The best historical fiction of 2025

Book covers of Perspectives by Laurent Binet, The Eights by Joanna Miller and The Pretender by Jo Harkin

The most notable historical fiction books of the year so far

(Image credit: Harvill Secker / Penguin / Bloomsbury Circus)

last updated 2 July 2025

"Historical fiction is having a moment", said Cosmopolitan. From novels inspired by Shakespeare to clever reimaginings of Greek myths, there are scores of fascinating books to choose from. "And rest assured, they're nothing like your GCSE history." Here are some of our top picks.

The Treasures by Harriet Evans

This "chunky family saga" is a "pure delight from start to finish", said Joanne Finney in Good Housekeeping. The compelling tale follows the lives of Alice and Tom over five decades. After "bonding over their difficult childhoods" during a chance encounter as teenagers in the 1950s, the pair discover they are both connected to a house in Wiltshire. "The Treasures" is the first instalment of Evans' new trilogy – as soon as you finish "you'll be longing for the next" book.

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

"There's something peculiarly fascinating about novels set in self-enclosed communities with their own rules," said Margot Harrison in The New York Times. In her adult debut, "The Listeners", best-selling young adult author Maggie Stiefvater tells the tale of June Hudson, general manager of the Avallon hotel in the Appalachian mountains, who must play host to enemy diplomats and Nazi sympathisers during WWII. It isn't easy "melding history and fantasy in fiction", but Steifvater "deftly" pulls it off, weaving "wonders" around each corner in her "richly imagined world".

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The Pretender by Jo Harkin

Harkin's latest novel is "loosely" based on the real life of Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne of England used by Yorkist supporters to challenge the newly established reign of Henry VII, said Antonia Senior in The Times. The innocent young peasant boy's life is "upended" when a "shifty" aristocrat arrives to carry him away to a new life. "At turns funny, moving, filthy and original", it's an "absolute delight" – and a "frontrunner" for the best historical fiction book of the year.

The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian

This compelling tale is inspired by the true story of a gravely wounded Vermont captain in the Civil War whose life is saved by a Confederate woman amid the "shifting" battle lines in the Shenandoah Valley, said Alida Becker in The New York Times. Bohjalian wrote a magazine article on the subject back in 2003; now he has returned to it adding his own "imaginative twists" to the fascinating historical material.

A Merciful Sea by Katie Daysh

In this final instalment of Daysh's trilogy, it's 1805 and Captain Hiram Nightingale has been discharged from the navy and is missing life at sea, said Senior in The Times. When he begins receiving "threatening" notes that could expose his "clandestine" relationship with his lover, Lieutenant Arthur Courtney, to a "hostile" world, he vows to find out who is responsible. But while investigating, he is also drawn into plans to protect Britain's shores from a French invasion. It's a "fitting end" to a "wonderful trilogy".

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

Quinn's third novel follows the story of Elinor Coombes, an "unhappily married" British aristocrat who survives the sinking of the Titanic, and starts a fresh life with her infant son in New York, said Kat Trigarszky in The Washington Post. But the city turns out to be a place where "secrets and lies all too easily come bubbling to the surface". Quinn "skilfully contrasts the claustrophobic world of Britain's upper classes" with the chaos of New York in the early 20th century – her book makes for a gripping read.

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Miller's debut novel is set in 1920 – the "pivotal" year when Oxford University began awarding degrees to women, said Trigarszky in The Washington Post. The action charts the progress of four "equally compelling" young women living on Corridor Eight of St. Hugh's College as they navigate the university's "archaic rules" and life alongside their "misogynistic" peers. Each is "hampered by pasts that loom over their present – and threaten to overshadow their futures".

Perspectives by Laurent Binet

Set in Renaissance Florence, Binet's latest novel begins with a murder. Fresco painter Jacopo da Pontormo has been "stabbed to death" with a chisel in the chapel he has been painting for over 10 years, said Vulture. His brutal slaying is a mystery, though it could have something to do with his scandalous works, or a "rivalry" with a fellow artist. Filled with characters who "gossip, flatter and scheme wildly", Binet's epistolary novel makes for an "extremely fun" read.

Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.