Best Historical Fiction Not About WWII

What are the best historical fiction books not about WWII?

There are so many historical fiction books about WWII, but what if you want to read a non WWII books? What should you read?

I love WWII books, both fiction and nonfiction, but sometimes I need to break them up with historical fiction from a different time than WWII.

After reading a WWII book or two, I need to take a break with something totally different than the WWII time period.

I know that I am not the only one that feels that way. A lot of readers are looking for historical fiction, not about WWII.

In fact, this list is inspired by my readers who have asked for non-WWII book suggestions.

I love to read historical fiction, so this list was fun to put together. It contains books from the 1700s to the 1980s. Some of them are set in the U.S., but many of them are set in places all over the world.

If you love historical fiction, this list is for you!

As always, this list of books isn’t just a list of random books. It contains only books that we have read and can recommend.

Historical Fiction Not About WWII

The books are listed in order by date. Click on the title of the books for our full review.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is set in 1789. Set in Maine, it is based on the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife. It was one of my favorite books of 2023.

The Kitchen House Late by Kathleen Grisson is set in the 1700s and Early 1800s. It is about Pre-Civil War America in the south.

I read this book a couple of years ago and still think about it. It wasn’t an easy book to read, but it was worth it.

Surviving Savanah by Patti Callahan is set in 1838 and is about Savannah, Georgia, and the ship Pulaski.

The Pulaski is often called the Titanic of the South because it was a ship full of wealthy Southerners headed north for the summer.

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson is set in the 1800s pre-Civil War period. It is about Pheby Delores Brown, who was born on a plantation in Virginia.

She lived in two worlds, neither of which she fit into. She was a slave but an educated one. She was educated, but she was still a slave. 

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin is set in 1888. It is about The School Children’s Blizzard that killed 235 people, mainly children, in the Dakotas and Nebraska.

Under A Painted Sky by Stacy Lee is set in 1849. It is a young adult book about the Oregon Trail. It is so well written that young and old adults will enjoy it.

Carnegie’s Maid Late by Marie Benedict is set in the late 1800s, The Gilded Age. A reader described this as a Cinderella story with a twist. I think that is a good way to describe it.

Crow Mary by Kathleen Grisson is set in 1872. It is the story of Goes First, a Crow Indian. This was one of my favorite books of 2023.

I enjoyed it so much that I told my husband, who doesn’t read much fiction, that he needed to read it, too.

All The Pretty Places by Joy Callaway is set in 1893. It combines gardening and the Gilded Age. The writing about flowers and gardening is so well done in this book.

The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble is set in 1899 New York. It is about a group of girls who worked for Tiffany Glass, making lamps, windows, and more.

I really enjoyed this one because I knew nothing about Tiffany Glass and the work it took to make it.

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee is set in 1912 on the Titanic.

This is a YA historical fiction book, but it is a book adults will enjoy as well. I do not read a lot of YA books, but I really enjoy Stacey Lee’s writing.

Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini is set in 1917 during WWI. I had this in my to-be-read stack for a while, but after a reader recommended it to me, I moved it to the top of the list.

I knew nothing about the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps during WWI, so this book was a fun read.

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini is set in 1914 to 1918 in Britain during WWII. It is about the women who worked making ammunition during the war. They risked their lives and their health to help win the war.

A reader recommended this book after I posted my list of books set during WWI. I just finished it this week and really enjoyed it.

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart is set in 1917. It is about Faberge eggs and what life in Russia during the Romanovs was like.

This is another book that I enjoyed because I knew nothing about Faberge eggs.

As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner is set in 1918 during the Spanish Flu outbreak. Susan Meissner is one of my favorite historical fiction authors.

I read this back in 2019. It was the first book by her that I read, and I enjoyed it.

Fire In Beulah by Rilla Askew is set in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is about the Tulsa Race Riots.

It covers the Oklahoma oil boom, with not only the tension of Native American, black, and white people living and working together but also the struggle of wealthy Oklahomans and those trying to make a better life for themselves.

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge is set in the 1930s. This is a book about The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression.

If you love books about animals or are looking for a little different book, this is a great read. It is about two giraffes that traveled cross country during the Great Depression.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is set in the 1930s. It is a book about The Dust Bowl.

Many people say that they didn’t like this book because it is so depressing and sad. My response is that it was The Great Depression and The Dust Bowl. It was a depressing time, especially for those who lived in Texas and Oklahoma. I loved this book.

When The Stone Fly by Karen Barnett is set in 1931 and the current day. Karen Barnett is a former park ranger, and I love her books set in national parks.

When Stone Wings Fly is set in Smoky Mountains National Park. I learned so much about how the park was founded and the people who had to leave their homes when it was established.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is set in 1939 and Present Day. This book is based on the real life story of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage. This is a book that I could not stop thinking about.

I have also read the nonfiction book by Lisa Wingate that tells the real story behind Before We Were Yours.

A Train To Moscow by Elena Gorokhova is set in post-WWII Russia. This book was a fascinating look at life in Russia after WWII and post-Stalin.

The author grew up in Russia, so it is a well-written look at Russian history.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson is set in 1947 and 2016. This book is a great one for fans of Downton Abbey.

It is about Queen Elizabeth’s wedding, but the wedding isn’t the main focus. The story focuses on the embroiderers who worked on the wedding dress.

The Woman With A Cure by Lynn Cullen is set in the 1940s and 1950s. It is about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann and her work on the polio vaccine.

This was another book that I enjoyed because it took me to a time and place that I knew very little about.

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Pan Que Mai is set in the 1940s and 1970s. I picked this book up after hearing an interview with the author.

The author is from Viet Nam. There is not a lot written about the Viet Nam War, especially from the perspective of someone from someone from Viet Nam.

This book gives a fascinating look into life in Viet Nam before, during, and after the Viet Nam War.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys is set in 1957 Spain. Once I started this book, I could not put it down.

How Ruta Sepetys weaves the characters’ lives together in this book is so well done. She took people from different life classes and made it into a believable storyline. It is considered a YA book, but adults will enjoy it too.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton is set in 1958 and 2017. I know very little about Cuba, so I really enjoyed this book about the Cuban revolution.

This is the first book by the author in a series of books about Cuba. I have read book two and have the others in my to be read stack.

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah is set in 1974 in Alaska. It is about a former Vietnam War POW who moves his wife and daughter to Alaska, hoping to escape the pain and scars of the war. 

This is another Kristen Hannah book that some did not enjoy but that I loved. To me this read like real life. Yes, it is tragic, but if we look at the world around us, it is full of tragedy.

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay is set in 1980 Moscow and 1954 Vienna. I am currently reading this Cold War book and am loving it.