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Looking for something sort of cozy, sort of spectacular? A book that makes you want to curl up with a nice cup of tea and get lost in it? Below, I’ve picked out the five best historical fantasy novels you can read right now.
There’s just something about historical fantasy. Although their worlds are ours—albeit from many, many years ago—the best historical fantasy novels can feel just as alien as an epic fantasy set in an invented land. Just adding that little touch of magic is enough to make history come alive in new and exciting ways.
And let’s talk about history for a second—historical fiction specifically. I’m cursed with knowing just a bit too much about my favorite time periods, as I’m sure some of you are too. That means that, when a historical fiction novel makes a tiny blunder, it can read to me as a glaring mistake. That’s sure to throw me right out of whatever I happen to be reading, no matter how good it’s been up to that point.
I think that’s why I love historical fantasy so much. The magic is already anachronistic, so I can let my guard down and actually fully enjoy what I’m reading. And I hope you can too.
Here are the five best historical fantasy novels you can read right now.
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The Best Historical Fantasy Novels
The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera
In the early 20th century, the military dictator known as El Gran Pendejo rules El Salvador with an iron fist. This at-times bleak novel follows estranged sisters Graciela and Consuelo as they flee the genocide that took the lives of all Graciela’s friends. It’s a heart-tugging tale of magical realism, and it deserves a place on your TBR.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The first book in Zen Cho’s Sorcerer Royal series, Sorcerer to the Crown centers on Zacharias Wythe, a formerly enslaved man who has become Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers. As the first Black man to serve in the role, Zacharias has all eyes on him. Now, Regency England is running out of magic. It’s up to the Sorcerer Royal to travel to Fairyland and figure out why.
Hild by Nicola Griffith
Set in seventh-century Britain, Hild is a fictionalized account of the life of St. Hilda of Whitby and the first novel in the Hild Sequence. The novel traces the young Hild’s life as she grows up, from the king’s niece to the king’s seer, putting her powers of premonition to work. This is a dense masterpiece of a book, steeped in Anglo-Saxon history and lore. Hild has earned its place on your nightstand.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
In the late 1820s, Robin, a Cantonese orphan, finds himself deposited in London. There, he trains as a translator, studying Chinese as well as the ancient languages. He’s spent his whole life preparing for his inevitable entry into the Royal Institute of Translation: London’s magical epicenter and the key to Britain’s dominion over the world. Once Robin gets there, however, he realizes that his adopted homeland’s colonization of his birthplace has come at a price. Where will his loyalties eventually lie?
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Freya Marske’s alternative Edwardian England is one of my favorite historical fantasy settings ever. Here, readers meet Robin Blyth, an impoverished baronet, whose new bureaucratic post turns out to be a royal mistake. He’s supposed to be keeping the public in the dark about the existence of magic in the British Isles. There’s just one problem: Robin himself wasn’t aware of magic until he took the post. With his predecessor mysteriously vanished, and his new magical colleague abrasive, Robin has his work cut out for him in A Marvellous Light.
Want more of the best historical fantasy novels? Check out these must-read historical fantasy books and this list of historical fantasy titles perfect for your book club.