Historical fiction is a genre telling the stories of ordinary people who live extraordinary lives and extraordinary people living in ordinary times. There is not a single time and place that has been untouched by literature. History comes alive in a fascinating and engaging format that takes readers on a time-traveling journey to places and eras they will never be able to experience.
It’s also a prominent learning tool in today’s education; it gives children the opportunity to travel and learn through a book rather than a lecture and textbook deems itself way more powerful.
Aside from the fact that historical fiction is a fantastic genre and powerful learning tool, authors of historical fiction deserve more credit and a sincere round-of-applause. It is not simply enough to just start writing historical fiction - months and years of passion and research go into a historical fiction novel, which is why it is one of my all-time favourite genres.
Here are some historical fiction books that will make you fall in love with the genre:
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
Altering between two timelines of 1939 Paris and present day Paris, The Riviera House is the story of a remarkable young woman during World War II. Éliane catalogs art at the Louvre museum for the Nazis, secrelty while decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance, saving hundreds of art pieces.
In the present day, Remy Lang is lost after the death of her husband and daughter. When she mysteriously inherits a house on the Riviera, Remy is shocked to find that the painting on her childhood bedroom wall is part of the stolen artwork from World War II. Will this house finally be the opportunity for Remy to discover her family origins?
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book tells the exceptional tale of up and coming L.A. girl Daisy Jones, in the late sixties with her rock and roll persona and amazing voice. Teaming up with the band The Six, Daisy and band leader Billy Dunne create music while navigating the crazy world of L.A. in the sixties.
The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine
Margot Louve is the secret love child of a long lasting affair between a French politician and a famous stage actress. The family only exists in a small Parisian apartment. On Margot’s seventeenth birthday, she meets a journalist to set her plan into action, threatening her family dynamic with shattering the lives of those around her.
The Murmur of the Bees by Sofia Segovia
Set during the time of the Mexican Revolution and influenza of 1918, Nana Reja was an abandoned baby found under a bridge and covered in a blanket of bees. A superstition of a child kissed by devil leads to adoption of little Simonopio by a welcoming couple, the Morales. Simonopio has a gift no one else has – visions of the future. It is now Simonpio’s job with his swarm of bees to protect his adopted family from the political world around them.
A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio
At the age of 13, An unnamed narrator is suddenly sent away from the family she has always thought of her own to live with her birth family she never knew existed. Her new family is a chaotic assortment of people who are anything but welcoming, starting the narrator off on a new life of extreme struggles, tensions and a complicated relationship with the woman who birthed her. She will now have to find the strength to rebuild her life and find her sense of self.
The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
Set in Norwegian in the 1960s, two friends Siss and Unn have only spent one evening in each other’s company, but this is the evening when Unn unexpectedly disappears, leaving Siss all alone. This remarkable story is a tale of friendship amidst the difficult snowy Norwegian region.
So, here are a few great historical fiction novels to get you started! If you have any others you think deserve a place in this list, let us know! Macy