A genre that I always am coming back to is historical fiction. It is just too good not to revisit. Which is why we will be looking at Goodread’s 20 most popular historical fiction novels of the past decade. Keep reading to find out which novels made their list!
One can argue that the historical fiction genre has been thriving for the past decade and a half. We have been lucky to see many amazing novels published and new authors establishing themselves as our go-to. And Goodreads has made it easy to keep track of all these amazing books.
This list was made by looking at which novels users marked as Read, Currently Reading, or Want to Read. And with millions of users using Goodreads every month, there is a lot of data to pull from. You can see the full list below!
Goodread’s 20 Most Popular Historical Fiction Novels of the Past Decade
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
- The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
- Homecoming by Yaa Gyasi
Where the Crawdads Sing
Many readers will not be surprised to see Where the Crawdads Sings top the list as the most popular historical fiction novel of the past decade. When it came out, this novel was everywhere and even in 2020, it was the most sold novel since it was released.
All the Light We Cannot See
A novel that has gone down as a modern classic has to be All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Few novels have been able move readers like this novel. And if you had to read one historical fiction novel from the past decade, then this is the one that most readers would recommend.
The Nightingale
Coming in at fifth is my favorite historical fiction novel of the past decade. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is an amazingly well written novel about two sisters during WW2 and the choices they made during the Nazi’s occupation of France.
The Great Alone
Another novel by Hannah to make the top ten is The Great Alone. This novel highlights Hannah’s incredible writing ability and the way she puts sentences together. She makes you see Alaska as her characters do as well as setting the tone of the novel.
A Gentleman in Moscow
When I read A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, I didn’t know what to expect. My knowledge of Russian history was almost nonexistent. Towles story about Count Alexander Rostov being under house arrest at a grand hotel for decades is brilliant and informative. And Rostov is aa interesting a character in fiction and makes this novel a must read!
Pachinko
As I keep going down this list, I keep seeing some of the best novels I have ever read. Pachinko by Min Lin Jee is a beautiful and haunting story about a Korean family that moves to Japan and the hardships they face over the decades and highlights the plight of many Koreans in Japan in the 20th century.
Conclusion
These are the 20 most popular historical fiction novels of the past decade according to Goodreads. How many of these novels have you read? What other historical fiction novels from the past decade should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!