Traveling back in time with historical novels is unlike anything else. The attention to detail makes you feel like you are actually there. Which is why we decided to list our favorite 12 historical fiction books that you should read. Find out which books made our list!
The genre that I find the easiest to read is historical fiction books. It is easy to lose yourself in the fantastic and detailed settings that the author has meticulously researched. Add a good plot and you have a memorable novel.
The setting is often times another character in the novel. You can feel the pulse of the city and how important it is to the plot. Some of my favorite novels are historical novels and I am always eager to be transported to another time in history.
This list contains some of the best historical novels ever written. Instead of the typical classics that everyone knows about, we listed ones that may not be as well-known but should be read. You can see the full list below!
Historical Fiction Books That You Should Read
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Recent Classics
Two novels that I really enjoyed were The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. These books are some of the best writing I have come across and they incorporate historical knowledge to tell two amazing stories.
A novel that I fell in love with from the first page was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. It is a well-written novel that has caused controversy and Golden was hit with a lawsuit which was later settled. The geisha who was Golden’s source of information for the novel wrote her own novel which detailed a different reality of a geisha’s life.
Conclusion
These are the 12 historical fiction books that you should read. They include recent and old novels that have resonated with millions of readers. How many of these historical fiction books have you read? What other historical fiction books do you think more people should read? Let us know in the comments below!
No mention of the works of James Michener? Why not?
Pillars of the Earth is a fantastic look at Medieval England, truly a page turner.
Exactly, Pillars was an amazing read. That book not being on the list gives this column no merit. Sorry!
I agree with your conclusions re: both The Nightingale and A Gentleman in Moscow. I am a volunteer at a local not for profit (all you can stuff in a sack for $5) book wearhouse where we have +/- a half million items. Every opportunity I get to suggest historical fiction to anyone these are the two I start off with. I really pull my customers heart strings with Imagine you are 23 years old and like to write and are told you can never leave your house or you will be shot. And all you writing paper is taken away. They come back raving.
I, too, thought A Gentleman in Moscow was superb and the subject of the Revolution was so interesting to me that I then read Lost Splendor, the autobiography of Prince Felix Youssoupoff, a son of the richest family in Russia. They owned over 200 estates throughout the country. He himself, supposedly, murdered their nemesis, Rasputin.
Molokai
Man yall should check out a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by The one and only Mark Twain. It has something for everybody. While embodying his trademark wit. It’s a treasure and more people should know about it.
Lovely comments but I must add the works of Dorothy Dunnett. She has two series, both describing historical England but taking her characters all over the Far East and the Middle East and more. The history is accurate. Ms. Dunnett was named the best historical writer of the time when her books were in print. They still are! Look in any good bookstore.
I have enjoyed all of Eugenia Price’s novels of the southern coast, mainly Georgia and Florida. More than once I have found her historical research impeccable. If she says a character lived or died somewhere, they did. The grave markers bear as a witness to her authenticity. The Savannah Quartet Series and Florida Trilogy are a favorite.
You should consider reading Peggy’s War by Karl Rhodes
Some of the best writing I have read is by Tan Twan Eng. Historical novels set in Malaysia during different time periods. The House of Doors, The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists.
The Lizard Cage is another outstanding historical novel set in Burma by Karen Connelly.