Y’all know I read a lot and while I try to read widely, my favorite genre has always been historical fiction. I like everything from biblical fiction to Regency romance to tales of the revolution and homesteaders traveling west, but what I really, really like are dual timeline novels.
Dual timeline novels have two separate but parallel storylines set in different periods. Typically there will be one timeline set in the present and one timeline set at a point in the past. The beauty of this is that you get two stories that weave together to represent a theme, solve a mystery, or show a family progression all in one book, which is a great way to add depth to a story.
Below are some of my favorite dual timeline novels that really capture the best of the genre, stories that are engaging and work together seamlessly to enhance the characters’ journeys by allowing you glimpses of the past and present. One of these books even features three separate timelines, which is an impressive feat.
Even though I’m only featuring eight books specifically, I’m also including some bonus recommendations for dual timeline novels from the same authors, so watch out for those in the descriptions as well.
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Dual Timeline Books
Amazon Description: Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.
When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.
Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.
This was a beautiful story with an interesting setting since the timelines switch back and forth between present day Hollywood and colonial South Carolina. That seems like it would be a hard thing to do, but the author made it work really well! Rachel Hauck has other dual timeline novels as well, but the only one I’ve read so far is The Writing Desk, and I liked it as well.
Amazon Description: Boston, 1773 – Emma Malcolm’s father is staunchly loyal to the crown, but Emma’s heart belongs to Noah Winslow, a lowly printer’s assistant and Patriot. But her father has promised her hand to Samuel Clarke, a rapacious and sadistic man. As his fiancée, she would have to give up Noah and the friends who have become like family to her—as well as the beliefs she has come to embrace.
After Emma is drawn into the treasonous Boston Tea Party, Samuel blackmails her with evidence that condemns each participant, including Noah. Emma realizes she must do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if it means giving up the life she desires and becoming Samuel’s wife.
Present Day – Lieutenant Hayley Ashworth is determined to be the first woman inducted into the elite Navy SEALs. But before her dream can be realized, she must return to Boston in order to put the abuse and neglect of her childhood behind her. When an unexpected encounter with the man she once loved leads to the discovery of a tea chest and the document hidden within, she wonders if perhaps true strength and freedom are buried deeper than she first realized.
If you like tough female characters then The Tea Chest is for you! You have a spunky patriot heroine in the historical timeline and an aspiring female SEAL in the present day timeline, so there is no shortage of grit to be found in these ladies. This was such an engaging read and I loved the way the author used a specific item to bring the two stories together.
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Amazon Description: Ellie Carver arrives at her grandmother’s bedside expecting to find her silently slipping away. Instead, the beloved woman begins speaking. Of a secret past and castle ruins forgotten by time. Of a hidden chapel that served as a rendezvous for the French Resistance in World War II. Of lost love and deep regret . . .
Each piece that unlocks the story seems to unlock part of Ellie too—where she came from and who she is becoming. But her grandmother is quickly disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history. Drawn by the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty—a castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale—Ellie embarks on a journey to France’s Loire Valley in hopes that she can unearth its secrets before time silences them forever.
This is the book that I said had three separate timelines, not just two. The narrative jumps around between the French Revolution, World War II, and present day France, telling the stories of three different women and their connections to one castle. This book has lots of great French food descriptions as well! I was definitely craving croissants by the time I was finished. There are two more books in this series with a similar layout – three timelines set around an old castle – but set in different countries. They are loosely connected, but mostly written as standalone novels.
Amazon Description: Kaine Prescott is no stranger to death. When her husband died two years ago, her pleas for further investigation into his suspicious death fell on deaf ears. In desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an old house sight unseen in her grandfather’s Wisconsin hometown. But one look at the eerie, abandoned house immediately leaves her questioning her rash decision. And when the house’s dark history comes back with a vengeance, Kaine is forced to face the terrifying realization she has nowhere left to hide.
A century earlier, the house on Foster Hill holds nothing but painful memories for Ivy Thorpe. When an unidentified woman is found dead on the property, Ivy is compelled to discover her identity. Ivy’s search leads her into dangerous waters and, even as she works together with a man from her past, can she unravel the mystery before any other lives–including her own–are lost?
While several of the books on this list are about solving some kind of mystery, this book is definitely the creepiest. I like to say that Jaime Jo Wright’s books are creepy but not scary, which is perfect for me because I scare easily. I love her mysteries and the social issues that she explores at the same time. This is her debut novel, but I also highly recommend The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond, The Curse of Misty Wayfair (probably my favorite), and Echoes Among the Stones, all of which are dual timeline novels.
Amazon Description: Orphan Jane Piper is nine years old when philanthropist siblings Michael and Elizabeth Quinn take her into their home to further her schooling. The Quinns are no strangers to hardship. Having arrived in Australia as penniless immigrants, they now care for others as lost as they once were.
Despite Jane’s mysterious past, her remarkable aptitude for mathematics takes her far over the next seven years, and her relationship with Elizabeth and Michael flourishes as she plays an increasingly prominent part in their business. But when Elizabeth reacts in terror to an exhibition at the local gallery, Jane realizes no one knows Elizabeth after all—not even Elizabeth herself. As the past and present converge and Elizabeth’s grasp on reality loosens, Jane sets out to unravel her story before it’s too late.
Tea Cooper does a great job of stringing the reader along by dropping bread crumbs to the solution of this mystery without giving anything away until nearly the end. One thing I like about her books is that they are set in Australia, a place I’ve always wanted to visit. The first book I ever read by her was The Woman in the Green Dress (also dual timeline), and I liked it too, though I think I liked The Girl in the Painting even better.
Amazon Description: When respected American jewelry historian, Kate Kirby, receives a call about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she’s on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. But the trip to London forces Kate to explore secrets that have long been buried by her own family. Back in Boston, Kate has uncovered a series of sketches in her great-grandmother’s papers linking her suffragette great-grandmother Essie to the Cheapside collection. Could these sketches hold the key to Essie’s secret life in Edwardian London?
In the summer of 1912, impoverished Irish immigrant Essie Murphy happens to be visiting her brother when a workman’s pickaxe strikes through the floor of an old tenement house in Cheapside, near St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The workmen uncover a stash of treasure—from Ottoman pendants to Elizabethan and Jacobean gems—and then the finds disappear again! Could these jewels—one in particular—change the fortunes of Essie and her sisters?
Together with photographer Marcus Holt, Kate Kirby chases the history of the Cheapside gems and jewels, especially the story of a small diamond champlevé enamel ring. Soon, everything Kate believes about her family, gemology, and herself will be threatened.
This book wasn’t even on my radar when it was gifted to me last Christmas, but it was so good! It’s based on a true story and I loved seeing how the two women’s stories came together and made sense at the end. It is a sad tale in a lot of ways, but the ending is very hopeful. And I was so pleased to find that it fit in the ‘dual timeline novels’ category that I so love!
Amazon Description: Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.
I avoided reading this book for a long, long time because I knew it was going to hit me in the feels and I wasn’t wrong. But it such a compelling story despite the heartbreak and it’s almost hard to believe that this was based off of true events. I can’t imagine living through something like this, which is much the same reaction that the present day character has as she uncovers the what happened to her grandmother in the past timeline.
Amazon Description: Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage secures her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community. However, Naoko has fallen for an American sailor, and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
America, present day. Tori Kovac finds a letter containing a shocking revelation. Setting out to learn the truth, Tori’s journey leads her to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption. In breathtaking prose, The Woman in the White Kimono shows how two women, decades apart, are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.
This story is equal parts beautiful and gut-wrenching. The choices the characters face are almost unimaginable in today’s world. It was such an interesting look into Japanese culture and showed me a perspective I’d never encountered before. So good!
The lost castle sounds amazing! Adding it to my TBR now
The Lost Castle and The Love Letter are going on my booklist! I love those historical, fanatsy genres so I’m excited to get the reading.
What a great selection of books. The one that really stands out to me is The Woman in the White Kimono. Love Japanese culture and I’m adding this to my must-read list!
OOOO these books looks amazing, I will have to add these to my reading list. Love books about culture
I haven’t been reading much I really would like to pick one of these books and start again !!