There are tons of amazing historical fiction novels out there to read. But there are some novel that are must reads. Keep reading to find out the five historical fiction books that you must read once in your life!
Historical fiction novels have many old and new classics and it is a genre that alone can take decades to go through. This list highlights some of the best and our favorite books in the genre. And we hope this list encourages you to seek out even more historical fiction books. You can see the full list below!
Three Historical Fiction Books That You Must Read
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
War and Peace
War and Peace is considered Leo Tolstoy’s magnum opus and a classic. The novel takes place during the Napoleonic era in Russia and focuses on the French invasion of Russia and the aftermath. The story is told through the perspectives of five different Russian aristocratic families and discusses history as well as philosophy.
Gone with the Wind
A popular historical novel that Americans love is Gone with the Wind. The novel focuses on protagonist Scarlett O’Hara and takes place during and after the Civil War. Scarlet falls in love with Rhett Butler as the world around them changes. Margaret Mitchell tells the story of the changes in the South from a changing economy, politics, and ethics.
Beloved
A powerful novel that everyone should read is Beloved. It is a story of a former Kentucky slave that is haunted by her past life. The novel went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is considered one of the best works of fiction and there is no other novel like it.
The Nightingale
A recent historical fiction novel on this list is The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. The novel follows two sisters in France during World War II and their circumstances and response to the occupation by the Nazis.
This has become one of my favorite books of all time and a book I recommend to everyone who loves a well written novel.
The Book Thief
Another novel that takes place during World War II is The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak. This time, the novel takes place in Germany and tells a beautiful story of the Hans family, their adopted daughter Liesel, and how they fight back against Hitler’s reign in their own way.
Conclusion
That is all for these five historical fiction books that you must read once in your life. How many of these books have you read? What other books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Discover more from Books of Brilliance
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I
Thankyou for this brilliant list
I’ve read only one of them in my life TheWar and Peace
It is a crime to see pop culture books listed in comparison to truly great literature
Gentleman in Moscow is a treasure. Gave it to everyone for Christmas
It’s the best thing published in the last 5 years
Thank for mentioning this book. I loved The Gentleman in Moscow. I passed it on to my husband to read. He had nothing but praise for this amazing story.
I have read them all and the are favorites.
The Color Purple should be on this list..
Gone With the Wind should not be on this list. I reread it recently after my first read decades ago and was shocked at how racist the book is. Please re-evaluate.
Thank you. It’s not so much the racism but the fact that it is so poorly written. In addition, Mitchell was neither a writer or an historian; merely a disgruntled southerner — clearly at the way the Civil War turned out in the end, Mitchell put her anger into each page of her first (and only, thank you God) published novel. Read, instead, Jubilee by a well-known historian, Margaret Walker, for her book is an erudite, explicitly historical response to Gone With the Wind. One book shows the Civil War perspective of wealthy white Planters vs the less fortunate other whites while the other book tells the tale of the Civil War from the slaves’ perspective ONLY.
Are you kidding me? Gone With The Wind is on this list? That is the epitome of the Southern ‘Lost Cause’ movement and racist ideology that has persisted since the Jim Crow era. If any book should be banned it’s that one! Horrible recommendation and shame on you for adding it.
Gone with the Wind, really
I keep looking for Michener or Wouk or John Jake’s to name a few of actual historical novelists. Those you keep naming like Morrison can’t even touch their epic novels like Wind of War or North an South. Expand your horizon.
I read War and Peace years ago…it was a tough slog as my then knowledge of history wasn’t broad enough. And of course, also read Gone with the Wind.. after having seen the movie, couldn’t put down. I was young, not thinking then in terms of racism. I have read A Gentleman in Moscow and agree with someone else who made comment about it…it is wonderful.
Just want to say that having read all of these classics I would actually put at the top of the list another book which shifted me from being a non stop avid reader to being a maniacal reader of this one book over and over . The book is ” historical” . One Hundred Years of Solitude . In my fairly professional opinion as a one time professor of language and literature this apparently historical novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is the most compelling life changing work ever written.
“Middlesex” by Eugenides – received a pulitizer prizein early 2000’s.
The writing is brilliant! The story captivating.
Gone with the wind is my favorite, have read the book and watched the movie.