Historical fiction offers readers the opportunity to travel back in time and experience different eras and settings. Some of the best historical fiction books of the last several decades include “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, which follows a family over eight generations from colonial Ghana to Jazz Age Harlem, and “Funny Girl” by Nick Hornby, set in 1960s London on the set of a popular sitcom. “Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels tells the story of a young Holocaust survivor haunted by his past, while Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day” explores the inner thoughts of a butler in an English country home.
Other notable historical fiction works include “Matrix” by Lauren Groff, which follows a 17-year-old girl who becomes a prioress in a 12th-century English abbey, and “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert, a sprawling tale of botany, evolution, and romance in 19th-century Philadelphia. Jack Finney’s “Time and Again” combines history and time travel as an advertising artist uncovers secrets in 1880s New York, while Zadie Smith’s “The Fraud” delves into the relationship between England and colonial Jamaica in the 19th century.
“Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, is an epistolary work that follows a minister in 1950s Iowa as he reflects on his family’s history of abolitionism and fatherhood. Jim Crace’s “Quarantine” takes readers back to Biblical times, following Jesus during his ascetic retreat in the desert as he encounters others seeking clarity and potential miracles. These diverse and richly researched historical fiction books offer a glimpse into the lives and stories of characters from different eras and backgrounds, capturing the essence of their time and place.
