Historical and War (YA)

If you like reading novels set in times gone by you might find something interesting on this list. Also included are some war books (many and varied wars! Including the American Revolution, World War II, the Iraq War). Some are more 'historical' than others!

Updated June 19, 2024
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
Alexandre Dumas's epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment--nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to...

Historical setting: 1800s France

The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio
Paper Book
For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice: this is the story of the smallest library in the world - and the most dangerous. 'It wasn't an extensive library. In fact, it consisted of eight books and some of them were in poor condition. But they...

Historical setting: World War II

Alex & Eliza : a love story
De la Cruz, Melissa
Paper Book
The love story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler - based on the story that inspired the bestselling musical Hamilton. 1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of...
Historical setting: American Revolution, 1770s USA
Dodger
Pratchett, Terry
Paper Book
Dodger is a tosher - a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who is anybody doesn't. But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, suddenly everybody wants to know him. And Dodger's...

Historical setting: Victorian London

The ruby in the smoke : a Sally Lockhart mystery
Pullman, Philip
Paper Book
The first book in Philip Pullman's classic SALLY LOCKHART quartet in a beautiful new edition to celebrate the 30 year anniversary. Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea, she receives an anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet. Determined to...

Historical setting: 1800s England

The fountains of silence : a novel
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
Madrid, 1957. Daniel, young, wealthy and unsure of his place in the world, views the city through the lens of his camera. Ana, a hotel maid whose family is suffering under the fascist dictatorship of General Franco. Lives and hearts collide as they unite to uncover the hidden darkness within the...

Historical setting: 1950s Spain

Kemosha of the Caribbean
Wheatle, Alex
Paper Book

Historical setting: 1600s Jamaica

The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books...

Historical setting: World War II Germany


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