Books based on real events but still a fictional story
I want books based on real events but it's still a story and not only facts or history book. Something like the movie titanic or the Anastasia movie made by Disney. There's real facts mixed in but still a story. It can be any genre
The Antidote by Karen Russell (takes place during the dust bowl, begins and ends with two different weather disasters that very much happened, but the story is fictional)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (takes place in the DRC, formerly Congo, and references real historical events in the area)
SparklingGrape21 on
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
Nai2411 on
A Dictator Calls
Multi perspective fictional recollections by different historical figures regarding Stalin calling Boris Pasternak and those persons fictional views on what was said/interpretation of the call.
So good.
Admirable-Brief-984 on
The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
HumanXeroxMachine on
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
Asena89 on
This seems to have 11/22/63 (King) written all over it in my humble opinion
TheRequisiteWatson on
Ruta Sepetys does incredibly researched historical fiction. Salt to the Sea is probably her most specific event book.
CathyAnnWingsFan on
The Jacobite Chronicles by Julia Brannan
Poopsie_Daisies on
The Winds of War
War and Remembrance
Written by Herman Wouk and covers WWII. it’s about a fictional family that all get tossed to the winds and end up all over the world during the war. Really fantastically written. Wouk has a Pulitzer for her other book about a (fictional) submarine in WWII called The Caine Mutiny.
trujillo31415 on
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke. Set in Napoleonic times with heavy fantasy/magical reality layers.
Baroque Cycle by Neil Stephenson. Late 17th -early 18th century Europe. Rigorous historical detail that is wholly wrapped in a stories on stories. Like great character development and arcs? Got it. Like swashbuckling pirate tales that take you around the globe? Yup. Like bodice ripper romance? Check. How about science, philosophy, economics, physiology, social justice, betrayal, honor, religion, alchemy? Yup, yup and yup.
The Alienist (and sequel) by Caleb Carr. Turn of the19h century NYC murder mystery’s.
Golem and the jinni (and sequels) by Helen Wecker. Similar time frame as Alienist primarily in NYC but with magical realism and more global characters. Plus love and free will.
4252020-asdf on
City of Thieves is a 2008 historical fiction novel by David Benioff, set during the brutal Nazi siege of Leningrad in World War II, following two young men, Lev and Kolya, on a dangerous quest for a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel, blending dark humor, adventure, and coming-of-age themes as they navigate starvation, lawlessness, and the horrors of war.
ChocolateBitter8314 on
Katherine and The Winthrop Woman, both by Anya Seton. Each MC was based on an actual person who lived, and historical references were used as much as possible for research.
GeneralOptimal10 on
Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell.
asimone00 on
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
adjective_animal_ on
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Ok_Difference44 on
Punke, The Revenant
Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
Dyer, But Beautiful
ray-manta on
If you want to push this theme, the handmaids tale is purely fiction but everything in it has happened somewhere historically.
HHhH by Laurent Binet – fictionalised account of wwii’s operation anthropoid and the attempted assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
acccountname on
The I survived book series
Difficult_System1264 on
This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson. A fictional account of Darwin and Fitzroy aboard The Beagle.
KatJen76 on
The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (the book of the same title by David Baskin is nonfiction).
curiousleen on
The Alice Network
About WWI French female spies
Living_Ad_7143 on
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Based on the Tennessee Children’s Home Society ran by Georgia Tann in Memphis where children were kidnapped and sold for adoption.
SesameSeed13 on
I just finished The Eights (Joanna Miller) about the first class of women allowed to matriculate at Oxford Univ. It’s immediately post-WWI and the characters are based on real names in record books, but much of the story fictionalized. She did her homework -the author’s note at the end is fascinating to read!) – and I found it really interesting because that’s a time I never studied or learned much about.
23 Comments
The Antidote by Karen Russell (takes place during the dust bowl, begins and ends with two different weather disasters that very much happened, but the story is fictional)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (takes place in the DRC, formerly Congo, and references real historical events in the area)
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
A Dictator Calls
Multi perspective fictional recollections by different historical figures regarding Stalin calling Boris Pasternak and those persons fictional views on what was said/interpretation of the call.
So good.
The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
This seems to have 11/22/63 (King) written all over it in my humble opinion
Ruta Sepetys does incredibly researched historical fiction. Salt to the Sea is probably her most specific event book.
The Jacobite Chronicles by Julia Brannan
The Winds of War
War and Remembrance
Written by Herman Wouk and covers WWII. it’s about a fictional family that all get tossed to the winds and end up all over the world during the war. Really fantastically written. Wouk has a Pulitzer for her other book about a (fictional) submarine in WWII called The Caine Mutiny.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke. Set in Napoleonic times with heavy fantasy/magical reality layers.
Baroque Cycle by Neil Stephenson. Late 17th -early 18th century Europe. Rigorous historical detail that is wholly wrapped in a stories on stories. Like great character development and arcs? Got it. Like swashbuckling pirate tales that take you around the globe? Yup. Like bodice ripper romance? Check. How about science, philosophy, economics, physiology, social justice, betrayal, honor, religion, alchemy? Yup, yup and yup.
The Alienist (and sequel) by Caleb Carr. Turn of the19h century NYC murder mystery’s.
Golem and the jinni (and sequels) by Helen Wecker. Similar time frame as Alienist primarily in NYC but with magical realism and more global characters. Plus love and free will.
City of Thieves is a 2008 historical fiction novel by David Benioff, set during the brutal Nazi siege of Leningrad in World War II, following two young men, Lev and Kolya, on a dangerous quest for a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel, blending dark humor, adventure, and coming-of-age themes as they navigate starvation, lawlessness, and the horrors of war.
Katherine and The Winthrop Woman, both by Anya Seton. Each MC was based on an actual person who lived, and historical references were used as much as possible for research.
Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell.
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Punke, The Revenant
Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
Dyer, But Beautiful
If you want to push this theme, the handmaids tale is purely fiction but everything in it has happened somewhere historically.
HHhH by Laurent Binet – fictionalised account of wwii’s operation anthropoid and the attempted assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
The I survived book series
This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson. A fictional account of Darwin and Fitzroy aboard The Beagle.
The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (the book of the same title by David Baskin is nonfiction).
The Alice Network
About WWI French female spies
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Based on the Tennessee Children’s Home Society ran by Georgia Tann in Memphis where children were kidnapped and sold for adoption.
I just finished The Eights (Joanna Miller) about the first class of women allowed to matriculate at Oxford Univ. It’s immediately post-WWI and the characters are based on real names in record books, but much of the story fictionalized. She did her homework -the author’s note at the end is fascinating to read!) – and I found it really interesting because that’s a time I never studied or learned much about.