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One of the greatest pleasures of reading a thought-provoking book is discussing it with others. My seven Historical Fiction Book Club Reads list of novels covers a variety of topics, time periods, and viewpoints. Each one is a worthwhile read that will spark lively conversations!
Not Sure What to Read Next? Check Out These Seven Historical Fiction Book Club Reads
I’ve been a book club member for most of my adult life. So, I know firsthand how book club discussions can challenge you to think, consider different points of view, enhance the pleasure of reading, foster community, and keep you from falling into a reading rut.
Even if a given month’s pick wasn’t my particular cup of tea, engaging in a really lively discussion makes it worthwhile. In fact, some of the best, most interesting book club meetings I’ve ever taken part in were about books I didn’t especially enjoy!
Still, there can be a lot of anxiety when it’s your turn to pick the book because we want to find a title that most (and hopefully all) of the members will enjoy reading as well as discussing. It can feel like a big responsibility. And with so many books out there, how do you choose?
Though there’s no way to guarantee that any one book will be a perfect fit for every member on your roster, my list of Historical Fiction Book Club Reads picks is a good place to start.
Every book on this list is a well-written, worthwhile, thought-provoking read. And with so many topics, time periods, and points of view among these books, you’re sure to find one that will appeal to your book club.
So, let’s look at the list!
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
Yep, I went there. Not only am I recommending my own book, but I put it right on the top of the list. How sassy!
In my defense, what book club isn’t going to love a book about book clubs? Especially one centered around four quietly unhappy, 1960’s 1960s-era housewives who kick off their first meeting by reading Betty Freidan’s groundbreaking 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique?
Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four unlikely friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments—and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.
I wrote this book with book clubs in mind, and hearing from scores of clubs who’ve already tapped it for a monthly pick has been very gratifying. I’m sure your members will enjoy reading and discussing the adventures and transformations of my troublesome women. So, I hope you’ll consider picking it for your book club.
If you do, be sure to check out my free Book Club Party Kit! It’s got discussion questions, recipes, and a playlist inspired by the book, and a list of even more books for those who want to dig deeper.
The Women by Kristan Hannah
This powerful, epic novel was at the top of all the bestseller lists in 2024, so it’s highly possible that you’ve already read it. But if you haven’t, you really should.
It’s the story of Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a young, somewhat naïve recent nursing school graduate who volunteers to serve in Vietnam for a variety of reasons. It doesn’t take long for Frankie to have her eyes opened to the true and brutal nature of war, particularly the war in Vietnam. But as difficult as life on the front lines proved to be, coming home to a society and family that refuses to acknowledge even the presence of women in Vietnam, let alone their service, might be even harder.
The Women offers so much in the way of discussion, almost too much! My club went past our usual adjournment point when we talked about it, and just about everybody had something interesting to add to the conversation. It’s a great pick for any book club.
The Briar Club by Kate Quin
If your book club membership leans toward a love of mystery, The Briar Club might be a great fit for your group. Set in a boarding house in Washington, DC, in the 1950s, at the height of the so-called “Red Scare”, the story opens with a murder and a bang.
Solving the mystery requires the reader to go back and forth in time as they explore the backstories and secrets of the many residents of the house, and even of the house itself. Though the writing is vivid and rich with detail, it never weighs down the story. The twists and turns will keep you guessing, and the surprising way in which the strange bedfellows who live in the boarding house become a community is a satisfying and surprising denouement.
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Set in Elizabethan England, this novel presents an intriguing premise. What if William Shakespeare had a ghost writer? What if the true author of his famous plays was a woman?
This dual timeline novel shifts viewpoints between fictional Melina Green, an aspiring playwright who is desperate to get her work staged, and Melina’s ancestor Emilia Bassano. Based on a real historical figure, Emilia was forced to become the mistress of Lord Chamberlin, who oversaw and regulated England’s theatrical productions. She was also the first woman writing in English to publish a volume of poetry. Going back and forth between two talented women who resort to desperate measures to bring their work to life, the story explores intriguing questions of how the world has and hasn’t changed for female artists in the last five hundred years.
This brilliantly researched and written novel brings a little-known historical figure to life and thrusts readers into fascinating but likely unfamiliar worlds. There is a lot of food for thought and discussion in these pages. Picoult’s arguments and the research backing them up are so compelling that it may even convince readers to reconsider facts they’d long taken for granted.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Everyone knows that physical traits like blue eyes or big feet pass down through families. But what if the impacts of trauma can likewise inherit, etched into the DNA of future generations?
Beginning with the modern story of poet Dorothy Moy, who is searching for a means to prevent the mental health struggles she has suffered from being passed to her own daughter, the novel traces the stories of the female ancestors of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. Each character in Ford’s epic novel is vivid and uniquely wrought, grappling with issues that may look dissimilar at first glance, but which are rooted in the generational trauma experienced by their forgotten ancestor.
The issues of racism, generational trauma, family dynamics, and the female experience in this intriguing novel will give book clubs plenty to talk about.
When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner
Inspired by the true stories of military nurses who were trapped in the Philippines and survived the brutality of the ensuing Japanese occupation, this novel brings an important but little-known piece of American history vividly to life in the stories of three fictional nurses, two Americans and one Filipina.
The rich historical detail and distinct characters in this inspiring and uplifting novel will provide book clubs with plenty of food for thought and discussion. Examining the three nurses’ unique personalities, backgrounds, and choices, as well as themes of community, feminine strength, and governmental treatment of women who serve, will guarantee a lively conversation for any book club.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Okay, this one really doesn’t qualify as historical fiction. But Yellow Face offers such a unique perspective that I had to include it here. Two young writers considered literary “rising stars” in college, but only one of whose star rose, is a dark satire with a fascinating hook. When the struggling author, June, witnesses the accidental death of her former classmate, Athena, a wildly successful author of Asian descent, June takes and edits Athena’s just-completed manuscript, passing the book off as her own work.
The story that unspools from that point is at turns witty, sad, and sometimes even a little over the top. But it’s a fascinating and often unexpected look at racism and cultural appropriation from multiple viewpoints. If your book club is looking for a novel that provides plenty of fodder for discussion while avoiding easy answers, Yellow Face is a good candidate.
