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Picking the best books of the year is always a challenge. No matter how many great books I’ve read, I worry there are other great books I might’ve missed. Sure, I think these five books are the best historical fiction books of 2024, but did I leave your favorite book off the list? Maybe. But maybe that’s not entirely the point of best-of lists. Maybe they’re more about highlighting which books from any given year that readers should most prioritize in their reading. Or, maybe it’s about giving the very best books of the year their due. Personally, I love seeing what books show up on best-of lists that I haven’t even heard of so that I can add them to my TBR.
Regardless, my perfectionist tendencies are probably showing. The important thing isn’t whether I’ve included every single exceptional historical fiction book from the year, it’s that these historical fiction books are exceptional and deserve your attention. Each and every one of them is worthy of a spot on your TBR. Whether they’re rounding out your reading goals for the year or starting you off on a new year of reading, these five books are absolute must-reads. Either way, there’s no time to lose.
James by Percival Everett
There’s a reason this book is on every best-of list worth its salt this year. This masterful retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn centers Jim, who actually prefers to be called James, after he discovers that the man he’s enslaved to plans to sell him away from his wife and daughter. On the run with Huck, James holds the two sides of himself separate: the sharply intelligent and self-educated Black man and the necessary parody of an enslaved person who speaks in intentionally incorrect ways to remain unnoticed. But the more time James spends with Huck, the harder it is to keep those two sides separate—especially as the people they meet both fall into and defy stereotypes. James is a subversive masterpiece and a modern-day classic. It should be added to every school curriculum, like, yesterday.
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
A mother wronged and a retired detective investigating a string of suspicious deaths rumored to be caused by fox spirits are both on the hunt. Snow is searching for the man responsible for her daughter’s death. Bao is searching for who—or what—might be leaving a trail of dead women behind. As their paths intersect, the tenuous divide between mortal and spirit worlds comes to light. The Fox Wife is a gorgeous work of historical fiction with just a dash of the supernatural that readers will adore.
The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera
The voices of a community of murdered Indigenous women from El Salvador narrate this haunting story about two girls kidnapped from their home under a volcano. When Graciela is summoned to the capital, she believes it’s only to meet the older sister who was taken from their home as a child. Instead, she’s forced to stay and become the dictator’s new oracle. With only one another to rely on, the sisters grow closer. But when the violence becomes too much, they flee with only the memories and voices of their dead friends and mothers to guide them.
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson
In this historical fiction comedy of manners, a young woman looking for her place—and a job—in the post-WWI years is drawn into a new circle of women at Hazelbourne-on-Sea. There, Constance meets Poppy who wears trousers and runs a ladies-only motorcycle and flying club. But as peace settles back over the country, Constance, Poppy, and the others have to reckon with the fact that their hard-won new place in society is slowly being taken back from them. The Hazelbourne Ladies is everything I want in a historical fiction book.
The Woman With No Name by Audrey Blake
This historical fiction novel follows the true story of Britain’s first female saboteur. Yvonne Rudellat is used to being overlooked. Even with the war on, no one seems to want the help of a middle-aged woman. But when Yvonne catches the attention of the right people, she’s recruited to join a highly secretive spy training program and soon shipped off to France. The novel, based on Rudellat’s time as part of a spy network working to undermine the Nazis in France, is a story of courage, resilience, and defying the odds that you won’t soon forget. Rudellat was an incredible woman, and I’m so glad her story is finally being told.
Oh? Looking for some more best-of lists? Check out Book Riot’s Best Books of 2024, Book Riot’s Best Books of 2024 (So Far), The Best Books of 2024 According to Amazon, and Time‘s Must-Read Books of 2024.