The Washington Post – Book World

5 historical novels that deliver a perfect escape from the present

With this selection of historical novels, you can journey to various times and places: the royal courts of Henry VIII in England and Augustus the Strong in Central Europe, 17th-century Denmark, early-20th-century New York, the Roaring Twenties. Each work puts an imaginative spin on the past.

Three historical fiction book covers - Mrs Wilson' Affair by Allyson Reedy, The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, and Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory - on a yellow background
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Historical fiction – summer 2025