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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 Fame Game
The Fame Game
by Rona Jaffe
I, Saul
I, Saul
by Jerry B. Jenkins
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder
by Donald McCaig
Bellfield Hall
Bellfield Hall
by Anna Dean
Blue Ravens
Blue Ravens
by Gerald Vizenor
All the Beautiful Sinners
All the Beautiful Sinners
by Stephen Graham Jones
The Other Windsor Girl
The Other Windsor Girl
by Georgie Blalock
The Last Debutantes
The Last Debutantes
by Georgie Blalock
Actress
Actress
by Anne Enright
The Millionaire's Daughter
The Millionaire's Daughter
by Dorothy Eden
The Death of Artemio Cruz
The Death of Artemio Cruz
by Alfred MacAdam, Carlos Fuentes
The Anchoress
The Anchoress
by Robyn Cadwallader
Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
The Bold Frontier
The Bold Frontier
by John Jakes
All God's Children
All God's Children
by Aaron Gwyn
A Most English Princess
A Most English Princess
by Clare McHugh
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'Til the Well Runs Dry
'Til the Well Runs Dry
by Lauren Francis-Sharma
Olga
Olga
by Bernhard Schlink
The War of the End of the World
The War of the End of the World
by Mario Vargas Llosa, Helen R. Lane
The Dog Who Was There
The Dog Who Was There
by Ron Marasco
The Silver Eagle
The Silver Eagle
by Ben Kane
The Turquoise
The Turquoise
by Anya Seton
The Overmountain Men
The Overmountain Men
by Cameron Judd
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The Other Alcott
The Other Alcott
by Elise Hooper
The Dark Side of the Island
The Dark Side of the Island
by Jack Higgins
Forbidden Places
Forbidden Places
by Penny Vincenzi
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24 Epic World War II Books
Freedom of the Mask
Freedom of the Mask
by Robert McCammon
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The Return
The Return
by Victoria Hislop
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A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
Black Bottom Saints
Black Bottom Saints
by Alice Randall
All Change
All Change
by Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Loving Spirit
The Loving Spirit
by Daphne du Maurier
Frenchman's Creek
Frenchman's Creek
by Daphne du Maurier
A God in Ruins
A God in Ruins
by Leon Uris
The Saboteur
The Saboteur
by Andrew Gross
The Thread
The Thread
by Victoria Hislop
Then We Take Berlin
Then We Take Berlin
by John Lawton
Arthur Rex
Arthur Rex
by Thomas Berger
The Physician
The Physician
by Noah Gordon
The King's Witch
The King's Witch
by Tracy Borman
The Thief of Time
The Thief of Time
by John Boyne
The Madonnas of Leningrad
The Madonnas of Leningrad
by Debra Dean
The Red Address Book
The Red Address Book
by Sofia Lundberg, Alice Menzies
The Glory
The Glory
by Herman Wouk
Goliath
Goliath
by Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson
The Quilter's Homecoming
The Quilter's Homecoming
by Jennifer Chiaverini
Bitter Greens
Bitter Greens
by Kate Forsyth
Showing 1-50 of 369 results

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.