Did you yourself struggling to stay awake in high school history class, thinking that the Napoleonic Wars would be far more interesting if they involved… I don’t know, dragons? Maybe the all those political rebellions in 18th century England would have tickled your fancy better if they were fought by magical hot people? Perhaps Imperial Chinese history would have captured your imagination if you knew that there were prophecy fulfilling lesbians involved in the making of it? While history class might have sucked the joy from your teenage years, these 10 best historical fantasy books will make certainly make up for it.
Outlander
There’s a reason why Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander is one of the best selling fantasy romance series of all time – because it’s action packed, morally complex, and involves hot Scottish warriors. When World War II nurse Claire Randall took a vacation to Scotland with her husband, she didn’t expect to be transported back in time after touching a magic rock she found in the hills. Suddenly finding herself in the midst of the Jacobite Rebellions against the British Crown, the lost Claire finds solace in the burly arms of highland warrior Jamie Fraser, whose battle beleaguered people are in desperate need of her medical skills. Things get complicated as the still-married Claire begins to fall for Jamie, and messier still when she finds out her future husband’s ancestor is a sociopathic soldier in the British army. But is it really cheating if your husband hasn’t even been born yet? I don’t judge, I wasn’t born yet either.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a parable of sorts, one that tells of the generational battle between overcautious age and rebellious youth. Mr. Norrell is one of the most celebrated magicians in all of 19th century England, due in no small part to his clinical and scientific approach to the arcane arts. His prudent pursuit of magic is upended with the arrival of young upstart Jonathan Strange, a magician who believes that magic should be wild and free. What begins as a mentor/mentee relationship soon sours into a rivalry, as Norrell and Strange’s opposing viewpoints toward the arcane cause them to compete for social supremacy. Ultimately, the story is a tragic tale of how petty jealousies can corrupt even the most brilliant of minds, and humanity deprives itself of intellectual greatness by its own emotional stupidity.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude isn’t just a banger of a novel, it’s THE banger of a novel. Gabriel García Márquez’ magical realist historical fantasy is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written – a bonafide classic of world literature. Does it live up to the hype? Oh, yes. The sweeping narrative details the exploits of seventeen generations of the Buendía family, who live their lives in a fictional Columbian small town. Throughout their storied history, the Buendías encounter all sorts of magical realism mainstays: spooky ghosts, impossible meteorological events, and even a flying spell here and there. What makes the book and the Buendias so special? Magical events as mundane, everyday manifestations of the characters’ often turbulent inner emotional states. Wild, whimsical and extraordinarily profound, this novel is a must read.
Beloved
Toni Morrison’s Beloved is historical fantasy with a real world horror twist. The novel was inspired by the life of Margaret Garner, an enslaved woman who took the life of her own daughter in order to spare her from a life of slavery. Morrison’s story centers around Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman who escaped to the North and rebuilt her life with her now 18 year old daughter. As the novel progresses, Sethe finds herself haunted by the ghost of a young woman that calls herself “Beloved” – the same name that Sethe inscribed on the grave marker for her infant daughter, whom she murdered in order to spare her from bondage. This magical realist historical horror explores the lingering trauma of one of the darkest periods of American history, and how it continues to haunt those who survived.
Green Darkness
Anya Seton’s Green Darkness is the story of Celia Marsdon, an American heiress who was recently married to British aristocrat Richard Marsdon – a man now losing his mind. After the newlyweds moved to Mardson’s ancestral home, Richard’s personality began rapidly shifting away from the cheerful groom that Celia married. After Cecelia herself begins having strange visions, she is told by a spiritual advisor that an unresolved trauma in her past life is the cause. Celia Marsdon was once Celia de Bohun, an English serving girl and secret Catholic during the reign of a Protestant king. To make matters more dramatic, de Bohun has fallen for a Protestant priest. Celia Carson must heal the trauma branded onto Celia de Bohun’s soul because, spoiler alert, her illicit affair with a clergyman didn’t end well.
Babel, or The Necessity of Violence
R.F. Kuang’s Babel, or The Necessity of Violence is historical fantasy meets dark academia. After an unnamed Chinese orphan is adopted by a British scholar, he’s given the name Robin Swift and trained to become a linguistic prodigy. Swift is granted acceptance into the Babel Institute – a language school in Oxford in service to the British Empire. As Swift continues his studies, he learns a horrible truth: Babel is using the inherent magic present in untranslatable words to empower the brutal colonial exploits of England. It’s a novel about how academia, despite its reputation for free thinking, often serves to validate entrenched political hierarchy and old world status quo. A tough but necessary read.
She Who Became The Sun
Imperial Chinese history with a magical sapphic twist? Yes, please. She Who Became The Sun is the story of young girl who steals the name and the destiny of her deceased brother in order to achieve greatness. The newly rechristened Zhu Chongba disguises herself as a boy and enlists in an insurgent army, where she aids in the fight against the rule of the invading Mongol Empire. She rises through the ranks to become a commander, a perk of which is that she can now court the beautiful noblewoman Ma Xiuying. She Who Became The Sun is the story of a woman who refuses to let gender, violence or fate itself stop her from rising to the top rank of society: the Emperor of China. Get your bag, girl.
His Majesty’s Dragon
His Majesty’s Dragon is the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. If you’re still reading this, I don’t know why. That sentence alone should have convinced a magical fantasy history nerd like you to rob the library of all copies of this book. Naomi Novik’s novel is about British naval officer William Laurence, who happens upon a dragon egg in a captured French frigate and forms an unbreakable bond with the firebreather hatched from within. William and his dragon bestie Temeraire join the Aerial Corps, a dragon riding detachment of the British military meant to stand against Napoleon’s own draconic cavalries. How To Train Your Dragon but with bloody historical battles? Eat your heart out, Dreamworks.
Circe
While Madeline Miller’s Circe isn’t technically historical since it deals with a mythologized version of Greek antiquity, I don’t technically think you’ll care once you’ve experienced the majesty of this novel. In case the title didn’t clue you in, it’s the story of Circe – a goddess who lives a humdrum life in the hall of her father Helios. After she’s banished for using witchcraft to take revenge against another goddess (who kinda deserved it) Circe spends her immortal days on her new deserted island perfecting the art of sorcery. If you’ve ever dreamt about spending your days romancing handsome sailors, gardening with magical herbs, and turning pigheaded dudes into literal pigs, this is your novel.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is S. A. Chakraborty’s historical, piratical, fantastical take on the Islamic Golden Age. Circa the year 900, there lived a renowned pirate queen for which this book is named. While Amina al-Sirafi was content to put the pirate’s life behind her, her retirement plans changed after she was informed that her granddaughter had been stolen away on the high seas. Amina returns to her swashbuckling ways in a “one last job” narrative to rescue her kin – battling sea demons, collecting artifacts for angels, and hunting down occultists with a penchant for murder and magic pearls. This might just be the adventure that will convince Amina to spend her golden years the same way she spent her youth – crammed onto a boat full of sweaty adventurers. Considering Chakraborty is rumored to be writing a sequel, I’d say that’s a fair assumption.
(Featured Image: Starz)
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