New historical fiction books to read in 2025

Reading lists

Biyi Bandele

Riotous, exquisite, mesmerizing . . . Bándélé’s prose mutates in tone from exuberance to sobriety, from the epic to the intimate, from bawdy humour to glacial understatement . . . [he] shifts from farce to tragedy and back, with lewd jokes suddenly giving way to scenes of sheer terror or gruesome violence . . . Yorùbá Boy Running doesn’t pander to any fixed position: it is a testament to Biyi Bándélé’s courage and integrity that, in this age of strident polarization, he chose not to shy away from moral complexity

A remarkable saga of perseverance, dedication and triumph over adversity . . . The wit and dramatic timing read like something by Wole Soyinka . . . We are lucky and grateful that the author was able to leave us with this bookend to his glorious if truncated career

Biyi was a unique, all-responsive talent . . . The more he achieved, the further he aimed

[A] literary maverick . . . His was a talent unrestrained by genre, medium, geography or period

Biyi Bándélé had a prolifically talented and creative mind, shown in everything he touched. Yorùbá Boy Running is no exception

A magical, immersive journey . . . Bándélé effortlessly draws the picture of the birth of colonial Nigeria with such panache and vibrancy that you are entertained while being deeply enlightened . . . Bándélé allow us to both observe and care for the characters he brings us, from village elders and Muslim slave traders to English colonisers. Biyi Bándélé’s wise and lyrical voice will be sorely missed

Bándélé excels both himself in this richly crafted novel, brimming with mirth, fervour and his sheer joy of language . . . This is the novel as homage, truth-telling, illumination. I’m in awe, inspired. We have been gifted an almighty legacy

Bándélé provides a fitting capstone to his career with this astonishing novel based on the life of Samuel Àjàyí Crowther . . . an unforgettable chronicle of an extraordinary man

Biyi Bándélé's remains a master storyteller to the end. A magnificent novel; rich, humorous, lyrical, breathtaking. What a joy

In Yorùbá Boy Running, Bándélé writes with a nimble, rigorous prose. He has left us a matchless parting gift in this magnificent, unforgettable novel. And we, his readers, are grateful

One of Africa's important stories vividly brought to life in the hands of a master weaver of tales and true creative genius

A masterful piece of writing that will prove Biyi as one of Africa's greatest writers. Lyrical, tragic and witty in turns. Chronicling one of humanities most shameful periods with unflinching honesty and deft storytelling

[A] rich stew of historical perspective, storytelling brio, and humane insight . . . The novel’s collagelike approach to Crowther’s story not only gives a rich sense of the dimensions of his achievement, but also offers a keener, broader perspective as to the nature of African slavery and those who were complicit in its execution, making Bándélé as effective a historian as he was a dramatist

This nimble, many-voiced tale never ceases to surprise as it soars and dips over the landscape of the Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s life, building to a sobering yet poignant conclusion. It was such a pleasure to read

As important and as riveting as it is generous, raising Ajayi Crowther to a place beside Equiano Olaudah, Fredrick Douglas and Phyllis Wheatley

Yorùbá Boy Running is a brilliant novel, weaving together wit, African history, and spirituality to reimagine the compelling story of Samuel Ajayi Crowther—a story of liberation

I always had huge respect for [Biyi's] prolific, super-talented and fearless creativity

Passionately committed to every venture, Biyi displayed great urgency in all his productivity. He was a beguiling mix of daring and reticence, self-confidence and humility, with bravely ambitious dreams

Biyi Bándélé was a titan, who did the heavy lifting and laid the foundations many British Nigerian writers & theatre makers walk on

Bándélé, who is without doubt one of Africa's finest creative minds, built an extensive career across various creative spaces, achieving success in literature and film

'Run, Àjàyí, run!' 
 
The day the Malian slave traders invaded the Nigerian town of Òsogùn, thirteen-year-old Àjàyí's life was split in two. 
 
Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yorùbá gods of forest and water, earth and sky. After: capture, slavery - and release, into the service of a new god, his own culture left far behind. So Àjàyí becomes Samuel Crowther - missionary, linguist, minister - and abolitionist: driven to negotiate against his own people to end the miserable trade in human beings which destroyed his family. 
 
From the heart-stopping drama of Àjàyí's last day of freedom to his consecration as the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church, Biyi Bándélé's kaleidoscopic reimagining of Crowther's life is a brilliant tour de force.

Biyi Bandele

Praise for Yorùbá Boy Running

Riotous, exquisite, mesmerizing . . . Bándélé’s prose mutates in tone from exuberance to sobriety, from the epic to the intimate, from bawdy humour to glacial understatement . . . [he] shifts from farce to tragedy a ...

A remarkable saga of perseverance, dedication and triumph over adversity . . . The wit and dramatic timing read like something by Wole Soyinka . . . We are lucky and grateful that the author was able to leave us wit ...

Biyi was a unique, all-responsive talent . . . The more he achieved, the further he aimed

Riotous, exquisite, mesmerizing . . . Bándélé’s prose mutates in tone from exuberance to sobriety, from the epic to the intimate, from bawdy humour to glacial understatement . . . [he] shifts from farce to tragedy a ...

A remarkable saga of perseverance, dedication and triumph over adversity . . . The wit and dramatic timing read like something by Wole Soyinka . . . We are lucky and grateful that the author was able to leave us wit ...

Biyi was a unique, all-responsive talent . . . The more he achieved, the further he aimed

Riotous, exquisite, mesmerizing . . . Bándélé’s prose mutates in tone from exuberance to sobriety, from the epic to the intimate, from bawdy humour to glacial understatement . . . [he] shifts from farce to tragedy a ...

A remarkable saga of perseverance, dedication and triumph over adversity . . . The wit and dramatic timing read like something by Wole Soyinka . . . We are lucky and grateful that the author was able to leave us wit ...

Biyi was a unique, all-responsive talent . . . The more he achieved, the further he aimed

Articles featuring Biyi Bandele

New historical fiction books to read in 2025

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