The Historical Fiction Books Books of All Time

We took a look at lists on both sides of the pond to make a short list of the best 30 historical fiction novels out there.

If you're anything like us, your favorite way to learn about history is by immersing yourself in a fictional world shaped by factual events. For this list we have specifically chosen works on events or time periods over 30 years before they were written.

We've re-linked them to their goodreads.com page in case you want to learn more. In no particular order, here they are!

Note: All links below go to bookshop.org. Bookshop is an online bookshop whose mission is to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you want to find a specific local bookstore to support, just search for them on the map and they will receive the full profit from your order. Otherwise, your order contributes to a pool of income that is evenly distributed among independent bookstores (even those that don't use Bookshop).

1. All the light we cannot see, Anthony Doerr

The paths of a blind French girl and a German boy collide in occupied France as they both try to survive the devastation of WWII. Marie-Laure has fled Paris with the Museum of Natural History's most precious and dangerous jewel. In the meantime, Werner, an orphan, has built and repaired radios used by the Germans to track down the resistance. Doerr beautifully entwines their stories.

See Also: 10 best science fiction books of all time

2. The Color Purple, Alice Walker

Celia, a young black girl born in poverty and segregation, lies in the deep American South between wars and lives a very hard life. She is repeatedly raped, two of her children are taken from her, she is separated from her sister Nettie and trapped in her gruesome marriage. Then she meets Shug Avery, singer and magician, a woman who takes control of her own destiny.

3. Shogun, James Clavell

An English adventurer, a Japanese warlord and a beautiful woman in between. Shogun is a saga of a time and place set in 17th century Japan, full of conflict, lust, ambition, passion and power.

4. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace is an in-depth study of the consequences of the Napoleonic Wars for five Russian aristocrats and their families. The story moves between scenes and characters, at one glance about a Moscow parlor, and in another about the brutality and chaos of war.

5. Sarah's key, Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah is a 10-year-old girl who lived in Paris in 1942 and locked her brother in a closet when the French police picked up her Jewish family. More than half a century later, in Paris in 2002, journalist Julia Jarmond reports on the 60th anniversary of the raid and comes across Sarah's story. She begins tracking down Sarah's ordeal to find out what happened to her, her family, and her little brother.

6. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

The first in a series, Wolf Hall, describes the life of Tudor statesman Thomas Cromwell. Restless, brilliant and ambitious, Cromwell is central to events in Tudor history such as Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon.

7. I, Claudius, Robert Graves

A fictional autobiography of the fourth Roman emperor, I, Claudiuspresents Claudius' handicaps as a stutterer and how he is shielded from public life at a young age. Graves portrays him as a brave figure.

8. Boleyn's other girl, Philippa Gregory

Mary Boleyn caught the attention of Henry VIII and falls in love, but is put aside by her best friend and sister, Anne. Both girls are pawns in the family's ambitious plot to pique the interest of the king and thus the power of the throne.

9. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Two men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, an infamous but brilliant English lawyer, are in love with Lucie Manette in London. They are drawn to Paris against their will at the height of the reign of terror and La Guillotine.

10. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier The

Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer is an enigmatic 17th-century artist who brings Chevalier to life through the eyes of a young maid, Griet. Vermeer chooses Griet as his model, who is depicted in intimate details next to the prosperous Vermeer household in Delft in 1660.

11. The book, Markus Zusak

thiefA young foster girl Liesel Meminger steals books for her meager existence near Munich during World War II. Her accordion-playing foster father teaches her to read, and she shares her books with neighbors during bombings. Meanwhile, she slowly befriends the Jewish man hidden in their basement.

12. The ThornBirds, Colleen McCullough

Covering three generations from 1915 onwards, The Thorn Birds Depicts a family in Australian sheep country. Meggie Cleary is fond of Ralph de Bricassart, who ascends from pastor to the Vatican, but can never have him. And the Bricassart's passion for Meggie will overshadow him every day of his life.

13. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Buendia family's irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love is portrayed in the guise of magical realism. One Hundred Years of Solitude explores these issues and expresses life in Colombia from the early 1800s to the mid-20th century.

14. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter depicts the demise of three people in 17th-century Massachusetts: the young, beautiful Hester Prynne, who gave birth to an illegitimate child and refuses to reveal the father; her husband, Roger Chillingworth, who returns from the dead and vows revenge; and her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale.

15. The name of the rose, Umberto Eco

In an Italian abbey in 1327 Franciscan monks are suspected of heresy. Brother William of Baskerville is investigating and is suddenly involved in seven bizarre deaths. He researches, gathers evidence and delves into the mysteries of the abbey where 'the most interesting things happen at night.

16. Historian,Elizabeth Kostova

A young woman finds an ancient book and several yellowing letters, all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor." She is plunged into a labyrinth of secrets that go back to an age-long quest to find and erase the source of Vlad the Impaler.

17. Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See

In 19th century China, two girls are combined in a "laotong", an emotional match that develops a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The girls communicate in nu she, an ancient language that Chinese women use in secret, away from men. The story deals with traditional Chinese culture, from foot ties to arranged marriages.

18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer

In 1946, the English writer Juliet Ashton found her next book topic on the island of Guernsey. She decides to visit the island after corresponding with residents about their experiences during the war. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is born as an alibi when German occupiers catch members breaking curfews.

19. Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Alex Haley

Roots is the story of an African man who was enslaved at the age of sixteen in 1767 and the six generations that followed. It includes generations of slaves, free men, peasants, blacksmiths, sawmill workers, lawyers, architects, and more. Roots describes the history of one family making its way out of slavery by the invincibility of the human spirit.

20. The Crucible, Arthur Miller

The Crucible is a classic play set in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts during the witch hunts and trials. A young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, and self-righteous church leaders and townspeople scream for her trial. Relentless prosecutors and eager neighbors illustrate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.

21. Reconciliation, Ian McEwan

In 1934, 13-year-old Briony sees a moment of flirting between her older sister and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant. Not understanding the adult motives behind the flirt, Briony accuses Robbie of a crime that changes their entire lives. During World War II and into the 21st century atonement, the consequences of the crime followed.

22. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet

Tom, a master builder, is set in 12th century feudal England in search of the largest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. Follet brings to life the vast forests, the walled cities, the castles and the monasteries, together with everyday life during the Middle Ages.

23. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier

A soldier embarks on a perilous journey back to his beloved towards the end of the Civil War. Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier, runs away from the ravages of war and returns to his lover, Ada. Ada struggles to revive her family's farm with the help of a young drift, Ruby. Inman and Ada both confront the vastly transformed world in which they now live.

24. The ThreeMusketeers, Alexandre Dumas Set

in France in the 1620s, The Three Musketeers is an epic of chivalry, honor, and courage with a band of romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals. The Three Musketeers has everything from adventure and espionage to murder, revenge and love.

25. City of Women, David R. Gillham

In 1943 the men of Berlin were all fighting and it has become a city of women. While at first glance most women seem like models of German behavior, many are involved in their own hidden war against the Nazis.

26. Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden

Love is despised in Memoirs of a Geisha, where women learn that appearances are everything and a girl's virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder. By diving deep into Japanese culture before and during World War II, women are taught to enter the most powerful men in order to stay alive.

27. The Help, Kathryn Stockett

In the 1960s, white women in Mississippi relied on black women to raise their children but denied them respect and basic human courtesy. However, three women develop an unlikely friendship that crosses the racial divide and gives them the strength they need to change their lives.

28. The English patient, Michael Ondaatje

During World War II, a wounded man in Italy is cared for by Hana, a French-Canadian nurse. The man speaks English, but cannot remember who he is or how he was burned so badly. Hana tries to make him remember his past, and the truth about what they learn changes them forever.

29. Outlander Nurse, Diana Gabaldon,

In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat steps through an old standing stone in the British Isles. She is suddenly sent back in time as a Sassenach (an "outlander") in Scotland during war and border clan raids in the year ... 1743.

30. Gone with theWind, Margaret Mitchell

Set in Georgia during the Civil War, Gone with the Wind follows the fortunes and fate of Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. Scarlett uses all means to work her way out of poverty and back to wealth that she thinks is the epitome of life.

Editor's Choice

Our list wouldn't be complete without adding our top 5 editors' favorite books:

1. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

In the Bible, Dinah is only briefly alluded to as the more famous parts of the book of Genesis have to do with her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. In the voice of Dinah,tells The Red Tent the traditions and conflicts of old femininity.

2. The Headmaster's Wager, Vincent Lam

The ungainly head of Saigon's best English academy deftly negotiates the political dividing lines in 1960s Vietnam. However, when his son gets into trouble, he must stretch his connections to the limit to save him.

3. Homegoing Backspanning, Yaa Gyasi,

An epic, deeply rooted novel300 years and many generations from the thriving slave trade of the Gold Coasts to the jazz clubs of 20th-century Harlem.

4. The Orenda, Joseph Boyden

In this brutal, unshakable novel, we navigate the colliding worlds of a Huron nation warrior, a kidnapped Iroquois girl and a French missionary determined to bring the word of God to a people which he believes is ungodly. .

5 Life After Life, Kate Atkinson

The non-chronological structure of Life After Life is disorienting at first, but ultimately reveals a depth and magic unlike any other book. With interwoven versions of reality, Ursula lives (and dies) through two world wars, but her actions take her through very different life paths. This is a truly unique study of how small decisions can have far-reaching consequences.

Again, another long post, but it wouldn't be an essential reading list if we left one of these books! Let us know in the comments below if we missed your favorite historical fiction book.