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Historical

Real people and pivotal moments come alive through meticulous research and compelling storytelling in these journeys through time. Whether following spies during the American Revolution or exploring the hidden lives of remarkable women, these books illuminate the fascinating truths and untold stories that shaped our world.

Historical 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
Persian Fire Summary
Persian Fire
The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
by Tom Holland 2005 418 pages
4.17
11.0K ratings
History
Ancient History
Ancient
The Forgotten Garden Summary
The Forgotten Garden
by Kate Morton 2008 648 pages
4.15
232.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Book Club
This Tender Land Summary
This Tender Land
by William Kent Krueger 2019 450 pages
4.39
205.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
North and South Summary
North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell 1855 521 pages
4.15
178.1K ratings
Romance
Historical Fiction
Classics
Fingersmith Summary
Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters 2002 592 pages
4.02
115.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
LGBT
Historical
City of Girls Summary
City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert 2019 470 pages
4.04
309.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge Summary
Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge
George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition
by Erica Armstrong Dunbar 2019 272 pages
3.97
1.5K ratings
Biography
History
Middle Grade
Kira-Kira Summary
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata 2004 291 pages
3.97
27.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Middle Grade
The Marriage Portrait Summary
The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O'Farrell 2022 355 pages
4.01
181.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
King Rat Summary
King Rat
by James Clavell 1962 368 pages
4.19
43.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
War
Classics
The Evolution of Fiqh Summary
The Evolution of Fiqh
Islamic Law & the Madh-habs
by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips 1988 228 pages
4.36
351 ratings
Islam
Religion
History
At Home Summary
At Home
A Short History of Private Life
by Bill Bryson 2010 497 pages
3.99
96.8K ratings
History
Humor
Science
Lessons in Chemistry Summary
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus 2022 390 pages
4.28
1.6M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Feminism
The Diamond Eye Summary
The Diamond Eye
by Kate Quinn 2022 435 pages
4.29
177.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Reader Summary
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink 1995 216 pages
3.78
224.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
German Literature
The Three Musketeers Summary
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas 1844 431 pages
4.10
338.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Adventure
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
When He Was Wicked Summary
When He Was Wicked
by Julia Quinn 2004 368 pages
3.99
243.7K ratings
Romance
Historical Romance
Historical
Malinche Summary
Malinche
by Laura Esquivel 2005 191 pages
3.34
6.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Spanish Literature
Historical
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
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree Summary
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree
A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor
by Laura Hillman 2003 274 pages
4.15
5.5K ratings
Holocaust
History
Memoir
Common Sense Summary
Common Sense
by Thomas Paine 1776 104 pages
4.00
38.2K ratings
History
Classics
Philosophy
Soldier Boys Summary
Soldier Boys
by Dean Hughes 2001 240 pages
4.05
2.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
War
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
Winter of the World Summary
Winter of the World
by Ken Follett 2012 940 pages
4.38
171.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
War
An Era of Darkness Summary
An Era of Darkness
The British Empire in India
by Shashi Tharoor 2016 360 pages
4.17
12.2K ratings
History
India
Politics
Shōgun Summary
Shōgun
by James Clavell 1975 1152 pages
4.41
203.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Japan
Historical
Violeta Summary
Violeta
by Isabel Allende 2022 322 pages
4.03
98.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
Making Bombs for Hitler Summary
Making Bombs for Hitler
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 2012 186 pages
4.34
12.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Middle Grade
Young Adult
The Familiar Summary
The Familiar
by Leigh Bardugo 2024 387 pages
3.76
107.6K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Historical
River God Summary
River God
by Wilbur Smith 1993 664 pages
4.22
42.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Egypt
Sapiens and Homo Deus Summary
Sapiens and Homo Deus
The E-book Collection: A Brief History of Humankind and A Brief History of Tomorrow
by Yuval Noah Harari 2017 816 pages
4.41
1.3K ratings
History
Science
Modern
Wuthering Heights Summary
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë 1847 464 pages
3.90
1.9M ratings
Gothic
Historical Fiction
Literature
The Maniac Summary
The Maniac
by Benjamín Labatut 2023 368 pages
4.34
20.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Philosophy
Literary Fiction
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
The Girls of Atomic City Summary
The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
by Denise Kiernan 2013 373 pages
3.72
31.3K ratings
History
Book Club
World War II
Five Little Indians Summary
Five Little Indians
by Michelle Good 2020 304 pages
4.47
43.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Indigenous
Book Club
Black Hawk Down Summary
Black Hawk Down
A Story of Modern War
by Mark Bowden 1999 386 pages
4.30
67.5K ratings
History
Military Fiction
War
The Joy Luck Club Summary
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan 1989 288 pages
3.97
699.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
China
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
The Scarlet Pimpernel Summary
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Emmuska Orczy 1905 182 pages
4.07
139.4K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Adventure
The Eagle of the Ninth Summary
The Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff 1954 294 pages
3.94
11.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Young Adult
The Kite Runner Summary
The Kite Runner
Graphic Novel
by Khaled Hosseini 2011 132 pages
4.45
23.1K ratings
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Comics
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek Summary
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson 2019 309 pages
4.22
248.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
A Thousand Ships Summary
A Thousand Ships
by Natalie Haynes 2019 368 pages
4.06
82.9K ratings
Mythology
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History Summary
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich 2007 320 pages
3.82
1.6K ratings
History
Feminism
Womens
Gone with the Wind Summary
Immersive
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell 1936 1037 pages
4.31
1.3M ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Romance
The Shell Seekers Summary
The Shell Seekers
by Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 544 pages
4.20
116.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Romance
Book Club
A New History of Western Philosophy Summary
A New History of Western Philosophy
by Anthony Kenny 2007 1058 pages
4.22
482 ratings
Philosophy
History
Textbooks
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