Historical Fiction

All countries Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bangladesh Barbados Belize Benin Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Burundi Canada Chile China Congo, Democratic Republic Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia Cuba Cyprus Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia Fiji France Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Libya Madagascar Malaysia Mexico Moldova Morocco Myanmar Netherlands Nigeria North Korea Oman Pakistan Palestine Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Rwanda Saudi Arabia Senegal Singapore Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Türkiye Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Newest first Oldest first
1
The Pearl That Broke It's Shell
The Pearl That Broke It's Shell
Nadia Hashimi
Set in Afghanistan, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell follows two women separated by a century but connected by their struggles against restrictive social expectations. In contemporary Kabul, Rahima grows up in a family without sons. Her parents allow her to become a bacha posh—a girl temporarily dressed and treated as a boy—giving her freedoms that would otherwise be denied to her. A century earlier, her ancestor Shekiba faces similar restrictions and hardship, eventually finding an opportunity to survive by living as a man. As their stories unfold in parallel, both women navigate a society shaped by patriarchal traditions, political instability, and gender inequality. Hashimi explores the resilience of women who challenge the boundaries imposed upon them, revealing how the desire for education, independence, and dignity can become an act of resistance.
Afghanistan 2014
2
The Moor's Account
The Moor's Account
Laila Lalami
The Moor’s Account is a historical novel that reimagines the story of Mustafa al-Zamori, a Moroccan man enslaved by Spanish conquistadors who became one of the first Africans to explore the Americas. In 1527, Mustafa joins an expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez, which sets out to claim territory in what is now Florida for the Spanish Crown. When the expedition collapses under the pressures of disease, starvation, and conflict with Indigenous communities, Mustafa becomes one of only four survivors. As he travels across unfamiliar lands, his role gradually changes from enslaved servant to healer, interpreter, and storyteller. Through his imagined memoir, Lalami challenges the traditional historical narratives that privilege European voices while overlooking the experiences of those who were enslaved or marginalized. The novel explores identity, cultural encounters, survival, and the power of storytelling to reclaim histories that might otherwise be forgotten.
Morocco 2014
3
Dust
Dust
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Set in Kenya against the backdrop of political violence and the country’s turbulent postcolonial history, Dust follows Ajany, an artist who returns home after her brother Odidi is killed in Nairobi. Seeking answers about his death, she travels to the remote family homestead in northern Kenya, where long-buried secrets and painful memories begin to surface. Through the intertwined histories of Ajany, her family, and those connected to Odidi, the novel explores the lasting consequences of colonialism, political repression, and collective trauma. Moving between different periods and perspectives, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor examines how personal grief becomes entangled with national history, revealing the silences and unresolved wounds that shape individual and collective identities. Rich in imagery and lyrical prose, Dust is a meditation on memory, belonging, and the difficult process of confronting a past that continues to haunt the present.
Kenya 2014
4
Gun Dealers’ Daughter
Gun Dealers’ Daughter
Gina Apostol
A privileged young woman. A revolutionary lover. A past she cannot fully remember. Growing up in a wealthy family in the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos’s authoritarian rule, Soledad “Sol” Soliman has lived a sheltered life, far removed from her country’s poverty and political turmoil. But when she enters university in Manila, she falls in with radical student activists and becomes involved in a revolutionary movement. Torn between romantic desire and political conviction, Sol is drawn into a conspiracy with devastating consequences. Years later, living far from home, she attempts to reconstruct her fractured memories and confront the act that continues to haunt her. Blending psychological suspense with political history, Gina Apostol’s award-winning novel explores privilege, rebellion, and the uneasy relationship between personal memory and national history.
Philippines 2013
5
Together Tea
Together Tea
Marjan Kamali
Together Tea follows Mina Rezayi, an Iranian American woman living in New York who dreams of becoming an artist but feels pressured to complete her business studies and settle down. Her mother, Darya, is determined to find her the right husband and repeatedly arranges introductions to suitable Iranian American men. Frustrated by the constant matchmaking, Mina struggles to reconcile her own ambitions with her family’s expectations. When mother and daughter travel to Iran, the journey brings them closer to the culture Darya left behind and encourages them to reconsider their relationship. As Mina encounters unexpected romantic possibilities, both women must confront the differences between their hopes and the lives they have built. Kamali explores the complexities of immigrant identity, the changing roles of women, and the tensions between generations. The novel celebrates the possibility of understanding one another without abandoning personal dreams or cultural heritage.
Iran 2013
6
The Lowland
The Lowland
Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lowland tells the story of two brothers, Subhash and Udayan, who grow up together in Calcutta but choose dramatically different paths as adults. During the 1960s, Udayan becomes involved in the Naxalite movement, a radical communist uprising that challenges India’s political and social order. Subhash, by contrast, leaves for the United States to pursue an academic career. When political violence destroys Udayan’s future, Subhash returns to India and makes a decision that binds him to his brother’s family for decades. The consequences of this choice unfold across generations, affecting relationships, marriages, and the identity of Udayan’s daughter, Bela. Lahiri explores guilt, loyalty, political conviction, and the lasting consequences of family secrets, showing how a single act can shape the lives of people who were never responsible for it.
India 2013
7
Our Lady of the Nile
Our Lady of the Nile
Scholastique Mukasonga
High in the mountains of Rwanda, an elite Catholic boarding school for girls stands isolated above the Nile, promising its students education, respectability, and protection from the outside world. But beneath its orderly routines, the school reflects the growing ethnic tensions and prejudices shaping Rwandan society in the years before the 1994 genocide. Admission quotas restrict the number of Tutsi students, leaving girls such as Veronica and Virginia vulnerable to discrimination and hostility from their Hutu classmates. As Gloriosa, the daughter of a powerful politician, spreads increasingly dangerous nationalist ideas, friendships fracture and everyday rivalries become entangled with political violence. The school, overseen by Belgian nuns, becomes a microcosm of a society moving toward catastrophe. Through the experiences of its teenage students, Scholastique Mukasonga explores how prejudice is taught, how colonial legacies shape identity, and how violence can take root in ordinary life long before it erupts into tragedy.
Rwanda 2012
8
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets
Oksana Zabuzhko
Spanning more than six decades of Ukrainian history, from the Second World War to the early 2000s, The Museum of Abandoned Secrets is an ambitious, multigenerational novel about memory, resistance, and the hidden forces shaping national identity. In contemporary Kyiv, journalist Daryna Hoshchynska discovers an old photograph of Olena Dovhan, a young Ukrainian partisan who was killed by Soviet secret police in 1947 after being betrayed by her lover. Fascinated by Olena’s story, Daryna begins investigating her life, uncovering secrets that connect the wartime resistance to the political realities of modern Ukraine. As her research deepens, personal relationships, family histories, and forgotten traumas become entangled with the country’s turbulent past. Moving between generations and historical periods, Zabuzhko explores Soviet repression, political violence, cultural memory, and the enduring consequences of historical silence. Combining historical fiction, psychological drama, and elements of the supernatural, the novel asks how the past survives within the present—and how recovering buried stories can reshape a nation’s understanding of itself.
Ukraine 2012
9
A Grain of Wheat
A Grain of Wheat
Set in Kenya in the days leading up to independence from British colonial rule, A Grain of Wheat explores the sacrifices, betrayals, and moral compromises behind a nation’s struggle for freedom. The novel centres on Mugo, a quiet villager whom his community regards as a hero because of his suffering during the colonial government’s emergency rule. As the village prepares to celebrate independence, however, hidden truths about the resistance movement begin to emerge. Through interconnected stories of former freedom fighters, their families, and their neighbours, Ngũgĩ examines the lasting consequences of colonial violence and the complicated legacy of resistance. The novel asks what it means to be a hero, how communities remember their past, and whether political independence can bring genuine reconciliation when individuals remain haunted by guilt and betrayal.
Kenya 2012
10
The South
The South
Colm Tóibín
Set in the 1950s, The South follows Katherine Proctor, an Irish Protestant woman who leaves her husband, young son, and home in Ireland to begin a new life in Barcelona. Determined to become a painter, she immerses herself in the city’s artistic community, where she meets Miguel, an anarchist and veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Their relationship leads her to a remote village in the Pyrenees, where she attempts to reconcile her artistic ambitions with her desire for love and independence. However, the past continues to shape her choices, forcing her to confront the complexities of her marriage, family ties, and cultural identity. Through Katherine’s journey, Colm Tóibín explores exile, self-discovery, and the difficult pursuit of personal freedom against the weight of social expectations and historical conflict.
Ireland 2012
11
Salvage the Bones
Salvage the Bones
Jesmyn Ward
Set in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina, Salvage the Bones follows fifteen-year-old Esch Batiste and her three brothers as they navigate poverty, family tensions, and the looming threat of a devastating storm. Living with their father in a neglected community, the siblings struggle to prepare for the hurricane while confronting their own emotional and personal challenges. Esch, who is pregnant and quietly in love with her brother’s friend, finds parallels between her experiences and the mythological story of Medea. As the storm approaches, the family must rely on one another to survive. Through vivid storytelling and lyrical prose, Jesmyn Ward explores the bonds of family, the resilience of marginalized communities, and the enduring power of love amid hardship. The novel portrays the devastating intersection of poverty, race, and environmental disaster while celebrating the strength of those who endure.
United States 2012
12
The Good Muslim
The Good Muslim
Tahmima Anam
Nearly a decade after Bangladesh’s war of independence, Maya Haque returns to Dhaka to reconnect with her family and discovers that the world she left behind has changed profoundly. Her beloved brother, Sohail, once a revolutionary and committed secularist, has embraced religious conservatism and become a charismatic religious leader. As Maya continues to pursue her medical career and fight for women’s rights, the siblings find themselves on opposing sides of an increasingly bitter ideological divide. Their conflict deepens when Sohail makes a decision about his young son, Zaid, that threatens to tear the family apart. Set against the political and social upheavals of post-independence Bangladesh, The Good Muslim explores how war leaves lasting psychological scars, how faith can reshape identity, and how families struggle to reconcile love with deeply held convictions.
Bangladesh 2011