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The 19th century is one of the most intriguing eras portrayed in today’s historical fiction. Close enough to feel relatable but all the more transportative for being out of reach, well-documented enough to be thoroughly researched but with sufficient unknowns to be open to interpretation, it includes significant events whose effects still linger, and complex social atmospheres that exist outside of our own experience. Below is a list that showcases a variety of excellent 19th-century historical novels published in recent years. A couple feature early Chinese American narratives. Some both adhere to and subvert conventions of the popular Western genre. Several are written from a Black American perspective, covering both slavery and Reconstruction. Other books take place outside of the United States, in settings such as Scotland, England and Norway.
We hope you enjoy these titles, which all come highly recommended from our reviewers. And if you’re on the hunt for more 1800s books, be sure to check out our full category of 300+ recommended titles set in the 19th century, which includes both fiction and nonfiction and is continually growing. BookBrowse members can access all filters and categories, while non-members have limited access.
There are many websites that claim to pay people to read, and there are many that do. However it's important to understand what you're trying to accomplish when starting your journey to becoming a paid book reviewer or reader.
Are you trying to become a better writer? Do you want to be able to read books for free? Do you care which books they are? Do you want to write shorter, blurb-style book reviews, or longer form criticism?
Depending on what your goals are, there are four different strategies you can consider pursuing that fall under the umbrella of "getting paid to read."
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage month, when we recognize the cultural presence and contributions of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians. Below is a list of some exciting recent hardcover releases, along with recent and upcoming paperback releases, by writers of these identities.
AAPI month gives us a chance to both celebrate authors under this umbrella and to reflect on obstacles and limitations that still exist. While overall AAPI literary representation has risen over past decades, the full spectrum of that acronym (which sometimes is understood to include Middle Eastern Asian heritage, in addition to East, Southeast and South Asian ethnicities) remains less realized, both in terms of the need for more Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian inclusion as well as the need for increased nuance and diversity in AAPI literature as a whole, such as more LGBTQ+ books, more non-traditional narratives and more writing from non-East Asian AAPI authors. To that end, we aim with this list to bring you titles by people from a variety of backgrounds, as well as a range of genres, stories and subject matter. Enjoy!
This spring, as you step out to your local weekend farmers market, closest beach or favorite hiking trail, you may want to take a moment to reflect on the living world around you. At BookBrowse, our Nature and the Environment category of Beyond the Book articles covers the ways humans are intimately tied to and dependent upon the plants and animals we share the planet with, the responsibility we have towards them in turn, and additional topics involving environmental politics, biodiversity, natural wonders and much more. Below is a small sampling of freely available articles for you to enjoy.
Every "beyond the book" article we write accompanies a book we review and focuses on a cultural, historical or contextual topic related to that book. These pieces are a great way to discover new titles and learn about all kinds of subjects! BookBrowse members get full access to thousands of Beyond the Book articles across nine categories, including Nature and the Environment.
The Pulitzer Prize (pronounced PULL-it-sir) is awarded annually for outstanding public service and achievement in American journalism, literature, and music. Presented each year since 1917, it’s considered the country’s most prestigious award in these fields.
Historical fiction is often a well-loved genre for book clubs. It allows members to learn more about a particular time and place at their leisure while enjoying the twists and turns of a good story and sharing it with others.
We've already published the results of our most recent annual survey showing the Top 10 book club books of 2023, but how did historical novels fare? Below are the works of fiction set in past eras that book club members took the most pleasure in discussing.
| Book | % of Respondents | |
| 1 | Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022) | 18.6% |
| 2 | Horse by Geraldine Brooks (2022) | 12.9% |
| 3 | The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (2023) | 7.8% |
| 4 | West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge (2021) | 5.5% |
| 5 | The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (2023) | 5.1% |
| 6 | Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (2023) | 3.4% |
| 7 | The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (2021) | 3.0% |
| 8 | The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (2021) | 3.0% |
| 9 | Trust by Hernan Diaz (2022) | 2.0% |
| 10 | The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (2022) | 1.4% |
The above information is based on a February 2024 survey of BookBrowse email subscribers. Only subscribers were eligible to take part so as to prevent the ratings being skewed by enthusiastic fan bases. Respondents were asked to name up to three favorites that they discussed in a book group setting in 2023; 3268 votes were cast.
The popularity of historical fiction is already evident by its presence in our general Top 10. Six of the ten, led by Lessons in Chemistry from Bonnie Garmus and Horse from Geraldine Brooks, are historical novels, leaving room for four more favorites. Filling the 7th and 8th place spots in a tie are Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray's The Personal Librarian, the story of Belle da Costa Greene, who hid her identity as a Black woman while working as J.P. Morgan's librarian in the early 20th century, and Amor Towles' The Lincoln Highway, which follows a spontaneous series of road trip adventures undertaken by a pair of brothers in the 1950s. These two titles also made our overall Top 10 of 2022, taking the #4 and #2 spots respectively.
Trust by Hernan Diaz, coming in at #9, is a metafictional feast of a novel featuring four accounts of a wealthy couple living in 1920s New York. Along with The Personal Librarian and Towles' novel, this work gives readers a unique glimpse into American history, and provides food for thought on the nature of truth and perspective.
Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait, sliding in at #10, sweeps us away in another direction entirely. Set in 16th-century Italy, it relates a high-tension, alternate version of the story of the real Lucrezia de' Medici, daughter of a Grand Duke of Tuscany, in which she attempts to foil her husband's plans to murder her.
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