Little-Known Books by Well-Known Authors

This winter, explore a few lesser known works by some of your favorite authors

Ready to explore some new reads? Bestseller lists and Goodreads recommendations have a lot to offer, but maybe now’s a good time to check out a few books from your favorite authors — that you’ve never heard of. 

Add these little-known books by well-known authors to your 2026 reading list. 

Big fan of Kristin Hannah? Known for her historical fiction, Hannah is a perennial favorite on the bestseller list. But some of her contemporary fiction or lesser-known novels may be the perfect next read for you. We suggest: 

• The Great Alone, set in Alaska and follows the experience of the Allbright family as they carve out a life on the frontier. 

• Homefront, Hannah’s 2012 novel about how deployment and military service impacts a family. 

Lisa Wingate is also known for her historical fiction, especially Before We Were Yours, a novel based on real events in which a Tennessee adoption agency kidnapped children from poverty-stricken parents and sold them to wealthy families. Wingate’s most recent novel, Shelterwood, is also rooted in historical events, bringing the story of Oklahoma’s “elf children” to life. But Wingate is a prolific writer who has tried her hand at more than historical fiction. Her Carolina Chronicles series, especially The Sea Keeper’s Daughters, is a good place to start if you’re interested in checking out her backlist. 

L.M. Montgomery is best known as the author of Anne of Green Gables and the Emily of New Moon series, but the Canadian writer also wrote a number of very good standalone novels, like The Blue Castle. This 1926 novel is about Valancy Stirling, a young woman living a secluded, stunted life under the domineering thumb of her mother and aunt. After learning she has a serious heart ailment, Valancy decides to live life on her own terms, eventually leading her to Barney Snaith, a man her family highly disapproves of. But, like any good Hallmark movie, there’s a big misunderstanding and secrets to be unveiled — and you’ll have to read it to find out if Valancy and Barney get their happily ever after! 

Jane Austen is a familiar favorite here at The Bookery, and we’ve probably written about every Austen novel there is, but Austen does have a few lesser known works you may not know about. These include Lady Susan, the basis of the 2016 film Love and Friendship; The Watsons, about a young woman with limited marriage opportunities, and Sanditon, Austen’s final novel, which was unfinished at the time of her death. The works are often grouped together in one volume, so grab a copy to check them out. 

We read Daphne Du Maurier’s most famous novel, Rebecca, last fall as one of our Bookery Book Club picks. But Du Maurier was a prolific writer. The author of the short story that Alfred Hitchcock adapted to become the movie The Birds, Du Maurier delivered another haunting tale with her lesser known 1969 novel, The House on the Strand. While staying at an ancient house on the Cornish coast, Richard takes a drug that causes him to travel back to 14th century Cornwall, where he becomes entangled in the lives of the lords and ladies of the manor where he’s staying. But, like all time travel novels, Richard’s actions in the past have the potential to affect and potentially change the future. 

Novels like Code Name Helene and The Frozen River put Ariel Lawhon on the radar for a lot of readers, but be careful not to put her in a historical fiction box. Lawhon’s earlier novel, When We Had Wings, co-written with Kristen McMorris and Susan Meissner weaves a tale about a Navy nurse, Army nurse and Filipina nurse serving in the Philippines in the 1940s, eventually becoming the first women taken prisoner during World War II. If you’re ready to go a little deeper into her catalog of work, this 2022 novel is a good place to start. 

What little-known books by well-known authors do you love? Let us know in the comments! 

As an Amazon Associate, The Bookery earns from qualified purchases.