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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 1,081–1,104 of 2,135

  1. The Outlaws of Sherwood

    Robin McKinley

    ★ 3.8 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In a new Sherwood, Robin Hood finds his strongest ally in Marian, a skilled archer who helps him fight for justice against King John.

  2. A Contract With God

    Will Eisner

    ★ 4.1 (11k) average on Goodreads

    In 1930s Dropsie Avenue, a rabbi's lost faith begins four stories that capture the Bronx's spirit in a graphic novel.

  3. Under the Greenwood Tree

    Thomas Hardy

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    In a Victorian village, a church musician's simple life changes when a charming schoolmistress arrives, threatening tradition and starting a complicated love.

  4. Colony

    Anne Rivers Siddons

    ★ 4.1 (11k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    A spirited Southern bride navigates a century of love, loss, and the unyielding traditions of her aristocratic in-laws' Maine summer colony, ultimately becoming its fierce, unconventional matriarch.

  5. Etta and Otto and Russell and James

    Emma Hooper

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    An eighty-two-year-old woman walks across Canada to see the ocean, leaving her husband and a lifelong admirer to deal with her absence and their shared, complicated past, all while she travels with a talking coyote.

  6. The Wicked Day

    Mary Stewart

    ★ 4.1 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    As Arthur's golden age ends, Mordred's shadow grows, destroying Camelot from within and leading to an inevitable, tragic end.

  7. The Grass is Singing

    Doris Lessing

    ★ 3.8 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In the desolate Rhodesian veld, a white woman's descent into madness and her Black servant's silent resentment lead to a violent act that exposes colonial society's brutal realities.

  8. Summer

    Eden Maguire

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    After past tragedies, Darina, still mourning Phoenix, must investigate the year-old murder of singer-songwriter Summer Madison, using Summer's music to find a killer and achieve justice amidst her own lasting love.

  9. Dark Matter

    Blake Crouch

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    A kidnapped physicist wakes up in an alternate life where his family never existed and he's a celebrated genius, forcing him into a journey across realities to reclaim the love he lost.

  10. Last of the Breed

    Louis L'Amour

    ★ 4.3 (11k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Stranded in the vast Siberian wilderness after escaping a Soviet prison, U.S. Air Force Major Joe Mack must use his Sioux ancestors' survival skills to outwit a legendary Yakut tracker and journey to freedom across the Bering Strait.

  11. The Golden Bowl

    Henry James

    ★ 3.8 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In a gilded cage of Edwardian society, an American heiress subtly manipulates her father and adulterous husband to preserve her marriage and family, all while knowing the truth of a flawed golden bowl.

  12. The Pursuit of Love

    Nancy Mitford

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsRomance

    Amidst their eccentric aristocratic English family, the spirited Radlett sisters navigate misguided romances and dramatic love affairs, as their privileged world nears World War II.

  13. Ophelia

    Lisa M. Klein

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In a dangerous Elsinore, a sharp Ophelia navigates forbidden love with Prince Hamlet and plans a risky escape to reclaim her life amid the court's unraveling madness.

  14. An Unnecessary Woman

    Rabih Alameddine

    ★ 3.8 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In war-scarred Beirut, a reclusive woman's life of secret literary translations unravels, exploring memory, identity, and quiet resilience.

  15. Mothering Sunday

    Graham Swift

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    On Mothering Sunday in 1924, a maid's secret meeting with an aristocratic heir changes her life, leading to a journey of self-discovery that lasts for decades.

  16. Dragon Keeper

    Carole Wilkinson

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    An orphan girl in ancient China must overcome her shyness to protect the last dragon and his purple stone from a cruel empire and dark magic.

  17. Pie

    Sarah Weeks

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    After her pie-queen aunt bequeaths her secret recipe to a remarkably disagreeable cat, a young girl named Alice must unravel a culinary mystery amidst a pie-crazed town to discover the true ingredients of happiness.

  18. Midwinterblood

    Marcus Sedgwick

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    On a mysterious, isolated island, two souls are bound by an ancient curse, reliving fragmented lives and searching for each other across seven distinct historical eras, each marked by a different moon.

  19. Away

    Amy Bloom

    ★ 3.4 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    A young Russian immigrant, Lillian Leyb, travels from New York's Yiddish theaters to the Alaskan wilderness in search of her lost daughter after surviving a brutal attack.

  20. Divisadero

    Michael Ondaatje

    ★ 3.5 (11k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    In 1970s Northern California, a violent act shatters a makeshift family, propelling its members across continents and decades as they grapple with the indelible echoes of their shared, fractured past.

  21. The Gospel of Loki

    Joanne Harris

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    Through the eyes of Loki, the ultimate trickster, see the rise and fall of Asgard, where every divine triumph and betrayal is painted with a mischievous, self-serving brush.

  22. Soul Eater

    Michelle Paver

    ★ 4.3 (11k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In a desperate midwinter quest, Torak must brave the dangerous stronghold of the Soul-Eaters to rescue his kidnapped wolf-brother from a chilling sacrifice.

  23. The Upstairs Room

    Johanna Reiss

    ★ 3.9 (11k) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    Two Jewish sisters spend years in the claustrophobic confines of an upstairs room, hidden from Nazi invaders in rural Holland, grappling with fear, boredom, and the terrifying unknown fate of their family.

  24. The Mystery of Edwin Drood

    Charles Dickens

    ★ 3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    In a cathedral town, a choirmaster's opium-fueled obsession leads to his nephew's disappearance, a mystery that has puzzled readers for generations.

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