
Historical fiction book · Open Library
Dear America
Unknown author · historical fiction
At the age of twelve, Minnie Swift is living through one of the toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression. She keeps a detailed diary over the span of one Christmas month. Reflecting the sadness but also the optimism that characterized the time, this is an intimate portrait of a Midwestern family's days and nights, ups and downs, triumphs and losses. It's the story of one family's persevering spirit: The Christmas Spirit.
About this historical novel
Dear America by Unknown author is historical fiction rooted in Global / multiple. At the age of twelve, Minnie Swift is living through one of the toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression. She keeps a detailed diary over the span of one Christmas month. Reflecting the sadness but also the optimism that characterized the time, this is an intimate portrait of a Midwestern family's days and nights, ups and downs, triumphs and losses. It's the story of one family's persevering spirit: The Christmas Spirit.
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include depressions, family, diaries, indiana in fiction, and juvenile fiction.
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
At the age of twelve, Minnie Swift is living through one of the toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression. She keeps a detailed diary over the span of one Christmas month. Reflecting the sadness but also the optimism that characterized the time, this is an intimate portrait of a Midwestern family's days and nights, ups and downs, triumphs and losses. It's the story of one family's persevering spirit: The Christmas Spirit.
Subgenres
Eras
- Not classified yet
More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- Homegoing · Yaa Gyasi
Linked stories follow two half-sisters’ lineages across centuries of African and American history.
- Pachinko · Min Jin Lee
Four generations of a Korean family navigate life under Japanese rule and in Japan.
- Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen
When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley takes Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet is determined to marry off a daughter—but it is the proud Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth Bennet’s first impression of him, that turns a Hertfordshire season into the most famous courtship in English fiction. Jane Austen’s 1813 novel is Regency historical romance of manners, money, and a woman who will not marry without respect.
- 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.
- The House of Boleyn · Tracy Borman
Tudor historian Tracy Borman tells the Boleyn family's rise and fall from Hever Castle—Anne, Mary, Thomas, and the household watching Henry VIII's court close in.
- I, Claudius · Robert Graves
The ‘fool’ Claudius narrates the murderous intrigue of Rome’s first emperors.
Regions & places
Global / multiple
Themes
- depressions
- family
- diaries
- indiana in fiction
- juvenile fiction
- diaries in fiction
- family life
- fiction
Tags
open-library