44 Best Historical Fiction Books of All Time

Our goal: Gather the most accurate and trustworthy list of Historical Fiction books on the internet.

Our process:
1. Search for "best Historical Fiction books" and click on the top 6 articles.
2. Find every book mentioned in 2+ articles and average their rankings.
3. Deliver them all neatly to you here! 😊

(Updated 2022)

1
i
The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett
Appears in 4 articles
2 recommenders
2
i
The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah
Appears in 3 articles
3
i
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi
Appears in 3 articles
1 recommender
4
i
Beloved
Toni Morrison
Appears in 3 articles
3 recommenders
5
i
The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Appears in 3 articles
2 recommenders
6
i
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
Appears in 3 articles
1 recommender
7
i
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier
Appears in 3 articles
8
i
The Dovekeepers
Alice Hoffman
Appears in 3 articles
1 recommender
9
i
Alias Grace
Margaret Atwood
Appears in 3 articles
10
i
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco
Appears in 3 articles
11
i
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead
Appears in 3 articles
5 recommenders
12
i
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
Appears in 3 articles
2 recommenders
13
i
Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel
Appears in 3 articles
2 recommenders
14
i
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
Appears in 3 articles
4 recommenders
15
i
The Red Tent
Anita Diamant
Appears in 3 articles
16
i
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
Appears in 2 articles
1 recommender
17
i
A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles
Appears in 2 articles
5 recommenders
18
i
The Book of Longings
Sue Monk Kidd
Appears in 2 articles
19
i
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
Appears in 2 articles
2 recommenders
20
i
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Lisa See
Appears in 2 articles
21
i
Alex & Eliza
Melissa de la Cruz
Appears in 2 articles
22
i
The Marriage of Opposites
Alice Hoffman
Appears in 2 articles
23
i
Cold Mountain
Charles Frazier
Appears in 2 articles
24
i
Atonement
Ian McEwan
Appears in 2 articles
25
i
Lavinia
Ursula K. Le Guin
Appears in 2 articles
26
i
The Twentieth Wife
Indu Sundaresan
Appears in 2 articles
27
i
How Much of These Hills Is Gold
C Pam Zhang
Appears in 2 articles
28
i
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders
Appears in 2 articles
1 recommender
29
i
The Buddha in the Attic
Julie Otsuka
Appears in 2 articles
30
i
As Meat Loves Salt
Maria McCann
Appears in 2 articles
31
i
Abundance
Sena Jeter Naslund
Appears in 2 articles
32
i
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
Appears in 2 articles
2 recommenders
33
i
The Twelve Rooms of the Nile
Enid Shomer
Appears in 2 articles
34
i
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
Appears in 2 articles
35
i
My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante
Appears in 2 articles
MOST RECOMMENDED!
36
i
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Appears in 2 articles
8 recommenders
37
i
The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende
Appears in 2 articles
1 recommender
38
i
Fingersmith
Sarah Waters
Appears in 2 articles
39
i
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje
Appears in 2 articles
40
i
March
Geraldine Brooks
Appears in 2 articles
41
i
The Night Watchman
Louise Erdrich
Appears in 2 articles
42
i
The Night Watch
Sarah Waters
Appears in 2 articles
43
i
Human Acts
Han Kang
Appears in 2 articles
44
i
Arthur & George
Julian Barnes
Appears in 2 articles