, with his own son set to leave for college, the lessons of that summer – Vincent’s final sampling of innocence and first taste of real life – are unveiled in a tale all about breaking away, shaping life and finding your own destiny.
Absolution – Alice McDermott
In Saigon in 1963, two young American wives form a tentative alliance. Tricia is a starry-eyed newlywed who has just married an oil engineer ‘on loan’ to US Navy Intelligence. Charlene is a seasoned corporate spouse and a mother of three who is determined to relieve the ‘wretchedness’ she sees all around her. When Tricia suffers a miscarriage, Charlene takes her on a tour of well-dressed, do-gooder American wives. Carrying baskets of sweets and toys, they attend hospitals and orphanages, determined to help others where they can.
Sixty years later, Charlene’s daughter reaches out to Tricia. As the two of them relive their shared experiences in South Vietnam, they are forced to grapple with the ways in which their lives have been moulded and stunted by Charlene’s obsession with ‘inconsequential good’. Another book like The Women that juxtaposes the beauty of Vietnam against the horrific experiences endured during the war, Alice McDermott’s Absolution is a portrait of the US’ tragic meddling in Southeast Asia.
Check Out The Best Historical Fiction Books From 2024
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
