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Best Historical Fiction Books of all TimeUnpublished

Pan MacMillan selected their 50 Best Historical Books of all Time.

Updated August 8, 2023

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The house of fortune : a novel

Burton, Jessie

Paper Book

Alive with the magic of Amsterdam, the enchanting new historical novel from the author of the sensational New York Times bestseller The Miniaturist, which has sold more than two million copies. In 1705 Amsterdam, Thea Brandt is coming of age, trying to grapple...

Sin eater : a novel

Campisi, Megan

Paper Book

"A riveting depiction of hard-won female empowerment that weaves together meticulous research, unsolved murder--and an unforgettable young heroine." --The Washington Post The Handmaid's Tale meets Alice in Wonderland in this gripping and imaginative...

The water dancer : a novel

Coates, Ta-Nehisi

Paper Book

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * From the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom. "This potent book about America's...

Trust

Di?az, Herna?n

Paper Book

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE "Buzzy and...

The red tent

Diamant, Anita.

Paper Book

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood-...

Haven

Donoghue, Emma

Paper Book

In this beautiful story of adventure and survival from the New York Times bestselling author of Room, three men vow to leave the world behind them as they set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. In seventh...

The wonder a novel

Donoghue, Emma

Paper Book

Now a Netflix film starring Florence Pugh: In this "old-school page turner" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review) by the bestselling author of Room, an English nurse is brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle--a girl said to have survived...

The evening and the morning

Follett, Ken

Paper Book

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a thrilling and addictive new novel--a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth--set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west...

The pillars of the earth

Follett, Ken

Paper Book

Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. Everything readers...

Ross Poldark : a novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787

Graham, Winston

Paper Book

As Seen on Masterpiece(tm) on PBS®: Book 1 of the beloved Poldark series In the first novel in Winston Graham's hit series, a weary Ross Poldark returns to England from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers his father has died, his...

The most precious of cargoes : a tale

Grumberg, Jean-Claude

Paper Book

Set during the height of World War II, a powerful and unsettling tale about a woodcutter and his wife, who finds a mysterious parcel thrown from a passing train. Once upon a time in an enormous forest lived a woodcutter and his wife. The woodcutter is very poor and a...

The four winds

Hannah, Kristin

Paper Book

"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the...

The nightingale

Hannah, Kristin.

Paper Book

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France . . . but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and...

The dance tree : a novel

Hargrave, Kiran Millwood

Paper Book

"If some prose sings, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's truly dances. Although set in the early sixteenth century, The Dance Tree addresses issues of the utmost importance today--the subjection of women, class inequality, the dangers of religious fundamentalism. Ultimately, however, the book's wisdom,...

The mercies : a novel

Hargrave, Kiran Millwood

Paper Book

After the men in an Arctic Norwegian town are wiped out, the women must survive a sinister threat in this "perfectly told" 1600s parable of "a world gone mad" (Adriana Trigiani). Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on...

Stone blind : a novel

Haynes, Natalie

Paper Book

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 "Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories."--Telegraph (UK) The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly...

A thousand ships : a novel

Haynes, Natalie

Paper Book

NATIONAL BESTSELLER An NPR Best Book of the Year "Gorgeous.... With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War."--Madeline Miller, author of Circe Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for...

The Children of Jocasta

Haynes, Natalie.

Paper Book

"Reinterprets two of Sophocles' Theban plays, Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone. . . . the alternating structure proves powerful."--The New Yorker "A passionate and gripping account of a famously dysfunctional family. Haynes balances a fresh take on the material with a deep love for her...

The attic child : a novel

Jaye, Lola

Paper Book

A hauntingly powerful and emotionally charged novel about family secrets, love and loss, identity and belonging. Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a shared secret. Early 1900s London: Taken from his homeland, twelve-year-old...

Circus of wonders : a novel

Macneal, Elizabeth

Paper Book

"Step up, step up! In 1860s England, circus mania is sweeping the nation. Crowds jostle for a glimpse of the lion-tamers, the dazzling trapeze artists and, most thrilling of all, the so-called "human wonders." When Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders pitches its tent in a poor coastal town, the life...

Dead man's walk : a novel

McMurtry, Larry.

Paper Book

In Dead Man's Walk, the prequel to the bestselling books, Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo, McMurtry dazzles readers once more with the early adventures of two of the most memorable heroes in contemporary fiction--Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call. National ads/media.

Beloved : a novel

Morrison, Toni.

Paper Book

Toni Morrison--author of Song of Solomon and Tar Baby--is a writer of remarkable powers: her novels, brilliantly acclaimed for their passion, their dazzling language and their lyric and emotional force, combine the unassailable truths of experience and emotion with the vision of legend...

Homecoming : a novel

Morton, Kate

Paper Book

The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter, a sweeping novel that begins with a shocking crime, the effects of which echo across continents and generations Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a...

The city of tears

Mosse, Kate

Paper Book

Following #1 Sunday Times bestseller The Burning Chambers, New York Times bestseller Kate Mosse returns with The City of Tears, a sweeping historical epic about love in a time of war. "Mosse is a master storyteller."--Madeline Miller, #1...

She who became the sun

Parker-Chan, Shelley

Paper Book

Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner Astounding Award Winner Lambda Literary Award Finalist Hugo Award Finalist Locus Award Finalist A Dragon Award Finalist Otherwise Award Finalist "I loved it."--The New...

Mrs. Porter calling : a novel

Pearce, A. J.

Paper Book

From the author of the bestselling "jaunty, heartbreaking winner" (People) Dear Mrs. Bird, a charming and irresistible novel featuring aspiring journalist Emmy Lake as she navigates life, love, and friendship in London during World War II--perfect for fans of The Paris Library<...

Yours cheerfully : a novel

Pearce, A. J.

Paper Book

From the author of the "jaunty, heartbreaking winner" (People) and international bestseller Dear Mrs. Bird comes a charming and uplifting novel set in London during World War II about a plucky young journalist and her adventures as wartime advice columnist. ...

The land beyond the sea

Penman, Sharon Kay

Paper Book

The librarian of Auschwitz

Rubio, Salva

Paper Book

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this graphic novel tells the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz...

Tombland

Sansom, C. J.

Paper Book

During the political upheaval of Tudor-era England, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake must decide where his loyalties lie in "one of the best ongoing mystery series" for fans of Hilary Mantel (Christian Science Monitor). LONGLISTED FOR THE SIR...

The lamplighters

Stonex, Emma

Paper Book

"Transported me effortlessly...Haunting, harrowing and heartbreaking, this is a novel that will stay with you." --Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push "A ghost story and fantastically gripping psychological investigation rolled into one. It...

The nickel boys : a novel

Whitehead, Colson

Paper Book

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * This follow-up to The Underground Railroad brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. * "One of the most gifted novelists in...

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Best Historical Fiction Books of all TimeUnpublishedShare

Best Historical Fiction Books of all TimeUnpublished