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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 Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
The Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
by Langston Hughes
Maus
Maus
by Art Spiegelman
The Storyteller
The Storyteller
by Kathryn Williams
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The Life She Was Given
The Life She Was Given
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Between Earth and Sky
Between Earth and Sky
by Amanda Skenandore
The Devil All the Time
The Devil All the Time
by Donald Ray Pollock
The Only Good Indians
The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood
by Haruki Murakami
I, Claudius
I, Claudius
by Robert Graves
The Pumpkin Eater
The Pumpkin Eater
by Penelope Mortimer
A Very Punchable Face
A Very Punchable Face
by Colin Jost
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
Americanah
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This Side of Murder
This Side of Murder
by Anna Lee Huber
A House in the Sky
A House in the Sky
by Amanda Lindhout
Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 1: The Assassin's Road
Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 1: The Assassin's Road
by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima
Elatsoe
Elatsoe
by Darcie Little Badger
American Sniper
American Sniper
by Chris Kyle
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Felix Ever After
Felix Ever After
by Kacen Callender
Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In
by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The Thinnest Air
The Thinnest Air
by Minka Kent
Tyler Johnson Was Here
Tyler Johnson Was Here
by Jay Coles
East of Eden
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
My Life in a Cat House
My Life in a Cat House
by Gwen Cooper
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Emma: A Modern Retelling
Emma: A Modern Retelling
by Alexander McCall Smith
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
Black Swan Green
Black Swan Green
by David Mitchell
The Comedians
The Comedians
by Graham Greene
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Uglies
Uglies
by Scott Westerfield
Eragon
Eragon
by Christopher Paolini
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy
Stonewall
Stonewall
by Martin Duberman
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by John Green & David Levithan
Such a Perfect Wife
Such a Perfect Wife
by Kate White
What We Keep
What We Keep
by Elizabeth Berg
The Sword Is Drawn
The Sword Is Drawn
by Andre Norton
Paragon Walk
Paragon Walk
by Anne Perry
It's Kind of a Funny Story
It's Kind of a Funny Story
by Ned Vizzini
Lethal White
Lethal White
by Robert Galbraith
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The Ministry of Fear
The Ministry of Fear
by Graham Greene
Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now
by Daphne Du Maurier
The Urban Sketcher
The Urban Sketcher
by Marc Taro Holmes
A Corner in Glory Land
A Corner in Glory Land
by Janie DeVos
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
Hatchet
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Men We Reaped
Men We Reaped
by Jesmyn Ward
Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison
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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.