Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel
Thomas Cromwell's rise through the court of Henry VIII, in vivid present-tense prose. Booker-winning and absorbing.
All moods
Historical fiction
Good historical fiction makes a period feel lived in. These novels range from the Tudor court and Elizabethan Stratford to wartime Europe and 1960s Mississippi, and they work as stories first and history lessons second.
Books to start with
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths converge in occupied Saint-Malo during World War II. Short chapters, lyrical prose.
Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell
Imagines the death of Shakespeare's young son and his family's grief, in a Stratford touched by plague.
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
A girl in Nazi Germany steals books while her foster family hides a Jewish man. Narrated by Death.
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
Two sisters in occupied France, each resisting the war in her own way. Emotional and fast-moving.
The Help
Kathryn Stockett
In 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, Black maids and a young white woman who writes down their stories take a risk together.
How to choose
Start with the era that pulls you in. Wolf Hall, a Booker Prize winner, is the biggest and most politically dense, following Thomas Cromwell at the court of Henry VIII. Hamnet imagines a family's grief after a child's death in Elizabethan Stratford, so it is moving and heavy on loss. The Help, set in segregated 1960s Mississippi, mixes warmth with cruelty and includes racist language.
Three novels are set in the shadow of World War II. All the Light We Cannot See alternates short chapters between a blind French girl and a German boy; it is lyrical but depicts wartime violence. The Book Thief, narrated by Death, often appears on young-adult lists, yet it is a heavy read about persecution and loss in Nazi Germany. The Nightingale is the most emotional and fast-moving, and it includes sexual violence.
Want something more personal?
Tell Bookworm what you liked and what you didn't, and get a short list chosen for you.
Get picks tailored to youMore moods like this
- Book club picksThe best book club books split the room.
- Classic mysteriesBefore the psychological thriller there were country houses, fog and a sharp detective.
- Love & romanceWhether you want slow-burn longing, sharp banter or a story that breaks your heart a little first, these love stories mix classics with modern favorites.