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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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Out of Darkness
Out of Darkness
by Ashley Hope Perez
The Fame Game
The Fame Game
by Rona Jaffe
I, Judas
I, Judas
by Jess Stearn, Taylor Caldwell
A Fine and Bitter Snow
A Fine and Bitter Snow
by Dana Stabenow
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
North River
North River
by Pete Hamill
The Wounds of My Father
The Wounds of My Father
by Roccie Hill
The Lightkeeper
The Lightkeeper
by Susan Wiggs
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Olga
Olga
by Bernhard Schlink
When Mountains Move
When Mountains Move
by Julie Cantrell
Clouds of War
Clouds of War
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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Leviathan
Leviathan
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
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
by B. Traven
The Devil in the Marshalsea
The Devil in the Marshalsea
by Antonia Hodgson
The Devil of Nanking
The Devil of Nanking
by Mo Hayder
Cloudstreet
Cloudstreet
by Tim Winton
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
The King's Witch
The King's Witch
by Tracy Borman
The Toss of a Lemon
The Toss of a Lemon
by Padma Viswanathan
The Red Address Book
The Red Address Book
by Sofia Lundberg, Alice Menzies
The Hope
The Hope
by Herman Wouk
The Quilter's Homecoming
The Quilter's Homecoming
by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Sunrise
The Sunrise
by Victoria Hislop
My Ántonia
My Ántonia
by Willa Cather, Kathleen Norris
Anything for Billy
Anything for Billy
by Larry McMurtry
The Hearts of Horses
The Hearts of Horses
by Molly Gloss
Crooked Heart
Crooked Heart
by Lissa Evans
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea
by Debra Magpie Earling
The Color Purple
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
The River Within
The River Within
by Karen Powell
Calico Captive
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
The Winthrop Woman
The Winthrop Woman
by Anya Seton
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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.