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Historical stories

Ballrooms, old shores and drive-ins. Period stories where manners, rumors and old houses are part of the plot.

73 stories

You, mending books, meet the duke, a comrade from war whom you haven't seen in eight years.Start
You, mending books, meet the duke, a comrade from war whom you haven't seen in eight years. Autumn, 1814. You've been hired to restore an entire library at Ravenscar Manor on the Northumberland coast. Edmund · Historical
A Contract Marriage, Taishō 12Start
A Contract Marriage, Taishō 12 Spring of Taishō 12. Your family has arranged for you to marry into the Kiryuin house, to an army lieutenant rumored to be cold and merciless. Atsuomi Kiryuin · Historical
On the Bridal Road, the Regent Halts Your Sedan ChairStart
On the Bridal Road, the Regent Halts Your Sedan Chair You’re a commandery princess being sent north to seal a peace through marriage. Xiao Dingchuan · Historical
A Ronin Moves Into the TenementStart
A Ronin Moves Into the Tenement In Edo, three fires have broken out within a single month. Shinnojo Sakaki · Historical
The Grand Secretary's New ReaderStart
The Grand Secretary's New Reader You are the daughter of a disgraced official whose house has been seized, and by law you are to be handed over to the court's house of entertainers. Qi Yanzhou · Historical
A designer whose soul slipped into a street thug's body signs a contract with her.Start
A designer whose soul slipped into a street thug's body signs a contract with her. You are transported from the modern age into a war-torn border town and wake up as a street thug being beaten by a mob. Su Wanning · Historical
Transmigrated as a Cook, the Tyrant Will Only Eat Your FoodStart
Transmigrated as a Cook, the Tyrant Will Only Eat Your Food You are a modern Korean chef who, after an accident, lands in the royal kitchen of the Joseon palace. Lee Hyun-ho · Historical
After the Masquerade, the Earl Asks You to Avoid His MotherStart
After the Masquerade, the Earl Asks You to Avoid His Mother London, 1815. You are the earl’s clerk, a role the ball’s guests must not discover. Edward · Drama
The Young Doctor Across the Street Left an Anonymous Note in the NightStart
The Young Doctor Across the Street Left an Anonymous Note in the Night Riyadh in the 1970s. On the flat rooftops of the old quarter, bedsheets hang out to dry. Majid · Drama
Summoned up the mountain late at night, he stood in the doorway and would not let you leave.Start
Summoned up the mountain late at night, he stood in the doorway and would not let you leave. You are an outside doctor sent to the mountain district, and you have spent two years at the clinic. Hamad · Drama
The Commander Wants You to Read the Pirate Flag. The Tide Is Turning.Start
The Commander Wants You to Read the Pirate Flag. The Tide Is Turning. You are the daughter of a Guangzhou merchant, hired by the Srivijaya fleet as an interpreter. Vardana · Adventure
The Investigator, the Tea Has Gone ColdStart
The Investigator, the Tea Has Gone Cold A French insurance company has sent you to the Tran house by Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi to investigate a claim tied to the boat wreck in Ha Long Bay three years ago. Tran Ngoc Diep · Mystery
The Astronomer Sends a Star Chart: Something's Wrong, and It Might Be Your TranslationStart
The Astronomer Sends a Star Chart: Something's Wrong, and It Might Be Your Translation You are a translator at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, turning Greek astronomy texts into Arabic. Suhail · Historical
The New Clerk Checks the Books Three Times and Still Finds Two Thousand Ducats MissingStart
The New Clerk Checks the Books Three Times and Still Finds Two Thousand Ducats Missing You're the new clerk at the Duke's household. Cayetana · Historical
The negative from the warlord's birthday banquet, with one face slashed to shreds.Start
The negative from the warlord's birthday banquet, with one face slashed to shreds. Shanghai, 1931, the French Concession. Huo Beichen · Historical
A Poor Painter Ordered to Repaint a Portrait, and a Discarded Consort Waits for You to FinishStart
A Poor Painter Ordered to Repaint a Portrait, and a Discarded Consort Waits for You to Finish You are the youngest painter at the Imperial Painting Academy, sent by the new emperor to paint a portrait of the deposed consort at Changmen Palace. Shen Wan · Historical
You Inherit the Cake Shop, and Every Year the Ledger Carries One Old DebtStart
You Inherit the Cake Shop, and Every Year the Ledger Carries One Old Debt At the osmanthus cake shop in a hillside town, a silver-haired woman comes to buy one cake on the first day of every month. Bai Jiang · Fantasy
The man taken into the family asks you to paint his mother's face.Start
The man taken into the family asks you to paint his mother's face. You have taken over the mural for the Medici family chapel in place of your ailing father. Giuliano · Historical
From Street Flower Seller to Headliner, She Hates Being PricedStart
From Street Flower Seller to Headliner, She Hates Being Priced Winter, 1895. You are an apprentice at a photography studio in Montmartre, carrying a wooden projector that has just been built successfully, and you come to the Moulin Rouge to film the dancing of its headliner, Odette. Odette · Historical
One Packet of Spikenard Goes Missing Every Tuesday, Yet the Lock Was Never PickedStart
One Packet of Spikenard Goes Missing Every Tuesday, Yet the Lock Was Never Picked Ji Sheng Tang, an herbal shop in San Francisco's Chinatown, half past four in the afternoon. Meilin · Mystery
The aide posing as a musician is exposed on the spot by the lead dancer.Start
The aide posing as a musician is exposed on the spot by the lead dancer. You’ve slipped into the Sukhothai royal palace disguised as a musician, to look into a rumor for Ayutthaya’s envoy. Malika · Historical
The Widowed Tea House Owner Insists You Check Her StockStart
The Widowed Tea House Owner Insists You Check Her Stock Dadaocheng, 1923. You've been sent by an English trading house to inspect two thousand crates of oolong tea, and you must open them in front of every tea merchant on the street. Jiang Yuerong · Historical
Behind a False Wall, a Forgotten Woman Painter WaitsStart
Behind a False Wall, a Forgotten Woman Painter Waits The old hotel on the bank of the Chao Phraya in Bangkok reopens in three weeks. Kawin · Mystery
His Mentor Criticized His Design in Public, and He Wouldn't Change the StructureStart
His Mentor Criticized His Design in Public, and He Wouldn't Change the Structure Summer 1923. Three days before the Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar opens, you're a weaving-workshop student, and the one tapestry in the hall still unfinished is yours. Erik · Historical
The extra edition says he is dead, yet someone at the theater has seen him.Start
The extra edition says he is dead, yet someone at the theater has seen him. You are a junior reporter at a small newspaper, holding yesterday’s extra edition. Reiji Asahina · Historical
The countess asked you to paint her so that her fiancé would come to dislike her.Start
The countess asked you to paint her so that her fiancé would come to dislike her. You are hired to travel to a castle on the banks of the Rhine and paint an engagement portrait of its young countess. Verena · Historical
Bavaria, 1629: The Witch-Hunter Sent to Interrogate You Unlocks Your Cell at MidnightStart
Bavaria, 1629: The Witch-Hunter Sent to Interrogate You Unlocks Your Cell at Midnight Bamberg, 1629. Every month, someone in town is hauled off as a witch. Lukas · Drama
1936, the Paramount: The Headline Singer Asks You to Print a Fake StoryStart
1936, the Paramount: The Headline Singer Asks You to Print a Fake Story 1936, Shanghai. You write for a tabloid, covering society news and the stories no one else dares touch. Bai Lu · Historical
A Girl Jumps Into Your Car: First One to Scream Loses.Start
A Girl Jumps Into Your Car: First One to Scream Loses. Halloween 1958. At a drive-in in New Jersey, a horror double feature runs all night. Dottie · Halloween
Cairo, 1958: A Film Star Hands You a Sprig of Jasmine on SetStart
Cairo, 1958: A Film Star Hands You a Sprig of Jasmine on Set Cairo, 1958. You're the youngest script supervisor at the film studio, working on star Samira's picture for the first time. Samira · Historical
The Medici Bastard Stops You in the Monastery CloisterStart
The Medici Bastard Stops You in the Monastery Cloister You're an apothecary's daughter who delivers herbs to the monastery pharmacy once a week. Giuliano · Historical
Manaus, 1905: A rubber baron rents out the entire opera house just to hear you singStart
Manaus, 1905: A rubber baron rents out the entire opera house just to hear you sing In 1905, you arrived in Manaus deep in the rainforest with an Italian touring opera company, singing in the last row of the chorus. Bernardo · Historical
The Roman Actress Lowered Her Sunglasses at the Fountain to Look at YouStart
The Roman Actress Lowered Her Sunglasses at the Fountain to Look at You Rome, 1960. You're a young photography assistant who has just arrived in Italy, earning your keep by snapping tourists at the Trevi Fountain. Silvana · Historical
The Scribe of Huế Wrote Love Letters for You for a Whole YearStart
The Scribe of Huế Wrote Love Letters for You for a Whole Year Huế, 1962. Every week you visit a little stall beside Đông Ba Market and ask the letter writer there to write to your fiancé in Saigon for you, then to read his replies aloud. Nguyen Lang · Historical
The Woman in Red Asks the Cellar Pianist to Play Once More, Then Walk Her HomeStart
The Woman in Red Asks the Cellar Pianist to Play Once More, Then Walk Her Home Paris, 1957. You play the late set at the Blue Well jazz cellar on the Left Bank. Daphne · Historical
The Deposed Consort Who Stopped You at MidnightStart
The Deposed Consort Who Stopped You at Midnight You're the youngest physician in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, sent to deliver medicine to a deposed consort in the cold palace, a chore everyone else dodges. Shen Wan · Historical
The Night Before the Duel, the Young Count Hands You His SwordStart
The Night Before the Duel, the Young Count Hands You His Sword On the eve of the duel, the young count knocks on the door of your forge. Rodrigo · Historical
Havana, 1957: The cigar factory’s reader alouds a love confession from a novel to youStart
Havana, 1957: The cigar factory’s reader alouds a love confession from a novel to you In 1957, you arrived in Havana from Matanzas to apprentice as a cigar roller. Odalis · Historical
Belle Époque Paris: The Moulin Rouge Headliner Ties Your Bow Tie BackstageStart
Belle Époque Paris: The Moulin Rouge Headliner Ties Your Bow Tie Backstage Paris, 1895. You’re the new piano accompanist at the Moulin Rouge, and tonight you have to play for its headliner, Odette. Odette · Historical
In 1960s Bangkok, the young mistress of a Thai silk trading house insists you become her modelStart
In 1960s Bangkok, the young mistress of a Thai silk trading house insists you become her model Bangkok, 1962. You are a photographer sent by a magazine to shoot the new lookbook for a Thai silk trading house. Ganya · Historical
Drive-In, 1956: The Girl Next Door Hands You the PopcornStart
Drive-In, 1956: The Girl Next Door Hands You the Popcorn Summer, 1956. You take your freshly fixed-up old convertible to the drive-in outside town for the first time. Doris · Historical
The Florentine Heiress Who Made You Her Live-In PainterStart
The Florentine Heiress Who Made You Her Live-In Painter You're an unknown young painter in a Florentine workshop. Beatrice · Historical
The Duchess Bids You Play OnStart
The Duchess Bids You Play On You're a young musician from Seville, summoned for the first time to play in a duke's household. Cayetana · Historical
Roppongi, 1989: The Disco Queen's Only Slow DanceStart
Roppongi, 1989: The Disco Queen's Only Slow Dance Winter, 1989. A senior colleague drags you into the most famous disco in Roppongi. Reiko Kiryu · Historical
On the eve of Carnival, a Venetian mask maker must measure your face by handStart
On the eve of Carnival, a Venetian mask maker must measure your face by hand Venice, 1750. The eve of Carnival. Alvise · Historical
The Cold Duke of a Rhine Castle Hires You to Restore His Mother's PortraitStart
The Cold Duke of a Rhine Castle Hires You to Restore His Mother's Portrait You receive a coldly worded letter asking you to restore a portrait at Eagle Rock Castle on the Rhine, for ten times the usual fee. Siegfried · Historical
You Inherited Grandma's Mansion, Complete with a Butler Who Has Waited Ten Years for YouStart
You Inherited Grandma's Mansion, Complete with a Butler Who Has Waited Ten Years for You After your grandmother passed away, the lawyer told you she had left you the Western-style mansion on Yamate in Yokohama, on one condition: the butler who serves there must be inherited along with it. Saku Kuonji · Historical
A millennium ago in Palembang, the fleet commander of a maritime kingdom rescued you from drowningStart
A millennium ago in Palembang, the fleet commander of a maritime kingdom rescued you from drowning You touched a stone stele inscribed with ancient script in the museum at Palembang. Vardana · Historical

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