← Historical Fiction
Reading List

The Historical Fiction Top 100 — Best Historical Fiction Books

The best historical fiction — immersive stories that bring the past vividly to life.

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The Pillars of the Earth
1
The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett
1989
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Gone with the Wind
2
Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
1936
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Wolf Hall
3
Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel
2009
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The Book Thief
4
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
2005
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All the Light We Cannot See
5
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
2014
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Memoirs of a Geisha
6
Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden
1997
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The Women
7
The Women
Kristin Hannah
2024
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Pachinko
8
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
2017
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Outlander
9
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
1991
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Beloved
10
Beloved
Toni Morrison
1987
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I Claudius
11
I Claudius
Robert Graves
1934
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War and Peace
12
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
1869
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Circe
13
Circe
Madeline Miller
2018
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The Song of Achilles
14
The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller
2011
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A Gentleman in Moscow
15
A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles
2016
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Bring Up the Bodies
16
Bring Up the Bodies
Hilary Mantel
2012
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The Mirror and the Light
17
The Mirror and the Light
Hilary Mantel
2020
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The Other Boleyn Girl
18
The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory
2001
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The Kite Runner
19
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
2003
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
20
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
2007
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The Thorn Birds
21
The Thorn Birds
Colleen McCullough
1977
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Roots
22
Roots
Alex Haley
1976
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Shogun
23
Shogun
James Clavell
1975
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Les Miserables
24
Les Miserables
Victor Hugo
1862
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A Tale of Two Cities
25
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
1859
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The Count of Monte Cristo
26
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
1844
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The Three Musketeers
27
The Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas
1844
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The Mists of Avalon
28
The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley
1983
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The Once and Future King
29
The Once and Future King
T.H. White
1958
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The Last Kingdom
30
The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell
2004
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Sharpe's Rifles
31
Sharpe's Rifles
Bernard Cornwell
1988
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The Winter King
32
The Winter King
Bernard Cornwell
1995
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World Without End
33
World Without End
Ken Follett
2007
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Hamnet
34
Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell
2020
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The Underground Railroad
35
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead
2016
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The Nickel Boys
36
The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead
2019
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Washington Black
37
Washington Black
Esi Edugyan
2018
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Lincoln in the Bardo
38
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders
2017
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The Sympathizer
39
The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen
2015
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All Quiet on the Western Front
40
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque
1929
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Catch-22
41
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
1961
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The English Patient
42
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje
1992
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Cold Mountain
43
Cold Mountain
Charles Frazier
1997
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The Shadow of the Wind
44
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2001
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Captain Corelli's Mandolin
45
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Louis de Bernieres
1994
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The Remains of the Day
46
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
1989
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Girl with a Pearl Earring
47
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier
1999
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Lonesome Dove
48
Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry
1985
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The Color Purple
49
The Color Purple
Alice Walker
1982
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Jazz
50
Jazz
Toni Morrison
1992
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