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45 Best Historical Fiction Books

Goal: Find the best Historical Fiction books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).

Method:

  1. Search for "best historical fiction books" and study the top 6+ pages.
  2. Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
  3. Rank the results neatly here.

45 Best Historical Fiction Books

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1

The Pillars of the Earth

Kingsbridge, Book 1

by Ken Follett

Also recommended by:

Oprah Winfrey, Nolan Bushnell

2

The Underground Railroad

A Novel

by Colson Whitehead

3

Things Fall Apart

African Trilogy, Book 1

by Chinua Achebe

4

Beloved

by Toni Morrison

Also recommended by:

Tavi Gevinson, Shonda Rhimes

5

Pachinko

by Min Jin Lee

Also recommended by:

Barack Obama, Emma Watson

6

The Sympathizer

A Novel

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Also recommended by:

Bill Gates, Max Levchin

7

Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel

Also recommended by:

Barack Obama, Christopher Hitchens

8

Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

Also recommended by:

Kathryn Minshew

9

The Dovekeepers

A Novel

by Alice Hoffman

Also recommended by:

Ann Miura-Ko

10

The God of Small Things

A Novel

by Arundhati Roy

Also recommended by:

Christopher Hitchens

11

Alias Grace

A Novel

by Margaret Atwood

12

Girl with a Pearl Earring

A Novel

by Tracy Chevalier

13

The Four Winds

A Novel

by Kristin Hannah

14

The Name of the Rose

by Umberto Eco

15

The Red Tent

A Novel

by Anita Diamant

16

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

17

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Novel

by Amor Towles

18

All the Light We Cannot See

A Novel

by Anthony Doerr

Also recommended by:

Barack Obama, Mike Maples, Jr.

19

Lincoln in the Bardo

A Novel

by George Saunders

Also recommended by:

Bill Gates, Ezra Klein

20

The Poisonwood Bible

A Novel

by Barbara Kingsolver

Also recommended by:

Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey

21

Atonement

A Novel

by Ian McEwan

Also recommended by:

Ann Patchett

22

Outlander

Outlander, Book 1

by Diana Gabaldon

Also recommended by:

George R. R. Martin

23

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

Also recommended by:

Patrick Bet-David

24

The House of the Spirits

by Isabel Allende

Also recommended by:

Christopher Hitchens

25

Abundance

A Novel of Marie Antoinette

by Sena Jeter Naslund

26

Alex & Eliza

by Melissa de la Cruz

27

Arthur & George

by Julian Barnes

28

As Meat Loves Salt

by Maria McCann

29

Cold Mountain

A Novel

by Charles Frazier

30

Fingersmith

by Sarah Waters

31

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

A Novel

by C Pam Zhang

32

Human Acts

A Novel

by Han Kang

33

Lavinia

by Ursula K. Le Guin

34

March

A Novel

by Geraldine Brooks

35

My Brilliant Friend

Neapolitan, Book 1

by Elena Ferrante

36

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

A Novel

by Lisa See

37

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

A Novel

by Lisa See

38

The Book of Longings

A Novel

by Sue Monk Kidd

39

The Buddha in the Attic

by Julie Otsuka

40

The English Patient

by Michael Ondaatje

41

The Marriage of Opposites

by Alice Hoffman

42

The Night Watch

by Sarah Waters

43

The Night Watchman

A Novel

by Louise Erdrich

44

The Twelve Rooms of the Nile

by Enid Shomer

45

The Twentieth Wife

A Novel

by Indu Sundaresan

Sources

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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