---
title: 12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read
author: Kim Martins
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1529/12-best-historical-fiction-books-to-read/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# 12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read
_Authored by [Kim Martins](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/kim.martins/)_
The AHE team live and breathe history, but we all have our favourite historical periods and authors. We thought it would be fun for each of us to nominate one or two books that we would recommend for the general reader as well as high school students.
[  Evening Reading Valery Parkhomenko (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12041/evening-reading/ "Evening Reading")History is the story of ordinary people being resilient, courageous, and determined during extraordinary times. And since studying history is not simply about memorising facts, we think that the characters in the books we have nominated will allow any reader to view history through the characters' eyes and as events unfold.
Become a [Roman legionary](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Legionary/) for a day; solve the mystery of a stolen necklace in Anglo-[Saxon](https://www.worldhistory.org/Saxons/) times; go on a road trip through ancient [Greece](https://www.worldhistory.org/greece/); gallop on a horse across the Scottish highlands with [William Wallace](https://www.worldhistory.org/William_Wallace/) as he fights for Scottish independence; discover the secrets of Carcassonne in medieval France; find out why Erik the Red was banished to Greenland; and learn what it was like to be a woman in biblical times.
### **Dylan Campbell - [Media](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/media/) Editor**
I would recommend [*[Ariadne](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ariadne/): A Novel of Ancient [Crete](https://www.worldhistory.org/crete/)*](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0312049129/) by June Rachuy Brindel. In this story, Ariadne is the hereditary monarch, but her father, Minos wishes to take his role and overthrow the old Goddess [religion](https://www.worldhistory.org/religion/), using increasing violence against the priestess. It is told from Ariadne's perspective. The story takes place during the [Bronze Age](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Bronze_Age/) of Crete and delves into an alternate history but still includes famous Cretan and Athenian figures like [Theseus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Theseus/), King Minos, [Daedalus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Daedalus/), Icarus, and others. The author revitalizes an old [Bronze](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/bronze/) Age myth and provides a new twist.
### **Babeth Étiève-Cartwright - Translation Editor**
My choice is [*[Labyrinth](https://www.worldhistory.org/Labyrinth/)* ](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0425213978/)by Kate Mosse. Set in the heart of the Land of the [Cathars](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cathars/) in southern France (a place near where I used to go on holidays to visit my relatives) it is filled with stories of bravery and secrets known only to the "pure ones". This book has revealed to me some of the mysteries of the tormented past of the fortified [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) of Carcassonne, secrets which have left on the region an everlasting legacy.
### **[Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Mark/) Cartwright - Publishing Director**
My choice is [*The Walled Orchard* ](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0349114528/)by Tom Holt, which is set in Classical Greece around the mid-5th century BCE. The main character is Eupolis, a writer of comedy plays. Eupolis goes on the ancient equivalent of a road trip across Greece, picking up friends and getting into lots of amusing scrapes. What I love about this book is the sheer irreverence.
History books and historians are often quite pompous about the glories of antiquity but Eupolis talks directly to the reader, poking fun at everyone from the [temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) priests to the unscrupulous wine sellers of [Athens](https://www.worldhistory.org/Athens/). You do not need to know anything about ancient Greece to enjoy the book but the more you do know, the more you will smile at the sometimes subtle references to historical figures and events.
### **Patrick Goodman - Educational Content Creator**
[*The Far Arena*](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B0141UPA3G/) by Richard Sapir is one of the few books I have chosen multiple times for a vacation read. A [gladiator](https://www.worldhistory.org/gladiator/) is found frozen in ice by an oil prospecting team who revive him using... [science](https://www.worldhistory.org/science/)! Though the revelation is kept under wraps, most everyone involved is deeply skeptical of the man's claims that he was the primo gladiator of his day.
Lots of enjoyable surface-deep [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) history and Latin linguistics ensues. All of this results in a calamitous mistake when a world-class fencer deliberately insults the gladiator in a highly entertaining yet gruesome scene. A great little book from when cryogenics was a hot topic in the science/science fiction field.
### **Ibolya Horvath - Editor**
[*Marching with [Caesar](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/caesar/): The [Conquest](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) of [Gaul](https://www.worldhistory.org/gaul/)* ](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B00I0J2HAO/)by R.W. Peake is actually the second book (there is a prequel) in one of the best [Roman military](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Army/) fiction series. Written like a memoir, [Titus](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Titus/) Pullus, the old retired legionary recounts his youth and tells us about Caesar's Gallic Wars from a legionary's point of view in realistic and sometimes graphic detail. Well-researched and historically accurate for the most part, the series makes campaigning with Titus feel like a real experience.
From the many books set in ancient [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/), I also recommend Colleen McCullough's [*Masters of Rome* ](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B01HN4WGPC/)series to those interested in politics and intrigue and Peake's *Marching with Caesar* to those who prefer military adventure.
### **Kelly Macquire - Video Editor**
The [*Song of [Achilles](https://www.worldhistory.org/achilles/)* ](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0062060627/)by Madeline Miller is a beautifully written book that follows the life of the hero Achilles, through the eyes of his friends and companion [Patroclus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Patroclus/). It is not just the story of the [Trojan War](https://www.worldhistory.org/Trojan_War/), but the growth of Achilles and Patroclus, from boys to men. It highlights the human side of the hero and shines a new light on the ancient story that many of us know. It took Madeline 10 years to write this, and her hard work shines through in every sentence. It is my absolute favourite book, and I would recommend it to anyone, whether they are familiar with the story or not.
You can also read an [interview](https://etc.ancient.eu/interviews/an-old-song-with-a-new-melody-an-interview-with-madeline-miller/) with the author where she talks to AHE about why she wrote *The Song of Achilles.*
### **Wanda Marcussen - Travel Writer**
My choice is *[The Red Tent](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B00HTK2AZM/)* by Anita Diamant, which follows the story of Dinah from the Genesis story of [Jacob](https://www.worldhistory.org/Jacob/) and his four wives - Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhaha. Dinah is the only daughter of Jacob and through her the reader gets to explore what life could have been like in early biblical times from a female perspective. The story centres around the art of midwifery, the practice of [women](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/women/) entering a red tent during their menstruation, and how a female community secluded from men was created.
### **Joshua Mark - Author & Researcher**
I first read [*The Scottish Chiefs*](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1986711102/) by Jane Porter when I was little - perhaps ten years old - and it swept me away. It was my introduction to William Wallace (c. 1270-1305 CE) and Scottish History - as it has been for plenty of people since its publication in 1810 CE - and reads just as well as an adult as it did when I was a child.
Porter's prose is lovely and the novel - which is among the earliest in the historical fiction genre - moves with excellent progression and characterization. Highly recommended for readers of all ages, especially the edition with the N. C. Wyeth illustrations.
### **Kim Martins - Travel Editor**
I love [*Wolf Girl*](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B004ZLS39A/) by Theresa Tomlinson. It is a YA novel set in Anglo-Saxon times (663 CE Northumbria) but will certainly appeal to older readers, too. Cwen is a poor weaver employed at Whitby Abbey and she is accused of stealing a valuable necklace. Her brave daughter, Wulfrun, sets out to prove her mother's innocence but she encounters unknown enemies and deceit at every turn.
Tomlinson is a master storyteller and her attention to historical detail will make you feel as though you are on a roller coaster ride through Anglo-Saxon politics and daily life.
### **Liana Miate - Social Media Editor**
*[Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1400076005/)* by Bettany Hughes. [Helen](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Helen/) exists in many guises: a matriarch from the Heroic Age who ruled over one of the most fertile areas of the [Mycenaean](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mycenaean_Civilization/) world; Helen of [Sparta](https://www.worldhistory.org/sparta/), the home-wrecker of the [Iliad](https://www.worldhistory.org/iliad/); the pin-up of Romantic artists. Focusing on the “real” Helen, Hughes examines the physical, historical & cultural traces that Helen has left on locations in Greece, North [Africa](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/africa/) & [Asia Minor](https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/).
### **Jan van der Crabben - Chief Executive Officer**
I nominate [*Sagas of the Icelanders*](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0141000031/), a collection of early medieval stories set in ancient Iceland, Norway, Greenland and [Vinland](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vinland/) (modern-day Canada). The Icelandic Sagas show us how a thousand years ago, people had both the very same issues we face today, but they often reacted very differently. Even though the sagas are fictional, they give us an insight into the [culture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/culture/) that inspired Tolkien, a world where family ties, honour and heroism were of everyday importance. The sagas are written in a language that appeals to modern-day readers and they cover both the famous sagas ([Leif Erikson](https://www.worldhistory.org/Leif_Erikson/)'s Vinland Sagas, Erik the Red, Egil Skallagrimmson) as well as lesser-known family feuds and semi-mythological encounters.
### **Marion Wadowski - Head of Education**
I guess I have to mention the [*Ramses* series](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B001JDPY62/) by Christian Jacq. I devoured all of them when I was a teenager. They were real page-turners, full of intrigues, betrayal, and love. These books definitely instilled in me a love for [Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/egypt/), they were just so immersive!
#### Editorial Review
This human-authored article has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).
## About the Author
Kim is a freelance writer based in New Zealand. She has a B.A. (Hons) in History and an M.A. in Chaos and Complexity Science. Her special interests include the exploration of the early modern world and the history of science.
- [Facebook Profile](https://www.facebook.com/kim.martins)
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/kimsbarcea)
## Cite This Work
### APA
Martins, K. (2020, April 02). 12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Martins, Kim. "12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 02, 2020. .
### MLA
Martins, Kim. "12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read." *World History Encyclopedia*, 02 Apr 2020, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [Kim Martins](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/kim.martins/ "User Page: Kim Martins"), published on 02 April 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.