November 11th is Veterans Day here is the US; and it coincides with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day celebrations elsewhere across the world. This led me to check if I had read any WWI fiction; and while I have a brief memory of reading All Quiet on the Western Front ages ago, I could not find any other books (at least that I could see/recall except a couple I had added to my TBR but yet to read). So I went looking for more books I could read; and I want to share 10 of those, as far as I could see, best WWI fiction books now on my TBR, with all of you too.
Armistice Day / Remembrance Day / Veterans Day
When I saw an article earlier this week about November 11th being Armistice Day as well, it took me back to my high school history classroom. I recall reading about the world wars and memorizing those dates for tests. While I enjoyed history, I always wondered if I would ever need this information later; but here I am, decades later, with an almost instant recall of those dates and events (well, partly). And of course, it does help when my teens are working through their history class too; though the focus is different for them from my own history books.
So more about this day.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, an armistice came into effect to end the hostilities on the western front of World War I. While this was the official news, the actual shelling continued a while longer since it took sometime for communication to reach the frontlines. This initial armistice lasted 36 days, and they kept extending it until the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 was signed to finalize it.
Armistice Day is a national holiday in France, and in some other nations too. Over time, however, other nations changed the name to Remembrance Day (mostly countries belonging to the Commonwealth) while the United States adopted Veterans Day in 1954.
As I was looking for more information I could share about the day, I found this opinion piece on peace (no pun intended at all) that is simply inspirational. The writer calls for the observation of a World Ceasefire so humanitarian efforts can help those in need in war-torn nations across the world without fear of violence.
10 of the Best WWI Fiction Books: On My TBR
Click on images to go to the Goodreads page for the book. Description from Amazon/Goodreads
The Alice Network
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
The Orphan Collector
In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia’s overcrowded slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu.
Lost Roses: A Novel
This sweeping new novel, which is book 2 of the Lilac Girls series, is inspired by true events. It follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I.
Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I
An unforgettably romantic novel that spans four Christmases (1914-1918), Last Christmas in Paris explores the ruins of war, the strength of love, and the enduring hope of the Christmas season.
The Victory Garden: A Novel
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong twenty-one-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. Soon after she accepts a proposal of marriage from a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot, a series of unfortunate events lead her to adopt the charade of a war widow. During those events, Emily has been volunteering by tending a herb garden, and her discovery of some long-lost journals will bring her to the brink of disaster, but may open a path to her destiny.
Band of Sisters: A Novel
A group of young women from Smith College risk their lives in France at the height of World War I in this sweeping novel based on a true story—a skillful blend of Call the Midwife and The Alice Network—from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig.
All the Ways We Said Goodbye: A Novel of the Ritz Paris
The New York Times bestselling authors of The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel.
In a Field of Blue: A Novel
From the bestselling author of The Road Beyond Ruin comes a novel about a family torn apart by grief and secrets, then pulled back together by hope in the wake of World War I.
The Pull of the Stars: A Novel
In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders—Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.
All Quiet on the Western Front
In 1914 a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the ‘glorious war’. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young ‘unknown soldier’ experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.
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Dear reader, have you read any of these books? If yes, your thoughts on them? Any other recommendations?
Last Christmas in Paris was stellar! It tore me up.
Thanks for this wonderful list. I love history and and war stories and movies.
“The Ten Days That Shook The World” comes to mind, but that was about the Russian Revolution and made into a film called “REDS,” starring Warren Beatty. The movie is an epic depiction of the political upheavals of that time.
I read a few of those books about the “Great War” (What WWI was known as before there was a WWII)…
Thanks for the great review.