We Value Your Privacy

This site uses cookies to improve user experience. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies.

I UNDERSTAND
LEARN MORE

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.

Historical Fiction on Sale Now!

Loading...
The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutiérrez
The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutiérrez
by Jimmy Breslin
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Powerful Jimmy Breslin Books
Death in Advertising
Death in Advertising
by Laura Bradford
Spring Cleaning
Spring Cleaning
by Antonio Manzini
Re Jane
Re Jane
by Patricia Park
Letter to My Daughter
Letter to My Daughter
by Maya Angelou
A Merciful Death
A Merciful Death
by Kendra Elliot
 The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
by Ernest Hemingway
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Rainy Day Reads
When Dimple Met Rishi
When Dimple Met Rishi
by Sandhya Menon
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
8 YA Books We Can't Put Down
Forever
Forever
by Pete Hamill
Spy of the First Person
Spy of the First Person
by Sam Shepard
At Dawn We Slept
At Dawn We Slept
by Gordon W. Prange
Honor Bound
Honor Bound
by W.E.B. Griffin
The Waves
The Waves
by Virginia Woolf
The Joy of Cooking
The Joy of Cooking
by Irma Rombauer
The Giver
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Catch-22
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Less
Less
by Andrew Sean Greer
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
28 Must-Read LGBTQ Books
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
by Fredrik Backman
I Place You Into the Fire
I Place You Into the Fire
by Rebecca Thomas
The Moon is Always Female
The Moon is Always Female
by Marge Piercy
You
You
by Caroline Kepnes
Nightwoods
Nightwoods
by Charles Frazier
Boys I Know
Boys I Know
by Anna Garcia
The Children of Men
The Children of Men
by PD James
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury
The Daughter of Time
The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
Betty Ford: First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer
Betty Ford: First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer
by Lisa McCubbin
Martha Washington: An American Life
Martha Washington: An American Life
by Patricia Brady
A Queer History of the United States
A Queer History of the United States
by Michael Bronski
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
by Marisha Pessl
The Halloween Tree
The Halloween Tree
by Ray Bradbury
The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
Redefining Realness
Redefining Realness
by Janet Mock
Leadership
Leadership
by James MacGregor Burns
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
11 Books to Inspire Recent Grads
The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt
The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt
by Andrea Bobotis
Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism
Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism
by Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
by Eleanor Roosevelt
Portnoy's Complaint
Portnoy's Complaint
by Philip Roth
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson
The Nickel Boys
The Nickel Boys
by Colson Whitehead
Good and Mad
Good and Mad
by Rebecca Traister
The BFG
The BFG
by Roald Dahl
And Both Were Young
And Both Were Young
by Madeleine L'Engle
Guidebook to Murder
Guidebook to Murder
by Lynn Cahoon
Brave New World
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Love You Forever
Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch
Showing 501-550 of 1059 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.