Two Fantastical Historical Fiction Novels For You to Read

by Susan Roberts

I have a couple of historical fiction novels to recommend to you today. The first one is derived from the beloved children's classic The Wizard of Oz and is focused on the life of Dorothy's Auntie Em. The second one is set in the 1960s and is about a real reform school in Buffalo, New York. Both are great reads and should be added to your TBR if you haven't already picked them up.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor

June 2025; Berkley; 978-0593440339
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); historical fiction

Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her.

I have watched The Wizard of Oz on TV more times than I can count, and really enjoyed Hazel Gaynor's story about Dorothy's Auntie Em's earlier life and how she ended up in Kansas.  There are lots of references to the Wizard of Oz, from a mention of the ruby red shoes, Toto, and lots more.  It was fun to see all of these references back to the original story, and I think that Frank Baum would have approved of this story.

This story begins long before Dorothy was born.  Emily and her two sisters had emigrated from Ireland with their parents, and after several stops, they ended up in dirty and gritty Chicago.  The oldest sister moved to California, and Annie married someone that Emily didn't really like or trust.  When Emily married Henry and they decided to farm in Kansas, Annie was very unhappy and kind of nasty to her sister about the move.  Annie was pretty spoiled and willful and didn't want Emily to leave, and not be available to help her.  But Emily was not only in love with Henry, but she soon was in love with the beauty that was Kansas, and wanted to do everything that she could to help the farm.  After a miscarriage, she realized that she'd never get pregnant and resigned herself to never becoming a mother.  When Annie and her husband died, their will requested that Emily and Henry take responsibility and raise their daughter, Dorothy. Life in Kansas was tough when Emily brought Dorothy to Kansas - the Depression was affecting farm prices, and the huge dust storms had started along with frequent tornadoes.  Emily wasn't sure how Dorothy would adapt to Kansas or to her because she wasn't really sure how to be a mother.  Yet despite everything, they did become a family.

Be sure to read the Author's notes at the end of the book, where she gives some political background of the story and talks about her love of the Wizard of Oz movie.  It was apparent when reading this book that the author had done considerable research into the time period and into the movie.  It was a fun book to read, and it was interesting to find all of the references to the original story.

"Home, I know now isn't a place at all.   Mountains or ocean, city or prairie - that's just landscape, the view from the window when you wake...Home is, quite simply, wherever this is love." (p323-4)

Buy Before Dorothy at Amazon

Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs

July 2025; William Morrow; 978-0063118270
audio, ebook, print (400 pages); women's fiction

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption. Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.

I have read books about the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, but had no idea that they also existed in the United States.  This book was a real eye-opener for me.  Magdalene laundries were institutions to house women who were considered "fallen". The term referred to women who were prostitutes, pregnant outside of marriage, or young women without family support. They were operated by nuns of the Roman Catholic church.

Wayward Girls takes place at an institution in Buffalo, NY, in the 1960s, where girls were sent to help straighten their lives out.  It was run by the Catholic church, and the girls were forced to do manual labor that they weren't paid for, plus there were a lot of rules for them to follow.  The six main characters were sent to the reform school for various reasons;  Mairin was there so that her mother could keep her safe from the sexual advances of her stepfather, Angela was attracted to women and needed to be 'fixed',  Helen's parents were detained in China after a trip to their homeland;  Odessa was arrested due to being involved in a racial march;  Denise and Janice were also there for help.  What these girls went through at this reform school was unbelievable.  They worked in a laundry all day, were fed horrible meals, and were locked in their rooms at night.  Any infringement of the rules would cause them to be put in a closet without food or water.  Marian was a feisty young girl, and her goal was to get out, and she kept trying, no matter what punishment she received.  She came up with a plan for her and her friends to escape - but would it work?  And where would they go if they did escape?

This book is based on a real reform school in Buffalo.  The author did extensive research and spent time talking to some of the women who had been kept there during the 60s.  I spent a lot of time googling information about the school and the way that the girls were treated.

This was a fantastic book that made me cry and made me hope for the girls and their future.  I have read all of the books that this author has written, and in my opinion, this was her best book yet.  It's one of the few books that I've recently read that I wish I could give ten stars or more, and a book with characters that I won't soon forget.

Buy Wayward Girls at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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