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  1. Genres
  2. ›Historical Fiction

Best Historical Fiction Books

Explore the best historical fiction books — comprehensive summaries, key takeaways, and insights from the standout titles in this genre.

2,135 summaries

Showing 241–264 of 2,135

  1. The Sign of Four

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    ★ 3.9 (113k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A mysterious annual pearl, a vanished father, and a wooden-legged ruffian lead Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson through London's foggy underbelly to a hidden Indian treasure and a blossoming romance.

  2. Cannery Row

    John Steinbeck

    ★ 4.0 (112k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In the vibrant, post-Depression tide pools of Monterey, a motley crew of outcasts and philosophers navigates life's hilarious and heartbreaking currents, finding solace and survival in their shared humanity amidst the clatter of cannery machinery.

  3. Alias Grace

    Margaret Atwood

    ★ 4.0 (111k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In 19th-century Canada, a domestic servant convicted of a double murder claims amnesia, so a doctor must unravel her memory to learn if she is a killer, a victim, or mentally ill.

  4. The Story of a New Name

    Elena Ferrante

    ★ 4.4 (108k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    Lila faces the constraints of a new marriage, while Elena enters the intellectual world beyond their Neapolitan neighborhood. Their evolving friendship is a constant amid love, jealousy, and ambition.

  5. Ethan Frome

    Edith Wharton

    ★ 3.4 (108k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    Duty and a harsh New England winter trap Ethan Frome, whose quiet longing for a young woman disrupts his bleak marriage, leading to a desperate, snow-bound act with lasting consequences.

  6. Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West

    Cormac McCarthy

    ★ 4.2 (107k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In 1850s Texas, a runaway teen joins a scalp-hunting gang, embarking on a violent journey that redefines the American West.

  7. The Prince and the Pauper

    Mark Twain

    ★ 3.9 (107k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    A twist of fate swaps the lives of a pampered prince and a tattered pauper, forcing each to navigate a new world while uncovering the meaning of royalty.

  8. Moloka'i

    Alan Brennert

    ★ 4.2 (107k) average on Goodreads

    Exiled to the leper colony of Kalaupapa, a Hawaiian girl's dreams are broken, only to bloom again among outcasts who make a home on Moloka'i's isolated shores.

  9. Rebel Angels

    Libba Bray

    ★ 3.9 (106k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In 1896 London, as Christmas approaches, Gemma Doyle faces a blossoming romance and growing visions of a dark past. This pulls her and her friends into a magical realm where a familiar enemy and a dangerous quest for a mystical Temple await.

  10. Fever 1793

    Laurie Halse Anderson

    ★ 3.9 (106k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    In 1793 Philadelphia, a young girl's dreams of expanding her family's coffeehouse are interrupted by a yellow fever epidemic, forcing her to fight for survival and keep her fractured family together.

  11. Half of a Yellow Sun

    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    ★ 4.3 (103k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In the midst of Nigeria's brutal Biafran War, the lives of a spirited mistress, a revolutionary professor, a shy Englishman, and a young houseboy intertwine, revealing the devastating personal cost of a nation's fight for independence.

  12. The House at Riverton

    Kate Morton

    ★ 3.9 (103k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A dying housemaid, haunted by the glittering secrets and tragic demise of the aristocratic Hartford family, finally unveils the truth behind a poet's mysterious death at their grand estate, Riverton, seventy years prior.

  13. Stoner

    John Williams

    ★ 4.3 (103k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    A poor farmer's son finds quiet academic pursuit, facing solitude and personal disappointments.

  14. The Golem and the Jinni

    Helene Wecker

    ★ 4.1 (102k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In 1899 New York, a clay golem and a jinni freed from an ancient flask form an unlikely, mystical bond amid immigrant life and hidden magic.

  15. Lady Chatterley's Lover

    D.H. Lawrence

    ★ 3.5 (102k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    A lonely aristocratic wife finds freedom and passion in a forbidden affair with her estate's gamekeeper, breaking society's rules and finding her own desires.

  16. The Immortals of Meluha

    Amish Tripathi

    ★ 4.1 (101k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    A rough Tibetan immigrant, Shiva, is thrust into war-torn ancient India, prophesied to save the Suryavanshi empire from environmental collapse and Chandravanshi-Naga alliances, forcing him to accept a destiny he never sought.

  17. The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set

    L.M. Montgomery

    ★ 4.4 (101k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    Follow Anne Shirley, a spirited orphan, as her vivid imagination and loving heart transform Green Gables and the people of Prince Edward Island, from her arrival to building her own family.

  18. Kane and Abel

    Jeffrey Archer

    ★ 4.3 (100k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Born on the same day on opposite sides of the world, a Boston millionaire's son and a penniless Polish immigrant are locked in a sixty-year saga of ambition, hatred, and the relentless pursuit of fortune that will ultimately intertwine their destinies in triumph and destruction.

  19. Black Butler, Vol. 1

    Yana Toboso

    ★ 4.4 (100k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In dark Victorian London, a young earl makes a demonic pact, binding his soul to a sinister butler who will serve his revenge, no matter the cost.

  20. Cryptonomicon

    Neal Stephenson

    ★ 4.2 (99k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    From the code-breaking battlefields of World War II to a modern-day quest for a data haven and Nazi gold, brilliant mathematicians and their descendants navigate a maze of deception, cryptography, and shadowy conspiracies orchestrated by an enigmatic immortal.

  21. Cold Sassy Tree

    Olive Ann Burns

    ★ 4.0 (98k) average on GoodreadsYoung Adult

    In a sleepy 1906 Georgia town, young Will Tweedy finds his world upended and expanded as he navigates the scandal, secrets, and surprising love ignited by his widowed grandpa's impulsive marriage to a much younger woman.

  22. We Were the Lucky Ones

    Georgia Hunter

    ★ 4.4 (98k) average on Goodreads

    Separated by the Nazi invasion, the Kurc family, flung across continents, clings to an unbreakable thread of hope, each member fighting for survival and the slim chance of reunion amidst the 20th century's darkest hour.

  23. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    ★ 3.9 (97k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    Armed with a suitcase of treasures and his own rulebook for life, ten-year-old Bud Caldwell escapes an orphanage in 1936 Michigan, determined to find his jazz musician father using only a handful of cryptic flyers as his guide.

  24. The Swiss Family Robinson

    Johann David Wyss

    ★ 3.9 (97k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    Shipwrecked on an island, the Robinson family uses their skills to build a self-sufficient home, facing challenges with cleverness and determination.

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