Best Historical Fiction Books

The author of such world-famous works like Me Before You, One Plus One and The Last Letter from Your Lover Jojo Moyes releases another New York Times bestseller. The book with a beautiful name The Giver of Stars tells not a less beautiful story of love, friendship, and female bravery.

The story is based on the real events that happened during the great depression in America. Established by Eleonore Rooswelt in 1935, the Pack Horse Library Project was an educational program aiming at fighting unemployment. It existed till 1943. The project suggested that librarians would travel on horses and mules with lots of books and make them more accessible to people who live remotely in the Appalachian mountains.

Since the book is considered historical fiction, the characters in this story aren’t real. Though, they may be loosely based on real people. The main character of this story is Alice Wright, a British woman who marries a wealthy son of the mine owner from Kentucky. She wants to escape the cage her family keeps her in. However, she quickly realizes that she simply changes one cage to another. That’s why when she hears about the new library initiative, she volunteers to become one of the book ladies that should deliver books to remote regions.

By joining the project, she meets Margery O’Hara, a smart and strong woman with a complicated fate. She is a local citizen and knows the area very well. She starts teaching Alice how to carry books and prepares her for all the challenges and struggles she may face on her way. The women are also joined by Izzi Brady (a daughter from one of the richest families in town who has a limp yet manages to tackle the hard task of carrying books), Beth Pinker (a young girl who dreams to see the world) and Sophia Kenworth (a librarian and a woman of color who still deals with racial prejudice).

Take a journey to the 18th century with America’s First Daughter, an outstanding novel that became New York Times and USA Today bestseller. Written by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, this book won’t leave anyone indifferent.

The main character of this historical fiction book is Martha “Patsy” Jefferson, the oldest daughter of the 3rd president of the United States Thomas Jefferson. At a young age, she received a very good education. She was very close to her father and was his helpmate and advisor. Together, they traveled a lot not only around America but also around Europe. To portray and pay a decent tribute to this strong and devoted woman, the authors thoroughly researched information from the letters written by Thomas Jefferson himself.

This historical novel gives an in-depth look at Patsy’s relationships with her father. Being not only the head of the family but also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, he was carrying huge responsibility on his shoulders. After losing his wife, Patsy became his biggest blessing.

The fiction story is centered on the untold events during the Jeffersons time in Europe. Between the age of 12 and 17, Patsy lived in France while her father worked as a Minister there. At the age of 15, she falls in love with William Short, Thomas Jefferson’s protege. Her relationships with her father get even more complicated when she learns about her father’s affair with one of his slaves, young woman Sally Hemmings. Patsy has to decide whether she wants to become a wife of the man she loves or stay with her father and protect their family secrets and his reputation.

Before We Were Yours became a real sensation almost immediately after its publication in 2017. Apart from selling more than 2 million copies, it got a few prestigious awards, was highly praised by critics and is considered one of the best historical fiction books of all time according to Goodreads. It is written by Lisa Wingate, a former journalist, who was brave enough to touch such a sensitive topic as kidnapping and human trafficking.

As horrible as it may sound, the book is based on a true story. Back in the days, criminals used to kidnap children from poor families and sell them to wealthy people. In the 1950s, when these crimes went public, there was a huge scandal involving Georgia Tann, an owner of an illegal orphanage in Memphis, Tennessee. He committed numerous cases of adoption fraud and trafficking. And the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, kids were held in such horrible conditions that a major part of them died.

When it comes to this book, it is divided into 2 storylines. The first one takes place in 1939 in Memphis. It centers around Rill Foss, a girl that lives in a shanty boat on a Mississippi river with her loving parents and four younger siblings. One night, when her mother gets thick and the parents have to rush to the hospital, the children are left unsupervised and, later that night, kidnapped. They get to the orphanage we mentioned before and Rill soon realizes there is no chance they will see their family again.

The second storyline tells about Avery Stafford, a young woman from South Carolina that lives in the present days. She is the daughter of a senator, she hasn’t faced poverty and loss. But when she starts questioning her family’s history, she realizes that there are some horrible secrets her grandmother is trying to hide. In order to find the truth, she is willing to risk everything she has.

Those who love war prose in all of its forms will definitely enjoy Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network. This book not only is a bestseller according to several magazines but it is also considered one of the best historical literature pieces of the year.

The book depicts real events that happened during World War II. The huge part of the story takes place in France and tells about women who were secret agents and were spying on the Germans during the war. One of the side characters in this story is a French woman Louise de Bettignies, also known under the pseudonym of Alice Dubois. She spoke 4 languages (French, German, Italian and English) and had been experienced in espionage since World War I. Known also as a queen of spies, she worked with Britain and their secret service MI6 and created so-called “Alice” network - a community that operated in and around the city of Lille.

This historical novel has two main characters. The first protagonist is Charlie St. Claire, an American 19-year old student who gets pregnant in the year 1947. Considered as a disgrace, she is sent to Britain by her family. There she decides to find her dearly beloved cousin Rose who got lost during the war. Her research brings her to Evelyn Gardiner who works in archive. Eve has to live with the weight of guilt for a betrayal that caused the fall of the Alice network. She leaves in a wrecked house, swears a lot and tries to find comfort in alcohol. However, she wasn’t always like that. We also have a chance to follow her story that started back in 1917 when she joined Alice Dubois and her team of spies in order to change the course of the war. Eve can see the resemblance with her past self in Charlie, so she agrees to help her.

Rhys Bowen is a famous New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a winner of numerous literary awards. A lot of her books were highly praised by critics and became very popular among readers of all ages. Her historical novel The Tuscan Child is another hit that tells a touching story of a family.

The book was published in 2018, but the events take place in the 20th century. The part of the story happens in 1944 in Europe when the major part of it is still controlled by Germans. The book starts with the British RAF pilot Hugo Langley and his co-pilot getting under fire of Germans in Italy. While the co-pilot is heavily wounded and has no chances to survive, Hugo escapes but takes a bullet in the leg. He passes out because of severe pain. He is found by Sofia Bartoli, an Italian woman from a local village of San Salvatore.

Fast forward almost 30 years ahead, we meet Joanna Langley, Hugo’s daughter who comes to England to organize her father’s funeral in 1973. She wasn’t too close with her father and is currently in a bad place in her life dealing with her personal problems. While preparing to sell her family estate and organizing her father’s property, she comes across the letters addressed to a woman named Sofia. In order to find out more about her father’s life, his life in Italy, and also to sort herself out, she decides to take a journey to a beautiful region of Tuscany. There she meets a bunch of new characters that are not less interesting than the protagonist. However, in Italy Joanna realizes that sometimes family secrets should be left behind for good.