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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 Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles
by Richard McKenna
Tropic of Orange
Tropic of Orange
by Karen Tei Yamashita, Sesshu Foster
The Magdalen Girls
The Magdalen Girls
by V. S. Alexander
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Rich Man, Poor Man
Rich Man, Poor Man
by Irwin Shaw
GodPretty in the Tobacco Field
GodPretty in the Tobacco Field
by Kim Michele Richardson
Promised to the Crown
Promised to the Crown
by Aimie K. Runyan
The Winemaker
The Winemaker
by Noah Gordon
The Crossing
The Crossing
by Howard Fast
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
The Corsican
The Corsican
by William Heffernan
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Bailey's Cafe
Bailey's Cafe
by Gloria Naylor
Sepharad
Sepharad
by Antonio Munoz Molina, Margaret Sayers Peden
A Pillar of Iron
A Pillar of Iron
by Taylor Caldwell
North and South
North and South
by John Jakes
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Wife to Mr. Milton
Wife to Mr. Milton
by Robert Graves
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
by Kristina McMorris
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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
by Ron Hansen
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Cashelmara
Cashelmara
by Susan Howatch
The Nutmeg Tree
The Nutmeg Tree
by Margery Sharp
A World to Win
A World to Win
by Upton Sinclair
A Tidewater Morning
A Tidewater Morning
by William Styron
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Frenchman's Creek
Frenchman's Creek
by Daphne Du Maurier
Old Filth
Old Filth
by Jane Gardam
Her First American
Her First American
by Lore Segal, Stanley Crouch
The Third Life of Grange Copeland
The Third Life of Grange Copeland
by Alice Walker
Baudolino
Baudolino
by Umberto Eco
The Thief of Time
The Thief of Time
by John Boyne
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
The Refugees
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Sex Wars
Sex Wars
by Marge Piercy
The Doll Factory
The Doll Factory
by Elizabeth Macneal
The Foreign Student
The Foreign Student
by Susan Choi
When Mountains Move
When Mountains Move
by Julie Cantrell
Mary, Mrs. A. Lincoln
Mary, Mrs. A. Lincoln
by Janis Cooke Newman
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Crooked Heart
Crooked Heart
by Lissa Evans
The Blood of My Mother
The Blood of My Mother
by Roccie Hill
All the Light There Was
All the Light There Was
by Nancy Kricorian
The Jacobite's Wife
The Jacobite's Wife
by Morag Edwards
Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Girl in Hyacinth Blue
by Susan Vreeland
Folly
Folly
by Susan Minot
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Freeman
Freeman
by Leonard Pitts Jr.
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The Lady Hellion
The Lady Hellion
by Joanna Shupe
The Light Years
The Light Years
by Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Far Arena
The Far Arena
by Richard Ben Sapir
Dragonwyck
Dragonwyck
by Anya Seton
Anna and the King of Siam
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon, Margaret Ayer
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Portraits
Portraits
by Cynthia Freeman
The Eagles Gather
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by Taylor Caldwell
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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.