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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

When Nietzsche Wept Summary
When Nietzsche Wept
by Irvin D. Yalom 1992 310 pages
4.36
79.4K ratings
Psychology
Philosophy
Historical Fiction
Tess of the D’Urbervilles Summary
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy 1891 518 pages
3.84
295.8K ratings
Classics
Literature
Historical Fiction
Beloved Summary
Beloved
by Toni Morrison 1987 325 pages
3.97
470.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Magical Realism
With a Vengeance Summary
With a Vengeance
by Riley Sager 2025 383 pages
3.54
2.9K ratings
Thriller
Mystery
Mystery Thriller
Anna Karenina Summary
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy 1878 964 pages
4.10
895.9K ratings
Classics
Romance
Russia
Babel Summary
Babel
by R.F. Kuang 2022 544 pages
4.16
370.2K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Dark Academia
The Missing Sister Summary
The Missing Sister
by Lucinda Riley 2021 805 pages
4.20
77.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Romance
Roman
The Burning God Summary
The Burning God
by R.F. Kuang 2020 622 pages
4.30
133.4K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Adult
Stoner Summary
Stoner
by John Williams 1965 292 pages
4.35
210.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Literature
Homegoing Summary
Homegoing
by Yaa Gyasi 2016 305 pages
4.47
379.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Paris Novel Summary
The Paris Novel
by Ruth Reichl 2024 288 pages
3.81
39.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Food
France
The Shawshank Redemption Summary
The Shawshank Redemption
Different Seasons
by Stephen King 1994 507 pages
4.48
5.1K ratings
Horror
Thriller
Short Stories
Redeeming Love Summary
Redeeming Love
by Francine Rivers 1991 479 pages
4.51
354.4K ratings
Romance
Christian
Christian Fiction
The Home and the World Summary
The Home and the World
by Rabindranath Tagore 1916 213 pages
3.83
5.8K ratings
Classics
India
Indian Literature
The Kite Runner Summary
Music Immersive
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini 2003 371 pages
4.35
3.4M ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Contemporary
The Poppy War Summary
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang 2018 545 pages
4.17
387.8K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Adult
The Story of the Lost Child Summary
The Story of the Lost Child
by Elena Ferrante 2014 473 pages
4.46
163.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Italy
Italian Literature
A House Without Windows Summary
A House Without Windows
by Nadia Hashimi 2016 415 pages
4.00
14.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Contemporary
Robinson Crusoe Summary
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe 1719 320 pages
3.68
322.2K ratings
Classics
Adventure
Literature
Cutting for Stone Summary
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese 2009 560 pages
4.33
412.7K ratings
Book Club
Historical Fiction
Africa
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Summary
Music Immersive
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
by Victoria E. Schwab 2020 448 pages
4.17
1.3M ratings
Fantasy
Romance
Historical Fiction
Human Acts Summary
Human Acts
by Han Kang 2014 218 pages
4.26
55.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Literary Fiction
The Nightingale Summary
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah 2015 564 pages
4.64
1.8M ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
World War II
Slaughterhouse-Five Summary
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1969 275 pages
4.10
1.4M ratings
Classics
Science Fiction
Historical Fiction
The Pearl Summary
The Pearl
by John Steinbeck 1947 96 pages
3.55
258.0K ratings
Literature
School
Historical Fiction
Jane Eyre Summary
Music Immersive
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë 1847 532 pages
4.15
2.2M ratings
Classics
Romance
Gothic
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau Summary
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
by Kristin Harmel 2025 384 pages
4.50
1.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Historical
Pachinko Summary
Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee 2017 496 pages
4.34
563.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Sympathizer Summary
The Sympathizer
by Viet Thanh Nguyen 2015 371 pages
4.01
130.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
War
Shantaram Summary
Shantaram
by Gregory David Roberts 2003 936 pages
4.28
230.8K ratings
Travel
Adventure
Historical Fiction
Fellow Travelers Summary
Fellow Travelers
by Thomas Mallon 2007 356 pages
3.60
4.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
LGBT
Queer
The Count of Monte Cristo Summary
Music Immersive
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas 1846 1276 pages
4.31
979.0K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Adventure
Lajja Summary
Lajja
Shame
by Taslima Nasrin 1993 216 pages
3.54
5.5K ratings
Bangladesh
Historical Fiction
India
Heidi Summary
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri 1880 352 pages
4.04
207.4K ratings
Classics
Childrens
Historical Fiction
Half of a Yellow Sun Summary
Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2006 435 pages
4.34
173.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Nigeria
Book Club
Ordinary Grace Summary
Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger 2013 307 pages
4.27
179.1K ratings
Book Club
Mystery
Historical Fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing Summary
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens 2018 384 pages
4.38
3.4M ratings
Book Club
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Native Son Summary
Native Son
by Richard Wright 1940 504 pages
4.04
102.5K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Race
Catch-22 Summary
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller 1961 453 pages
3.99
866.7K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared Summary
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson 2009 396 pages
3.82
294.2K ratings
Book Club
Contemporary
Historical Fiction
The Queen's Gambit Summary
The Queen's Gambit
by Walter Tevis 1983 258 pages
4.18
131.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Chess
The Things They Carried Summary
The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien 1990 246 pages
4.14
334.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
War
Across the Barricades Summary
Across the Barricades
by Joan Lingard 1972 174 pages
3.68
2.0K ratings
Young Adult
Historical Fiction
Romance
The Secret Life of Bees Summary
Music Immersive
The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd 2001 302 pages
4.10
1.3M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Classics
Between Shades of Gray Summary
Between Shades of Gray
by Ruta Sepetys 2011 344 pages
4.37
264.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Historical
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club Summary
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club
by Martha Hall Kelly 2025 336 pages
4.13
2.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Books About Books
Historical
Little Women Summary
Music Immersive
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott 1868 449 pages
4.16
2.4M ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
The da Vinci Code Summary
Music Immersive
The da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown 2003 489 pages
3.93
2.5M ratings
Mystery
Thriller
Mystery Thriller
The Hidden Hindu 2 Summary
The Hidden Hindu 2
by Akshat Gupta 2022 250 pages
4.13
2.5K ratings
Mythology
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
What the River Knows Summary
What the River Knows
by Isabel Ibañez 2023 416 pages
3.86
71.1K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
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