Historical Romance Books
Historical romance sets the love story in the past — Regency ballrooms, Victorian London, the Wild West, medieval castles. The best combine period detail with modern emotional depth, and queer historical romance is one of the genre's fastest-growing corners.
This list collects 2,043 books tagged Historical Romance by 721 authors, published between 1600 and 2026. 16 are free to read and 13 have a free audiobook. Books are ranked by how many readers have shelved, rated or downloaded them.
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Common tropes in Historical Romance
From Wikipedia
Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Byron helped popularize in the early 19th century. The genre often takes the form of the novel.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- FREE🎧
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
- 🎧
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
- FREE🎧
Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen
- FREE🎧
Persuasion
Jane Austen
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, II
Alexandre Dumas
Les trois Mousquetaires
Alexandre Dumas
- FREE🎧
Mansfield Park
Jane Austen
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn
- FREE🎧
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
Romancing Mister Bridgerton
Julia Quinn
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
- FREE
Lorna Doone
R. D. Blackmore
- FREE🎧
Ivanhoe
Sir Walter Scott
The Viscount Who Loved Me
Julia Quinn
- FREE
Far from the Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
Atonement
Ian McEwan
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
I Promessi Sposi
Alessandro Manzoni
An Offer from a Gentleman
Julia Quinn
- FREE🎧
The Pathfinder
James Fenimore Cooper
Redeeming Love
Francine Rivers
Princesse de Clèves
Madame de La Fayette, Everett Carll Ladd
To Sir Phillip, With Love
Julia Quinn
- FREE
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray
Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys
Le Roman Du Masque De Fer
Alexandre Dumas
When He Was Wicked
Julia Quinn
- FREE🎧
The Black Moth
Georgette Heyer
- 🎧
I Will Repay
Emma Orczy
- FREE
Washington Square
Henry James
The Things We Leave Unfinished
Rebecca Yarros
Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen, David LeDoux
The Thorn Birds
Colleen McCullough
Mademoiselle de Maupin
Théophile Gautier
It's in His Kiss
Julia Quinn
Whitney, My Love
Judith McNaught
These Old Shades
Georgette Heyer
Malibu Rising
Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Kingdom of Dreams
Judith McNaught
Devil's Cub (Alastair-Audley #2)
Georgette Heyer
Arabella
Georgette Heyer
I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
Seta
Alessandro Baricco
The Free Fishers
John Buchan
Dragonfly in Amber
Diana Gabaldon
Shanna
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Once and Always
Judith McNaught
Love Comes Softly
Janette Oke
Top Historical Romance authors
- Barbara Cartland126 books
- Mary Balogh58 books
- Johanna Lindsey50 books
- Julia Quinn36 books
- Georgette Heyer37 books
- Jayne Ann Krentz73 books
- Heather Graham100 books
- Jude Deveraux48 books
- Lisa Kleypas27 books
- Lynsay Sands66 books
- Connie Mason21 books
- Hannah Howell25 books
- Norah Hess18 books
- Jennifer Blake18 books
- Faye Hall18 books
- Kat Martin25 books
Related genres
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular Historical Romance books?
By reader shelving on Open Library and downloads, the most popular include Pride and Prejudice (1813), The Great Gatsby (1920), Sense and Sensibility (1811), Persuasion (1789) and Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, II (1830).
Are there free Historical Romance books?
Yes — 16 historical romance titles are in the public domain and free to read, including Pride and Prejudice (1813), Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Persuasion (1789).