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Historical Fiction

Real people and pivotal moments from our past come alive through compelling stories that blend documented facts with imaginative storytelling. Whether following famous figures or everyday characters, these books transport readers into richly detailed worlds shaped by the authentic customs, conflicts, and cultural forces of their time periods.

Historical Fiction Book Summaries

The White Queen Summary
The White Queen
by Philippa Gregory 2009 415 pages
3.96
179.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Romance
The Spinoza Problem Summary
The Spinoza Problem
by Irvin D. Yalom 2012 321 pages
4.26
17.5K ratings
Philosophy
Psychology
Historical Fiction
A Column of Fire Summary
A Column of Fire
by Ken Follett 2017 916 pages
4.26
119.1K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Fantasy
Everything is Illuminated Summary
Everything is Illuminated
by Jonathan Safran Foer 2002 276 pages
3.89
182.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Novels
Orphan Train Summary
Orphan Train
by Christina Baker Kline 2013 278 pages
4.20
456.1K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Listeners Summary
The Listeners
by Maggie Stiefvater 2025 400 pages
3.85
3.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Historical
The Razor’s Edge Summary
The Razor’s Edge
by W. Somerset Maugham 1944 314 pages
4.19
51.8K ratings
Literature
Classics
Philosophy
Cloud Atlas Summary
Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell 2004 509 pages
4.01
260.4K ratings
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Those Across the River Summary
Those Across the River
by Christopher Buehlman 2011 357 pages
3.71
14.8K ratings
Horror
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
The White Castle Summary
The White Castle
by Orhan Pamuk 1985 145 pages
3.48
16.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Turkish Literature
Turkish
The Rules of Magic Summary
The Rules of Magic
by Alice Hoffman 2017 369 pages
4.01
121.6K ratings
Fantasy
Magical Realism
Historical Fiction
Reef Summary
Reef
by Romesh Gunesekera 1994 190 pages
3.75
2.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Asia
Literary Fiction
City of Night Birds Summary
City of Night Birds
by Juhea Kim 2024 320 pages
3.64
7.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Russia
Bel Canto Summary
Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett 2001 318 pages
3.94
307.7K ratings
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
Four Great Tragedies Summary
Four Great Tragedies
Hamlet / Othello / King Lear / Macbeth
by William Shakespeare 1606 592 pages
4.42
17.9K ratings
Classics
Plays
Drama
Three Sisters Summary
Three Sisters
by Heather Morris 2021 416 pages
4.37
84.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Holocaust
Alamut Summary
Alamut
by Vladimir Bartol 1938 510 pages
4.31
13.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Novels
The Witch Haven Summary
The Witch Haven
by Sasha Peyton Smith 2021 442 pages
3.62
12.9K ratings
Fantasy
Young Adult
Witches
Bluebird Summary
Bluebird
by Sharon Cameron 2021 438 pages
4.33
9.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Historical
The Good Earth Summary
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck 1931 418 pages
4.01
256.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
China
Classics
The Book Woman's Daughter Summary
The Book Woman's Daughter
by Kim Michele Richardson 2022 336 pages
4.23
79.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
For Whom the Bell Tolls Summary
For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway 1940 471 pages
3.98
308.5K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Literature
The Refugees Summary
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen 2017 209 pages
3.87
21.5K ratings
Short Stories
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
The Age of Innocence Summary
The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton 1920 293 pages
3.97
187.5K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Romance
Julius Caesar Summary
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare 1599 175 pages
3.71
213.9K ratings
Plays
Drama
School
The Mad Wife Summary
The Mad Wife
by Meagan Church 2025 352 pages
4.24
453 ratings
Historical Fiction
Horror
Mystery Thriller
A Room with a View Summary
A Room with a View
by E.M. Forster 1908 119 pages
3.90
195.0K ratings
Classics
Romance
Historical Fiction
A Tale for the Time Being Summary
A Tale for the Time Being
by Ruth Ozeki 2013 432 pages
4.06
130.1K ratings
Japan
Magical Realism
Book Club
The Ghost Bride Summary
The Ghost Bride
by Yangsze Choo 2013 368 pages
3.81
36.1K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Romance
Shelterwood Summary
Shelterwood
by Lisa Wingate 2024 368 pages
3.86
27.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Historical
Ring Shout Summary
Ring Shout
by P. Djèlí Clark 2020 185 pages
3.97
42.7K ratings
Horror
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Love in the Time of Cholera Summary
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel García Márquez 1985 348 pages
3.94
530.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Magical Realism
Literature
The Iliad Summary
The Iliad
by Homer 614 pages
3.92
487.5K ratings
Classics
Poetry
Mythology
The Scarlet Letter Summary
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 279 pages
3.44
896.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
School
Literature
Girl with a Pearl Earring Summary
Girl with a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier 1999 233 pages
3.93
763.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Historical
Shuggie Bain Summary
Shuggie Bain
by Douglas Stuart 2020 430 pages
4.31
177.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Library of Souls Summary
Library of Souls
by Ransom Riggs 2015 458 pages
4.14
160.0K ratings
Fantasy
Young Adult
Paranormal
Out of Darkness Summary
Out of Darkness
by Ashley Hope Pérez 2016 402 pages
4.14
8.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Banned Books
The Color Purple Summary
Immersive
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker 1982 295 pages
4.27
729.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Feminism
LGBT
Rain of Gold Summary
Rain of Gold
by Victor Villaseñor 1991 576 pages
4.50
8.1K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Magical Realism
The English Patient Summary
The English Patient
by Michael Ondaatje 1992 320 pages
3.86
136.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Romance
Red, White, and Whole Summary
Red, White, and Whole
by Rajani LaRocca 2021 224 pages
4.41
7.6K ratings
Middle Grade
Poetry
Historical Fiction
The Bride Summary
The Bride
by Julie Garwood 1989 352 pages
4.23
69.2K ratings
Historical Romance
Romance
Historical
Kindred Summary
Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler 1979 288 pages
4.31
251.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
Fantasy
The Queens of Crime Summary
The Queens of Crime
by Marie Benedict 2025 310 pages
3.84
12.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Historical
The Kindly Ones Summary
The Kindly Ones
by Jonathan Littell 2006 984 pages
4.02
14.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
War
World War II
Persuasion Summary
Immersive
Persuasion
by Jane Austen 1817 249 pages
4.15
744.6K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Historical
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Summary
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See 2005 269 pages
4.09
381.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
China
The Cay Summary
The Cay
by Theodore Taylor 1969 156 pages
3.79
37.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Classics
Time's Convert Summary
Time's Convert
by Deborah Harkness 2018 448 pages
3.92
70.2K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Romance
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