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Kate Quinn is a historical fiction author whose work spans multiple eras. She started in ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy, then broke out with a run of WWII novels that turned her into one of the biggest names in the genre.
The good news is that unlike something like Outlander, you don’t need to read Quinn in strict chronological order. Her series are all self-contained, and most of her later books are standalone. This guide takes a closer look at the different corners of her catalogue so you can figure out the best place to start, or, if you’re already familiar with her work, where to go next.
If you’re building out your historical fiction shelf more broadly, our guides to the best historical fiction books and 11 of the best historical fiction authors are good places to start too.
Where Most Readers Start: The WWII Novels
This is almost certainly how you found Kate Quinn, and it’s the strongest run of books in her catalogue.
The Alice Network (2017)
Quinn's breakout novel, and still the best entry point. It connects two women across two wars: Eve, a young Englishwoman recruited into the real-life Alice Network of female spies in WWI-era France, and Charlie, a pregnant American socialite searching for her missing cousin in 1947. Decades apart, their stories collide in ways that reframe both.
The Huntress (2019)
A British war correspondent and a Russian female bomber pilot join forces to track down a Nazi war criminal who's gone to ground in postwar America. Quinn's structural trick, jumping between the hunt and the crime being hunted for, is put to excellent use here.
The Rose Code (2021)
Three women, a debutante, a working-class shop girl, and a shy crossword-solving spinster, become codebreakers at Bletchley Park during WWII, only to reunite years later, estranged, to unmask a traitor in their own ranks. It was one of ten titles to win a 2022 Alex Award, recognising adult books with strong appeal for teen readers, and is probably Quinn's most decorated novel.
The Diamond Eye (2022)
Based on the real story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Red Army's most lethal female sniper, credited with over 300 confirmed kills before being pulled from the front and sent on a diplomatic tour of the United States. If you want more Eastern Front perspective than most WWII fiction offers, this is the one.
If you only read one strand of Kate Quinn’s work, this is it. Read The Alice Network first, then The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye in any order you like. They’re not a continuous story, just four books that share a period and a sensibility. For more of the genre, our historical fiction hub covers the wider WWII shelf.
Where Quinn Started: Ancient Rome
Before the WWII novels, Quinn built her career on ancient Rome, and this is where to go if that’s more your interest, or if you want to see how her writing developed.
The Empress of Rome Series
A five-book saga tracing the Roman Empire from the reign of Domitian through to its crumbling politics decades later, following an ensemble cast of slaves, gladiators, and senators’ daughters caught up in imperial power struggles.
Mistress of Rome (2010) — a slave girl rises to become the mistress of one of the most powerful men in Rome, under the reign of Domitian.
Daughters of Rome (2011) — four women from a powerful Roman family navigate the chaos of AD 69’s Year of the Four Emperors.
Empress of the Seven Hills (2012) — an ex-gladiator returns to Rome and is drawn back into a dangerous bond with a senator’s daughter.
The Three Fates (2015) — a shorter entry (sometimes listed as book 3.5) set during the reign of Commodus.
Lady of the Eternal City (2015) — the series closer, following Vix as he navigates the crumbling empire’s politics.
If ancient Rome is your primary interest, our guide to the best historical fiction books places Quinn alongside Robert Harris, Colleen McCullough, and Conn Iggulden.
The Borgia Chronicles
A shorter, two-book detour into Renaissance Italy, following the infamous Borgia family’s rise through the eyes of a courtesan and an ambitious cook caught up in the danger of the papal court.
The Serpent and the Pearl (2013)
The Lion and the Rose (2014)
A good pick if Renaissance intrigue appeals to you more than ancient Rome specifically.
Beyond Rome and WWII: Where Quinn Has Gone Since
Quinn’s more recent work shows a writer actively expanding her range rather than repeating herself.
The Phoenix Crown (2023)
Co-written with Janie Chang. Gilded Age San Francisco, following two women whose lives intersect around the 1906 earthquake.
The Briar Club (2024)
McCarthy-era Washington DC, centred on the residents of a women's boardinghouse and the secrets they're keeping from each other.
The Astral Library (2026)
Her most recent book, and a genuine departure: a work of magical realism about a hidden library where books function as doorways into the stories themselves. Not historical fiction in the traditional sense, but worth knowing about if you're a completist.
The Collaborative Anthologies
Quinn has also written as part of several multi-author historical fiction anthologies, each author contributing a different perspective on the same event.
A Day of Fire — Pompeii, on the day Vesuvius erupted.
A Year of Ravens — Boudica’s rebellion against Rome.
A Song of War — the Trojan War, told across multiple perspectives.
Ribbons of Scarlet — six women living through the French Revolution.
These are a fun way to sample several authors at once, Quinn included, but they’re very much a side dish rather than the main course of her bibliography.
So, Where Should You Start?
If you want the version of Kate Quinn most readers know and love, start with The Alice Network and work through her WWII run.
If you’d rather see where she began, start with Mistress of Rome. Either way works, that’s the real advantage of an author whose books don’t demand to be read in a single unbroken order. Pick the era that interests you most, and the rest of her catalogue will still be there once you’re hooked.
You Might Also Like
- The Best Historical Fiction Books
- 11 of the Best Historical Fiction Authors You Must Read
- Conn Iggulden Books in Order
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