From the French Revolution to early aviation, writers continue to draw inspiration from the past

Our pick of great period fiction - which isn’t heavy and depressing

Australian literature has come a long way since Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career, as the new OzLitFestival hopes to show British readers, writes organiser Rina Gill.

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

New historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy about gods and demons, Libby's most popular audiobooks of the summer, and more.

Leave the chick lit and airport thrillers behind and travel through time as you lounge by the pool

Come for the period detail; stay for the betrayals, disappearances, and bodies.

The best historical fiction books of the year so far are Black American generational sagas, set during The Great Hunger in Ireland, and more.

As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary by forgetting its entire history, why not turn away from the parades and dive into a well-researched historical novel instead? Historical fiction is l…

Mark America’s 250th anniversary with historical novels spanning Puritan New England, the Gold Rush, World War II, the Antebellum South and more.

This month’s picks include the drama surrounding a late-Victorian women’s football team and a murder mystery in Medici-era Florence

Walk the grit-coated streets of Victorian London with a gang of pickpockets, map 1860s Ireland with a father and son, and more.

This month’s picks include a remarkable Russian mother, 19th-century crime in London and Hong Kong, and remembering Charles Dickens’s wife, Kate

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

Historical fiction and suspense. On their own, each offers something I love. But together? That’s where the magic can really happen. Historical fiction invites us into another time — often rooted in r...

If you’ve ever been to New Zealand or smashed out a few drinks at the bar with a visiting Kiwi, you’ll know the colloquialism “yeah, nah.” It comes up in most conversations and contexts…

Honey by Imani Thompson; Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre; The Final Chapter by CB Everett; The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani; Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry

This month’s latest entries in the crime fiction canon lean heavily toward multi-POV mysteries and high-concept thrillers, with some historical gothics and horror crossovers thrown into the m…

A prestigious historical fiction prize has revealed its first all-British shortlist

This month’s choices feature a scandal in Slovenia, deadly marital disharmony and a murderous marathon in Iceland

This month’s picks include Miss Havisham’s backstory, love in the time of growing fascism and an Elizabethan murder-mystery

Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. Molly Harper, A Cute Little Murder (Berkley) “Delivers quaint charm, humor, and an intricate isolated location my…

The Keeper by Tana French; The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman; Mrs Shim Is a Killer by Kang Jiyoung; A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad; The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary

This month’s picks include a thriller by Soren Sveistrup, creator of the Scandi-noir TV drama, The Killing

April brings new releases from some of the most prominent names in crime writing, alongside plenty of rising voices and several hotly anticipated series installments. Below, you’ll find picks…

What's behind the timeless appeal of the quintessential fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, who's been around for 140 years? Host Adrian Ma speaks with expert Sherlockian, Otto Penzler.

Looking for a guaranteed page-turner? These new thrillers and crime fiction books for 2026 are our top recommended reads.

A blog about my reading journey as I discover new authors and revisit old favourites.

As Daylight Savings approaches, and we all prepare to spring forward, why not lean into your disrupted sleep schedule with…a crime novel? They will keep you up late and disorient you enough t…

This month’s picks cover an angry mob in Oxford, a 70th birthday party gone wrong and a female twist on The Talented Mr Ripley

As Daylight Savings approaches, and we all prepare to spring forward, why not lean into your disrupted sleep schedule with…a crime novel? They will keep you up late and disorient you enough t…

Venture back in time to the Trojan War and then all the way up to present day with these March historical fiction new releases.

I wanted to understand a hidden part of my own family’s history.

This month’s picks include a small-town Scottish drama, a Victorian gothic revenge story and the life of Cleopatra reimagined

Explore these 6 Australian books podcasts for all things bookish and writerly.

Graeme Macrae Burnet and Damian Barr are on the list of potential winners of the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize.

Our pick of 14 new mysteries you won’t want to put down

As we continue to relive the Gilded Age and the Age of Imperialism, it’s no surprise to see a host of 19th century settings represented on the list below; the 20th century also has a strong s…

If you're a reader of historical fiction, or you want to write it yourself, read what the greats have to say about historical accuracy.

Our weekly crime fiction column brings you the latest from JD Brinkworth, Saïd Khatibi, Oliver Johnson, David Cairns, Alice Leigh and Danielle Girard

It’s interesting to glance behind the curtain every now and then and dig into what’s happening backstage with the moneyed, the power players, and their agents of change and/or subversion.

This month’s picks include exes that end up dead, the cold case of abandoned sisters and the moral dilemma of finding £1.6 million in a lost backpack

There are so many good books in February. It is ridiculous. This treasure trove of thrillers, this delightful dip into fictional dangers, this masterclass in mysteries…it shouldn’t be a…