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
Subscribe
AboutAbout
DealsDeals
ArticlesArticles
GenresGenres

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...
Disoriental
Disoriental
by Negar Djavadi, Tina Kover
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
by Rumer Godden
Saigon
Saigon
by Anthony Grey
See What I Have Done
See What I Have Done
by Sarah Schmidt
The Cazalet Chronicles
The Cazalet Chronicles
by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Callander Square
Callander Square
by Anne Perry
The Good Earth Trilogy
The Good Earth Trilogy
by Pearl S. Buck
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
by Erskine Caldwell
Songs in Ordinary Time
Songs in Ordinary Time
by Mary McGarry Morris
The Last Debutantes
The Last Debutantes
by Georgie Blalock
The Years with Laura Diaz
The Years with Laura Diaz
by Carlos Fuentes
'Til the Well Runs Dry
'Til the Well Runs Dry
by Lauren Francis-Sharma
Red River
Red River
by Lalita Tademy
Meridian
Meridian
by Alice Walker
Baudolino
Baudolino
by Umberto Eco
Ain't No Grave
Ain't No Grave
by Mary Glickman
The Toss of a Lemon
The Toss of a Lemon
by Padma Viswanathan
The Madonnas of Leningrad
The Madonnas of Leningrad
by Debra Dean
The Long Song
The Long Song
by Andrea Levy
Goliath
Goliath
by Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson
Gone to Soldiers
Gone to Soldiers
by Marge Piercy
The Doll Factory
The Doll Factory
by Elizabeth Macneal
The Colour of Milk
The Colour of Milk
by Nell Leyshon
Zeke and Ned
Zeke and Ned
by Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
The Curious Life of Elizabeth Blackwell
The Curious Life of Elizabeth Blackwell
by Pamela Holmes
For All Eternity
For All Eternity
by Heather Cullman
I, Libertine
I, Libertine
by Theodore Sturgeon
The Island of the Day Before
The Island of the Day Before
by Umberto Eco
Gordo
Gordo
by Jaime Cortez
Dogeaters
Dogeaters
by Jessica Hagedorn
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Must-Read Asian American Books
The Castle of Whispers
The Castle of Whispers
by Carole Martinez, Howard Curtis
Angel Dreams
Angel Dreams
by Chris Schneider, Michael Phillips
The Blindness of the Heart
The Blindness of the Heart
by Julia Franck, Anthea Bell
Red Joan
Red Joan
by Jennie Rooney
In the City of Gold and Silver
In the City of Gold and Silver
by Kenize Mourad, Anne Mathai, Marie-Louise Naville
A Few Right Thinking Men
A Few Right Thinking Men
by Sulari Gentill
Torquemada
Torquemada
by Howard Fast
A Hope Divided
A Hope Divided
by Alyssa Cole
Baltasar and Blimunda
Baltasar and Blimunda
by Jose Saramago
Through the Arc of the Rain Forest
Through the Arc of the Rain Forest
by Percival Everett, Karen Tei Yamashita
Mr. Pan
Mr. Pan
by Emily Hahn
Brazil-Maru
Brazil-Maru
by Susan Straight, Karen Tei Yamashita
Deep Creek
Deep Creek
by Dana Hand
The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones
by Jonathan Littell
Sepharad
Sepharad
by Antonio Munoz Molina, Margaret Sayers Peden
The Mapmaker's Daughter
The Mapmaker's Daughter
by Katherine Nouri Hughes
Before She Sleeps
Before She Sleeps
by Bina Shah
Riders of the Purple Sage
Riders of the Purple Sage
by Zane Grey
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
16 Best Western Books of All Time
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
by Ron Hansen
Showing 101-150 of 327 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.