Recommended historical fiction

The Players

Minette Walters

A gripping tale of compassion, imposture, trickery and surprising alliances set against the backdrop of The Bloody Assizes, from the bestselling author of The Last Hours and The Swift and…

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The Party

Tessa Hadley

An irresistible novella about two sisters and a night that changes everything, from the master chronicler of our heart's hidden desires

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Molly

Rosalie Ham

With the dark humour, richly detailed settings and vividly drawn characters we've come to expect from Rosalie Ham, this prequel to the international bestseller The Dressmaker is an unforgettable story…

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Dusk

Robbie Arnott

In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that…

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All the Bees in the Hollows

Lauren Keegan

An atmospheric, original, folkoric mystery set in a remote Lithuanian beekeeping community in the 16th century, from debut author Lauren Keegan. For fans of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites and Kate…

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Radical Love

Neil Blackmore

'Neil Blackmore re-imagines an astounding story of gay men in London 200 years ago and under the pain of their betrayal and injustice, he uncovers loyalty and above all, love…

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A Song to Drown Rivers

Ann Liang

A love story that transcends time and place.

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Rapture

Emily Maguire

An imaginative and audacious historical novel from the best-selling author of Love Objects and An Isolated Incident.

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An Undeniable Voice

Tania Blanchard

Now is the time to fight to be heard ... A gripping, uplifting story of love, change and hope at one of the most turbulent times in history - and…

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The Empusium

Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (trans.)

The witty new novel from this internationally acclaimed Polish author blends horror, folklore and feminist parable.

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Held

Anne Michaels

The triumphant new novel from the author of the Orange Prize-winning Fugitive Pieces: a soaring and luminous story of chance and change

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The End of Drum-Time

Hanna Pylvaeinen

Shortlisted for the National Book Award

A story of forbidden love and fugitive faith in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle

'Transports readers deep into an unfamiliar world, yet with familiar…

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Cherrywood

Jock Serong

From multi-award-winning author Jock Serong comes Cherrywood, an imaginative, darkly playful and deeply meaningful delight, a novel about legacy, community, wonder, love and reinvention.

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In the Margins

Gail Holmes

Inspired by a real person, In the Margins is the story of spirited book-collector Frances Wolfreston—the woman who uniquely preserved the earliest part of Shakespeare’s legacy.

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The Instrumentalist

Harriet Constable

A dazzling historical debut set in eighteenth-century Venice, about the woman written out of the story of history's greatest musical masterpiece

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The Fallen Woman

Fiona McIntosh

The heart-stopping new historical adventure from the bestselling author of The Sugar Palace.

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The First Friend

Malcolm Knox

A tour de force set in 1938 Stalin Soviet Union, this chilling black comedy it is at once a satire and a thriller, a survivor's tale in which a father…

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Peggy

Rebecca Godfrey, Leslie Jamison

A 'beautifully imagined and superbly written' (Jenny Offill) novel about Peggy Guggenheim, a story of art, family, love, and becoming yourself, by the award-winning author of Under the Bridge, soon…

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There are Rivers in the Sky

Elif Shafak

The new novel from the Booker-shortlisted, internationally bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World.

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By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult brings to life the woman many believe was the real playwright behind the work of William Shakespeare alongside a contemporary story…

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Winter of the Wolf

Amanda Willimott

Inspired by a notorious werewolf trial, blending history with paranormal and feminist themes, and with a moving queer romance at its core, this is an unmissable Australian debut.

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A Woman of Pleasure

Kiyoko Murata, Juliet Winters Carpenter (trans.)

A vibrant historical novel following a tenacious and quick-witted young Japanese girl who becomes the protegee of a highest-ranking courtesan, from Akutagawa-Prize winner Kiyoko Murata

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Pelican Girls

Julia Malye

Bold, thrilling and startling intimate, Pelican Girls is a powerful vision of female friendship, identity and desire, and the choices women make in their unshakeable will to survive. For readers…

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Imperial Harvest

Bruce Pascoe

Imperial Harvest is a timely book that speaks to the universal lessons of war. It addresses pertinent themes of dispossession by tracing imperialist tactics all the way back to the…

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Edenglassie

Melissa Lucashenko

The bestselling and multi-award-winning novel by the author of Too Much Lip

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Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others…

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Black Shield Maiden

Willow Smith, Jess Hendel

From Willow Smith and Jess Hendel comes a powerful and groundbreaking historical epic about an African warrior in the world of the Vikings.

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Mrs Hopkins

Shirley Barrett

A witty and poignant final novel from acclaimed author and filmmaker Shirley Barrett about what destroys us, what sustains us, and what we carry from one world into the next.

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The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Katherine Arden

In a world torn apart by war, a brother and sister fight to find each other. The sweeping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden.

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Saltblood

Francesca de Tores

Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation…

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Night Watch

Jayne Anne Phillips

From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in a mental asylum in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War.

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The Tower

Flora Carr

A fiery feminist retelling of Mary, Queen of Scot's darkest hour for fans of Matrix and The Silence of the Girls

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This Other Eden

Paul Harding

From the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a profoundly moving story of an island refuge, and a community of outcasts living on borrowed time.

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The Winter Palace

Paul Morgan

A sumptuous novel of war, survival and enduring love.

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The Two Loves of Sophie Strom

Sam Taylor

A timeless, heart-wrenching story about love in the face of indoctrination and tragedy - perfect for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Lovely Bones, and Life After…

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The Seventh Veil of Salome

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Golden Age Hollywood - a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary temptress.

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A Sign of Her Own

Sarah Marsh

How can a deaf woman speak out in a hearing world? To tell her story she must find her own language.

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Mary I: Queen of Sorrows

Alison Weir

Alison Weir's new Tudor novel is the tale, full of drama and tragedy, of how a princess with such promise, loved by all who knew her, became the infamous Bloody…

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The Bookbinder of Jericho

Pip Williams

The follow-up and companion to one of the most successful Australian novels ever, The Dictionary of Lost Words

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Restless Dolly Maunder

Kate Grenville

An exquisite portrait of Kate Grenville's complex, conflicted grandmother - a woman Kate feared as a child, and only came to understand in adulthood.

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The Witching Tide

Margaret Meyer

East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant, has lived for more than four decades in her beloved coastal village of Cleftwater. Everyone knows Martha, but no one…

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The Fraud

Zadie Smith

The chronicler of contemporary London, acclaimed and bestselling author Zadie Smith, returns with her first historical novel

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The Vaster Wilds

Lauren Groff

A profound and explosive novel about a spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive

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Let Us Descend

Jesmyn Ward

Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching.

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Of Women and Salt

Gabriela Garcia

A sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter’s fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born…

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The Paris Bookseller

Kerri Maher

The captivating story of a trailblazing young woman who fought against incredible odds to bring one of the most important books of the twentieth century to the world.

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Horse

Geraldine Brooks

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and People of the Book comes a vivid and unique new novel for lovers of sweeping historical fiction and books about iconic racehorses…

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The Storm We Made

Vanessa Chan

Destined to become a modern-day classic, The Storm We Made is a dazzling saga about the power of familial love in the face of the horrors of war, for fans…

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Recommended historical fiction

The Players

The Party

Molly

Dusk

All the Bees in the Hollows

Radical Love

A Song to Drown Rivers

Rapture

An Undeniable Voice

The Empusium

Held

The End of Drum-Time

Cherrywood

In the Margins

The Instrumentalist

The Fallen Woman

The First Friend

Peggy

There are Rivers in the Sky

By Any Other Name

Winter of the Wolf

A Woman of Pleasure

Pelican Girls

Imperial Harvest

Edenglassie

Alias Grace

Black Shield Maiden

Mrs Hopkins

The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Saltblood

Night Watch

The Tower

This Other Eden

The Winter Palace

The Two Loves of Sophie Strom

The Seventh Veil of Salome

A Sign of Her Own

Mary I: Queen of Sorrows

The Bookbinder of Jericho

Restless Dolly Maunder

The Witching Tide

The Fraud

The Vaster Wilds

Let Us Descend

Of Women and Salt

The Paris Bookseller

Horse

The Storm We Made