how to write a historical book

• Join our email list

How to write historical fiction in 10 steps

by Andrew Noakes

This scenario will be familiar to many historical fiction writers! Research never really stops, even when you’ve started writing. It’s easy to feel frustrated during periods when you spend more time researching than writing, but remember it’s all part of the same process.

Step 3: Strive for accuracy and authenticity

When people start thinking about how to write historical fiction, this is one of the areas that often comes to mind first – and for good reason. Historical fiction readers will primarily buy your book for two reasons: 1) because they’re looking for an absorbing, page-turning story, and 2) because they want to be immersed into a historical world that feels true to the period you’re writing about.

Your readers will expect you to accurately depict the details of every-day life as well as the wider political backdrop of your period. Readers will also have expectations when it comes to the treatment of historical events and real figures of history. Most will tolerate a little creative license as long as you justify it in your historical note, but filling your novel with numerous egregious falsehoods about easily verifiable facts is likely to get you into trouble.

You’ll also need to consider how people spoke and the common social conventions of your period. There’s little worse in a historical novel than a character speaking in modern slang or acting as if they’re in the 21st century.

For detailed guidance on how to achieve accuracy and authenticity in all of these areas and more, download our full guide on accuracy and authenticity in historical fiction.

Accuracy and authenticity in historical fiction

You won’t finish your first historical fiction book overnight. There will be plenty of hurdles along the way. Stick with it!

Step 9: Revise your first draft

You shouldn’t aim for perfection with your first draft. It’s an opportunity to get your ideas down on paper, primarily for your own benefit rather than anyone else’s. Some of it will probably be quite good, but some of it won’t be – and that’s fine. Once it’s finished, it’s time for your first round of revisions.

Ideally, take six weeks off from your manuscript after the first draft is finished. That way, you can start the revision process with fresh eyes. We recommend reading the whole thing through without any editing the first time; just make notes as you go along, recording what works and what doesn’t. When you’re done, review your notes and put together a short editing plan.

The next step is to go through each chapter making the necessary corrections, additions, and deletions. You’ll probably find that changes you make in one place have knock-on effects elsewhere. If so, note down the effects and pinpoint where you need to compensate for them.

Sometimes, all that’s needed is some tweaking. Other times, you might need to start entire sections of your novel from scratch. Either way, when you’re finished you should have a complete second draft. You might want to do an additional round of revisions at this point, or you might be ready to send it to an editor.

Step 10: Hire an editor

Once your manuscript is in reasonable shape, it’s essential to get a professional manuscript assessment. By the time you’ve reached this stage, you’ll know your manuscript inside out, but that proximity might prevent you from spotting errors that would be obvious to someone reading it for the first time. This is where a professional editor comes in.

But editors are more than just a fresh pair of eyes. They’re experts in story-craft, and they’ll help you take your manuscript to the next level by tackling its weaknesses and building on its strengths. They’ll help you turn your story into the best possible version of itself before you submit to agents or self-publish it.

So, those are the essential 10 steps explaining how to write historical fiction! If you ever feel like you’re getting stuck, come back to this guide and get yourself oriented. Remember, writing historical fiction is no easy feat, and it pays to take it one step at a time.

If you want to learn more about how to write historical fiction, check out our guide,  Top tips on writing historical fiction from 64 successful historical novelists , here .

Do you write historical fiction?

Join our email list for regular writing tips, resources, and promotions.

Writing guides

Top tips on writing historical fiction from 64 successful historical novelists

10 essential research tips for historical fiction writers

Beta reader service

Get feedback on your novel from real historical fiction readers.

ARC service

Use our ARC service to help generate reviews for your book.

Top resources

Guide to accuracy and authenticity in historical fiction

Novel outline template for historical fiction writers

60 historical fiction writing prompts

How to write a query letter

Featured blog posts

30 top historical fiction literary agents

How to write flashbacks

When (and how) to use documents in historical fiction

6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction

Today’s post is by Andrew Noakes ( @andrew_noakes ), executive editor of The History Quill .

Let’s face it: historical fiction can be a daunting genre to write in. Endlessly fascinating and rewarding, yes. But still daunting.

If you’re diving into this genre for the first time and feeling a little overwhelmed, or if you’re already a historical fiction writer and looking for some guidance to help restore your sanity, then help is on the way. I’ve put together six concrete tips for historical fiction writers—the dos and don’ts of writing historical fiction.

1. Establish your own set of rules for when to bend history for the sake of the story—and stick to them.

There are as many opinions on how accurate historical fiction should be as there are historical fiction authors, and they vary widely between those who consider accuracy an optional bonus and those who can be, well, a little bit pedantic. Historical fiction writers tend to get anxious about the possibility of censure if they bend the historical record a little, which is both understandable and healthy, but ultimately you have to tell a good story, and you can’t please everyone.

Rather than worrying about never, ever deviating from history, I advise establishing your own set of rules for when to bend history or not. That way, you’ll be able to make fair and consistent decisions and achieve the kind of balance most readers are looking for. Here are some tips that might help:

• There is a difference between altering verifiable facts and filling in the gaps. History is full of mysteries, unanswered questions, and gaps in the record. If what really happened can’t be verified, you have much more freedom to play around with history.
• History is open to interpretation. As long as you can back up your interpretation through your research, it’s fine to contradict conventional wisdom.
• Plausibility matters. If you want to bend the historical record, your changes should be plausible. For example, if you want a historical figure to arrive somewhere a few days earlier than they really did, they shouldn’t have been, say, imprisoned or incapacitated at the time.
• If a historical figure isn’t well known and not a lot has been written about them, you have more room for maneuver than you do if their life has been exhaustively documented. But, if you’re going to make something up, make sure it’s consistent with what you otherwise know about the character, including how they behaved, their interests, and what their values were.

If you’re looking for more tips on historical accuracy, do check out The History Quill’s free, official guide to accuracy and authenticity in historical fiction.

2. Do plenty of research—but know what to include and what not to include in your novel.

Research is one of the very first steps on your journey to becoming a historical fiction author. Here’s a safety warning: you’re about to dive down a whole load of research rabbit holes. From ancient cutlery to medieval agricultural techniques, there is a lot of stuff historical fiction writers need to know about. Secondary sources are your starting point, but primary sources, particularly letters, newspaper reports, and diaries are also vital.

Don’t be afraid to push the boat out and visit some archives, and, for that matter, do go and visit historical sites relevant to your story if you can. If you want to get really immersed, you can read the fiction of your period, cook the food, or even try and find authentic recreations (or possibly recordings, depending on the era) of the music.

Here’s the thing, though: you’re going to do all of this research, and then you need to discard 95 percent of it. Don’t actually delete your notes, obviously. What I mean is, only a very small fraction of your research should actually make it into your book. The sum total of your research will make the world you create feel real and authentic, and you need to deploy little details carefully and selectively to immerse the reader, but don’t be tempted to show off and dump everything you’ve learned onto the page. Otherwise you’ll end up with a dry tome of a history book, not an engaging historical novel.

3. Include characters who break the conventions and norms of their period—but don’t forget to include context.

History is replete with exceptions—people who ignored or rejected social conventions , overcame entrenched political and economic barriers , or challenged the prevailing wisdom of their time . One could argue it would be inaccurate not to include people like this in your historical novel. If every single one of your characters perfectly encapsulates the prevailing culture of their time, then you lose the change, difference, and non-conformity that have always been just as much a part of history.

Most of the trouble with depicting non-conformist characters comes when their non-conformity is represented as normal rather than exceptional. To persuade the reader that your anomalies are authentic, you must provide context. That means showing the obstacles, conflict, and ostracization your characters face. By doing this, you’re implicitly recognizing that they are unusual for their time, while persuading the reader they are nonetheless as real as any other part of the story.

4. Don’t write like you’re in the 14th century.

One of the ironies of writing historical fiction is that, in many cases, your dialogue should actually not be historically accurate. If you’re wondering why I would say such a profane thing, this is the reason:

Aleyn spak first, “Al hayl, Symond, y-fayth; How fares thy faire doghter and thy wyf?” “Aleyn! welcome,” quod Symond, “by my lyf, And John also, how now, what do ye heer?”

These lines are from The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, written in the late 14 th century, and I often use them to remind people just how different the language was back then. If you have your characters speaking to each other like this, most readers will put your book down in five seconds flat.

At the same time, historical fiction readers often really hate it when modern-day language creeps into historical fiction, which leaves us caught between a rock and a hard place.

The answer to this conundrum lies in a literary sleight of hand. We must create the impression of accuracy while ensuring the language remains readable and enjoyable. To do this, writers have to avoid modern colloquialisms and keep most of the language neutral, using words that, in some form or another, feel equally at home in history as they do in the modern day. Then you must add some more archaic words and constructions into the mix—not so much as to overwhelm the reader, but just enough that the story feels of a different time. The type of archaic language you select is important here—they have to be words and phrases that are still recognizable, even if they are no longer commonly used. This is an intricate task, but it can also be a fun and rewarding one once you get into the rhythm.

Historical language obviously becomes less alien the closer you get to the modern day, but even 19 th century language was sufficiently different that it must be tempered for a modern reader to some degree.

5. Integrate the history seamlessly into the story.

In A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens portrays a French aristocrat in his carriage running over a child on the street, before tossing a coin to the devastated father and driving off. The scene perfectly encapsulates the sentiments and forces that generated the French Revolution.

When it comes to striking a balance between history and story, this scene shows us the way. The cold indifference of the aristocratic class, the inequality not only in wealth but in the application of justice, and the debasement of the common person’s humanity all live and breathe in these lines. And yet the scene does not impassively summarise the causes of the French Revolution. Instead, the history is integrated into the story, and Dickens dishes out a history lesson without us even realizing it.

Dedicating large chunks of your story to outlining historical context through exposition or focusing on historical details purely for their own sake will quickly test your reader’s patience. Instead, follow Dickens’ lead and think about how you can illustrate history rather than exhaustively describing it, and try and integrate the smaller details organically. That means not sending your character off to a banquet purely so you can show off all the historical cuisine you researched or into an armory just so you can list all the weapons. Details like this have to fit naturally around the plot, not the other way around.

6. Don’t insist on accuracy if it will cause disbelief (but here’s a workaround if you really must).

A paradox of writing historical fiction is that sometimes accuracy must be sacrificed for the sake of authenticity. When you come across something that really happened in history but is just too ludicrous for the modern day reader to believe, often it’s better to leave it out. Like it or not, the impression of accuracy matters more than actual accuracy if you want to tell a story that will be well received.

If there’s some facet of history that you simply must include in your story but you’re concerned the reader won’t believe you, there is one way to gently disarm them: introduce their scepticism into the story. Depict at least one character finding it just as unbelievable as you think the reader might, and then depict another character putting them right. This is a subliminal nudge to the reader acknowledging their scepticism and reassuring them that, yes, this really was a thing. In a pinch, this can work.

So, those are my dos and don’ts of writing historical fiction. If you’re thinking about giving the genre a try or you’ve already started and feel like you’re out of your depth, I hope this guidance will help you move forward with confidence. No one with any sense ever said writing is easy, and historical fiction can be a trickier genre to master than some, but it’s worth every bit of perseverance.

Andrew Noakes is the founder and executive editor of The History Quill , which aims to provide support to historical fiction writers at every stage of the writing process, including through editing, coaching, and book promotion via their book club . A graduate of Cambridge University, where he studied history, he spent nearly a decade working in the world of politics and international affairs before happily giving it up to pursue his real passion: historical fiction.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Andrew, This is really helpful. As an established nonfiction author working on my first historical fiction, I find myself grappling with each of the six things you mention. Your suggestions make me feel like I am doing things right. However, number 6 is hard in my case, because I am dealing with bringing to light precisely those things that the modern reader finds hard to believe about peasant life in Western Europe during the 11th-13th centuries, such as the common ban on milling flour and baking bread.

I chose to deal with this by interjecting my voice as narrator occasionally throughout the text, when things are confusing. In this sense, the book is an extended storytelling conversation between me and the reader. I wasn’t sure how this would be received, but 12 beta readers have almost unanimously loved it. I’m not sure how common this kind of narrative voice is.

Hi Samuel! That sounds fantastic. The most important thing is that your beta readers are happy. If they’re a good sample of your eventual target audience, that means you’re doing well. It’s common for an omniscient narrator to have their own distinctive voice and to pass comment on the events of the story. Less so for a third person limited narrator. I assume you’re not writing in first person as that would make it difficult to introduce a different narrative voice.

All of these are really good tips, speaking as an unrepentant historical novelist, specialising in the Elizabethan era (10th book of a series under the pen name P F Chisholm coming out next year). My recommendation would be to do plenty of general research and then write the first draft of the book. There will be large lumps where you simply don’t know enough and have to make it up – so you research those bits specifically, standing ready to rewrite the whole thing if necessary. And please, please, please make sure that your characters don’t commit the infuriating crime of psychological anachronism.

Excellent article. I am currently working on my fourth novel, third historical. Thanks.

[…] Andrew Noakes: 6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction […]

Gratefuly to Fussy Librarian for sharing your post. I find myself agreeing with you point by point, especially about language. (Hurries off to subscribe to the Quill and the club.)

Great advice as usual, Andrew! The bit about doing all that lovely research and then discarding 95% of it is painfully close to home! 🙂 Thanks for sharing such in-depth insight. Sometimes it’s handy to read these things to remind us we’re on track.

This is excellent: thank you.

In my Western novel’s front matter I included a page noting that many events in the story are hysterically accurate (as far as possible), though relocated a few years in time.

Thank you, particularly the comments on archaic language and constructions. I often wrestle with the use of 18th century idioms.

Great guidelines! As a stickler for historical accuracy (yes, I’m one of those pedants–but I try to do it gently), I appreciate the support for facts … and the elegant ways in which to justify bending them. I like the gaps in history and the odd (to us) ways of believing. So many veins to mine–after doing thorough research, of course.

[…] Noakes enumerates 6 guidelines for writing historical fiction, and David James Poissant ponders how to write a timely novel in a world that won’t stop […]

• AHA Communities
• Buy AHA Merchandise
• Cookies and Privacy Policy

In This Section

• Reflective Essay
• For Teachers
• For Students
• Narrative Overviews
• Contrast and Comparison Exercises
• Image Exercises
• Florentine Codex
• Letters from Hernan Cortes
• Historia Verdadera

Writing History: An Introductory Guide to How History Is Produced

What is history.

Most people believe that history is a "collection of facts about the past." This is reinforced through the use of textbooks used in teaching history. They are written as though they are collections of information. In fact, history is NOT a "collection of facts about the past." History consists of making arguments about what happened in the past on the basis of what people recorded (in written documents, cultural artifacts, or oral traditions) at the time. Historians often disagree over what "the facts" are as well as over how they should be interpreted. The problem is complicated for major events that produce "winners" and "losers," since we are more likely to have sources written by the "winners," designed to show why they were heroic in their victories.

History in Your Textbook

Many textbooks acknowledge this in lots of places. For example, in one book, the authors write, "The stories of the conquests of Mexico and Peru are epic tales told by the victors. Glorified by the chronicles of their companions, the conquistadors, or conquerors, especially Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), emerged as heroes larger than life." The authors then continue to describe Cortés ’s actions that ultimately led to the capture of Cuauhtómoc, who ruled the Mexicas after Moctezuma died. From the authors’ perspective, there is no question that Moctezuma died when he was hit by a rock thrown by one of his own subjects. When you read accounts of the incident, however, the situation was so unstable, that it is not clear how Moctezuma died. Note: there is little analysis in this passage. The authors are simply telling the story based upon Spanish versions of what happened. There is no interpretation. There is no explanation of why the Mexicas lost.   Many individuals believe that history is about telling stories, but most historians also want answers to questions like why did the Mexicas lose?

What Are Primary Sources?

To answer these questions, historians turn to primary sources, sources that were written at the time of the event, in this case written from 1519-1521 in Mexico. These would be firsthand accounts. Unfortunately, in the case of the conquest of Mexico, there is only one genuine primary source written from 1519-1521. This primary source consists of the letters Cortés wrote and sent to Spain. Other sources are conventionally used as primary sources, although they were written long after the conquest. One example consists of the account written by Cortés ’s companion, Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Other accounts consist of Mexica and other Nahua stories and traditions about the conquest of Mexico from their point of view.

Making Arguments in the Textbook

Historians then use these sources to make arguments, which could possibly be refuted by different interpretations of the same evidence or the discovery of new sources.  For example, the Bentley and Ziegler textbook make several arguments on page 597 about why the Spaniards won:

"Steel swords, muskets, cannons, and horses offered Cortés and his men some advantage over the forces they met and help to account for the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire".

"Quite apart from military technology, Cortés' expedition benefited from divisions among the indigenous peoples of Mexico."

"With the aid of Doña Marina, the conquistadors forged alliances with peoples who resented domination by the Mexicas, the leaders of the Aztec empire...."

Ideally, under each of these "thesis statements," that is, each of these arguments about why the Mexicas were defeated, the authors will give some examples of information that backs up their "thesis." To write effective history and history essays, in fact to write successfully in any area, you should begin your essay with the "thesis" or argument you want to prove with concrete examples that support your thesis.  Since the Bentley and Ziegler book does not provide any evidence to back up their main arguments, you can easily use the material available here to provide evidence to support your claim that any one of the above arguments is better than the others.  You could also use the evidence to introduce other possibilities:  Mocteuzuma's poor leadership, Cortés' craftiness, or disease.

Become a Critical Reader

To become a critical reader, to empower yourself to "own your own history," you should think carefully about whether the evidence the authors provide does in fact support their theses.  Since the Bentley and Ziegler book provides only conclusions and not much evidence to back up their main points, you may want to explore your class notes on the topic and then examine the primary sources included on the Conquest of Mexico on this web site.

Your Assignment for Writing History with Primary Sources

There are several ways to make this a successful assignment. First, you might take any of the theses presented in the book and use information from primary sources to disprove it—the "trash the book" approach. Or, if your professor has said something in class that you are not sure about, find material to disprove it—the "trash the prof" approach (and, yes, it is really okay if you have the evidence ). Another approach is to include new information that the authors ignored . For example, the authors say nothing about omens. If one analyzes omens in the conquest, will it change the theses or interpretations presented in the textbook? Or, can one really present a Spanish or Mexica perspective?  Another approach is to make your own thesis, i.e., one of the biggest reasons for the conquest was that Moctezuma fundamentally misunderstood Cortés.

When Sources Disagree

If you do work with the Mexican materials, you will encounter the harsh reality of historical research: the sources do not always agree on what happened in a given event. It is up to you, then, to decide who to believe. Most historians would probably believe Cortés’ letters were the most likely to be accurate, but is this statement justified? Cortés was in the heat of battle and while it looked like he might win easy victory in 1519, he did not complete his mission until 1521.  The Cuban Governor, Diego Velázquez wanted his men to capture Cortés and bring him back to Cuba on charges of insubordination.  Was he painting an unusually rosy picture of his situation so that the Spanish King would continue to support him? It is up to you to decide. Have the courage to own your own history! Díaz Del Castillo wrote his account later in his life, when the Spaniards were being attacked for the harsh policies they implemented in Mexico after the conquest.  He also was upset that Cortés' personal secretary published a book that made it appear that only Cortés was responsible for the conquest. There is no question that the idea of the heroic nature of the Spanish actions is clearest in his account. But does this mean he was wrong about what he said happened and why? It is up to you to decide. The Mexica accounts are the most complex since they were originally oral histories told in Nahuatl that were then written down in a newly rendered alphabetic Nahuatl. They include additional Mexica illustrations of their version of what happened, for painting was a traditional way in which the Mexicas wrote history. Think about what the pictures tell us. In fact, a good paper might support a thesis that uses a picture as evidence. Again, how reliable is this material? It is up to you to decide.

One way to think about the primary sources is to ask the questions: (1) when was the source written, (2) who is the intended audience of the source, (3) what are the similarities between the accounts, (4) what are the differences between the accounts, (5) what pieces of information in the accounts will support your thesis, and (6) what information in the sources are totally irrelevant to the thesis or argument you want to make.

How to Write a History Book Review

Writing a book review is one of the fundamental skills that every historian must learn. An undergraduate student’s book review should accomplish two main goals:

• Lay out an author’s argument, and
• Most importantly, critique the historical argument.

It is important to remember that a book review is not a book report. You need to do more than simply lay out the contents or plot-line of a book. You may briefly summarize the historical narrative or contents but must focus your review on the historical argument being made and how effectively the author has supported this argument with historical evidence. If you can, you may also fit that argument into the wider historiography about the subject.

The 'How to ... ' of Historical Book Reviews Writing a book review may seem very difficult, but in fact there are some simple rules you can follow to make the process much easier.

Before you read, find out about the author’s prior work What academic discipline was the author trained in? What other books, articles, or conference papers has s/he written? How does this book relate to or follow from the previous work of the author? Has the author or this book won any awards? This information helps you understand the author’s argument and critique the book.

As you read, write notes for each of the following topics.

• Write a few sentences about the author’s approach or genre of history. Is the focus on gender? Class? Race? Politics? Culture? Labor? Law? Something else? A combination? If you can identify the type of history the historian has written, it will be easier to determine the historical argument the author is making.
• Summarize the author’s subject and argument. In a few sentences, describe the time period, major events, geographical scope and group or groups of people who are being investigated in the book. Why has the author chosen the starting and ending dates of the book’s narrative? Next, discover the major thesis or theses of the book, the argument(s) that the author makes and attempts to support with evidence. These are usually, but not always, presented in a book’s introduction. It might help to look for the major question that the author is attempting to answer and then try to write his or her answer to that question in a sentence or two. Sometimes there is a broad argument supported by a series of supporting arguments. It is not always easy to discern the main argument but this is the most important part of your book review.
• What is the structure of the book? Are the chapters organized chronologically, thematically, by group of historical actors, from general to specific, or in some other way? How does the structure of the work enhance or detract from the argument?
• Look closely at the kinds of evidence the author has used to prove the argument. Is the argument based on data, narrative, or both? Are narrative anecdotes the basis of the argument or do they supplement other evidence? Are there other kinds of evidence that the author should have included? Is the evidence convincing? If so, find a particularly supportive example and explain how it supports the author’s thesis. If not, give an example and explain what part of the argument is not supported by evidence. You may find that some evidence works, while some does not. Explain both sides, give examples, and let your readers know what you think overall.
• Closely related to the kinds of evidence are the kinds of sources the author uses. What different kinds of primary sources are used? What type of source is most important in the argument? Do these sources allow the author to adequately explore the subject? Are there important issues that the author cannot address based on these sources? How about the secondary sources? Are there one or more secondary books that the author seems to lean heavily on in support of the argument? Are there works that the author disagrees with in the text? This will tell the reader how the work fits into the historiography of the subject and whether it is presenting a major new interpretation.
• Is the argument convincing as a whole? Is there a particular place where it breaks down? Why? Is there a particular element that works best? Why? Would you recommend this book to others, and if so, for whom is it appropriate? General readers? Undergraduates? Graduates and specialists in this historical subject? Why? Would you put any qualifications on that recommendation?

After having written up your analyses of each of these topics, you are ready to compose your review. There is no one way to format a book review but here is a common format that can be varied according to what you think needs to be highlighted and what length is required.

• Introduce the author, the historical period and topic of the book. Tell the reader what genre of history this work belongs to or what approach the author has used. Set out the main argument.
• Summarize the book’s organization and give a little more detail about the author’s sub-arguments. Here you would also work in your assessment of the evidence and sources used.
• Strengths and weaknesses or flaws in the book are usually discussed next. It is up to you to decide in what order these should come, but if you assess the book positively overall, do not spend inordinate space on the book’s faults and vice versa.
• In the conclusion, you may state your recommendations for readership unless that has been covered in your discussion of the book’s strengths and weaknesses. You might review how convincing the argument was, say something about the importance or uniqueness of the argument and topic, or describe how the author adds to our understanding of a particular historical question.

• Editorial Services
• How It Works
• Literary Agent Alert

A Guide to Writing Historical Fiction

Historical fiction isn't for the weak.

The frail, the vulnerable, and those not willing to roll up their sleeves need not apply.

But, if you're up for a literary challenge and have a love of history, this genre may be the right option for you. Set at least 50 years in the past, historical fiction requires you to transport readers to another time and place— somewhere that they may not be familiar with firsthand. If you take on this challenge, you must be willing to balance historical accuracy with entertainment. This is definitely not easy to do.

If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with an encyclopedia entry and no heart, or a cast of characters that are out of sync with their historical setting.

Here’s how to write a historical fiction story without losing your mind.

Start By Reading

Before you start your first draft, before you outline, and before you even think too closely about the story you’re going to write— read. Read books in the historical fiction genre. These books will help you get a feel for what your readers expect when they open your book.

Sure, you’ve probably read historical fiction before. But have you read it from an author’s perspective? In other words, instead of getting immersed in the story as a reader, try to look at it from a critical eye. Question why the author chose those specific scenes, characters, and motivations. Take specific note of if, how, and when the author introduces dialogue. Also, pay attention to the descriptions of setting and how the characters interact naturally in their environment. This will help you as you start planning your own novel.

Here are 25 historical fiction novels to consider reading before you write your own. Subscribe to receive this extra resource.

Download your bonus content:

FOCUS ON THE STORY

As an author, you may be in love with a specific time and place. However, don’t let the time period overshadow the story.

While time and place can serve as your muse, don’t forget to focus on the characters who create the story. Your characters are at the heart of your story, and it’s through your characters that your readers will experience the time and place in your novel.

Also, remember that historical fiction doesn’t always involve a real person. You can create characters that are period appropriate and also fabricated from your imagination. More important than being true to a factual historical figure is being true to the time and place.

CHOOSE A SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD

When choosing a time period for your historical fiction novel, get specific. Resist the urge to set your novel in “the 20th century.” Think about it. What exactly does that mean? For example, if you contrast the 1950s to the 1990s (which is only 40 years apart and in the same century), you have two different customs and cultures. If your time period is too broad, you can muddle your story unintentionally.

Instead, choose a decade instead of a century. This allows you to focus in on a smaller section of time for the most accurate details.

CHOOSE A SPECIFIC PLACE

In addition to narrowing your time period, you need to also zoom in to a specific place.

Here’s an exercise. What do you think when you picture “America”?

Now, what do you think when you picture “Montana”?

America is culturally diverse, bringing together multiple ways of life, traditions, and social norms. You may see a quick-moving slideshow of multiple images from New York to L.A., and random places in between.

But narrowing the setting to Montana calls a very specific culture and place to mind. Perhaps, you think rugged, wild, cowboys, big country, and bears. You know, the stuff of Ford trucks and Marlboro ads. But when you think of a setting as vast as “America,” you probably don’t think of bears first.

This is exactly why it’s important for you to choose a specific place for your historical fiction novel. Otherwise, your mind will be racing with setting descriptions and ideas that may not describe what your character would realistically see out their window.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Research is important for every novel, but it’s an essential step for a historical fiction novel. You simply cannot write a historical fiction novel without researching first.

Here’s why: Historical accuracy is a big reason why readers are drawn to this genre. Your readers want to be transported into a very specific time and place. And believe you me, they’ll call you on it if you get details wrong.

Research everything from names to dress to language to socially acceptable behavior. One of my favorite tips is to read novels and other books written during the same time period that your story takes place. This will help you get a feel for the common language, thought, and social graces.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE SMALL DETAILS

The devil is in the details. As I mentioned above, your readers want to get lost in the time period. If your details are off, you’ll lose them.

You can use small details to accurately capture the mood of the time period. Something as small as the type of hat a man wears or the way they say goodnight can add authenticity and richness to your story. This is why research is so vital.

WEAVE REAL EVENTS INTO THE PLOT

Whether your story is entirely fictional or not, you need to weave real events into your plot. They anchor your story and turn it into historical fiction, and not just fantasy or literary fiction. A historical fiction story needs to take place in an accurate historical setting.

When researching for your novel, find milestone events that would naturally affect and shape the characters in your story. Even if your story takes place in 1950, your characters would still be affected by World War II which occurred five years earlier. It’s your job to acknowledge (and research) those landmark events that would be fresh in your characters’ minds.

VISIT THE LOCATION

When researching your historical fiction novel, take a trip to the location of the events. I know this isn’t always possible, but if you can travel, do.

Visiting the setting of your novel can give you a sense of space. Even if the area is now modernized, you may still be able to see glimpses of the past, especially if your novel is set in the recent past.

However, if traveling to a distant locale isn’t in the budget, consider visiting a museum. Most museums, especially those in bigger cities, have an extensive collection of historical pieces from near and far, such as dresses, furniture, letters, and, of course, art.

And if you don’t have access to the right museum for your needs, take the hunt online.

DON'T INSERT YOUR 21ST CENTURY SENSIBILITIES

Be careful not to write contemporary characters and thoughts into a historical novel. It’s so easy to transfer your mindset and cultural attitudes to the characters in your story. But, your characters don’t know anything about the Internet or Popeye’s chicken. They may not even know what germs are. Perhaps, they’re still grappling with ideas like a woman’s right to vote.

They certainly don’t see things in the same way that you do, even the most basic of things, such as romantic love or self-identity in one’s society. Take this as an opportunity to contrast your character’s culture against our current culture. Find the universal, human truths that remain relevant across all time periods.

Final Thoughts

Writing a historical fiction novel will require research and a shift in thinking. You can’t simply write a contemporary character into a historical setting and call it a historical fiction novel. You need to craft characters, settings, and details that are authentic to the period.

Before you go, check out these related posts:

• Do This Before Writing Your Next Novel
• 100 Tips to Help You Become a Better Author
• How to Find the Inspiration and Motivation to Write Your Next Book

Enter your email for your FREE 7-Day Bootcamp and learn:

• 5 Unconventional Techniques to help you finish your Draft
• The Key to Getting Readers to Care About Your Characters
• How to Master Dialogue, even if you’re a First-Time Writer
• What You Need to Know to Hold Your Reader’s Interest

We've sent you an e-mail, thanks for subscribing!

• Good Writing
• Revising & Rewriting
• Nonfiction Writing
• Academic Writing
• Travel Writing
• Literary Agents
• Getting Published
• Fiction Writing
• Self-Publishing
• Marketing & Selling Books
• Building a Blog
• Making Money Blogging
• Boosting Blog Traffic
• Online Writing
• eZine Writing
• Making Money Online
• Non-Fiction Writing
• Magazine Writing
• Pitching Query Letters
• Working With Editors
• Professional Writers
• Newspaper Writing
• Making Money Writing
• Running a Writing Business

How to Write Historical Fiction – A Book Set in the Past

• by Deanna Proach
• April 28, 2024
• 18 Comments

The hardest part of writing historical fiction is authenticity. These tips on how to write a book set in the past will help you write a historical novel that readers (and editors!)  love .

Before the tips, a quip:

“It’s not a documentary. It’s a historical fiction. But we have attempted to make the world, the background, the detail of that world as authentic as possible.” ~ Jonathan Stamp.

As Stamp indicated, authenticity is important – even crucial – in historical fiction. If you’re writing a historical novel set in medieval France, you won’t know exactly what life was like back then – but you still need to make your story’s setting and events as realistic and accurate as possible.

To learn more about writing historical fiction, read  The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction: Researching and Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom.

And consider these seven tips before you start writing…

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction – Books Set in the Past

You want to write a novel, but not just any novel. Say, for instance, you want to write a book set in medieval France. Perhaps this is your first historical novel, or the first time you’re writing a book, and you don’t know much about France in that historical time frame.

Where do you begin? With your characters, of course!

Create Your Characters

You won’t have a novel idea if you don’t have people, fictional or non-fictional, to play a role in the book. Before you put the pen to paper, you should know who your main character is and what he or she plans to accomplish in the story. If your main character is a person who lived in the past, you will need to know about that person’s status, lifestyle and personality. Historical fiction allows room to “play” (because it’s fiction), but it still needs to contain the ring of truth.

Research the Era Your Book is Set in

Once you have a strong idea of who your main characters are, you can better clearly define the setting of your historical novel. Here are several questions that will guide you as you write this book: What year will the story take place? Will it span over a number of years, or will it be confined to one year or to one season? Where will your story take place? This is where you must do your historical research. You can borrow books from your local library, purchase them online, or read articles about writing historical fiction online. Once you know the setting well, you will be able to create mental images of the physical landscape and of the buildings that inhabit it. These mental images will help you write historical fiction in a believable way.

Learn About Fashion in That Pocket of History

The next step is to research the style of clothing people wore in the time period of your book’s setting. Learn the names of clothes and the fabrics people used in that time frame to make clothing. If you want to write a book set in the past, you need to learn the details because that’s where authenticity is found.

Study the Architecture (an important part of writing historical fiction)

From the greatest cathedrals to the smallest country cottage, architecture plays a significant role in writing historical fiction. Why? Because it reflects the ideals of the people of that given historical period and it is what defines a civilization. For example, Gothic architecture in western Europe flourished from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Such cathedrals boasted pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses. Medieval architects built these structures with the intention to glorify God.

Before writing your historical novel, it is important to learn the names of every structural feature and the raw materials from which these structures were made from.

Learn Warfare (even if you’re not writing a book about war)

Warfare dominates history. There was not one century that was warless. If you are the kind of writer that wants to include fighting in your historical novel, then it is important you study the art and nature of warfare in the chosen setting of your book. You will also need to know the various weapons soldiers used to fight with and the armor they wore. Again, to write a believable book set in the past, you need to learn the details.

Research the Socioeconomic Status of the Era

Unlike today, the socioeconomic status of an individual was very important. Status defined a person’s lifestyle and how he or she dressed. There was no fluidity, no moving upwards. If you were born a peasant, you were a peasant for life. It is important for you to know, before writing your historical novel , the socioeconomic status of your characters.

Write Dialogue That Represents the Past

You have completed the hardest part of your outline — your research. You know much about medieval France. Your characters are well developed and now it is time for their book to be written. They will need to interact with each other (most great historical fiction contains character interaction!).

This is where writers can take liberty when writing historical fiction. Realistically, the people in medieval France spoke French – possibly a very old, formal version of the French language. But, there is no way you will have them converse in French in your story unless you are fluent in French. In your novel, they will be speaking English. Although this aspect is not technically accurate as far as a book set in the past goes, it is necessary to engage readers in a meaningful way. Yet, you must be mindful of the historical timeframe in which your characters exist. They would speak formal English and not the twenty-first slang that has crept into modern-day English.

Accuracy is king in historical fiction. That is what makes writing a historical novel more difficult to write than other genres of fiction. That said, if you do your research thoroughly and effectively, you will be able to write an excellent historical fiction book – and get it published.

For more tips on how to write a book, read  Story Writing Help – 6 Ways to Write Better Fiction .

What do you think of these tips for writing historical fiction? Comments welcome below!

Deanna Proach is a novelist. Her first historical suspense book, ‘Day of Revenge’ was released by Inkwater Press. She currently resides in Sechelt, British Columbia where she is writing her second book, ‘To be Maria’.

Deanna also wrote  Promoting a Book – Should You Hire a Book Promotion Company? , here on Quips & Tips for Successful Writers.

She Blossoms Newsletter

Comments cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

18 thoughts on “How to Write Historical Fiction – A Book Set in the Past”

You made a good point that war is almost always a contributing factor to historical fiction even if the subjects doesn’t directly involve wars. My son has been quite a fan of cartoons and other shows that involve pirates when he was growing up. Now that he is planning to take up a degree in history for college, I think it would be apt for my to buy him a historical novel abut real pirates as a gift before he moves out of the house to live closer to the university.

this is very helpful. I am very much compelled to start my writing. thank you very much.

Maurice–to make your HF story authentic I would create fictional characters in a realistic historical setting. Description is the best way to describe the physical setting–ie, the architecture of buildings. If your characters are based on real people who lived in the time that you are writing about, I would do a seperate scene or two that is backstory, and I would strive to make that backstory as true to their life as you possibly can. This is where research comes in handy. That said, make the backstory descriptive and engaging like you would in any other novel. While you want to stay to the facts, you don’t want your writing to be entirely bogged down by facts. I would suggest you read a couple of historical fiction novels set in the era you are writing about just to get an idea of what those authors have done to make their books so engaging and successful. Good luck!

first i want to thank you for giving the opportunity to have a feedback to questions.i is not easy to get since i don’t know any writer . i am writing my first book, after a first short story published on a website called ” The story break “. my question is: i am writing historical fiction based on true facts.is it possible to write this book , when i fell that, in order to make it more authentic,i should add , from time to time , historic facts about persons or anything else for that matter ,which look like paragraphs from a history book, but are essentials to the understanding of the book? thank you for your time, and all the best. maurice

This article was really helpful! I’m writing a novel that will have a subplot set in the past, and I’ve been struggling with how to make it believable, especially the dialogue. I’ve been looking for a recommendation for a book on how to write historical fiction, and lo and behold, you’ve included a recommendation. Thanks!

Cheri–Wow, the Byzantine Empire. What a fascinating time. Sounds like it will be a very interesting read. For info on this time frame, try http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php?op=viewlink&cid=9 . You might find some very relevant information.

Missy–yes, I love reading Historical fiction. In my teenage years I was obsessed with the French Revolution. That’s what resulted in my first novel, ‘Day of Revenge’. I’m currently into the medieval period, the Crusades. I read Ken Follett’s ‘Pillars of the Earth’ and loved it. It’s so worth another read. I just bought the first two novels of Jack Whyte’s Templar Knights’ trilogy and am looking forward to reading them.

I did seek out literary agents, but in the end chose to publish (POD) with Inkwater Press, a small publisher based in Portland, Oregon. What really surprised me about getting published was having to market my book on my own.

I wish you the best of luck with your writing endeavors.

Great to-do list. I’m just beginning my story and you answered one of my questions about using English. My story will be in the Byzantine era around the year 450. Finding the type of information I need is challenging.

Now I know your web site – I’ll be back.

How to Write a Critical Book Review

Your review should have two goals: first, to inform the reader about the content of the book, and second, to provide an evaluation that gives your judgment of the book’s quality.

Your introduction should include an overview of the book that both incorporates an encapsulated summary and a sense of your general judgment. This is the equivalent to a thesis statement.

Do NOT spend more than one-third or so of the paper summarizing the book. The summary should consist of a discussion and highlights of the major arguments, features, trends, concepts, themes, ideas, and characteristics of the book. While you may use direct quotes from the book (make sure you always give the page number), such quotes should never be the bulk of the summary. Much of your grade will depend on how well you describe and explain the material IN YOUR OWN WORDS. You might want to take the major organizing themes of the book and use them to organize your own discussion. This does NOT mean, however, that I want a chapter-by-chapter summary. Your goal is a unified essay.

So what do I want, if not just a summary? Throughout your summary, I want you to provide a critique of the book. (Hence the title: “A Critical Book Review.”) A critique consists of thoughts, responses, and reactions. It is not necessarily negative. Nor do you need to know as much about the subject as the author (because you hardly ever will). The skills you need are an ability to follow an argument and test a hypothesis. Regardless of how negative or positive your critique is, you need to be able to justify and support your position.

Here are a number of questions that you can address as part of your critique. You need not answer them all, but questions one and two are essential to any book review, so those must be included. And these are ABSOLUTELY NOT to be answered one after another ( seriatim ). Don’t have one paragraph that answers one, and then the next paragraph that answers the next, etc. The answers should be part of a carefully constructed essay, complete with topic sentences and transitions.

• What is your overall opinion of the book? On what basis has this opinion been formulated? That is, tell the reader what you think and how you arrived at this judgment. What did you expect to learn when you picked up the book? To what extent – and how effectively – were your expectations met? Did you nod in agreement (or off to sleep)? Did you wish you could talk back to the author? Amplify upon and explain your reactions.
• Identify the author’s thesis and explain it in your own words. How clearly and in what context is it stated and, subsequently, developed? To what extent and how effectively (i.e., with what kind of evidence) is this thesis proven? Use examples to amplify your responses. If arguments or perspectives were missing, why do you think this might be?
• What are the author’s aims? How well have they been achieved, especially with regard to the way the book is organized? Are these aims supported or justified? (You might look back at the introduction to the book for help). How closely does the organization follow the author’s aims?
• How are the author’s main points presented, explained, and supported? What assumptions lie behind these points? What would be the most effective way for you to compress and/or reorder the author’s scheme of presentation and argument?
• How effectively does the author draw claims from the material being presented? Are connections between the claims and evidence made clearly and logically? Here you should definitely use examples to support your evaluation.
• What conclusions does the author reach and how clearly are they stated? Do these conclusions follow from the thesis and aims and from the ways in which they were developed? In other words, how effectively does the book come together?
• Identify the assumptions made by the author in both the approach to and the writing of the book. For example, what prior knowledge does the author expect readers to possess? How effectively are those assumptions worked into the overall presentation? What assumptions do you think should not have been made? Why?
• Are you able to detect any underlying philosophy of history held by the author (e.g., progress, decline, cyclical, linear, and random)? If so, how does this philosophy affect the presentation of the argument?
• How does the author see history as being motivated: primarily by the forces of individuals, economics, politics, social factors, nationalism, class, race, gender, something else? What kind of impact does this view of historical motivation have upon the way in which the author develops the book?
• Does the author’s presentation seem fair and accurate? Is the interpretation biased? Can you detect any distortion, exaggeration, or diminishing of material? If so, for what purpose might this have been done, and what effect does hit have on the overall presentation?

These questions are derived from Robert Blackey, “Words to the Whys: Crafting Critical Book Reviews,” The History Teacher, 27.2 (Feb. 1994): 159-66.

– Serena Zabin, Feb. 2003

• Kindle Store
• Kindle eBooks

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Buy for others

Buying and sending ebooks to others.

• Select quantity
• Buy and send eBooks
• Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

How To Write A Historical Novel And Love It: A Beginner’s Guide to Researching, Writing and Publishing a Historical Book Kindle Edition

• Print length 180 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publication date March 1, 2023
• File size 2786 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BTM75RSK
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Steamy Kettle Publishing (March 1, 2023)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2786 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 180 pages
• #105 in Genre Fiction Writing Reference
• #296 in Fiction Writing Reference (Kindle Store)
• #846 in Authorship

About the author

TL Clark is a best-selling, award-winning, British, romance author who stumbles through life as if it were a gauntlet of catastrophes.

Rather than playing the victim, she uses these unfortunate events to fuel her passion for writing, for reaching out to help others.

She writes about different kinds of love in the hope that she‘ll uncover its mysteries.

Her loving husband (and very spoiled cat - RIP) have proven to her that true love really does exist.

Writing has shown her that coffee may well be the source of life.

If you would like to follow TL or just drop in for a chat online, you can do so here:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070982422044

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tlclarkauthor/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/TLClarkAuthor

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tlclarkauthor

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7359253.T_L_Clark

Blog - http://tlclarkauthor.blogspot.co.uk/

Sign up to her newsletter here http://eepurl.com/dgVspj

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Report an issue

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Writing a Book Review for History

Your professor may ask you to write a book review, probably of a scholarly historical monograph. Here are some questions you might ask of the book. Remember that a good review is critical, but critical does not necessarily mean negative. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor is it a suggested outline. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any secondary historical work, even if you're not writing a review.

• Who is the author, and what are his or her qualifications? Has the author written other books on the subject?
• When was the book written, and how does it fit into the scholarly debate on the subject? For example, is Smith writing to refute that idiot Jones; to qualify the work of the competent but unimaginative Johnson; or to add humbly to the evidence presented by the redoubtable Brown’s classic study? Be sure not to confuse the author’s argument with those arguments he or she presents only to criticize later. 
• What is the book’s basic argument? (Getting this right is the foundation of your review.)
• What is the author’s method? For example, does the author rely strictly on narrative and anecdotes, or is the book analytical in some way?
• What kinds of evidence does the author use? For example, what is the balance of primary and secondary sources? Has the author done archival work? Is the source base substantial, or does it look thin? Is the author up-to-date in the scholarly literature?
• How skillfully and imaginatively has the author used the evidence?
• Does the author actually use all of the material in the bibliography, or is some of it there for display?
• What sorts of explicit or implicit ideological or methodological assumptions does the author bring to the study? For example, does he or she profess bland objectivity? A Whig view of history? Marxism?
• How persuasive is the author’s argument?
• Is the argument new, or is it old wine in new bottles?
• Is the argument important, with wide-ranging implications, or is it narrow and trivial?
• Is the book well organized and skillfully written?
• What is your overall critical assessment of the book?
• What is the general significance, if any, of the book? (Make sure that you are judging the book that the author actually wrote, not complaining that the author should have written a different book.)

Tutor Appointments

Peer tutor and consultant appointments are managed through TracCloud (login required). Find resources and more information about the ALEX centers using the following links.

Office / Department Name

Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center

Contact Name

Jennifer Ambrose

Writing Center Director

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

Site Search

Institute of Archaeology

• Current Students
• News & Events
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

• How to Rewrite the History Books

22 May 2024

David Wengrow (UCL Institute of Archaeology) has been invited to take part in the Sydney Writers Festival in Australia this week.

The Sydney Writers’ Festival brings together a broad and engaged community around the sharing of books, writing and ideas. Since the first Festival in 1997, the world’s best novelists, poets, journalists, public intellectuals, economists, politicians, podcasters and scientists have come together to discuss some of the most pressing issues of our times.

David Wengrow , together with writer and farmer Bruce Pascoe ( Black Duck and Dark Emu ), will participate in a free panel event on 24 May. Learn how their work has transformed our understanding of human history - quite literally overturning history as we knew it.

David is co-author (with the late David Graeber) of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (2021), which was named a Sunday Times, Observer and BBC History Book of the Year. The Dawn of Everything has been translated into French, German, and Italian, and is due to appear in over 30 languages worldwide.  

While in Australia, David will also participate in a live interview with Richard Fidler, which will be broadcast on ABC Radio Australia's "Conversations" programme , the most popular podcast in Australia, and give a public lecture at the Australian National University, Canberra entitled What might an Archaeology of Freedon Look Like?

• The Dawn of Everything inspiration for Megalopolis film
• David Wengrow gives the McDonald Institute Annual Lecture for 2023
• David Wengrow gives SAGE Lecture 2023
• David Wengrow gives Stanford University Distinguished Lectures (April 2023)
• David Wengrow gives Sigmund H. Danziger Jr. Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities 2022-23
• Venice Biennale Exhibition on concept of cities and urban origins

Listen again

• Empire Podcast Republic (Episode 49, 4 May 2023) 

Image: Prof David Wengrow, UCL Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)

Related News

55 Best Historical Fiction Books That Will Transport You to a Different Era

Historical flights of fancy.

W ho needs a time machine when you can pick up an incredible work of historical fiction (or a time travel book )? Historical fiction, at its core, is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past. Sound general? That's because the best thing about historical fiction books is how creative and diverse they can be. From historical mysteries to period romances to epic dramas to fantasies , historical fiction books can cover a wide range of stories, perspectives and events. Plus, you'll learn some (real) facts from reading them along the way, so it’s a win-win!

The books on this list were hand-picked for a number of reasons. Some of these historical novels are classics and rank among the  best books of all time, while others are more recent, critically acclaimed award winners. Some were chosen by  Reader's Digest book editors for their lasting appeal—look for the Reader's Digest Editor's Choice seal on those. Still others are brand-new works written by authors who previously knocked it out of the park or are audience favorites, according to Amazon and Goodreads.

Whatever topic you’re in the mood for, you’ll find it here. Just keep in mind that authors can take quite a bit of creative license, so you’ll want to double-check the facts and turn to a trusted source, like these nonfiction books and Holocaust books , for heavier topics. With that in mind, get ready to get swept away to another time and place. Happy reading!

Join the free Reader’s Digest Book Club for great reads, monthly discussions, author Q&As and a community of book lovers.

1. A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reyna Grande

Setting: 1840s, Mexico

Set during the Mexican-American War, this 2022 novel explores themes of colonialism, war and star-crossed love. Ximena Salomé, who is an army nurse, and John Riley, an Irish immigrant who deserts the Yankee army to fight on the Mexican side, find themselves swept up in passion and danger as the war intensifies around them. This sweeping novel has been lauded for its historical accuracy and for bringing an overlooked period in history to light with compelling characters and a deeply romantic love story. If you love to read about love, these enemies-to-lovers books will thrill you.

Get  Reader's Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter  for more humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.

2. The Circus Train by Amita Parikh

Setting: 1930s, Europe

Every moment is full of magic at the World of Wonders, Europe's finest traveling circus, and Amita Parikh's novel brings that magic to life on every page. One of the best historical fiction books of 2022, the story follows Lena Papadopoulos, a young woman struggling to find her place in the circus in a world that does not accept her disability. Fascinated by science and medicine, she clashes with her father, Theo, the master illusionist. When they rescue an orphaned boy named Alexandre, a friendship blossoms, and he joins the circus as Theo's apprentice. This luminous and spellbinding story takes place over two decades as World War II escalates around Lena and Alexandre. It's a tale of courage, passion, friendship and determination that will stay with readers long after the final page.

3. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Setting: 1700s, Ghana

This novel, set in 18th-century Ghana and originally published in 2016, follows two half sisters who've never met. One marries an Englishman and lives a luxurious life in the Cape Coast Castle, and the other ends up being sold into slavery from that very same castle. The book focuses on the theme of legacy as it follows eight generations of the half sisters' descendants in places as varied as Africa's Gold Coast, Mississippi and Harlem during the Jazz Age. Just how moving is Yaa Gyasi's seminal work? Homego ing was named one of Oprah's Best Books of the Year and a New Yo rk Tim es Notable Book, and it also won the prestigious PEN/Hemingway Award. Sounds like one of the best historical fiction books to us! Here are more of the best books by Black authors  you won't want to miss.

4. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Setting: 1930s, Texas Panhandle

This 2021 bestselling novel , which has nearly 60,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, looks at a crumbling marriage against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Elsa Wolcott and Rafe Martinelli's marriage is dying, along with all of the crops on their Great Plains farm. Every day is a constant battle, but Elsa is determined not to give up. This  Reader's Digest editor's pick shows the resilience, hope and hardship among the everyday realities during the Great Depression while spinning a deeply immersive, character-driven story. It's one of the best new fiction books of the past few years, and you won't be able to put it down.

Looking for your next great book? Read four of today’s bestselling novels in the time it takes to read one with  Reader’s Digest Select Editions . And be sure to follow the Select Editions page on Facebook !

5. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk

Setting: 1500s, Turkey

Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk deftly mixes historical fiction, mystery , and art in this fascinating novel , which was first published in 1998. In the story, the Ottoman sultan has commissioned several talented artists to secretly contribute to a book celebrating his reign, and when one artist goes missing, the rest are accused of being involved in his murder. This IMPAC Dublin Literary Award winner is both entertaining and informative, and when it came out, it earned high praise from numerous publications, including the New York Times Book Review, the Chicago Tribun e  and the New Yorker .

6. War Trash by Ha Jin

Setting: 1950s, Korea

This compelling novel , published in 2005, explores the often-overlooked experience of Chinese soldiers held in U.S. POW camps during the Korean War. It follows clerical officer Yu Yuan as he is taken prisoner by the United States and acts as an intermediary between his fellow prisoners and the American guards. The New York Times Book Review called this Pen/Faulkner Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist "nearly perfect." For a different take on history, these amazing memoirs will give you a new perspective.

7. Property by Valerie Martin

Setting: 1820s, Louisiana

Valerie Martin's 2004 historical novel explores the horrors of slavery from the perspective of a slave owner. Manon Gaudet is the mistress of a Louisiana sugar plantation in 1828, where she chafes under the orders of her husband and becomes obsessed with her slave Sarah, who also has a bitter relationship with Manon's husband. Toni Morrison called the novel a "fresh, unsentimental look at what slave-owning does to (and for) one's interior life." If you're always looking for something new to read apart from historical fiction books, these book subscription boxes will satisfy even the most avid readers.

8. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro

Setting: 1700s–present day, Scotland

Do you love reading historical fiction books but can't find the time to dedicate an afternoon to an entire novel? If so, you'll want to pick up Alice Munro's 2006 collection of short stories, The View from Castle Rock . A mix of historical and autobiographical fiction, the stories are fictionalized accounts of Munro's life and family history. If this isn't enough to convince you to give the book a try, maybe Munro's 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature (not to mention her slew of other awards) will do the trick.

9. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

Setting: 1900s, New York

E.L. Doctorow completely redefined historical fiction with his 1975 novel, Ragtime , which mixes both very real and very fictional characters into the landscape of early 20th-century New York. In addition to the well-off (and well-crafted) family at the center of the book, you'll meet the likes of Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, Sigmund Freud and more. This winner of the National Book Critics Circle Awards, which was also selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best fiction books of all time and was adapted into a movie , is sure to engage your intellect while thoroughly entertaining you.

10. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Setting: 1940s, Louisiana

Ernest J. Gaines's classic 1994 novel follows the story of Grant Wiggins, who returns to Jim Crow–era Louisiana to visit Jefferson, a man wrongly convicted of a crime who ends up on death row. Wiggins's discussions with Jefferson—which cover a wide range of topics, including race, discrimination, dignity, justice and the human condition—make the book worthy of its critical acclaim. The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was described by the Chicago Tribune as "a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives." You may also want to pick up some of these books on racism to better understand how these issues affect America.

11. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Setting: 1960s, Nigeria

While you may know contemporary author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her 2013 novel, Americanah , or her 2014 nonfiction book, We Should All Be Feminist s , her 2007 historical fiction work, Half of a Yellow Sun , is just as evocative and engaging. A recipient of the Women's Prize for Fiction "Winner of Winners" award, this novel is set during the Biafran War of the 1960s, as Biafra attempts to create an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria, and follows five compelling main characters you'll be completely invested in.

12. Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

Setting: 1940s, England

Set during World War II, this heartwarming and uplifting historical fiction book zeroes in on Emmeline Lake, a young female wartime advice columnist who must make a difficult decision between fulfilling her duty and supporting her friends. This 2021 novel (by the author of the international bestseller Dear Mrs. Bird ) is perfect for those looking for a wartime story without major violence or gruesomeness. It just might be the perfect beach read for your next escape.

13. Thebes at War by Naguib Mahfouz

Setting: Ancient Egypt

Hailed as "the single most important writer in modern Arabic literature" by Newsday , Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz recreates ancient Egypt's triumphant defeat of Asiatic foreigners in northern Egypt in his novel Thebes at War . Originally published in Arabic in 1944, it was translated into English in 2003 and became an international success, known as one of the best historical fiction books ever written. The book is filled not just with facts but also exciting action scenes, intense victories and excruciating defeats to make for a thrilling and page-turning read.

14. Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann

Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann considered this retelling of the biblical story of Joseph to be his magnum opus. In it, he expounds on the story told in the Bible's Book of Genesis, during which Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers yet eventually rises to prominence. This historical novel , which was originally published in 1933 and took Mann 16 years to complete, transports readers to ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Palestine as it follows the rise and fall of Joseph through four different parts.

15. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Setting: Pre–Civil War, United States

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Best Book of the Year title by the New York Times Book Review and Wall Street Journal , and countless other awards, Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel is an exciting and provocative read. The book follows Cora and Caesar, two slaves who run away from their Georgia plantation using a not-quite-historically-accurate version of the underground railroad. As it changes between time period, location and character perspective, The Underground Railroad takes readers on a wild ride. If you're looking for something that sticks a bit more to the facts, try this list of the best biographies .

16. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Setting: 1940s, France

There's a reason that Anthony Doerr's 2014 World War II novel, All the Light We Cannot See , spent more than two-and-a-half years on the New York Times Best Seller list (in addition to winning a Pulitzer and being a finalist for the National Book Award). The story, which centers around the connection between a blind French girl and German boy and their journey through occupied France during World War II, is the perfect combination of fanciful and thrilling.

17. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Setting: 1520s, England

Hilary Mantel's reimagining of England in the 1520s and the lives of King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell is so creative and enthralling, it's no surprise that this 2009 historical fiction novel won both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. The themes of power, jealousy, religion and lust make this a page-turner for any avid Tudor fan—or anyone who loves reading about the royal family  and its scandals.

18. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Setting: Pre–Civil War and the 1970s, United States

Talk about a historical novel with a twist. Octavia E. Butler's 1979 book Kindred tells the time-traveling story of Dana, a modern Black woman who is pulled from her home in California into the antebellum South, where she is a slave on the plantation of her ancestors. This book combines drama, suspense and important lessons on the history of racism and discrimination in our country and belongs on any list of the best historical fiction books.

19. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Setting: 1940s, Germany

Perhaps no book explains the power and importance of storytelling better than the 2005 novel The Book Thief . Markus Zusak crafts a story set in Nazi Germany that follows Liesel Meminger, a girl who steals books to share with her foster father, her neighbors and the Jewish man hidden in her basement. It was translated into 63 languages, with more than 16 million copies sold, and there's no mystery as to why this story of perseverance, humanity and literature became an international bestseller among historical fiction books.

20. The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore

Setting: 1920s, Louisiana

How far can one socialite fall? That is the question that plagues main character Mirielle West in author Amanda Skenandore's 2021 novel . The life of a silent film star's wife is turned upside down when she's sent to Carville Lepers Home in Louisiana after a doctor suspects her of having the incurable disease. Stuck in what is more of a prison than a patient care center, Mirielle must redefine her purpose and make life worth fighting for. Based on the true story of America's only leper colony, this novel is a page-turner. If you're not sure what you're in the mood for, check out the best books for you, based on your zodiac sign  to narrow things down.

21. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Setting: Ancient Israel

The Red Tent , first published in 1997, takes us back to biblical times as Anita Diamant reinvents the biblical story of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who is just briefly hinted at in the Book of Genesis. This look at the world of ancient motherhood is not only passionate but also essential in offering a new view of biblical women's lives.

22. I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Setting: Ancient Rome

This novel , originally published in 1934, is written in the form of an autobiography from the perspective of the Roman emperor Claudius. The book spans a large breath of time, recounting the early years of the Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C. up to Caligula's assassination in A.D. 41. If you're absolutely hooked by the end, we've got some good news for you: Graves continued the saga in the sequel Claudius the God , which covers the remaining period of the historic figure's life.

23. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Setting: 1840s, Canada

While Margaret Atwood may have become a household name thanks to her dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale , her historical fiction books, including 1996's Alias Grac e , should not be overlooked. Set in 1843 and based on the real life of Grace Marks, this book follows Grace after she is convicted of murdering her employer and his housekeeper, who was also his mistress. The issue? Grace claims she has no memory of that day. This historical thriller won the Canadian Giller Prize, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and is one of the best books by a female author —and one you won't be able to get out of your head.

24. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Setting: 1940s–1950s, Japan

There's a reason why Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha , first published in 1997, was nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Grea t American Read . Both entertaining and extremely heartfelt, this novel follows the life of fictional geisha Nitta Sayuri and her story after being sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house in Kyoto, Japan; it's set before, during and after World War II. After you're done reading, make sure to check out the 2005 film based on the novel, which won three Academy Awards.

25. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Setting: 1600s, Holland

This 1999 novel , inspired by the famous 17th-century Johannes Vermeer painting of the same name, is for art and history lovers alike. In this fantastical rendering, Tracy Chevalier invents the story of the relationship between the painter, the model and the painting itself. With universal themes of restraint, love and womanhood, it's easy to see how it became an instant No. 1 New York Times bestseller.

26. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Setting: 1870s, Ohio

Another Pulitzer Prize–winning classic that deserves its rightful spot on our list of the absolute best historical fiction books, Toni Morrison's 1987 bestseller tells the story of Sethe, an escaped slave living in post–Civil War Ohio with her daughter, her mother-in-law and the spirit of her unnamed child, who calls herself Beloved. This masterfully poetic work conjures the pain and brutality of slavery in such a way that all modern audiences can see the institution's continuing effect on all of our lives. These Black poets also bring the realities of race and racism into their work.

27. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Setting: 1900s, Japan

This 2017 National Book Award finalist by Korean American author Min Jin Lee tells the story of four generations of a poor immigrant Korean family as they attempt to make a life for themselves in 20th-century Japan. The historical epic is perfect for anyone interested in character-driven novels about family, stereotypes and the power to overcome.

28. Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

Setting: 1940s, New York

Historical fiction books and mysteries are a match made in heaven, and author Stephen Spotswood's 2020 novel, Fortune Favors the Dead , proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. After Willowjean "Will" Parker and Lillian Pentecost become an unlikely detective duo, the two are faced with the case of Abigail Collins, who was murdered in the very same spot her husband had shot himself years before. Full of paranormal hijinks, the story features messages from the dead, vengeful spirits and a doomed romance. If you love all things spooky, you'll also want to peruse this list of the best horror books of all time.

29. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Setting: 1920s–1950s, Russia

Amor Towles's 2016 novel , set in Moscow during the Stalin era, tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov, a Russian aristocrat who is sentenced to house arrest in a grand hotel by the Bolshevik tribunal. While Russian history unfolds outside his very hotel window, Rostov embarks on his own journey of emotional discovery from within the confines of the hotel walls. This elegant and finely constructed novel is sure to pull you away from the current realities of the world and take you to an era of both violence and refinement.

30. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Setting: 1940s, Italy

While you've most likely heard of the 1996 film version of The English Patient , which racked up nine Academy Awards, the book by Michael Ondaatje is also highly decorated. Winner of the Booker Prize, the Governor General's Award and the Golden Man Booker, this 1992 novel tells the story of four unlikely characters brought together during the Italian Campaign of World War II. Secrets, romance and mystery abound.

31. Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

Setting: 1940s, Trinidad

Kevin Jared Hosein takes readers to 1940s Trinidad in his forthcoming historical fiction novel, Hungry Ghosts , which begins as British colonialism and American occupation are drawing to a close. The story follows two families: the wealthy Changoors, who own Changoor farm, and their employees, the Saroop family, living in grinding poverty in the barracks below. When Dalton Changoor goes missing, the lives of the two families become intertwined in this fascinating and lyrical tale of class, religion, generational trauma and family. This much-anticipated book from a talented new Caribbean voice is due to drop on Feb. 7, 2023. For even more amazing reads, check out these wonderful Kindle Unlimited books .

32. Atonement by Ian McEwan

Setting: 1930s–1940s, England

At its core, Atonement is a story about a mistake and its aftermath. The 2001 novel centers around young Briony Tallis and the effects of an accusation she makes against Robbie Turner, the Tallis family's housekeeper and a close friend of Cecilia, Briony's older sister. Atonement is divided into three parts and a postscript, spanning from 1935 England to World War II–era England and France to present-day England. The 2007 movie adaptation features Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and a young Saoirse Ronan as Briony. Chances are, you'll find yourself shedding a few tears while you read this one. These other sad books will also tug at your heartstrings.

33. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Setting: 1960s, Mississippi

The Help centers on the lives of Aibileen and Minny, two Black maids, and Skeeter, a white recent college graduate who is deemed a social failure, as they separately and jointly navigate the tense social sphere of Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. When these three unlikely companions team up to write a tell-all tale about what it's truly like to work as a Black maid in the Jim Crow South, things change forever. This 2009 novel became an instant classic among historical fiction books, and despite controversy over the portrayal of the characters in relation to the author herself, it is still a book from which much can be learned.

34. The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

From the New York Times bestselling author of Th e Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings comes this creative 2020 novel about the imagined marriage of Jesus Christ. Ana is an ambitious and forward-thinking woman hailing from a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee. When she meets broad-minded 18-year-old Jesus, her life changes forever—and so does his. Critics say this feminist tale is painstakingly researched and expertly crafted, and readers love it too.

35. A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver

From mystery to murder, action to romance, Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver's first novel in the Electra McDonnell series of historical fiction books offers something for everyone. The 2021 psychological thriller follows Electra, a young woman who breaks into houses of upper-crust London to keep her family business alive in war-torn England. After getting caught during one such heist by a government official, the two form an unlikely pair to solve a mystery in order to stop Allied plans from falling into the wrong hands.

36. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Setting: 1660s, England

This 2001 novel , set in England in 1666, has some surprising ties to our current realities. The story follows the spread of a plague from London to an isolated village. Anna Frith, a handmaid, becomes an unlikely healer and heroine in this story of perseverance and the human spirit. What happens when a year of horrors becomes one's year of wonders? This imaginative and utterly compelling addition to our best historical fiction books list, which was inspired by the true story of a village named Eyam, was chosen as both a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book.

37. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Setting: 1920s, France

A New York Times bestseller, The Paris Wife chronicles the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, and is told from the latter's perspective. After a whirlwind courtship and engagement in Chicago, the two set sail for Paris in the 1920s. But as the Jazz Age heats up and Ernest pours himself into his work, their relationship goes through many ups and downs. A tale of love, betrayal and romance, this 2011 book is as fresh and relevant as ever.

38. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Setting: Mid- to late-1800s, Georgia

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Margaret Mitchell's classic 1936 novel on a list of historical fiction books. This Pulitzer Prize–winning tale of romance, survival and the human spirit hardly needs an introduction. But a word of warning: Gone with the Wind 's depiction of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era in the American South isn't particularly accurate and is highly whitewashed, which is why it's also on this list of beloved books that didn't age well .

39. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Setting: 1960s, Congo

Barbara Kingsolver expertly weaves a story about the Prices, a missionary family who relocate from the U.S. state of Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo in 1959. But when they arrive, they realize that the village is not what they were expecting. Set against the tumultuous historical backdrop of the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister and the CIA coup to install his replacement, this 1998 novel tells the sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful tale of three generations living in postcolonial Africa.

40. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Setting: Early 1900s, New York

Belle da Costa Greene is hired by the esteemed J.P. Morgan as his personal librarian. Because of this role, Belle quickly becomes a fixture in the New York society scene and is viewed as a beacon of art, literature and all things splendid. But what seems like a dream job is a constant threat for Belle, who's hiding a big secret in 1906 America: She's a Black woman who passes for white. This 2021 New York Times bestseller touches on themes of race, legacy and hope, with messages that still resonate in modern-day America. Stay apprised of all the best new books by joining one of these online book clubs .

41. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

Setting: 1800s, Saint Thomas

Alice Hoffman mixes history with romance in her 2015 novel, The Marriage of Opposites , a retelling of the story of the woman who gave birth to Camille Pissarro, the Father of Impressionism. Rachel is a rebellious and strong female character growing up in a Jewish refugee community on Saint Thomas in the early 1800s. After being married off to an old widower who dies suddenly, Rachel meets Frédérick, her late husband's much younger nephew. The rest, as they say, is history—or, perhaps better yet, one of the most compelling historical fiction books you'll read this year.

42. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Setting: Middle Ages, England

This 19th-century classic revisits England in the Middle Ages as Sir Walter Scott delves into the conflicts between the Crown and the Barons, the Norman overlords and the conquered Saxons, and Richard the Lionheart and his brother, Prince John. Ivanhoe is credited with increasing interest in chivalric romance as a literary category.

43. The Lieutenant's Nurse by Sarah Ackerman

Setting: 1940s, the Pacific

In this novel set before, during and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, author Sarah Ackerman paints a vivid picture of the heroic American wartime nurses. Eva Cassidy, a newly enlisted Army Corps nurse, finds herself on the glamorous SS Lurline with the dashing yet mysterious Lt. Clark Spencer. But when Pearl Harbor is bombed and the United States' involvement in World War II becomes imminent, Eva must band together with her fellow nurses to keep the American wounded alive. Filled with romance, hardship and hope, this 2019 tale has something for everyone. Need a brief break from historical fiction books? Curl up on the couch with one of these beloved romantic movies .

44. The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly

How far would you go to protect your friends? It's 1939, and the threat of war is looming in England for childhood best friends Nora, Hazel and Marie. When Germany invades Poland, German expat Marie is labeled an enemy and threatened to be put into an internment camp. The three friends find themselves fighting to keep Marie free—and fighting for their friendship. Pu blishers Weekly praised this 2019 novel as "intricate, tender and convincing."

45. Essex Dogs by Dan Jones

Setting: 1340s, England

The first in a forthcoming trilogy of historical fiction books by acclaimed historian Dan Jones, Essex Dogs is due to hit shelves on Feb. 7, 2023. It's July of 1346, and 10 men have just landed on a Normandy beach: the Essex Dogs, a tight-knit group of men-at-arms led by an experienced (if slightly over-the-hill) captain. Set during the Hundred Years' War, over a century of warfare over the French throne, this novel examines the harsh realities of medieval warfare from the perspective of soldiers and civilians alike. As the Dogs fight their way toward Crécy, they are also fighting to survive in a war in which rules have been abandoned and chivalry cast aside. The level of historical accuracy in this triumphant fiction debut will thrill and intrigue readers, but you might need to pick up a feel-good book afterward to take the edge off.

46. Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

Setting: 1940s, Chicago

Aki Ito and her parents have just been released from Manzanar, the Japanese internment camp they had been sent to after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Just as they're about to reunite with Aki's older sister, Rose, in Chicago, they learn that Rose has mysteriously died. Aki sets off to uncover the mystery of Rose's death while also coming to terms with the heartbreaking discrimination Japanese American families faced during this time period.  Clark and Division is one of the best historical fiction books of 2021 and is particularly amazing considering the 30 years of research author Naomi Hirahara completed on Japanese American history in order to write it. If you're looking for material for a younger audience, these children's books about diversity will address difficult topics in an age-appropriate way.

47. The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

From author Jennifer Ryan comes an uplifting story of passion, drive and femininity. It's the midst of World War II, and England is beginning to feel its losses. In order to boost morale, the BBC creates a wartime cooking competition with an incredible prize: the chance for the winner to become the program's first-ever female co-host. Four women enter the competition with different reasons for wanting to win, but will they band together when they need it most, or will their competitive streaks break them apart? Reviewers from Reader's Dig est , Booklist  and NPR rave that this 2021 book is a delightful and satisfying page-turner.

48. The Last Dance of the Debutante by Julia Kelly

Setting: 1950s, England

It's time to get whisked away in a whirl of ball gowns, glitz and glamor. The Last Dance of the Debutante , the newest of Julia Kelly's historical fiction books (published in 2022), follows three unlikely friends as they navigate the last debutante season in 1958 London, during which they will be presented to Queen Elizabeth II . But when Lily Nichols learns a secret that threatens to devastate her family, the season takes a turn, and these young women learn what's really important in life.

49. The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

Setting: 1880s, the Great Plains

This gripping tale of survival, resilience and courage, published in 2022 by the author of The Aviator's Wife , is based on the true story of the Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888. In it, two schoolteacher sisters, Raina and Gerda Olsen, are faced with the difficult decision of how to save their students when an unexpected blizzard strikes. While fictionalized, this story about nature threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant families is as important as it is riveting. It's just one of the many historical fiction books that are relevant today.

50. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

All that is forgotten isn't always lost—or so says Kristin Harmel's 2020 historical novel, The Book of Lost Names . The story centers around Eva Traube Abrams, a graduate student forced to flee Paris at the start of World War II. Eva begins forging identity documents for Jewish children, hoping to escape to neutral Switzerland with the help of fellow forger Rémy. But Eva has also been keeping a record of the children's true identities in the Book of Lost Names, which leads to a moment that will come back to haunt her years down the line. One of the best historical fiction books, this story will stay with you long after the final page.

51. The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers

Setting: 1940s, North Carolina

You're going to want to get your hands on this 2022 novel about lesser-known women's activism during the post-war period. It follows Maddie Sykes, a young seamstress who relocates to Bright Leaf, North Carolina, to join her aunt's sewing business. Bright Leaf just so happens to be the Big Tobacco capital of the South, and her aunt's clientele includes the glamorous wives of the tobacco executives. But when Maddie uncovers evidence that links Big Tobacco to the declining health of Bright Leaf's citizens, she has to make a big decision: do what's best for her fellow man ... or what's best for her. In your own life, these self-help books can help you tackle your own brand of tricky decisions.

52. The Mad Girls of New York by Maya Rodale

Setting: 1880s, New York

Maya Rodale weaves a tale about the life of famous Gilded Age reporter Nellie Bly and her undercover escapades at Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum for Women in this 2022 publication . The book follows Nellie as she uncovers the horrible conditions that Blackwell patients were subject to. What starts off as a way to prove her ability in the male-dominated field of early journalism turns into a mission far greater.

53. The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

Setting: 1920s, New York

Among the best historical fiction books published in 2022, The Magnolia Palace follows the story of 21-year-old Lillian Carter. After losing her mother to the influenza pandemic of 1919, Lillian jumps at the chance to be employed as the secretary to Helen Frick. But as time goes on and Lillian's life becomes more and more intertwined with that of the infamous New York family, the stakes become high—life-or-death high. Full of secrets, mystery, murder and romance, this Reader's Digest favorite will likely become one of yours too.

54. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

While Kristin Hannah's 2017 novel, The Nighting ale , is set during World War II, it's not your typical war story. Instead, Hannah reimagines this volatile time from a female perspective, telling the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, as they separately navigate German-occupied France. Vianne gets her home requisitioned by a German captain and must make impossible choices in order to keep herself and her daughter alive. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Isabelle falls in love with Gaetan, who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France. But what happens when he betrays her? A deeply moving tale about the resilience of women, this bestselling fan favorite among historical fiction books will stay with you long after the last page.

55. Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

Setting: 1800s, Sicily

For readers who enjoy a thriller along with their historical fiction books, the latest book (dropping March 28, 2023) from bestselling author Lisa Scottoline is a must-buy. Tracing the rise of the Mafia in 19th-century Sicily, the novel will transport you to Italy for a classic tale of good versus evil. Franco Fiorvanti grows lemons for the baron; he dreams of rising above his station, but Sicily's immovable class system thwarts his ambition—until the baron asks him to commit a terrible deed. Meanwhile, young lawyer Gaetano Catalano is part of a secret society of aristocrats who investigate crime. His newest case will take him to a dark place. Years pass, and the mystery deepens, and readers will happily go along for the ride in this unputdownable new novel. For a totally different type of read, our favorite sci-fi novels will take you well out of the past and into futuristic worlds.

The post 55 Best Historical Fiction Books That Will Transport You to a Different Era appeared first on Reader's Digest .

Watch CBS News

From the archives: Author Caleb Carr

Irish writer wins Discoveries Writing Prize

Books newsletter: michel déon prize shortlist; stinging fly/fba fiction prize; walking tours.

Niamh Connolly

In The Irish Times tomorrow, author Sarah Crossan tells Niamh Donnelly about her pivot from teaching to writing and her latest books on forbidden love affairs and sex dolls. Richard Ford writes about the race between Trump and Biden for the US presidency: “Neither of these gibbering, teetering old grandpas should be able to beat anybody”. Tennis player Conor Niland tells Lauren Murphy about his memoir, The Racket. And there is a Q&A with Michelle McDonagh, author of Somebody Knows.

Reviews are Chris Kissane on Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York by Tyler Anbinder; Ian D’Alton on Ulster’s Lost Counties: Loyalism and Paramilitarism since 1920 by Edward Burke; Michael Cronin on the best new translations; Val Nolan on The Ghost Mountain by Ronan Hession; Nicholas Allen on Exile by Aimée Walsh; Anna Carey on All the Rage by Virginia Nicholson; Karlin Lillington on The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power by Dana Mattioli; Alice Kinsella on The Eighth House by Linda Segtnan, translated by Elizabeth Clark Wessel; John Boyne on Great Expectations Vinson Cunningham; John Walshe on Around the World in 80 Years by Ranulph Fiennes; and Mia Levitin on Long Island by Colm Tóibín.

This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Booker Prize winner Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, just €5.99 with your paper, a €5 saving.

Eason offer

Irish writer Niamh Connolly has won the Women’s Prize Trust’s 2024 Discoveries Writing Prize.

Connolly was chosen from almost 3,000 entries. Her novel-in-progress, Game Theory, is set in Co Cork and deals with bereavement, friendship, financial disparity, miscommunication and loneliness. As the winner of the prize, Connolly receives an offer of representation by Curtis Brown, a cash prize of £5,000 and a place on a Curtis Brown Creative six-week online course. In July, she will also join Curtis Brown Creative’s specially designed two-week Discoveries Writing Development course alongside the other 15 writers longlisted for Discoveries 2024.

Connolly is completing her MA in creative writing (prose fiction) at the University of East Anglia and has a BA degree in English and history from University College Cork.

Additionally, Zeynep Kazmaz has been announced as the Discoveries Scholar. Her novel, Viscid Residue, explores a relationship between two people from fundamentally different backgrounds, as a woman struggles to find home, and herself, as an immigrant in London.

Now in its fourth year, Discoveries, run by the Women’s Prize Trust in partnership with Curtis Brown literary agency, the Curtis Brown Creative writing school (both part of The Curtis Brown Group) and Audible, aims to find and support emerging female writing talent from across the UK and Ireland.

The judging panel was chaired by Kate Mosse CBE, bestselling novelist, playwright and Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction; Jess Molloy, Curtis Brown literary agent; Anna Davis, Founder and managing director of Curtis Brown Creative writing school; and award-winning authors Natasha Brown and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan.

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs has announced the six shortlisted titles for the 2024 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction: All Down Darkness Wide by Seán Hewitt; An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey into the Magic of Rewilding by Eoghan Daltun; Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara by Vona Groarke; Landscape Design and Revolution in Ireland and the United States, 1688–1815 by Finola O’Kane; Making Empire: Ireland, Imperialism, and the Early Modern World by Jane Ohlmeyer; and The Celestial Realm by Molly Hennigan.

Titles were nominated by both members of the public and the publishing community through the RIA’s website and the judging panel made their choice from the eligible titles. In shortlisting the titles, the judges were looking for originality, quality of writing and contribution to knowledge and/or public debate. To reflect the work and interests of the French writer Michel Déon, who made Ireland his home from the 1970s until his death in 2016, the eligible categories for the prize were – autobiography, biography, cultural studies, history, literary studies, philosophy, travel. Authors of any nationality normally resident on the island of Ireland at the time of nomination who had published a non-fiction book in the period April 12th, 2022 to April 8th, 2024 were eligible.

Moso Sematlane is the 2024 winner of the Stinging Fly/FBA Fiction Prize. Now in its third year, the €2,000 prize is sponsored by Felicity Bryan Associates and awarded annually to an emerging fiction writer published in  The Stinging Fly  during the previous year.

Sematlane’s winning story, A Fern Between Rocks, is his first published story, and appeared in The Stinging Fly Issue 48 Volume 2, published in Summer 2023. Judging the prize were author Mike McCormick ( Solar Bones ), Stinging Fly contributing editor and author Mia Gallagher ( Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland ) and Felicity Bryan agent, Caroline Wood. The panel was chaired by Felicity Bryan agent, Angelique Tran Van Sang, and Eoin Rogers, programme manager of The Stinging Fly.

Sematlane said: “Receiving this award came as a total surprise to me, being published in The Stinging Fly last year was already a highlight, now receiving an award for that story just blew my expectations off the roof. I am glad and deeply honoured to have this story recognised in this way. I had the best time writing it, so witnessing how it is still moving in the world is a source of great satisfaction for me. It no longer belongs to me in the way it once did, but I am honoured that short fiction from Lesotho can be recognised on such a big scale.”

Awarding the prize, the judges stated: A Fern Between Rocks is an exquisitely written story about a young man, newly arrived in Lesotho, obsessing over a man he spies in a jazz club. Atmospheric, transporting, subtle, touching and full of longing – it is an incredibly mature piece of writing with a wonderful sense of place.

This story grows with each reading. A thing of immense beauty, spiked with shocks so subtle it takes a moment to realise what’s just happened. Like jazz itself, it circles with great delicacy around its themes – war, manhood, desire, loss, the need for belonging and the power, perhaps, of art to knit together the impossible in a way that makes sense, if only for a moment.

The judges also commended Stars by Greg Thorpe and The Big Why by Brendan Killeen.

Author and former diplomat Eamon Delaney is giving some popular new walking tours in Dublin, exploring some fascinating connections to artists, political figures and international events. A particular focus is James Joyce, with a tour of the Phibsborough and Eccles Street where there are so many associations, most famously with Joyce’s great novel Ulysses.

Another tour is of the area is Westland Row, Lincoln Place and the north side of Merrion Square, which is deeply connected to three big writers – Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde. The tour will explore these connections, both in their early lives and their works, with readings at various locations. This next tour takes place this Saturday, 25 May at 11am. Price is 15 euros.

Locations include Sweny’s Chemist on Westland Row and Holles Street hospital, from the Oxen and the sun chapter of Ulysses as well as Oscar Wilde’s two homes and the old Finns Hotel where Joyce first encountered Nora Barnacle, the love of his life.

Other locations include the office of Samuel Beckett’s father where young Sam wrote his first novel and the family home of Mary Swanzy, the modernist and cubist painter ahead of her time.

Full details, including booking, here .

IN THIS SECTION

Series of shocks leaves germany struggling to redefine itself in a moral maze, plentiful country: the great potato famine and the making of irish new york: forensic study highlights migrant triumph, conor niland: ‘the irish got such a kick out of me playing wimbledon, but unfortunately there was just one chance’, michelle mcdonagh: writing the book, ann lovett, and her heartbroken sister patricia, were at the forefront of my mind, the eighth house by linda segtnan: an alarmingly compulsive read about a child murder, the trouble with temu, the cut-price chinese competitor to amazon , gardaí investigating link between criminals and far-right groups, employee awarded three weeks’ pay for breach of sick leave law, russia accuses ireland of ‘criminal behaviour’ and of participating in ukraine war, ‘it is becoming a living hell’: residents of dublin housing complex protest against anti-social behaviour.

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Information
• Cookie Settings
• Community Standards

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Caleb Carr, Author of Dark Histories, Dies at 68

His own dark history prompted him to write about and investigate the roots of violence, notably in his best-selling novel “The Alienist.”

By Penelope Green

Caleb Carr, a military historian and author whose experience of childhood abuse drove him to explore the roots of violence — most famously in his 1994 best seller, “The Alienist,” a period thriller about the hunt for a serial killer in 19th-century Manhattan — died on Thursday at his home in Cherry Plain, N.Y. He was 68.

The cause was cancer, his brother Ethan Carr said.

Mr. Carr was 39 when he published “The Alienist,” an atmospheric detective story about a child psychiatrist — or an alienist, as those who studied the mind were called in the 1890s — who investigates the murders of young male prostitutes by using forensic psychiatry, which was an unorthodox method at the time.

Mr. Carr had first pitched the book as nonfiction; it wasn’t, but it read that way because of the exhaustive research he did into the period. He rendered the dank horrors of Manhattan’s tenement life, its sadistic gangs and the seedy brothels that were peddling children, as well as the city’s lush hubs of power, like Delmonico’s restaurant. And he peopled his novel with historical figures like Theodore Roosevelt, who was New York’s reforming police commissioner before his years in the White House. Even Jacob Riis had a cameo.

Up to that point, Mr. Carr had been writing, with modest success, on military matters. He had contributed articles to The Quarterly Journal of Military History, and he had written, with James Chace, a book about national security and, on his own, a well-received biography of an American soldier of fortune who became a Chinese military hero in the mid-19th century.

Mr. Carr had also been a regular contributor to the letters page of The New York Times; he notably once chastised Henry Kissinger for what Mr. Carr characterized as his outdated theories of international diplomacy. He was 19 at the time.

“The Alienist” was an immediate hit and earned glowing reviews. Even before it was published, the movie rights were snapped up by the producer Scott Rudin for half a million dollars. (The paperback rights sold for more than a million.)

“You can practically hear the clip-clop of horses’ hooves echoing down old Broadway,” Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote in his review in The Times . “You can taste the good food at Delmonico’s. You can smell the fear in the air.”

Magazine writers were captivated by Mr. Carr’s downtown cool — he lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, had been in a local punk band, wore black high-top sneakers and had shoulder-length hair — and by his literary provenance. His father was Lucien Carr, a journalist who was muse to and best friends with Beat royalty: the writers Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Beautiful and charismatic as a young man, “Lou was the glue,” Ginsberg once said, that held the group together.

The elder Mr. Carr was also an alcoholic, and Caleb grew up in bohemian chaos. The Carr household was the scene of drunken revelries, and much worse. Mr. Carr raged at his wife and three sons. But he directed his most terrifying outbursts at Caleb, his middle child, whom he singled out for physical abuse.

Caleb’s parents divorced when he was 8. But the beatings continued for years.

“There’s no question that I have a lifelong fascination with violence,” Caleb Carr told Stephen Dubner of New York magazine in 1994 , just before “The Alienist” was published, explaining not just the engine for the book but why he was drawn to military history. “Part of it was a desire to find violence that was, in the first place, directed toward some purposeful end, and second, governed by a definable ethical code. And I think it’s fairly obvious why I would want to do that.”

Lucien Carr had also been abused. Growing up in St. Louis, he was sexually molested by his Boy Scout master, a man named David Kammerer who followed him to the East Coast, where Lucien entered Columbia University and met Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs. One drunken night in 1944, Mr. Carr killed his longtime predator in Riverside Park, stabbing him with his Boy Scout knife and rolling him into the Hudson River. Kerouac helped him dispose of the knife. Lucien turned himself in the next day and served two years for manslaughter in a reformatory.

The killing was a cause célèbre, and became a kind of origin story for the history of the Beats . Kerouac and Burroughs rendered it in purple prose in a novel they archly titled “And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks,” which was rejected by publishers and then mired in legalities before finally being published in 2008, when all the principals were dead. (It was panned by Michiko Kakutani in The Times.) In 2013, it was the subject of a film, “Kill Your Darlings,” starring Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg.

Caleb Carr and his family found “Kill Your Darlings” more than flawed, taking issue with the film’s thesis that Lucien was a conflicted gay man in a repressive society — and that Kammerer was the victim and their relationship was consensual.

“My father fit perfectly ‘the cycle of abuse,’” Mr. Carr told an interviewer at the time . “Of all the terrible things that Kammerer did, perhaps the worst was to teach him this, to teach him that the most fundamental way to form bonds was through abuse.”

He added: “When I confronted him many years later about his extreme violence toward me, after I had entered therapy, he at length asked (after denying that such violence had occurred for as long as he could, then conceding it), ‘Doesn’t that mean that there’s a special bond between us?’ And I remember that my blood had never run quite that cold.”

Caleb Carr was born on Aug. 2, 1955, in Manhattan. His father, after being released from the reformatory, worked as a reporter and editor for United Press International, where he met Francesca von Hartz, a reporter. They married in 1952 and had three sons, Simon, Caleb and Ethan. After they divorced a decade later, Ms. von Hartz married John Speicher, an editor and novelist with three daughters. The couple and their six children moved to a loft on East 14th Street, a dangerous area in the late 1960s and ’70s. It was another chaotic household overseen by alcoholics, and the children often referred to themselves as “the dark Brady Bunch.”

Caleb attended Friends Seminary, a Quaker school in the East Village, where his interest in military history made him an outlier and a misfit. His high school transcript described him as “socially undesirable.” After graduating, he attended Kenyon College in Ohio and then New York University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and studied military and diplomatic history.

In 1997, Mr. Carr published “The Angel of Darkness,” a sequel to “The Alienist.” It featured many of the same characters, who reunite to investigate the case of a missing child. It, too, was a best seller, “as winning a historical thriller” as its predecessor, The Times’s Mr. Lehmann-Haupt wrote .

Mr. Carr was the author of 11 books, including “The Italian Secretary” (2005), a Sherlock Holmes mystery commissioned by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle; “Surrender, New York” (2016), a well-reviewed contemporary crime procedural that nonetheless sold poorly; and “Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians” (2002), which he wrote in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Even in those pre-Twitter days, “Lessons of Terror” caused an internet ruckus. It was at once vociferously praised and bashed — and became a best seller, to boot — and Mr. Carr derided his critics on Amazon. Many challenged his contention that some “conventional” warfare — like General Sherman’s barbarism during the Civil War and Israel’s behavior toward the Palestinians — was equivalent to terrorism, a thesis that annoyed military historians , as well as The Times’s Ms. Kakutani .

What propelled Mr. Carr in all his work was the origins of violence, the mysteries of nature and nurture. In his own life, he was determined to end the cycle of his family’s dark legacy by not having children. That choice restricted his romantic life, and as he got older, he grew more solitary. When he bought 1,400 acres in Rensselaer County, N.Y., in 2000, and built himself a house near a ridge called Misery Mountain, he became even more so.

“I have a grim outlook on the world, and in particular on humanity,” he told Joyce Wadler of The Times in 2005 . “I spent years denying it, but I am very misanthropic. And I live alone on a mountain for a reason.”

His last book, published in April, was “My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me.” It’s both a memoir of his time there and a love story to the creature who was his most constant and sustaining companion during the last decades of his life.

“But how could you live for such a long time,” he said friends asked him, “alone on a mountain with just a cat?” He took umbrage at the phrase “just a cat.”

“It needs to be understood that, for Masha, I was always enough,” he wrote. “How I lived, what I chose to do, my very nature — all were good enough for her.”

Masha, like her human roommate, had suffered physical abuse at some point, and as Mr. Carr and his companion aged, their early horrors had devastating physical repercussions. Mr. Carr’s beatings had created scar tissue in his organs that led to other serious ailments. They were each diagnosed with cancer, but Masha died first.

In addition to his brother Ethan, Mr. Carr is survived by another brother, Simon; his stepsisters, Hilda, Jennifer and Christine Speicher; and his mother, now known as Francesca Cote. Lucien Carr died in 2005.

Despite the early hoopla, “The Alienist” never made it to the big screen. Producers wanted to turn it into a love story or otherwise alter Mr. Carr’s creation. But after decades of fits and starts, i t found a home on television , and in 2018 it was seen as a 10-episode mini-series on TNT. James Poniewozik of The Times called it “lush, moody, a bit stiff.” But it was mostly a success, reaching 50 million viewers and earning six Emmy Award nominations. (It won one, for special visual effects.)

“If I had known that nothing would have come out of this book other than the advance,” Mr. Carr said in 1994 as “The Alienist” was poised for publication, “I still would have written it exactly the same. But if you were to ask me to trade this book, this whole career and have my childhood be different, I probably would.”

An earlier version of this obituary misstated part of the name of the hamlet in New York State where Mr. Carr lived. It is Cherry Plain, not Cherry Plains.

How we handle corrections

Penelope Green is a Times reporter on the Obituaries desk. More about Penelope Green