Historical Fiction audiobooks

The Shadow of the Wind

By: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 18 hours 4 minutes

Abridged: No

"Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind. Really, you should." —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“Wondrous...masterful...The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate... Read more

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

By: Susanna Clarke

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 32 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England-until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.

Soon, another practicing magician... Read more

The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 22 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie.

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian -- leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.... Read more

Hester

By: Laurie Lico Albanese

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 9 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

"This well-written, well-researched, and masterfully performed novel provides satisfying listening."- AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.

Who is the... Read more

Matrix

By: Lauren Groff

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Length: 8 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE 2022 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, The Financial Times, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Vulture, Marie Claire, Vox, The Los... Read more

The Secret Book of Flora Lea

By: Patti Callahan Henry

Narrated by: Cynthia Erivo & Patti Callahan Henry

Length: 12 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

When a woman discovers a rare book with connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood in the English countryside during World War II are revealed in this “beguiling blend of hope, mystery, and true familial love” (Sadeqa Johnson, New York Times bestselling author).

In the war-torn London of 1939,... Read more

The Square of Sevens

By: Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Narrated by: Imogen Wilde

Length: 20 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

This “intricately plotted, epic” (The Times, London) international bestseller—in the vein of the vivid novels of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry—follows an orphaned fortune teller in 18th-century England as she searches for answers about her long-dead mother.

Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father... Read more

Mr. Dickens and His Carol

By: Samantha Silva

Narrated by: Euan Morton

Length: 8 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

"[Narrator Euan Morton's] British-accented narration is pure delight...This imaginative story is so charming that listeners will be convinced it is fact, not fiction. A heartwarming addition to the holiday audiobook collection." — Booklist

Laced with humor, rich historical detail from Charles Dickens’ life, and clever winks to his work, Samantha... Read more

In Memoriam

By: Alice Winn

Narrated by: Christian Coulson

Length: 12 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

GMA BUZZ PICK • INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER AND AWARD WINNER • A haunting, virtuosic debut novel about two young men who fall in love during World War I • “Will live in your mind long after you’ve closed the final pages.” —Maggie O’Farrell, best-selling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait

A Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, The... Read more

Rules of Civility

By: Amor Towles

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is... Read more

The Killer Angels

By: Michael Shaara

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 13 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “remarkable” (Ken Burns), “utterly absorbing” (Forbes) Civil War classic that inspired the film Gettysburg

“My favorite historical novel . . . a superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant.”—James M.... Read more

All the Light We Cannot See

By: Anthony Doerr

Narrated by: Zach Appelman

Length: 16 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Winner of the Audie Award for Fiction

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about... Read more

Last Argument of Kings

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 27 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

The final novel in the First Law Trilogy by New York Times bestseller Joe Abercrombie.

Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him -- but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it's time... Read more

The Gown

By: Jennifer Robson

Narrated by: Marisa Calin

Length: 12 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”
—Sir... Read more

We Could Be So Good

By: Cat Sebastian

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 11 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

A New York Times Notable Book of 2023A New York Times Books Review Best Romances of 2023 pick • Apple Books’ Best Books of the Month • Amazon Best Books of the Month Editor’s Pick, Romance • An NPR “Books We Love” • Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month • LibraryReads Hall of Fame: June 2023 • Publishers Weekly Best Romances of 2023Casey... Read more

Heartless Hunter

By: Kristen Ciccarelli

Narrated by: Grace Gray

Length: 12 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

"A steamy game of cat and mouse between witch and witch-hunter, played out against a backdrop of opulence, secrets, and bloody history. I couldn't look away." - Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Champion of Fate

Enemies-to-lovers doesn't get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling in love in bestselling... Read more

The Fox Wife

By: Yangsze Choo

Narrated by: Yangsze Choo

Length: 14 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author.

"Choo narrates the book herself with a grace of voice and manner that is rare in authors. Further, she delivers Chinese names and phrases with the intonation of a native speaker, lending another level of authenticity to this odd and wonderful tale."—The Washington Post

"Yangsze Choo again takes on narration... Read more

A Gathering of Shadows

By: V. E. Schwab

Narrated by: Michael Kramer & Kate Reading

Length: 16 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy... Read more

The Remains of the Day

By: Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith

Length: 9 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is “an intricate and dazzling novel” (The New York Times) about the perfect butler and his fading, insular world in post-World War II England.
 
This is Kazuo Ishiguro's profoundly compelling portrait of a butler named Stevens. Stevens, at the end of three decades of... Read more

The Alice Network

By: Kate Quinn

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 15 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. 1947. In the chaotic... Read more

Lord Edgware Dies

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser

Length: 6 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

When Lord Edgware Dies a most unnatural death, detective Hercule Poirot must solve a most confounding conundrum: if the obvious killer, the slain peer’s spiteful wife, didn’t do it, who did? A classic from the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie.When Lord Edgware is found murdered the police are baffled. His estranged actress wife was seen... Read more

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

By: Marlon James

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 23 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

One of TIME’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

Winner of the L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize 

Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award

The New York Times Bestseller

Named a Best Book of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, GQ, Vogue, and The Washington Post

"A fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made." --Neil Gaiman... Read more

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

By: India Holton

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 10 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

"So riotously clever it almost defies description...an alchemy of romantic elements held in perfect harmony."—NPR

Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols.

Beth Pickering is on the... Read more

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

By: Axie Oh

Narrated by: Rosa Escoda

Length: 8 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as... Read more