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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 House of the Spirits Summary
The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende 1982 448 pages
4.29
298.1K ratings
Magical Realism
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Spring Snow Summary
Spring Snow
by Yukio Mishima 1967 389 pages
4.16
21.8K ratings
Japan
Japanese Literature
Classics
City of Girls Summary
City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert 2019 470 pages
4.04
309.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Prestige Summary
The Prestige
by Christopher Priest 1995 404 pages
3.92
23.8K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
The Jungle Summary
The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair 1906 335 pages
3.78
151.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Literature
The Forgotten Garden Summary
The Forgotten Garden
by Kate Morton 2008 648 pages
4.15
232.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Book Club
All the Light We Cannot See Summary
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr 2014 544 pages
4.31
1.9M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
Lessons in Chemistry Summary
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus 2022 390 pages
4.28
1.6M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Feminism
Crossing to Safety Summary
Crossing to Safety
by Wallace Stegner 1987 335 pages
4.16
49.0K ratings
Book Club
Classics
Literary Fiction
The Red Pencil Summary
The Red Pencil
by Andrea Davis Pinkney 2014 336 pages
3.91
7.3K ratings
Poetry
Middle Grade
Historical Fiction
A Family Matter Summary
A Family Matter
by Claire Lynch 2025 240 pages
3.86
3.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
LGBT
Literary Fiction
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West Summary
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
by Cormac McCarthy 1985 351 pages
4.16
198.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Westerns
Classics
The Three Musketeers Summary
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas 1844 431 pages
4.10
338.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Adventure
The Marriage Portrait Summary
The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O'Farrell 2022 355 pages
4.01
181.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
Kira-Kira Summary
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata 2004 291 pages
3.97
27.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Middle Grade
King Rat Summary
King Rat
by James Clavell 1962 368 pages
4.19
43.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
War
Classics
The Red Badge of Courage Summary
The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane 1895 149 pages
3.29
108.1K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
Long Island Compromise Summary
Long Island Compromise
by Taffy Brodesser-Akner 2024 464 pages
3.75
33.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Contemporary
So Long, See You Tomorrow Summary
So Long, See You Tomorrow
by William Maxwell 1980 135 pages
3.89
13.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Literary Fiction
The Diamond Eye Summary
The Diamond Eye
by Kate Quinn 2022 435 pages
4.29
177.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
A Woman Is No Man Summary
A Woman Is No Man
by Etaf Rum 2019 339 pages
4.26
165.9K ratings
Book Club
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
When the World Was Ours Summary
When the World Was Ours
by Liz Kessler 2021 352 pages
4.52
5.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Suite Française Summary
Suite Française
by Irène Némirovsky 2004 431 pages
3.86
76.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
France
Book Club
Dogeaters Summary
Dogeaters
by Jessica Hagedorn 1990 272 pages
3.61
3.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Novels
Literature
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Summary
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Díaz 2007 335 pages
3.89
273.3K ratings
Book Club
Contemporary
Magical Realism
The Sicilian Summary
The Sicilian
by Mario Puzo 1984 416 pages
4.03
29.4K ratings
Crime
Thriller
Classics
All Quiet on the Western Front Summary
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque 1928 296 pages
4.10
497.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
The Tattooist of Auschwitz Summary
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
by Heather Morris 2018 272 pages
4.31
1.1M ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde Summary
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
by Tia Williams 2024 352 pages
4.00
40.5K ratings
Romance
Magical Realism
Historical Fiction
Grown Women Summary
Grown Women
by Sarai Johnson 2024 400 pages
4.34
2.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Family
Literary Fiction
The German Wife Summary
The German Wife
by Kelly Rimmer 2022 464 pages
4.38
43.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
World War II
Book Club
Heart of Darkness Summary
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad 1899 188 pages
3.43
540.5K ratings
Classics
Literature
Historical Fiction
The Oath of the Vayuputras Summary
The Oath of the Vayuputras
by Amish Tripathi 2013 575 pages
3.84
71.7K ratings
Mythology
Fantasy
Indian Literature
Fingersmith Summary
Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters 2002 592 pages
4.02
115.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
LGBT
Historical
Red Storm Rising Summary
Red Storm Rising
by Tom Clancy 1986
4.21
83.2K ratings
Thriller
Military Fiction
War
The Lords of Discipline Summary
The Lords of Discipline
by Pat Conroy 1980 512 pages
4.34
29.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Military Fiction
Southern
Soldier Boys Summary
Soldier Boys
by Dean Hughes 2001 240 pages
4.05
2.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
War
The Reader Summary
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink 1995 216 pages
3.78
224.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
German Literature
Rebecca Summary
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier 1938 449 pages
4.25
685.9K ratings
Classics
Mystery
Gothic
Chain of Thorns Summary
Chain of Thorns
by Cassandra Clare 2023 778 pages
4.06
57.0K ratings
Fantasy
Young Adult
Romance
The Flea Palace Summary
The Flea Palace
by Elif Shafak 2002 448 pages
3.39
7.4K ratings
Turkish Literature
Turkish
Contemporary
Scion of Ikshvaku Summary
Scion of Ikshvaku
by Amish Tripathi 2015 354 pages
3.86
46.0K ratings
Mythology
Fantasy
Indian Literature
The Joy Luck Club Summary
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan 1989 288 pages
3.97
699.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
China
The Border Summary
The Border
by Don Winslow 2019 768 pages
4.47
18.1K ratings
Crime
Thriller
Mystery
Malinche Summary
Malinche
by Laura Esquivel 2005 191 pages
3.34
6.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Spanish Literature
Historical
Don Quixote Summary
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1615 1023 pages
3.90
293.6K ratings
Classics
Literature
Spanish Literature
Winter of the World Summary
Winter of the World
by Ken Follett 2012 940 pages
4.38
171.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
War
Shōgun Summary
Shōgun
by James Clavell 1975 1152 pages
4.41
203.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Japan
Historical
The God of Small Things Summary
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy 1997 321 pages
3.96
314.3K ratings
India
Historical Fiction
Classics
Last Twilight in Paris Summary
Last Twilight in Paris
by Pam Jenoff 2025 336 pages
4.00
10.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
World War II
Mystery
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