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Readers' Advisory: Historical Fiction

Guide to finding reading recommendations.

Historical Fantasy

Historical Horror

Historical Romances

Historical Fiction Resources

Historical Novel Society

A literary society devoted to promoting the enjoyment of historical fiction.  Find reviews, discussion forums and more!

Mostly Fiction - Facing History

MostlyFiction.com is an online book review site. Share opinions and discover literary gems and top-notch genre novels.

Historical Novels.info

A guide to historical novels and authors of historical fiction; books organized by setting, with information on literary style and genre.

Historical Family Sagas

New Historical Fiction

Historical Mystery series

The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder).

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Alternate History

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New in Westerns

Historical Saga series

Historical fiction presents a story set in the past, often during a significant time period. In historical fiction, the time period is an important part of the setting and often of the story itself.

Popular Historical Periods

Conflicts between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons or Homo sapiens (our own species) are prominent in many novels set in Europe, while novels set in America feature a wide variety of settings, from the crossing of the Bering Straits during the Ice Age to life in prehistoric Louisiana.

Popular Authors: Jean Auel, Kathleen O'Neal Gear & Michael Gear, Harry Turtledove

Covering ancient civilizations such as Greek, Roman, Egypt, Britain, Ireland, Biblical times, and more.

Popular Novels: The Iliad, The Odyssey

Popular Authors: Kerry Greenwood, Robert HarrisColleen McCullough, Steven Saylor, Juliet Marillier

The Medieval period is subdivided into the Early (c. 476-1000), the High (c. 1001-1300), and the Late (c. 1301–1500) Middle Ages.

Popular Authors: Ken Follett, George R. R. Martin, Alison Weir, J.R.R. Tolkien

Popular Novels: The Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

In the history of Great Britain, Anglo-Saxon England refers to the historical land roughly corresponding to present-day England, as it existed from the 5th to the 11th century, but not including Devon until the 9th century.

Popular Authors: Bernard Cornwell, Angela Elwell Hunt

The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated from France and ruled over England from 1154 to 1485.

The Tudor period is the period between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period which ends with the completion of the reign of Elizabeth I in 1603. Monarchs: Henry VII; Henry VIII; Edward VI; Lady Jane Grey; Mary I; Elizabeth I.

Popular Authors: Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, Sharon Kay Penman

The Stuart period of British history usually refers to the period between 1603 and 1714 and sometimes from 1371 in Scotland. Includes Jacobean era, Caroline era, English Civil War, The Protectorate or Interregnum, & the Restoration.

Popular Authors: Geraldine Brooks, Anne Stuart, Jean Plaidy

The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.  The era was preceded by the Georgian period and succeeded by the Edwardian period.

Popular Novels: Middlemarch, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein

Popular Authors:  Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen

In America, "Civil War" is often used to refer to the American Civil War. In Britain, it usually refers to the English Civil War (one of many). Other civil wars in modern times include the Irish Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Syrian Civil War.

Popular Novels: Gone with the Wind, Red Badge of Courage

Popular Authors: Michael Shaara, Jeff Shaara, Shelby Foote

The global conflict that took place between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918. Also know as the First World War, or the Great War, it was a global war centered in Europe.

Popular Novels: A Farewell to Arms, All Quiet on the Western Front

Popular Authors: Charles Todd

The global conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. World War II is also known as the Second World War.

Popular Novels: The Book Thief, All the Light We Cannot See, Catch-22

Popular Authors: Ken Follett