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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.

Historical Fiction on Sale Now!

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Heart Mountain
Heart Mountain
by Gretel Ehrlich
A Taste for Monsters
A Taste for Monsters
by Matthew J. Kirby
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The Heart Specialist
The Heart Specialist
by Claire Holden Rothman
Turncoat
Turncoat
by Aaron Elkins
The Shadow Lines
The Shadow Lines
by Amitav Ghosh
Small Island
Small Island
by Andrea Levy
A Long, Long Time Ago & Essentially True
A Long, Long Time Ago & Essentially True
by Brigid Pasulka
Fanny Hill
Fanny Hill
by John Cleland
The Hammer and the Cross
The Hammer and the Cross
by Harry Harrison
The Principle
The Principle
by Howard Curtis, Jerome Ferrari
The Dressmaker
The Dressmaker
by Beryl Bainbridge
Cathedral
Cathedral
by Ben Hopkins
Queen Margot
Queen Margot
by Alexandre Dumas
A Few Right Thinking Men
A Few Right Thinking Men
by Sulari Gentill
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
by Henry Farrell, Mitch Douglas
The Gate of Angels
The Gate of Angels
by Philip Hensher, Penelope Fitzgerald
Short Stories
Short Stories
by Irwin Shaw
Whitefire
Whitefire
by Fern Michaels
Home from the Hill
Home from the Hill
by William Humphrey
The Company She Keeps
The Company She Keeps
by Mary McCarthy
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
by Rumer Godden
Victoria and Albert
Victoria and Albert
by Evelyn Anthony
A Place Called Winter
A Place Called Winter
by Patrick Gale
Bellfield Hall
Bellfield Hall
by Anna Dean
Dearest Cousin Jane
Dearest Cousin Jane
by Jill Pitkeathley
The Circus in Winter
The Circus in Winter
by Cathy Day
Sealskin
Sealskin
by Su Bristow
The Keys of the Kingdom
The Keys of the Kingdom
by AJ Cronin
Max
Max
by Howard Fast
An Outrageous Affair
An Outrageous Affair
by Penny Vincenzi
The Autobiography of an Ex–Colored Man
The Autobiography of an Ex–Colored Man
by James Weldon Johnson
The Marathon Conspiracy
The Marathon Conspiracy
by Gary Corby
The Sect of Angels
The Sect of Angels
by Stephen Sartarelli, Andrea Camilleri
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Dangerous Betrayal
Dangerous Betrayal
by Bill Blowers
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8 Books Set During the Gilded Age
Rosy Is My Relative
Rosy Is My Relative
by Gerald Durrell
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain
Miss Burma
Miss Burma
by Charmaine Craig
The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals
The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals
by Wendy Jones
The Third Hill North of Town
The Third Hill North of Town
by Noah Bly
The Gossamer Cord
The Gossamer Cord
by Philippa Carr
Hold Tight
Hold Tight
by Christopher Bram
The Other Side of the Sun
The Other Side of the Sun
by Madeleine L'Engle
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The Re-Read: A Wrinkle in Time
The Red and the Green
The Red and the Green
by Iris Murdoch
The Balloonist
The Balloonist
by MacDonald Harris, Philip Pullman
All My Sins Remembered
All My Sins Remembered
by Rosie Thomas
Emily's Ghost
Emily's Ghost
by Denise Giardina
My French Whore
My French Whore
by Gene Wilder
Kitchen Chinese
Kitchen Chinese
by Ann Mah
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11 Books About Finding Yourself
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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.