Historical fiction has the power to time-travel readers to different points of time, while making us learn about our world’s history through characters and their stories.

The best examples drop you in the dust of the Outback, the echoing streets of revolutionary Paris, or the candlelit corridors of Kyoto’s teahouses.

From sweeping sagas of war and love to quiet, devastating portraits of ordinary people in extraordinary times, readers on reviewing platform Goodreads have voted for the books they think are the greatest historical fiction novels ever written. Here are the ten best ones.

10. The Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough

1,272 votes

Spanning more than 50 years, The Thorn Birds follows the Cleary family’s journey from New Zealand to a sprawling sheep station in the Australian Outback. At its heart is the forbidden love between Meggie Cleary and Father Ralph de Bricassart – against the constraints of religion, ambition, and duty.

The story mirrors the legend of the thornbird, a creature that sings only once in its life, giving everything for that one perfect song. Across generations, the Clearys face loss, societal judgment, and the relentless pull of the harsh Australian landscape.

9. Shōgun – James Clavell

1,313 votes

Shipwrecked on the shores of 17th-century Japan, English navigator John Blackthorne becomes an unlikely pawn in a deadly power struggle between feudal lords. To survive, he must adapt – learning the language, mastering samurai customs, and navigating a world where honor, loyalty, and politics intertwine.

Based loosely on the real-life William Adams, Shōgun shows the meeting of Western ambition and Eastern discipline – complete with the political intrigue between Lord Toranaga and his rivals.

8. Girl with a Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier

1,454 votes

Inspired by one of the world’s most famous paintings, this quiet yet deeply affecting novel imagines the life of Griet, a 16-year-old maid in the home of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer.

As she becomes part of Vermeer’s creative process – and ultimately the subject of his iconic work – Griet must navigate the delicate lines between servant and confidante, propriety and longing.

7. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

1,496 votes

Few openings are more famous than “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, and few novels are as emotionally sweeping.

Set against the French Revolution’s chaos, A Tale of Two Cities follows the intertwined fates of Dr. Manette, his devoted daughter Lucie, French aristocrat Charles Darnay, and disillusioned lawyer Sydney Carton. The contrasts between London and Paris, hope and despair, make it a timeless study on justice and humanity.

6. The Red Tent – Anita Diamant

1,895 votes

In the Bible, Dinah’s story is just a mention – but The Red Tent offers to expand it. Told entirely from Dinah’s perspective, the novel reimagines her life and the world of women in ancient times.

The “red tent” is a place of refuge, where women gather during menstruation and childbirth – a sanctuary of storytelling, wisdom, and shared experience. Diamant crafts a vivid portrait of female relationships, resilience, and quiet rebellion in a world dominated by men. 

5. The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory

2,047 votes

The Tudor court is a dangerous place to fall in love, and Mary Boleyn learns this firsthand when she becomes Henry VIII’s mistress, bearing him two children before being eclipsed by her ambitious sister, Anne.

The rivalry that follows is tangled with politics, jealousy, and the relentless pressure of producing a male heir.

4. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

3,286 votes

Narrated by Death itself, The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany and follows Liesel Meminger, a young girl sent to live with foster parents in the small town of Molching.

Liesel steals her first book at her brother’s funeral. From then on, amidst the horrors of war, she forges deep bonds with her foster father Hans and with Max, a Jewish man hidden in their basement. Together, they find ways to resist despair through reading, writing, and storytelling.

3. The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

3,587 votes

In 12th-century England, the dream of building a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge becomes the lifeblood of an entire community. Over decades, lives are intertwined through ambition, faith, betrayal, and love, all set against the turbulence of medieval politics and the struggle for survival.

Follett’s storytelling is vast in scope yet rich in detail, from the mason’s literal hammering chisel to the schemes of nobles and clergy. 

2. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

4,132 votes

Set against the sweeping backdrop of the American Civil War and its aftermath, Gone with the Wind follows Scarlett O’Hara – a determined, cunning, and often flawed character – as she fights to save her family’s plantation and her own survival.

Beyond romance, the Pulitzer-winning novel captures the social upheaval of the South, the collapse of an old way of life, and the human drive to survive.

1. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

4,430 votes

In the narrow streets and teahouses of Kyoto, a young girl named Chiyo is sold into a geisha house. Under the mentorship of the elegant Mameha, she transforms into Sayuri, one of Japan’s most celebrated geishas.

Golden’s novel reveals the artistry and discipline of geisha life, at its prettiest and darkest.