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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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Stoner
Stoner
by John Williams
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
The Long Day Wanes: A Malayan Trilogy
The Long Day Wanes: A Malayan Trilogy
by Anthony Burgess
Like Clockwork
Like Clockwork
by Margie Orford
Wow, No Thank You
Wow, No Thank You
by Samantha Irby
Forever My Hero
Forever My Hero
by Sharon Sala
A Spy in the House
A Spy in the House
by Y.S. Lee
The President's Daughter
The President's Daughter
by Ellen Emerson White
Ecotopia
Ecotopia
by Ernest Callenbach
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple
Make Room for What You Love
Make Room for What You Love
by Melissa Michaels
It Happened One Autumn
It Happened One Autumn
by Lisa Kleypas
The Hot Zone
The Hot Zone
by Richard Preston
American Lynching
American Lynching
by Ashraf H.A. Rushdy
Neverwhere
Neverwhere
by Neil Gaiman
Intensity
Intensity
by Dean Koontz
Burmese Days
Burmese Days
by George Orwell
The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr
The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr
by Susan Holloway Scott
Strange Pilgrims
Strange Pilgrims
by Gabriel García Márquez
Headlong
Headlong
by Michael Frayn
After Dark
After Dark
by Haruki Murakami
Mrs. Everything
Mrs. Everything
by Jennifer Weiner
The Women of Brewster Place
The Women of Brewster Place
by Gloria Naylor
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Lighting the Flames
Lighting the Flames
by Sarah Wendell
I'll Be Gone in the Dark
I'll Be Gone in the Dark
by Michelle McNamara
Baseball: An Illustrated History
Baseball: An Illustrated History
by Geoffery C. Ward and Ken Burns
In a Different Key
In a Different Key
by John Donvan
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The Great Transformation
The Great Transformation
by Karen Armstrong
The Librarian and the Spy
The Librarian and the Spy
by Susan Mann
Blonde
Blonde
by Joyce Carol Oates
Kill the Boy Band
Kill the Boy Band
by Goldy Moldavsky
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The Duke and I
The Duke and I
by Shonda Rhimes
A Duty to the Dead
A Duty to the Dead
by Charles Todd
Fer-de-Lance
Fer-de-Lance
by Rex Stout
All the President's Men
All the President's Men
by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Girl in Pieces
Girl in Pieces
by Kathleen Glasgow
Bull Mountain
Bull Mountain
by Brian Panowich
The Deep
The Deep
by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes
Maiden Voyage
Maiden Voyage
by Tania Aebi
Brown in the Girl Ring
Brown in the Girl Ring
by Nalo Hopkinson
Zone One
Zone One
by Colson Whitehead
That Month in Tuscany
That Month in Tuscany
by Inglath Cooper
Island Affair
Island Affair
by Priscilla Oliveras
Human Dark With Sugar
Human Dark With Sugar
by Brenda Shaughnessy
Hyperion
Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
You've Been Volunteered
You've Been Volunteered
by Laurie Gelman
Battle Royale
Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
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Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters
by John Steinbeck
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
by Lindy West
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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.