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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
A Barcelona Heiress
A Barcelona Heiress
by Sergio Vila-Sanjuan
Light at Lavelle
Light at Lavelle
by Paullina Simons
Miss Jane
Miss Jane
by Brad Watson
Kitchen Chinese
Kitchen Chinese
by Ann Mah
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One Corpse Too Many
One Corpse Too Many
by Ellis Peters
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The Flight of the Maidens
The Flight of the Maidens
by Jane Gardam
The Silver Eagle
The Silver Eagle
by Ben Kane
The Other Alcott
The Other Alcott
by Elise Hooper
To Catch a King
To Catch a King
by Jack Higgins
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
Forbidden Places
Forbidden Places
by Penny Vincenzi
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24 Epic World War II Books
Speaks the Nightbird
Speaks the Nightbird
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 Out
Black Out
by John Lawton
South California Purples
South California Purples
by Baron Birtcher
Hungry Hill
Hungry Hill
by Daphne du Maurier
The Devil in the Marshalsea
The Devil in the Marshalsea
by Antonia Hodgson
A Small Death In Lisbon
A Small Death In Lisbon
by Robert Wilson
The Florios of Sicily
The Florios of Sicily
by Stefania Auci
The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper
The Eternal Wonder
The Eternal Wonder
by Pearl S. Buck
Night of the Fox
Night of the Fox
by Jack Higgins
The Physician
The Physician
by Noah Gordon
How We Disappeared
How We Disappeared
by Jing-Jing Lee
The Thief of Time
The Thief of Time
by John Boyne
White Ghost Girls
White Ghost Girls
by Alice Greenway
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
Those Harper Women
Those Harper Women
by Stephen Birmingham
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City of Darkness, City of Light
City of Darkness, City of Light
by Marge Piercy
The Sunrise
The Sunrise
by Victoria Hislop
My Antonia
My Antonia
by Willa Cather, Kathleen Norris
Chicano
Chicano
by Richard Vasquez, Ruben Martinez
Zeke and Ned
Zeke and Ned
by Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
The Hearts of Horses
The Hearts of Horses
by Molly Gloss
There Is Confusion
There Is Confusion
by Jessie Redmon Fauset
The Robber Bridegroom
The Robber Bridegroom
by Eudora Welty
Heart Mountain
Heart Mountain
by Gretel Ehrlich
The Color Purple
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
Calico Captive
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
The Winthrop Woman
The Winthrop Woman
by Anya Seton
Euphoria
Euphoria
by Lily King
The Refugees
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
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The Mercy Seat
The Mercy Seat
by Elizabeth H. Winthrop
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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.