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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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Friday
Friday
by Robert A. Heinlein
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10 Bad-Ass Sci-Fi Women
Big Sur
Big Sur
by Jack Kerouac
Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name
by André Aciman
Maisie Dobbs
Maisie Dobbs
by Jacqueline Winspear
The House We Grew Up In
The House We Grew Up In
by Lisa Jewell
Exodus
Exodus
by Leon Uris
Hard Rules
Hard Rules
by Lisa Renee Jones
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Books Like Fifty Shades of Grey
A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
Last Lion: The Rise and Fall of Ted Kennedy
Last Lion: The Rise and Fall of Ted Kennedy
by Peter S. Canellos
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10 Books About the Kennedys
Dirty Little Lies
Dirty Little Lies
by Lora Leigh
Raven Black
Raven Black
by Ann Cleeves
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10 Authors Like Louise Penny
The Eyre Affair
The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde
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7 Alternate History Books
Woman on the Edge of Time
Woman on the Edge of Time
by Marge Piercy
In the Woods
In the Woods
by Tana French
Before I Go to Sleep
Before I Go to Sleep
by S.J. Watson
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey
by E.L. James
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Winemaker's Wife
The Winemaker's Wife
by Kristin Harmel
Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Invisible Man
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
A Pocket Full of Rye
A Pocket Full of Rye
by Agatha Christie
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
by Erik Larson
Where Dreams Descend
Where Dreams Descend
by Janella Angeles
Furia
Furia
by Yamile Saied Méndez
A Song of Ice and Fire Series
A Song of Ice and Fire Series
by George R.R. Martin
Eve's Hollywood
Eve's Hollywood
by Eve Babitz
These Hollow Vows
These Hollow Vows
by Lexi Ryan
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Lies of Locke Lamora
by Scott Lynch
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10 Must-Read Adult Fantasy Books
Gone Crazy in Alabama
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
The Namesake
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas Piketty
Bud, Not Buddy
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
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10 Books for Black Men to Read
Ask the Passengers
Ask the Passengers
by A.S. King
The Downstairs Girl
The Downstairs Girl
by Stacey Lee
Patron Saints of Nothing
Patron Saints of Nothing
by Randy Ribay
There There
There There
by Tommy Orange
The Vanishing Half
The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett
This Changes Everything
This Changes Everything
by Naomi Klein
Matilda
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
The Iron King
The Iron King
by Maurice Druon
Penny for Your Secrets
Penny for Your Secrets
by Anna Lee Huber
Real Murders
Real Murders
by Charlaine Harris
The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
by Gretchen Rubin
If I Stay
If I Stay
by Gayle Forman
The Outsiders
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
Scheduled to Death
Scheduled to Death
by Mary Feliz
Showing 401-450 of 1059 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.