This list is for the most well known Historical Fiction books on Goodreads.

For purposes of this list, only include books with over 100,000 ratings and shelved at least 1000 times as historical fiction.

Anything with less than 100,000 ratings or shelved less than 1000 times as historical fiction will be removed and without comment.

A book that was set in the time it was written like say Pride and Prejudice is not historical fiction. Please avoid putting these on the list and call them out in comments to discourage people. But librarians shouldn't remove such books from these lists as long as its been tagged incorrectly at least 1000 times.

See also:
Best Historical Fiction
Best Historical Fiction of the 21st Century
Best Historical Mystery
Recommended Historical Fiction
Teen Historical Fiction

Related Lists By Topic:
All, Anthropology, Astronomy, Autobiography, Biography, Biology, Botany, Children, Classics, Climate, Computer Science, Economics, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Geology, Genetics, Geography, Graphic Novels, History, Horror, Judaism, Language, Manga, Medicine, Middle School, Military Science Fiction, Music, Mysteries, Nature, Non-Fiction, Pagan, Pandemic, Philosophy, Picture Books, Poetry, Politics, Productivity, Psychology, Racism, Romance, Science, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Space Opera, Steampunk, Travel, Young Adult
1

by
4.31 avg rating — 1,961,402 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.26 avg rating — 1,149,515 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.47 avg rating — 3,007,408 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.36 avg rating — 3,475,863 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.65 avg rating — 2,066,226 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
3.93 avg rating — 779,186 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.26 avg rating — 6,844,838 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.41 avg rating — 211,614 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.45 avg rating — 1,726,085 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,105,185 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.31 avg rating — 1,254,787 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,031,306 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.04 avg rating — 156,333 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.91 avg rating — 232,466 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.37 avg rating — 3,594,416 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.26 avg rating — 226,346 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.14 avg rating — 394,315 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.11 avg rating — 1,696,707 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.39 avg rating — 2,863,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.35 avg rating — 827,004 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,819,624 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.30 avg rating — 317,462 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.32 avg rating — 274,911 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.19 avg rating — 807,841 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.10 avg rating — 282,097 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.39 avg rating — 330,034 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
3.79 avg rating — 240,905 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.31 avg rating — 716,199 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.09 avg rating — 512,429 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.11 avg rating — 791,643 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.32 avg rating — 346,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,312,231 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.87 avg rating — 254,514 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.37 avg rating — 275,383 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.03 avg rating — 990,650 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.34 avg rating — 384,197 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.14 avg rating — 357,758 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.62 avg rating — 152,514 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.44 avg rating — 191,212 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.13 avg rating — 212,657 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.35 avg rating — 253,900 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
4.11 avg rating — 518,028 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
4.02 avg rating — 172,432 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.36 avg rating — 268,494 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.10 avg rating — 1,478,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.44 avg rating — 165,300 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.92 avg rating — 1,353,850 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.05 avg rating — 314,669 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.34 avg rating — 182,504 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
3.88 avg rating — 1,009,852 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.93 avg rating — 166,951 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.99 avg rating — 884,695 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.10 avg rating — 346,083 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.74 avg rating — 411,225 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.32 avg rating — 662,320 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.01 avg rating — 174,896 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.80 avg rating — 225,520 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.97 avg rating — 708,751 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.31 avg rating — 269,559 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.25 avg rating — 364,224 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.04 avg rating — 662,487 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.07 avg rating — 141,422 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.17 avg rating — 1,290,338 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.16 avg rating — 237,968 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.30 avg rating — 273,053 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.38 avg rating — 176,798 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
4.04 avg rating — 477,984 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.04 avg rating — 156,054 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.03 avg rating — 160,071 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.83 avg rating — 609,359 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.33 avg rating — 425,439 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.04 avg rating — 549,780 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.08 avg rating — 271,176 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.79 avg rating — 230,737 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
3.82 avg rating — 178,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.31 avg rating — 875,014 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.96 avg rating — 182,364 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.42 avg rating — 584,243 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.86 avg rating — 194,034 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
4.34 avg rating — 618,311 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.47 avg rating — 400,687 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.80 avg rating — 276,234 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.55 avg rating — 476,014 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.33 avg rating — 1,107,892 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.18 avg rating — 494,284 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.57 avg rating — 237,636 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
3.80 avg rating — 871,223 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 127,925 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
4.45 avg rating — 164,651 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.06 avg rating — 443,323 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
4.06 avg rating — 181,195 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.29 avg rating — 504,327 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.83 avg rating — 1,334,926 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
4.05 avg rating — 463,661 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.94 avg rating — 545,219 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.92 avg rating — 1,015,012 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.09 avg rating — 387,048 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.19 avg rating — 212,328 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.35 avg rating — 646,230 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.93 avg rating — 122,925 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
176 books · 29 voters · list created December 21st, 2020 by Mitchell Friedman (votes) .
5 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mitchell 11533 books
169 friends
Fiona 1667 books
241 friends
Rebecca 5584 books
0 friends
John 2553 books
0 friends
Willow Anne 1665 books
174 friends
Rich 85376 books
0 friends
Charlotte Igelkott 3128 books
1 friend

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Dec 22, 2020 01:01AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for instance, as it was written in the time it was set).


message 2: by Mitchell (new)

Mitchell Friedman Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for instance, as it was written in the time it was set)."

The fun thing about an arbitrary rule - like must be tagged a particular way - is it doesn't have to be right.

I thought about this exact instance when creating this list and I'll put something in the list description.


Charlotte Igelkott Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for instance, as it was written in the time it was set)."

The f..."


Other weird effects of the number of shelvings rule:
The Name of the Rose qualifies for the classics list, but not for the historical fiction list. (Still not sure I can trust my eyes on that one but I've checked and double checked and...nope)
The House of the Spirits qualifies for the historical fiction list, but not for the classics list.
Surely I can't be the only one who thinks the reverse would make more sense? (Not trying to suggest any changes, just genuinely astonished)


message 4: by Emrys (last edited Jan 18, 2021 10:24AM) (new)

Emrys Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for instance, as it was written in the time it ..."

I suspect with the The Name of the Rose probably did previously qualify for this list but somehow the genre shelf totals have been been reinterpreted/misinterpreted by Goodreads - e.g. the 4000 or so shelvings it has for “Fiction” is similar to the number of shelvings Fall of Giants has for “historical fiction” (the two books both have about 300,000 ratings).


Charlotte Igelkott Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for instance, as it ..."

Oh. Sounds a bit odd to me, but then I'm not very tech savvy. Is this the sort of thing that would be likely to flip back and forth at random or will it be stable until someone notices and changes it back? (Assuming the current numbers are wrong, of course) How can one tell if tNotR is the only book this has happened to or if it's a widespread phenomenon? Would it be likely to have affected other shelves as well? And from a librarian point of view, should I stop deleting books for insufficient shelvings for now?
(Sorry if I'm being too inquisitive - would be better to contact support, perhaps?)


message 6: by Emrys (new)

Emrys Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... (Pride and Prejudice for in..."

I have a spreadsheet of books that records 4000+ shelvings for the genre “Historical Fiction” - I used this tool to get the genre data: https://github.com/PaulKlinger/Enhanc... , but I can’t be sure if the discrepancy is because of an error made by the tool, or because of Goodreads changing things.

Yes, I’ll try asking Support about it later. I don’t get the impression that it’s a widespread problem (just this book actually).


Charlotte Igelkott Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction... ([book:Pride..."

That sounds reassuring. Thank you for answering :)


message 8: by Emrys (new)

Emrys Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Emrys wrote: "Charlotte Igelkott wrote: "Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "There are a number of books on this list which are not historical fiction....."

I raised this issue with Support and they said they’d get the developers to look into it.

If it’s not sorted in a week or two I guess the book can be removed from the list.


message 9: by Emrys (new)

Emrys The Name of the Rose now has 4300 shelvings as "Historical Fiction" so it seems the issue has been fixed.


back to top



Related News

Now here’s an interesting stack of books…   To honor the conclusion of the first quarter of the new century, we’ve ventured deep into the...

Anyone can add books to this list.