No plans for a big trip this summer? No problem! We’ve got you covered with 10 historical novels that will take you away to fascinating destinations while you’re still curled up in your favorite reading spot.

The Essex Serpent

by Sarah Perry

WHERE & WHEN: England, late 19th century

A drab town on the English coast is nevertheless full of wonder and discovery for budding naturalist Cora Seaborne—and that’s before she learns of the legendary monster that has supposedly lurked offshore for decades. Hints of Colchester’s frightening history are everywhere she turns, and her constantly gray, damp surroundings make it easy to believe she may be on the cusp of discovering a new species. And in Cora’s interactions with the local vicar, combative and stirring by turn, Sarah Perry evokes the uneasy relationship between faith and science that dominated the era.

Dragon Teeth

by Michael Crichton

WHERE & WHEN: Wild West, 1870s

A infamous, vicious historical rivalry gets the Hollywood blockbuster treatment from Michael Crichton in Dragon Teeth. Crichton flings sheltered Yale student William Johnson into a world of gunslingers, out-of-control herds and early paleontologists. Tasked with guarding a crate full of priceless fossils, Dragon Teeth’s action-packed immediacy and cast of colorful characters (including some famous outlaws!) whisks readers away into the adventure and wild beauty of the American West.

Girl in Disguise

by Greer Macallister

WHERE & WHEN: Chicago, 1850s

Girl in Disguise, Greer Macallister’s take on the life of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective, is a rollicking good time as well as an inspiring portrait of a forgotten American hero. Macallister gives readers a fascinating look at the ins and outs of early law enforcement, as well as the slowly darkening mood of the country as the Civil War draws ever closer. Girl in Disguise derives much of its tension and humor from details of the period, whether it’s the difficulties of detective work in a world without forensic science, the ways in which Kate’s gender makes her job both easier and more dangerous, or the wild bustle of booming, crime-ridden Chicago.

The Strays

by Emily Bitto

WHERE & WHEN: Australia, 1930s

The disheveled glamour of a bohemian commune in 1930s Melbourne has a dark underbelly in Emily Bitto’s debut, The Strays, winner of Australia’s 2015 Stella Prize. Loosely based on the unconventional group of Melbourne artists known as Heide Circle, the fictional Trentham family are far more concerned with establishing themselves in Australia’s modern art moment and asserting themselves in the conservative ’30s than with the care of their children. And so, when shy Lily befriends Eva Trentham and her sisters, Beatrice and Heloise, it’s only a matter of time before this artistic utopia and its lack of rules wreak irreparable damage. Pick this one up for the luxe gardens and lavish parties; stay for the powerful, creative coming-of-age tale.

Pachinko

by Min Jin Lee

WHERE & WHEN: Korea, early 1900s, to Japan, 1989

Not content to explore only one place and time? Then get your hands on a copy of Pachinko, Min Jin Lee’s incredible epic that takes readers through four generations, three wars and two countries. The story of a family of Korean immigrants to Japan, Lee’s family saga explores the shifting status of the Korean nation and the way its people are viewed in the countries they settle, as well as being an addicting story of family secrets and estrangements.

In the Name of the Family

by Sarah Dunant

WHERE & WHEN: Italy, early 16th century

Shadowy halls lit only by candlelight, ballgowns made of rustling velvet, family councils where betrayal or bloodshed could break out at any moment—In the Name of the Family is a superb continuation of Sarah Dunant’s absorbing series about the infamous Borgia family. Set in Rome, Tuscany and Florence at the height of Italy’s cultural and political power, Dunant’s meticulously researched portrayal analyzes the family through the eyes of none other than Niccoló Machiavelli, who based his masterpiece The Prince on the ruthless actions of Cesare and Cesare’s father, Pope Alexander VI.

The Patriots

by Sana Krasikov

WHERE & WHEN: Moscow, 1930s and beyond

An idealistic young American woman leaves New York for the promise of independence and meaning in Soviet Russia. But as her dreams of revolution are tarnished by the terrible truth of a totalitarian regime, Florence Fein must make decisions that haunt her son years later. Interspersed with Julian Fein’s experiences in Russia 40 years after his mother arrived there, Sana Krasikov’s The Patriots is an epic of enormous historical scope that embeds the reader in the tense, paranoid mindset of a woman desperately trying to protect herself and her son, no matter the cost.

The Second Mrs. Hockaday

by Susan Rivers

WHERE & WHEN: South Carolina, Civil War era

Delve into the fraught, dangerous world of the South during the Civil War with Susan Rivers' haunting novel. A Confederate major’s young bride is accused of adultery and infanticide after being left to oversee their small farm. The mystery of what truly happened at their isolated property is slowly revealed through letters, diary entries and inquest reports as Rivers cleverly uses the slow pace of correspondence in the 1800s to build excruciating suspense. Be prepared to spend your summer nights feverishly turning pages.

A Piece of the World

by Christina Baker Kline

WHERE & WHEN: Coastal Maine, 1939 and beyond

The sweeping views of the northeastern coast are an ironic contrast to the cramped, confined life of Christina Olson in A Piece of the World, a novel inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting "Christina’s World." Christina’s intelligence and spirit have been stifled by poverty, disability and years of drudgery. But when a young artist rents out one of her rooms as a studio, she finds herself understood and seen by her new lodger in a way she’s never experienced. Christina Baker Kline tenderly evokes the slow pace of rural life and the gentle unfolding of a profound friendship.

The Last Neanderthal

by Claire Cameron

WHERE & WHEN: France, 40,000 BC

Our final selection takes us back—way, way back—to the years just before Neanderthals became extinct. Claire Cameron paints a vivid picture of a Neanderthal family’s struggle to survive, taking the reader along as the last living members of the species hunt game, gather with other Neanderthals for a summer fish run and raise their young. The prehistoric action is juxtaposed with the life of a modern-day archaeologist exploring Neanderthal graves and facing struggles of her own. Fans of Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series will enjoy this fascinating return to a Stone Age setting.