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The Best Historical Fiction Books

While time travel will probably never happen, we’ll always have the next best thing: historical fiction novels. Through the magic of fiction (and authors’ dedication to researching endless incredible details), readers can feel as though they’ve been everywhere and every time, from Ancient Greece to colonial Asia to the American Revolution. If you’re a fiction lover who wants to learn more about the past but isn’t sure about diving into the world of history books, it’s the best of both worlds. 

Another reason to love historical fiction is that it can be crossed with any other genre. From historical mysteries to steamy historical romance to hilarious historical fiction, whatever genre you enjoy can be placed in another period.

Clearly, this is a genre that truly has something for everyone. Whether you prefer novels that bring you to times of war and terror or more whimsical stories set in the past; historical fiction that is surprisingly accurate or tales that take creative license with their settings, you'll find endless books to add to your TBR pile in the lists below.

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The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas
All the Beautiful Sinners
All the Beautiful Sinners
by Stephen Graham Jones
The Death of Artemio Cruz
The Death of Artemio Cruz
by Carlos Fuentes, Alfred MacAdam
The Listener
The Listener
by Robert McCammon
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The Flight of the Maidens
The Flight of the Maidens
by Jane Gardam
To Catch a King
To Catch a King
by Jack Higgins
The Devil in the Marshalsea
The Devil in the Marshalsea
by Antonia Hodgson
The Physician
The Physician
by Noah Gordon
Heart Mountain
Heart Mountain
by Gretel Ehrlich
The Color Purple
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
The Winthrop Woman
The Winthrop Woman
by Anya Seton
Euphoria
Euphoria
by Lily King
The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles
by Richard McKenna
Trouble at the Brownstone
Trouble at the Brownstone
by Robert Goldsborough
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8 New York City Mystery Books
When a Marquis Chooses a Bride
When a Marquis Chooses a Bride
by Ella Quinn
The Life She Was Given
The Life She Was Given
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Between Earth and Sky
Between Earth and Sky
by Amanda Skenandore
The Folly of the World
The Folly of the World
by Jesse Bullington
The Nakano Thrift Shop
The Nakano Thrift Shop
by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell
The Bull from the Sea
The Bull from the Sea
by Mary Renault
This Side of Murder
This Side of Murder
by Anna Lee Huber
Miss Burma
Miss Burma
by Charmaine Craig
The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals
The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals
by Wendy Jones
The Quiet American
The Quiet American
by Graham Greene
A Journal of the Plague Year
A Journal of the Plague Year
by Daniel Defoe
Mary, Mrs. A. Lincoln
Mary, Mrs. A. Lincoln
by Janis Cooke Newman
The Eight
The Eight
by Katherine Neville
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Disoriental
Disoriental
by Negar Djavadi, Tina Kover
Penmarric
Penmarric
by Susan Howatch
Homeland
Homeland
by John Jakes
The Girl from Fort Wicked
The Girl from Fort Wicked
by Dee Brown
The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair
by Graham Greene
The Hidden Flower
The Hidden Flower
by Pearl S. Buck
The Young Lions
The Young Lions
by Irwin Shaw
The Troubled Air
The Troubled Air
by Irwin Shaw
The Good Earth
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
Seventh Heaven
Seventh Heaven
by Alice Hoffman
World's End
World's End
by Upton Sinclair
The Color Purple
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
A Morbid Taste for Bones
A Morbid Taste for Bones
by Ellis Peters
Oil and Marble
Oil and Marble
by Stephanie Storey
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder
by Donald McCaig
Miss Jane
Miss Jane
by Brad Watson
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
The Painted Bird
The Painted Bird
by Jerzy Kosinski
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24 Epic World War II Books
Red River
Red River
by Lalita Tademy
A God in Ruins
A God in Ruins
by Leon Uris
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Historical fiction is a genre where a fictional plot is set in a real historical setting or uses real historical characters. While there can be a mix of real and fictional events in the plot, historical fiction focuses on its fictional plot-points. 

The goal of historical fiction is to transport readers to another time. To do that, you’ll need to make the details of your story believable, even though it’s fiction. You want to focus on time period significance, historical accuracy, and detailed descriptions of characters and settings. 

Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth is often considered the first historical fiction novel.