Historical Romance Fiction

Historical romance fiction: genre

Historical romance fiction is considered a subgenre of historical fiction. It is historical fiction with elements of romance.

Historical romance fiction: authors

Here are some of the best-known historical romance authors:

Georgette Heyer (1902-1974)

Georgette Heyer is an English author who has written several historical romance novels set in different time periods. Heyer’s first novel,The Black Moth (1921), is set in the Georgian era (early 17th to mid-19th Century). The novel details the romance between Diana, a young lady from Sussex, and Jack, an English nobleman who rescues her from abduction.

Philippa Gregory (1954-present)

Philippa Gregory is an English author of historical romance. Gregory’s best-known historical romance novels are written in the Tudor era (1485 - 1603). Her well-known series, The Cousins’ War (2009-2014) is set in the era of the War of the Roses, which precedes the Tudor era. The series was such a success that it was adapted for television in a 2013 drama called The White Queen.

Julia Quinn (1970-present)

Julia Quinn is a contemporary American author of historical romance fiction. Quinn's most famous book series Bridgerton (2000-2006), which is set in the Regency era (1811 - 1820), has recently been adapted into a successful Netflix series (2020-). Each book in the series is dedicated to the romance of a different sibling from the high class Bridgerton family.

Historical romance fiction: books

Here are some examples of historical romance fiction:

The Other Boleyn Girl (2001) by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl is set during the reign of Henry VIII in the Tudor era in England. It follows the rise of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn’s sister, as she is welcomed to the court of Henry VIII. Mary serves Queen Katherine of Aragon, Henry's wife. Henry soon sets his sights on Mary. Henry and Mary have an affair and Mary gives birth to two children. Anne is welcomed to court and Henry becomes interested in her. However, she refuses to be his mistress and instead urges him to divorce Katherine so that they can marry and she can become queen. This works eventually, but after the couple fails to have a living son and heir, Henry wants a divorce. The novel follows Anne’s fall from grace and her eventual beheading.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Set in 1946, this is an epistolary novel about the writer Juliet Ashton. She receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a man who's part of a literary society that was founded during World War II, at the time of the German occupation of Guernsey. Juliet visits Guernsey and she becomes close with the people there. Juliet and Dawsey fall in love and the novel ends happily with their wedding.

Historical fiction mystery romance novels

Historical mystery romance novels are historical romance novels that also include a mystery, be it a crime investigation or an inexplicable mysterious event.