Historical books are always a pleasant read especially when the author does a lot of research on the time period. Some of my favorite novels fall under this genre and I am always looking for new books that are amazing to read. That is why we decided to list the 20 best historical novels of all time. Keep reading to see which novels made our list!
Choosing only 20 historical novels was not easy. Some classics had to be left off but the list came out well. There are too many great novels and a bunch of lists could be made without any complaints from me. You can see the full list below!
The 20 Best Historical Fiction Novels of All Time
- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Aztec by Gary Jennings
New and Old Classics
There are a bunch of new and old classics on the list. Some of the new ones are The Book Thief, The Nightingale, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Underground Railroad. I believe the genre is in good hands as many new authors have made a name for themselves.
But we cannot forget the older classics and the authors that made the genre what it is. Classics such as Gone with the Wind, War and Peace, and A Tale of Two Cities. Whether you like modern novels or classics, there are a lot of options ot choose from.
Conclusion
That is all for our list of the 20 best historical fictions novels of all time. What books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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The General in his Labyrinth – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Where are James Michener and James Clavell?
1. Sally Hemings by Barbara Chase-Riboud
The physician by Noah Gordon. Also Sarum by Edward Rutherford. Also Katherine by Seaton.
Came here to comment the same thing. Where are James Michener’s books? Hawaii, Alaska, Covenant and a few others should be on any historical fiction list.
Isabel Allende, too. And L.M. Jorden’s witty historical mysteries (Aconite, Queen of Poisons and Belladonna, Bitter Conduct) hare really historical novels with some mystery.
Repeat, again and again the same article about books…it is becoming boring !!
Nothing by T. C Boyle?
How about Chesapeake or any of Michiner’s novels?
Les Miserables, All Quiet on the Western Front
Nothing by Gore Vidal? Can I laugh now?
This list is useless without Gone With The Wind
Gone with the Wind is on this list!
You left out Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. A novel of the French Revolution. Great story also with an unusual ending. Still have a copy after fifty years. Sabatini was a bona Fide historian. He also wrote Captain Blood a story of Caribbean Pirates. Beautiful writing.
What about Mary Stewart or Mary Renault just to start , most what list no where near.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Another woke-list…
How could you leave War and Remembrance and it’s prequel Winds of War off of your list? These books trace in painstaking and carefully researched detail the rise, and ultimately the fall of Adolph Hitler, and the catastrophe he wrought upon the world.
Hitler bears the moral responsibility for the deaths of 6 million people for the crime of being Jewish, along with the millions of others he regarded as misfits.
No other novels have attempted to tell the story of that calamity on the scale that Herman Wouk did in these two books.
What about Hannah Kent’s 3 novels?
E ted gladue’s birth of china
Ben Hur was the best selling novel of the 19th century
Anything by John Jake’s would be nice
Although categorized as a youth novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a classic historical fiction read.
Shogun
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
A new book, West Point Deep Cover is based on a true story of a West Point cadet who is recruited by the CIA to be a deep cover spy within the Russian military. Check it out!
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith.
Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus! It’s based on a real person and real events, but it’s still definitely a work of fiction. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes espionage, Norwegian history, WWIi history, etc. It is geared more towards teens/young adults, but I think adults would still enjoy it. I still do!
Heaven Förbid, Mika Waltari “The Egyptian” is essential to this kind of list.
The Plum Tree- I don’t know why more people don’t know about this book but it’s on my very short list of the best books ever written.
Almost any of the Michener novels, but especially Hawaii, Centennial and Chesapeake…
Absolutely
Killer Angels. It won a Pulitzer Prize and is mandatory reading if you plan to visit the Gettysburg battlefield.
Sacajawea by Anna Lee waldo
Read “The Scotland Spy” and “Legend of the Chinese Spy” for historic fiction. Both on Amazon.
I think you absolutely should have included The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk, and The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. While these books center around real events (The Civil War and WW II), some or all of the characters were fictional, so they fall into the fiction label.
QB V11 by Leon Uris
James Michener (such as The Source, Hawaii and many others)
Marie Benedict (such as Only woman in the room, The other Einstein, Personal Librarian)
Erik Larsen’s The Splendid and the Vile
The Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris. Also Enigma by him as well.
All the historical books by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre have been left out. Freedom at Midnight; Is Paris Burning; O! Jerusalam and many other by DLP with other authors.
Wolf Hall is too brilliant to leave off.
How about The Captain from Castile, The Last of the Mohicans, or The Black Rose?
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
L.M.Jorden for historical early 20th c. Very witty social satire mysteries (Dr. JOSEPHINE SERIES) with unusual characters..also Samson’s Shardlake medieval series. These are both great If you like historical mysteries that are very well researched and written by historians.
Trinity Leon Uris
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
I agree with Paul M Leary, that Winds of War and War and Remembrance should definitely be included. Wouk did such extensive research that one felt transported in time!
The Man Who Loved Dogs by Leonardo Padura. It’s about the stalking and assassination of Leon Trotsky by a Cuban who detested Castro. It’s an amazing indictment of Stalinist Communism revealed through the thriller genre.
Nothing by Michael or Jeff Shaara? Killer Angel’s? God’s and Generals? The Frozen Hours?
Come on!
All of Ken Follett’s books
The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons. Set largely in Russia during WW2.
Shogun by James Clavell
Gone with the Wind?? Seriously? It’s fictitious drivel.
Herman Wouk The Winds of War. Outstanding.
Tides of War and Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
Dorothy Dunnett’s House of Nicolo for the win.
Of the previous comments, I would agree with Shogun, fiction by Mary Renault, Wolf Hall and the Master and Commander series I would add fiction by Sharon K. Pennman of the Welsh princes and English kings, so well researched. Also Kite Runner.
Which of the historical novels on your list won pulitzer prize? None of them? Then maybe ad Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry to the list. Hild by Nicola Griffith tops my list. I Claudius by Robert Graves 8s amazing. Libra by Don Delillo is a great JFK novel, There are so many historical novels, it’s difficult to choose. I would almost call your list introductory to people new to them. Some of them are very good, but when you say greatest of all time, you are asking for trouble.
I have not read all of the books on this list-but enough to see a monstrous omission. Herman Wouk’s Winds of War and War and Remembrance would top the list if I gad made it.
Caleb Carr’s The Alienist belongs on any list of great historical fiction.
Where is Tolstoy’s War and Peace?
Josephine Tey – The Daughter of Time not included?
So glad Aztec made the list! I’ve read most from this list, and I’m surprised Amy Tan and Anne Tyler are not included…
Trinity by Leon Uris
Alan Eckert, Ken Follet, how did you compile this list; by throwing darts at a list of names?