Best of Historical Fiction with Elizabeth Barnhill | Ep. 236

Elizabeth Barnhill of Fabled Bookshop joins Sarah for the latest installment of the "Best of…" series to share her ALL-TIME TOP TEN historical fiction novels, plus a few popular picks that didn't work for her.

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CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Highlights

• Elizabeth shares her personal definition of historical fiction.
• How she first found her way to the genre.
• What draws her to historical fiction and keeps her coming back to it.
• What works for her in historical fiction — and what doesn't.

All the books mentioned in this episode are linked through Fabled Bookshop or Libro.fm. If you decide to purchase, we'd love for you to use our Fabled links in the show notes — if your budget allows. As a bonus, use promo code SARAH at checkout for 10% off your Fabled order! Prefer audio? You can find the books on Libro.fm and select Fabled as the bookstore you'd like to support.

Elizabeth's All-Time Top Ten Historical Fiction

• City of Thieves by David Benioff (2008) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [18:43]
• Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (2004) | Fabled | Libro.fm [21:11]
• The Winter Rose (The Tea Rose, 2) by Jennifer Donnelly (2006) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [22:45]
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [25:26]
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (2008) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [27:37]
• As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner (2018) | Fabled | Libro.fm   [29:36]
• The Shoemaker's Wife by Andrea Trigiani (2012) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [31:57]
• The Winter Sea (Slains, 1) by Susanna Kearsley (2008) | Fabled [33:52]*
• Greenwood by Michael Christie (2019) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [35:47]
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (2019) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [37:36]
  • The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson(2019) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [37:56]

High-Profile Historical Fiction She Didn't Love

• The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (2021) | Fabled | Libro.fm  [41:16]
• The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton (2018) | Fabled | Libro.fm [43:12]

Other Books Mentioned

• Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (2011)  [4:06]
• Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (2026) [8:20] 
• Little House on the Prairie (Little House, 3) by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935) [10:00] 
• Anne of Green Gables (book 1) by L. M. Montgomery (1908) [10:02] 
• Message From Nam by Danielle Steel (1990) [10:48] 
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (2015) [14:44] 
• The Tea Rose (The Tea Rose, 1) by Jennifer Donnelly (2002) [24:55] 
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003) [25:35] 
• And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (2013) [27:19] 
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006) [28:24] 
• The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (2010) [28:45] 
• A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (2014) [31:33] 
• Big Stone Gap (book 1) by Andrea Trigiani (2001) [32:03] 
• Outlander (book 1) by Diana Gabaldon (1991) [34:00] 
• The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin (2004) [41:25] 
• The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin (2016) [42:27] 
• The Windsor Affair by Melanie Benjamin (2026) [42:48] 
• Homecoming by Kate Morton (2023) [44:01] 

*The UK title is Sophia's Secret.