Established in 1997, the Historical Novel Society is an international literary society devoted to promotion and advocacy for the genre of historical fiction.

The 19th Century bust, which spent more than 70 years outside, could fetch up to £18,000 at auction.

This witty comedy-of-errors is a delightful spin on the traditional Regency-era romance. After Verbena Montrose’s father loses their family fortune, she must find a husband. Her friend Etienne, a…

Congrats to all HNS members with new books out!  If you’ve written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in March 2026 or after, send the following details in via our…

WRITTEN BY SARAH BOWER Thomas Mogford, who writes historical fiction as T. L. Mogford, is a prolific author of crime novels. The Saffron Thief (HarperFiction, 2026) is his second historical novel,…

BY TRISH MACENULTY When Amy Ephron started out to write her noir-ish 1939 mystery, Unseasonably Cold, (The Sager Group, 2026) she did not expect the process to be interrupted by other writing…

BY MARILYN PEMBERTON What comes first, the plot, character or location? For Sarah Winman, ‘Characters always come first … but place is also extremely important.’ Winman believes that ‘What place does…

The most famous of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table is the central figure in this compelling novel. Raised in secret on the mystical Isle of Women in pre-Roman Britain, the nameless orphan,…

BY LEE ANN ECKHARDT SMITH Author Barbara Sibbald’s path to writing her latest novel, Almost English (Bayeux Arts, 2025) began in a cemetery in Kolkata, India. This is the burial site of her…

Palaces of the Crow is an inventive, beautifully written work that I cannot recommend highly enough. It is historical fiction – the story is set in Lithuania during WWII with later excursions to 1971…

WRITTEN BY LUCINDA BYATT Francis Spufford is the author of the historical novels Golden Hill (his 2016 award-winning debut), Light Perpetual (2021, nominated for the Booker Prize) and Cahokia Jazz…

BY LEE ANN ECKHARDT SMITH California history, addiction and recovery, winemaking and the hippie culture of the 1960s are all part of Kerri Maher’s latest, complex novel, Summer of Love (Berkley, July…

Sister Kate McCarthy spends WWI at the convent at Béthune in France. After the war, she is transferred to Louisiana, but at the start of WWII she is transferred back. One of Kate’s duties is to treat…

The Historical Novel Society lists a comprehensive range of titles from mainstream and small press publishers for novels set from ancient times to the mid-1970s. Titles are listed alphabetically, by…

Margaret George has been one of the leading authors of historical fiction since the publication of her first novel, The Autobiography of Henry VIII  (St. Martin’s, 1986).  Her body of work is…

An Immaculate Deception is the debut novel of Brazilian writer, Isabela Livino – and what an impressive debut it is. Described as Gothic fiction, the novel uses aspects of the genre, reinventing them…

Searching for historical fiction book cover designers? Check out some examples here, including links to the designers themselves.

BY B.J. SEDLOCK I would count the Great Depression as one of the periods of Western history which stands out as a particularly interesting setting for a historical novel.  The struggle of the…

BY CAROLINE WILSON Ashton Lattimore’s Runner (Ballantine, 2026) is a rollicking ride through the Prohibition era Black communities of Martha’s Vineyard and Boston. Lena Jameson, the daughter of a…

Congrats to all HNS members with new books out!  If you’ve written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in March 2026 or after, send the following details in via our…

This is a long and richly woven book, written with the assurance of a seasoned storyteller, yet it is Becky Docton’s debut novel. Lucie, a bewildered seven-year-old, newly arrived in England, is…

Researching historical weather? This list of websites and books will ensure a sunny forecast for accuracy in your novel.

In this absorbing family saga, we meet two fascinating women: Yut Ying, born in Guangdong in 1933, and her daughter, Marigold, born in San Francisco in 1958. Most of the novel narrates Yut Ying’s…

Enjoy browsing through this mix of websites and books for historical fiction story ideas. From libraries to surnames, spark your imagination.

Set across centuries, All We Have Is Time opens in fragments—brief glimpses of moments and places that may initially feel disorienting. But once the novel finds its rhythm, those temporal snippets…

A list of websites offering historical medical resources on diseases like pellagra, cholera and milk sickness.

People in the Middle Ages swore very differently from us. Explore medieval swear words, insults, and religious oaths that shocked medieval society.

In 1905, A.J. Raffles, the “Gentleman Thief” or “Amateur Cracksman”, is reconnoitering a country house for jewels to burgle when he witnesses the aftermath of a macabre murder. Together with his…

Researchers found 120 ancient inscriptions referring to a mysterious goddess known as "the Lady" in a cave in Valencia, Spain.

BY TRISH MACENULTY When Amy Ephron started out to write her noir-ish 1939 mystery, Unseasonably Cold, (The Sager Group, 2026) she did not expect the process to be interrupted by other writing…

In 1757 the state of Bengal was one of the wealthiest places on earth. But its ruler is dying, and he insists on naming his beloved and spoilt grandson Siraj ud-Daulah as his heir. Siraj alienates…

Leopold Sloane needs a chaperone for his headstrong sisters, and although other candidates have more experience, he is impressed by Portia Kendall’s superior training as a governess and her…

Mrs Dickens is a heartbreaking examination of the marriage of Charles Dickens and Catherine Hogarth, two different personalities who are joined by love in their younger years, but whose…

The Historical Novel Society lists a comprehensive range of titles from mainstream and small press publishers for novels set from ancient times to the mid-1970s. Titles are listed alphabetically, by…

People in the Middle Ages swore very differently from us. Explore medieval swear words, insults, and religious oaths that shocked medieval society.

WRITTEN BY ELISABETH STORRS Have you ever paused in a museum to study a piece of art? One by Monet or Rembrandt? A sculpture like Michelangelo’s David or Rodin’s The Thinker? I marvel at their…

This expansive novel, with its extraordinary breadth of knowledge and scrupulous attention to detail, tells the story of a sidelined Tudor personage, Katherine Carey. It spans the Tudor era of Henry…

Prophesied to bring healing to the land and newly knighted by Sir Lancelot, Galahad arrives at King Arthur’s court. But anon, he along with a few other knights will venture forth upon a quest for the…

Miami, Florida. This novel begins with tragedy, and Nate Moran, Miami police detective, having to give the worst possible news to the wife of a fellow law enforcement officer. In Miami during the…

WRITTEN BY SARAH BOWER Thomas Mogford, who writes historical fiction as T. L. Mogford, is a prolific author of crime novels. The Saffron Thief (HarperFiction, 2026) is his second historical novel,…

A 19th-century estate agent created the world’s first version of Rightmove more than 160 years before the birth of online property previews. Brooks and Green, a high-end estate agent based in Old…

Congrats to all HNS members with new books out!  If you’ve written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in March 2026 or after, send the following details in via our…

A tomb excavated in Aspendos, Turkey, revealed a skeleton buried with several coins featuring ancient wrestlers.

William Gold is a mercenary in the service of John Hawkwood during the 1377-1381 ‘War of the Eight Saints’ and the War of Chioggia between Venice and Genoa. He is a new sort of routier, ‘banker,…

A list of websites with fashion history images that should be especially useful for historical fiction authors.

In response to the December 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, in 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order authorizing the detention of Japanese Americans on the west coast…

A guide to historical fiction of The English Civil Wars. Including romance, military and other themes such as witchcraft and radicalism.

Spring 1944, France/England. Twenty-six-year-old Miriam Maduro, a Dutch-Jewish member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), re-emerges from a tortured past when forced to accept a dangerous…

Though in tatters, the undergarment looks thoroughly modern. But was it comfortable!?

WRITTEN BY MYFANWY COOK Feast, Catherine Kurtz’s debut novel (Berkley, 2026), opens in London in 1882. Minha, a young mixed-race woman and the central character, is about to set out on a journey of…