Must-Read Historical Fiction Featuring Strong Black Characters

Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Civil Townsend is a newly qualified nurse working at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic who believes passionately in the work she’ll be doing serving poor Black women. But when she is given her first case, she is shocked to discover the patients are her sisters, who are just eleven and thirteen years old.

Based on a true story, what follows is a shocking story of eugenics, justice and equality that will leave you outraged, appalled and heartbroken. Intelligent, strong, brave and compassionate, Civil is a remarkable and unforgettable character who will stay with you long after reading. 

Barbados, August 1834. Slavery has been abolished. But what does freedom really mean for those forced to toil in the plantations? Rachel is finding emancipation feels hollow and feels like her old life but with new chains. All she wants is to leave the plantation and find the children who were taken from her and scattered to far-off places. So, she runs.

We follow Rachel on a journey across land and sea in search of not only her children, but the liberty she’s been promised. Strong and formidable, Rachel is a natural and fierce mother who mothers those she didn’t give birth to whilst searching for those she did. She manages to avoid bitterness despite all of the trauma she endured and became a real symbol of hope and inspiration to me whilst reading.

Part love story, part coming-of-age and part crime novel, this fictional story is inspired by the Windrush generation and their battle for acceptance and equality. There are two memorable Black characters in this story - immigrant Lawrie Matthews and Evie Coleridge, the mixed race girl next door he’s in love with. Their happiness is shattered when Lawrie finds the body of a baby girl and then finds himself the prime suspect in her death. Lawrie is a kind, honest and loveable character, who I absolutely adored, while Evie is a sweet and innocent young lady who longs to break free of her overbearing mother. She’s the only mixed race person in the area, which leaves her feeling like she doesn’t fit in anywhere.

This book had it all: great characters, a tense storyline, and it taught me so much about a time in British history that I knew little about.

One of my favourite books of last year, this story is set in a time when slavery was still commonplace and follows former slave Daniel, who arrives in London after earning his freedom. But when he loses his inheritance, Daniel is forced to take shelter in the rookeries of St Giles, a dark forbidding labyrinthine underworld filled with violence, poverty, rapscallions and marauders.

This book illustrates the dreadful truth that men, women and children faced even after they were supposedly granted their freedom. There are a number of memorable Black characters in the book but it is Daniel who stands out most of all. I was cheering him on at every step and can’t wait for the follow-up to see where life takes him next.

We all know the story of Rosa Parks refusing to sit at the back of the bus. Now it’s time to meet Mattie, who took the same bus ride as Ms. Parks.

Blending historical events with fictional characters and events, we follow Mattie in 1950s Alabama and her granddaughter, Ashlee, in modern-day Georgia in a tale of motherhood, prejudice, injustice and the fight for equality.

In the dual timelines we see how both women face similar obstacles and dilemmas sixty years apart despite the changes in society. This book is filled with strong, fierce and fascinating women but Mattie in particular has stayed with me. Powerful, thought-provoking and timely, this is a must-read.

A fictionalised account of the life of the eponymous Charles Ignatius Sancho, this story was pieced together from historical records about his life and achievements.

He lived an extraordinary life which started with his birth into horrific conditions on board a slave ship before being sent to London to be a pet for his owner’s three sisters. And while his life is full of hardship and challenges, it is also full of remarkable achievements such as being the first Black man to vote and leading the fight to abolish slavery.

Mr. Sancho is a truly fascinating and unforgettable character that you won’t forget.