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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 Castle of Whispers
The Castle of Whispers
by Carole Martinez, Howard Curtis
Angel Dreams
Angel Dreams
by Chris Schneider, Michael Phillips
The Cosmopolitans
The Cosmopolitans
by Sarah Schulman
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Happy Family
Happy Family
by Wendy Lee
All-American
All-American
by John R. Tunis
The Girl on the Outside
The Girl on the Outside
by Mildred Pitts Walter
Second Daughter
Second Daughter
by Mildred Pitts Walter
Five O'Clock Lightning
Five O'Clock Lightning
by William L. DeAndrea
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5 Mystery Novels About Baseball
Clandara
Clandara
by Evelyn Anthony
The Book of Crows
The Book of Crows
by Sam Meekings
The Glorious Ones
The Glorious Ones
by Francine Prose
The Ordinary Seaman
The Ordinary Seaman
by Francisco Goldman
A Taste for Monsters
A Taste for Monsters
by Matthew J. Kirby
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Hotel de Dream
Hotel de Dream
by Edmund White
Adeline
Adeline
by Norah Vincent
Peep Show
Peep Show
by Joshua Braff
The Third Son
The Third Son
by Julie Wu
The Principle
The Principle
by Jerome Ferrari, Howard Curtis
Courting the Corporal
Courting the Corporal
by Heather McCorkle
The Blindness of the Heart
The Blindness of the Heart
by Julia Franck, Anthea Bell
Where the Long Grass Bends
Where the Long Grass Bends
by Neela Vaswani
His Enemy, His Friend
His Enemy, His Friend
by John R. Tunis
The Man Who Cried I Am
The Man Who Cried I Am
by John A. Williams, Walter Mosley
Hold Tight
Hold Tight
by Christopher Bram
Derby Day
Derby Day
by D. J. Taylor
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The Darkling
The Darkling
by R. B. Chesterton
Hollywood Nocturnes
Hollywood Nocturnes
by James Ellroy
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8 Novels Set in Old Hollywood
Blood on the Moon
Blood on the Moon
by James Ellroy
Exodus
Exodus
by Leon Uris
The Trespassers
The Trespassers
by Laura Z. Hobson
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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.