Historical Fiction in 2026 and a 2025 Recap

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and there are several books coming in 2026 that I am excited to read:

The Sea Stone Sisters by Eleanor Buchanan – In 1931, after a businessman takes down four historic stones on the Scottish headland, he finds his fortune lost, his wife dead and his four daughters torn apart. The sisters each cling to a ring they inherited from their mother, hoping to be reunited.

The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown - A dual-timeline murder mystery set in an English country manor, where an ambitious professor discovers the long-lost manuscript of a Reformation-era prophetess.

The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow – Asked to investigate robberies in 1890 New Mexico, Clare Wright, a young Pinkerton agent, disguises herself as one of Harvey's famous hostesses, Clare travels west where she risks being exposed at every step of her investigation. I didn’t know Stabenow wrote anything but mysteries!

The House of Hidden Letters by Isabelle Broom - When Skye wins a lottery to buy a one-euro cottage on a Greek island, she discovers hidden letters from WWII, uncovering a story of love and bravery while confronting her own past and finding new connections with other lottery winners and a local contractor.

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula - When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him, with the help of a fellow scholar—her former fiancé—in this historical fantasy.

The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus – A young widow in 1800s Cornwall returns to her childhood village and becomes entangled with smugglers, their charismatic leader, and local legends that claim she is the daughter of a sea spirit.

Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club by Mary-Jane Riley – After WWII when she worked in espionage, Beattie refuses to settle into a conventional life, so she eagerly accepts when offered an undercover role.

A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys - in 1927 Detroit during the Prohibition era, Marjorie Lennox, the rebellious daughter of a powerful auto magnate, escapes to a restrictive arts program, uncovering dark secrets and questioning societal expectations for women. This is Sepetys’ first adult novel.  Coincidentally, I tried to pick one of her earlier books for my library's first community read but was outvoted by people who were afraid it would get confused with 50 Shades of Grey!

The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman - A stranger’s arrival at a boarding house sets a deadly chain of events in motion in post WWII London. I always find boarding houses interesting!  Check out JacquiWine's post on boarding house novels.

The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski - a contemporary gothic novel about an eccentric English family and their crumbling manor, Thornwalk, going from the eve of WWII to the early 2000s.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn – I don’t think this is exactly a historical but it’s set at the Boston Public Library, where Alix escapes into her favorite fantasy novels and dreams of far-off lands, some of which she visits with the help of a mysterious librarian. Quinn is launching her book tour in Boston at our PBS headquarters on February 17th.

A Far-Flung Life by M. L. Stedman - The MacBride family in Western Australia experiences love, loss, family secrets, and resilience over several decades, beginning in 1958.  Phil McBride's decision to swerve to avoid a kangaroo set all of this in motion.

Helen from She Reads Novels has an enticing list of 2026 Historical Fiction coming but (alas) some won’t be published in the US this year (or at all).  Maybe I'll find some in Dublin when I visit in July.

In 2025, I read 37 historical novels, which included some historical mysteries, a few historical romances, and several YA or juveniles. For the most part, if I really enjoyed it, I reviewed it but sometimes I ran out of time.

Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - I enjoyed this last year and helped choose it to be my library's “One Book” Community Read in April.  (Maine, 18th century)

False Colours by Georgette Heyer (reread) (England, 19th century)

A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour (England, 19th century

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans (England, post WWII)

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans (England, post WWI)

Absolution by Alice McDermott (Vietnam, 20th century)

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley (Scotland, 17th century)

Hardacre's Luck by C.L. Skelton (England, late 19th, early 20th century)

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall (Canada, 20th century)

When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward (Canada, 20th century)

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn (England and America, 20th century)

Ace, Marvel, Spy by Jenni Walsh (America and Europe, 20th century)

The Clouded Land by Mary Mackie (Germany and England, 20th century)

The Marriage Season by Jane Dunn (England, 19th century)

The Eights by Joanna Miller (England, 20th century)

The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi (Boston, 18th century)

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (Boston, 20th century)

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci (England, WWII)

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan (England, WWII)

Dear Miss Lake by A.J. Pearce (England, WWII)

An Unlikely Spy by Rebecca Starford (England, WWII)

Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen (England and France, WWII)

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen (England and Italy, WWII and 1973)

Searching for Shona by Margaret J. Anderson (Scotland, WWII and thereafter)

The House at Mermaid's Cove by Lindsay Ashford (Cornwall, WWII)

The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger (Germany and Ireland, WWII)

The Heart Speaks in Many Ways by Madeleine Polland (Spain and Britain, pre and WWII)

Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle (England, 19th century)

The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (England, 19th century)

Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (Bruges, 15th century)

The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett (various, 15th century)

The Steam Whistle Theatre Company by Vivian French (England, 19th century)

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith (England, 20th century

Madensky Square by Eva Ibbotson (reread) (Vienna, early 20th century)

Countdown by Deborah Wiles (reread for the Violent Study Club) (America, 20th century)

Time of the Child by Niall Williams (Ireland, 20th century)

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (Britain, 20th century)

Thanks to Marg from The Intrepid Reader and Baker for hosting the Historical Fiction Challenge.  It doesn’t change how many books I read but it is entertaining to see what others are reading, especially when our choices overlap.