History is arguably one of the most rigid and unforgiving elements composing our world, setting the past in stone and paving the way for tomorrow. No matter how hard we might try, history is one of those things which can never be changed… and yet we’re drawn to the idea like moths to a flame.
The power to rewrite history, and consequently, to control reality and make it bend to one’s will, is probably one of the most coveted fantasy powers among human beings for centuries (if not longer), and while we don’t have access to time travel magic, we do have the ability to write.
Historical fiction is a genre with an untold amount of potential, daring authors to anchor themselves in a real point and letting their imagination soar from there on out. From using historical settings for fantastical stories to rewriting our known timeline of events, there are few limits, if any, for what imaginative authors can achieve.
In this category we’re going to look at historical fiction books across the whole spectrum, whether old or recent, fantastical or realistic. Here are the works which, I believe, make the most out of the potential this genre has to offer.
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“The Young Lions” by Irwin Shaw – Different Perspectives on Atrocity
Irwin Shaw is one of the writers whose works have a defined place in history, chronicling a reality we can never afford to forget. The Young Lions is perhaps his best-known work, depicting the Second World War and its immense complexity through three different perspectives: an observant young Nazi, a weary American film producer, and a shy Jewish boy who just got married.
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“A Thousand Ships” by Natalie Haynes – The Lost Perspective
Natalie Haynes has been exploring many venues of literature through the novels and books she has written, with her latest one, A Thousand Ships, taking us back to antiquity once again.
Following the fall of Troy at the hands of the immortalized ruse by the Greeks, the book follows the stories of many women all affected in one way or another by the war and its resolution.
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“A Brightness Long Ago” by Guy Gavriel Kay – The Meeting Between Free Will and Fate
Guy Gavriel Kay is without question one of the more prominent and outstanding speculative fiction authors writing today, and I think we can add A Brightness Long Ago to his list of successes.
The story follows an old and powerful man, part of the ruling council in a fantasy version of Venice, as he remembers his rather turbulent youth, how he came to be where he is, as well as all the different men and women who shaped his fate.
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“Greenwood” by Michael Christie – Tracing the Tangled Roots of a Family
Michael Christie began his career as an author in promising fashion, being nominated for awards left and right. In his second published novel, Greenwood, he attempts to make full use of his talents to tell the complicated story of a family across multiple generations.
Taking us on a trip through time from 1908 to 2038, we meet the four pivotal members who through their actions, both purposeful and unwitting, dictated their family’s history.
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“The Book of Longings” by Sue Monk Kidd – The Rebellious Thorn
Sue Monk Kidd has never run short on imagination in her books, and her latest work, The Book of Longings, yet again bears testament to this.
Set in the first century during the Roman occupation of Israel, the novel borrows some elements from history to tell the story of Ana, who is determined to give a voice to the other silenced women of her times while trying to carve a most difficult path for her own fulfillment.
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“The King at the Edge of the World” by Arthur Phillips – What Does a Monarch Believe?
Arthur Phillips has really been exploring his abilities as an author by diving into different genres since his first novel, and in The King at the Edge of the World he transports us into the realm of historical fiction.
Taking place in 1601, we follow a web of courtly intrigues anchored around the impending death of Queen Elizabeth I, the leading candidate to her succession King James VI, and Mahmoud Ezzedine, a Muslim physician who stayed behind from the Ottoman Empire’s last diplomatic visit.
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“The Source” by James A. Michener – The Holy Land Madhouse
James A. Michener had a rather peculiar specialty as an author, focusing on rather lengthy historical novels profoundly focusing on a specific geographical location.
The Source, originally published back in 1965, takes us on a journey thousands of years long through the Holy Land, recounting the origins of Judaism, the rise of the early Hebrews, and all which happened since then until the modern conflict with Palestine.
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“Deacon King Kong” by James McBride – The Consequence to Violence
James McBride has always had a remarkable ability to examine and understand the human mind, and in Deacon King Kong he puts his talents on display once again.
Taking us to a housing project in Brooklyn, we witness the shooting of a drug dealer by an old church deacon and its far-reaching effects on those who witnessed it, as well as those who didn’t.
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“The Huntress” by Kate Quinn – The Long Hunt After the War
Kate Quinn has firmly cemented her place among the best historical fiction writers of today a few novels, and she continues her good literary streak with The Huntress.
The story is composed of three narratives, each one following in some way the titular Huntress, a Nazi war criminal of legendary proportions.
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“Toward the Midnight Sun” by Eoin Dempsey – The Guiding Promise
Eoin Dempsey isn’t one to skimp on complexity and emotional depth in his novels, often trying to get to the very core of what his characters are experiencing.
In his most recent novel, titled Toward the Midnight Sun, we undertake an epic adventure with Anna Denton, a prospector during the Klondike gold rush with a different goal than most: to reach Henry Bradwell, the King of the Klondike, and the man she is meant to marry.
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“The Philosopher’s War” by Tom Miller – The Outlawed End of Struggle
Tom Miller has truly created a unique and incomparable world of magical realism with The Philosophers Series, and the second book, titled The Philosopher’s War, continues the grandiose adventures of Robert Canderelli Weekes.
After his exploits as a pilot, he is allowed to be the first male to join the US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service.
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“The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn – The Search for Meaning in War
Kate Quinn has a penchant for writing historical novels of a generally more complex nature, and she further reinforced this notion when she published The Alice Network.
Taking us through two stories happening in 1915 and 1947 respectively, we witness both a British intelligence network operating in Germany-occupied Northwestern France, as well as a young American girl’s search for her roots in the battered country.
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“Where the Light Enters” by Sara Donati – The Shield of the Doctors Savard
Sara Donati may have truly started something remarkable with her Gilded Hour Series, presenting a portrayal of late 19th-century Manhattan from some unique perspectives.
In the second novel in the series, titled Where the Light Enters, Donati pursues the story of Sophie and Anna Savard, two cousins who are also doctors. This time around, as they are still trying to find a place for themselves in this world, they are also called upon by the police as consultants for a couple of curious cases which suggest a killer might be on the prowl.
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“The Gilded Hour” by Sara Donati – Defiance in a Changing World
Sara Donati, the pen name used by Rosina Lippi, has authored quite a few remarkable historical novels, and out of them all none attracted the same kind of attention as The Gilded Hour, the first book in the series bearing the same name.
We begin our journey through 1883 New York as we follow the lives of two female doctors, both struggling in their own ways with the realities of the times, doing their best to bring whatever goodness they can to a suffering world.
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