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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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American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
by Terrance Hayes
Into the Black Nowhere
Into the Black Nowhere
by Meg Gardiner
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume
Catcher In the Rye
Catcher In the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
Modern Romance
Modern Romance
by Aziz Ansari
The Ups and Downs of Growing Older: Beyond Seventy Years of Living
The Ups and Downs of Growing Older: Beyond Seventy Years of Living
by Viola B. Mecke Ph.D. ABPP
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
by Flannery O'Connor
The Crossing
The Crossing
by Michael Connelly
Nights at the Circus
Nights at the Circus
by Angela Carter
Daisy Jones & The Six
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Girl Named Anna
A Girl Named Anna
by Lizzy Barber
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
by Randall Munroe
If You Only Knew
If You Only Knew
by M. William Phelps
The Hidden White House
The Hidden White House
by Robert Klara
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
by Sylvia Plath
Carolina Built
Carolina Built
by Kianna Alexander
The Woman in Cabin 10
The Woman in Cabin 10
by Ruth Ware
Tell Me an Ending
Tell Me an Ending
by Jo Harkin
The City Beautiful
The City Beautiful
by Aden Polydoros
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Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry)
Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry)
by Gary Golio (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator)
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition
by Ahmed Rashid
The School for Good Mothers
The School for Good Mothers
by Jessamine Chan
The Ballad of Tom Dooley
The Ballad of Tom Dooley
by Sharyn McCrumb
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
by Ann Petry
Boyfriend Material
Boyfriend Material
by Alexis Hall
Magic Lessons
Magic Lessons
by Alice Hoffman
Master of the Grill
Master of the Grill
by America's Test Kitchen
The Last Flight
The Last Flight
by Julie Clark
The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda
by Ishmael Reed
Girl, Woman, Other
Girl, Woman, Other
by Bernardine Evaristo
The Need
The Need
by Helen Phillips
999
999
by Heather Dune Macadam and Caroline Moorehead
The Only Woman in the Room
The Only Woman in the Room
by Marie Benedict
Crush
Crush
by Richard Siken
Lost Woods
Lost Woods
by Rachel Carson
The Road Not Taken and Other Poems
The Road Not Taken and Other Poems
by Robert Frost
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Your Favorite Poems of All Time
It’s Not Okay
It’s Not Okay
by Andi Dorfman
The Glovemaker
The Glovemaker
by Ann Weisgarber
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
by Jon Meacham
Fast and Loose
Fast and Loose
by Fern Michaels
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
by Linda Berdoll
Visible Empire
Visible Empire
by Hannah Pittard
Warlight
Warlight
by Michael Ondaatje
The Girl Who Was Taken
The Girl Who Was Taken
by Charlie Donlea
Victory
Victory
by Joseph Conrad
Let Me Lie
Let Me Lie
by Clare Mackintosh
Salt Fat Acid Heat
Salt Fat Acid Heat
by Samin Nostrat
Layover
Layover
by David Bell
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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.