Backlist Historical Fiction Published Before 2000

Backlist historical fiction is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. That is, books published more than a year ago. We often sort historical fiction by the time period it covers, but what about when it was published? That’s an equally interesting way to think about and sort historical fiction if you ask me. After all, books are just as much influenced by the time they’re written in as the time they’re written about. Context is everything, and the context of the time period an author is looking back on history from greatly influences how they’re going to think and write about history.

I’ve covered some recent backlist historical fiction books published between 2010 and 2020, but there are decades—centuries, even—of backlist historical fiction written well before that. Historical fiction isn’t a new genre, after all. People have been telling stories about the past since storytelling began. Achilles and Odysseus were already folk heroes of yore by the time the Iliad and Odyssey were gaining popularity in Ancient Greece. Sure, they’re mythological figures based on a siege or sieges that may or may not have actually taken place, but regardless, their stories were historical even when they were first being told and written down.

We’re not travelling quite as far back as Ancient Greece for the publication of the historical fiction titles we’re looking at today, but they still depict a different era of writing historical fiction: the 20th century. These five books are just a handful of the excellent backlist historical fiction published before 2000. The books themselves feature stories ranging all the way from ancient Athens to 1930s India. Check them out to broaden your historical fiction horizons.

Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes Published: 1930 Langston Hughes is known for his prominent role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s, and this book shows exactly why his legacy as a brilliant American author has endured through the years. In Not Without Laughter, Hughes draws on his own experiences growing up in the American Midwest. Sandy Rogers is a fifth-grader, raised by his grandmother alongside his mother and aunt. Sandy finds strength in his grandmother’s indomitable spirit, but it’s his discovery of literature that really changes his life.

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault Published: 1956 Alexias and Lysis are proud Athenians, both studying under the great but controversial figure Socrates. Their devotion to his teachings puts both them and their families at risk, but there are even greater destabilizing forces at work in Athens. The Peloponnesian War is coming to an end, and all of Greek society is changing with it. Alexias and Lysis are changing too, as they come of age together, wrestling in the palaestra, journeying to the Olympics, fighting in the war, and even falling in love.

Sunlight on a Broken Column Attia Hosain Published: 1961 The orphaned daughter of a devout Muslim family is raised in a household that keeps purdah, maintaining strict separation of genders. But when she goes to live with her more liberal uncle in Lucknow in the 1930s, during the final years of British colonial rule before Partition, she encounters a world of different ideas and changing politics. Laila faces an internal struggle between the independence she craves and the restrictive traditions in which she was raised. All these complicated feelings are brought to a head when she falls in love with a man her family hasn’t chosen for her.

Beloved by Toni Morrison Published: 1987 Sweet Home wasn’t so much a house as a haunting. Though Seethe escaped its confines and enslavement years ago and made her way to Ohio, the memories of that place still torment her nearly two decades on. But that isn’t the only thing haunting Seethe or her family. The spirit of her baby, buried under a tombstone marked only with the word “Beloved,” has a very real presence in their lives. It’s a harrowing account of how the trauma of slavery carries on.

Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama Published: 1991 Women of the Silk transports readers to rural China in the 1920s. Pei, a young woman sent to work fifteen-hour-days in the silk factories by her family, finds new support and sisterhood among her fellow workers. Together, the young women lead the first strike their village has ever encountered, relying on the strength of their convictions and their friendship to strive for something better.

If you’re interested in broadening your reading horizons with backlist historical fiction, you might also like:

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This week, we’re highlighting a post about the literary events that should be on your calendar for the rest of 2025. From awards announcements to famous authors’ birthdays to Banned Books Week, these are the dates readers should have on their radars. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.

The Most Anticipated Literary Events of (the Rest of) 2025

For some, the major literary events of the year come as a pleasant or interesting surprise—something to enjoy in the moment, rather than to anticipate. For others, there’s big appeal in bookmarking these occasions in advance to plan, predict, and build around. I and the rest of the editorial team are in the business of thinking ahead about what the year has in store for book lovers, publishers, industry experts, and the like, which is why we all got together toward the end of 2024 to plot out everything from birthdays of literary greats, to anniversaries of books that have made a deep cultural impact, to literary awards and events coming up this year. We’ve been marking these events as they happen on the site for what’s shaping up to be a very busy year in books, but there are still so many big, exciting literary events of 2025 to anticipate.

Whether you’re a book-focused or -adjacent content creator, someone who beefs up their TBR with literary awards honorees, or a book lover who appreciates being in the know, I’m here with a starting place for calendaring out the rest of this storied year…

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