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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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Orphan Train
Orphan Train
by Christina Baker Cline
A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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Blue Angel
Blue Angel
by Francine Prose
Night
Night
by Elie Wiesel
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Me Talk Pretty One Day
by David Sedaris
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A Darker Shade of Magic
A Darker Shade of Magic
by V.E. Schwab
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
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The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Sing, Unburied, Sing
by Jesmyn Ward
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
by Ian McEwan
A Brief History of Seven Killings
A Brief History of Seven Killings
by Marlon James
Drive-Thru Dreams
Drive-Thru Dreams
by Adam Chandler
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Pretty Marys All in a Row
Pretty Marys All in a Row
by Gwendolyn Kiste
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The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons
The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons
by Samantha Barbas
See You in the Cosmos
See You in the Cosmos
by Jack Cheng
Eloise at the Plaza
Eloise at the Plaza
by Kay Thompson
The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick
by John Updike
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A Christmas Memory
A Christmas Memory
by Truman Capote
A Family Affair
A Family Affair
by Robyn Carr
Bird By Bird
Bird By Bird
by Anne Lamott
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Carbide
Carbide
by Andriy Lyubka
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Gravity's Rainbow
Gravity's Rainbow
by Thomas Pynchon
Return to Virgin River
Return to Virgin River
by Robyn Carr
Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
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Ammonite
Ammonite
by Nicola Griffith
The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
All These Beautiful Strangers
All These Beautiful Strangers
by Elizabeth Klehfoth
The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides
by Jeffrey Eugenides
Brother, I'm Dying
Brother, I'm Dying
by Edwidge Danticat
Together We Rise
Together We Rise
by The Women's March Organizers
Invisible Cities
Invisible Cities
by Italo Calvino
The Night in Question
The Night in Question
by Nic Joseph
Persepolis
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
The Madwoman Upstairs
The Madwoman Upstairs
by Catherine Lowell
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
by Karen Abbott
Fly Girls
Fly Girls
by Keith O'Brien
Silver Girl
Silver Girl
by Elin Hilderbrand
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
by Anne Tyler
A Room of One's Own
A Room of One's Own
by Virginia Woolf
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Wave
Wave
by Sonali Deraniyagala
Bel Canto
Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters: A Novel
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters: A Novel
by Balli Kaur Jaswal
God's War
God's War
by Kameron Hurley
Earthsea
Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book of Blues
Book of Blues
by Jack Kerouac
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The Boxcar Children Halloween Special
The Boxcar Children Halloween Special
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Twilight
Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer
Pretty Guilty Women
Pretty Guilty Women
by Gina LaManna
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Under the Dome
Under the Dome
by Stephen King
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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.