Historical fiction book · Curated
Paradise Alley
Kevin Baker · historical fiction
The New York Draft Riots through intertwined immigrant lives (SAH Prize 2003).
About this historical novel
Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker is historical fiction set around 1863 in the Civil War period with key settings including New York City. The New York Draft Riots through intertwined immigrant lives (SAH Prize 2003).
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction, 5. Military & war, and 7. Family saga so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include civil war, riot, and immigration. It also appears on our prize-winner shelf—useful if you like critically recognized historical novels.
Use HisFic’s free journey planner to stay in this era or subgenre, save titles to a want-to-read list in your browser, and open Amazon when you are ready to buy. HisFic is discovery-only—not a bookstore—so pages like this exist to help you choose the next historical novel with intent.
Plot summary
The New York Draft Riots through intertwined immigrant lives (SAH Prize 2003).
Awards
- ★ Society of American Historians Prize for Historical Fiction · 2003 (winner)
Biennial US prize (formerly James Fenimore Cooper Prize) for historical fiction on an American subject.
Subgenres
Eras
Browse this mix
More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- East of Eden · John Steinbeck
From the Civil War to the Great War, the Hamiltons and the Trasks settle the Salinas Valley, and two generations of brothers replay Cain and Abel—land, a woman named Cathy, and the Hebrew word timshel, thou mayest. John Steinbeck’s novel is Gilded Age family-saga historical fiction of California: a valley’s making, and a family’s argument with fate.
- Gone with the Wind · Margaret Mitchell
Scarlett O’Hara fights to survive the Civil War and Reconstruction in the American South.
- North and South · John Jakes
Two families—one Northern, one Southern—are torn by the approach of the Civil War.
- Little Women · Louisa May Alcott
In Civil War Concord, the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—keep house while their father is at the front: theatricals, letters, poverty, and the question of who they will become when girlhood ends. Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel is Victorian American historical fiction of sisterhood and ambition, a New England home-front saga readers still search by title.
- Days Without End · Sebastian Barry
An Irish immigrant and his partner fight in the Indian Wars and Civil War (Walter Scott Prize 2017).
- Conjure Women · Afia Atakora
A healer’s daughter navigates slavery’s end and dangerous secrets (SAH Prize 2021).
Regions & places
North America
New York City
Themes
- civil war
- riot
- immigration
Tags
award-winner