Historical Fiction

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Little Women Alcott, Louisa May Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in nineteenth-century New England.
Little Men Alcott, Louisa May Follows Jo March and her husband Professor Bhear as they try to make their home and school a happy, stimulating place.
The Bridge over the River Kwai Boulle, Pierre A proud British colonel in a Japanese prison camp builds a bridge with prison labor, and when commandos from his own side arrive to blow up the bridge, he warns the Japanese.
Don Quixote
 Cervantes, Miguel de Don Quixote of 16th-century Spain decides to become a knight with a horse and squire who honors a lady, but his horse is a nag, his squire a peasant, and his lady a prostitute.
Last of the Mohicans
Cooper, James Fennimore
The classic tale of a disillusioned man who exiles himself from a society whose values he abhors. Despite this exile, he agrees to take two sisters through hostile Indian country with the help of a Mohican scout.
The Deerslayer Cooper, James Fennimore Natty Bumppo, a young white hunter brought up in the Delaware Indian tribe, has to defend settlers before returning to the Iroquois who have allowed him parole.
David Copperfield Dickens, Charles David Copperfield, whose stepfather casts him out after the death of David's mother, lives through trials and tribulations, first at a boys' school and then as a young man in London before he goes to live with his great-aunt and eventually finds happiness.
Oliver Twist Dickens, Charles Rogues train Oliver Twist to become a pickpocket, but he strives to escape from crime and the workhouse to which he is subject.
The Pickwick Papers Dickens, Charles Recounts the travels and comic experiences of Samuel Pickwick, his friends, and the members of his club
A Tale of Two Cities Dickens, Charles Two men who look alike love Lucie Manette, and during the French Revolution one of them goes to the guillotine in place of the other for Lucie's happiness.
The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky, Fyodor
 Three sons of an old drunkard search for faith in God.
Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor
 Raskolnikoff murders an old moneylender and her sister, and after a lengthy investigation a saintly prostitute Sonya convinces him to confess.
The Three Musketeers Dumas, Alexandre D'Artagnan comes to Paris in 1625, duels with three men and becomes their best friend for many adventures.
The Mill on the Floss Eliot, George St. Ogg, a small town, is the main setting for the difficult relations of a brother and sister, once closely tied, and an unworthy lover.
The Snow Goose Gallico, Paul Against the backdrop of World War II, friendship develops between a lonely crippled painter and a village girl, when together they minister to an injured snow goose.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles Hardy, Thomas The son in the family for which Tess Durbeyfield works assaults her, and she has a child who dies in infancy, but her husband is unforgiving.
The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne, Nathaniel  In early colonial Massachusetts, a young woman endures the consequences of her sin of adultery and spends the rest of her life in atonement.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hugo, Victor In 1482, Quasimodo, a hunchback, mingles with the innocent Esmeralda and her antithesis, Claude Frollo.
Les Miserables Hugo, Victor Escaped convict Jean Valjean risks his life to take care of a motherless young girl during the first half of the 19th century.
Moby Dick Melville, Herman The story of Captain Ahab's obssession with the great white whale that crippled him
The Bridges at Toko-Ri Michener, James A naval task force tries to destroy the bridges at Toko-ri with jet bombers so that supplies will not reach communist front lines during the Korean War.
Gone with the Wind Mitchell, Margaret Scarlett O'Hara faces and survives the Civil War and Reconstruction and marries Rhett Butler for his money because her true love has married someone else.
Anne of Green Gables Montgomery, L.M. Anne, a mischievous, red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.
The Scarlet Pimpernel Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Sir Percy Blakeney leads titled Englishmen in assisting the escape of emigrés threatened during the terrors of the French Revolution.
Cry, the Beloved Country Paton, Alan
 A Zulu country parson arrives in Johannesburg and finds that his sister has become a prostitute and his son a murderer.
Men of Iron Pyle, Howard When a young man achieves knighthood, he avenges his father who was wrongly accused of treason.
The Yearling Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan A young boy living in the Florida backwoods is forced to decide the fate of a fawn he has lovingly raised as a pet.
All Quiet on the Western Front Remarque, Erich Maria Five German students are drafted into World War I.
Shane Schaefer, Jack Shane rides into the valley where Bob Starrett's family lives, and Bob, 15, tells about Shane's winning ways.
Ivanhoe Scott, Walter Although the Jewish Rebecca loves Ivanhoe, he decides to marry his father's ward Rowena, even though his father wants Rowena to marry Athelstane, who has Saxon royal blood.
Pygmalion Shaw, Bernard Shaw radically reworks Ovid's tale with a feminist twist: while Henry Higgins successfully teaches Eliza Doolittle to speak and act like a duchess, she adamantly refuses to be his creation. (KRL summary)
The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John The Joad family, Okie farmers forced from their dustbowl home during the Depression, try to find work as migrant fruitpickers in California
Of Mice and Men Steinbeck, John The tragic story of two itinerant ranch hands on the run--one is the lifelong companion to the other, a developmentally disabled man
The Pearl Steinbeck, John A poor fisherman dreams of wealth and happiness for his family when he finds a priceless pearl
Kidnapped Stevenson, Robert Louis A seventeen-year-old orphan is kidnapped by his villainous uncle, but later escapes and becomes involved in the struggle of the Scottish Highlanders against English rule.
Uncle Tom's Cabin Stowe, Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom's master sells him, separating him from his wife, and he becomes attached to the gentle daughter of his new owner, but after her death, he is sold to the evil Simon Legree.
Vanity Fair Thackeray, William Makepeace Becky Sharp and her husband stand in contrast to the lives of Dobbin and Amelia in this revelation of societal classes.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
 Twain, Mark Huckleberry Finn, an abused outcast, rafts with Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River, where they have a variety of experiences.
The Prince and the Pauper Twain, Mark Two boys who look alike, one of them poor, the other heir to the English throne, decide to switch places. When young Edward VI and the poor boy exchange places, each learns something about the other's very different station in life.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Twain, Mark The adventures and pranks of a mischievous boy growing up in a 19th-century Mississippi River town as he plays hooky on an island, witnesses a crime, hunts for pirate's treasure, and becomes lost in a cave.
Ben-Hur Wallace, Lewis

Judah Ben-Hur faces a life in the galleys after being falsely accused of trying to assassinate the governor of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus

The Virginian Wister, Owen Americans show their faith as they work to survive in the Wyoming frontier.
Native Son Wright, Richard Traces the fall of a young black man in 1930s Chicago as his life loses all hope of redemption after he kills a white woman.