Historical fiction book · Curated
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy · historical fiction
Five Russian families move through court, love, and the Napoleonic invasion as 1805 becomes Borodino and Moscow burns. Tolstoy’s epic is Napoleonic historical fiction on a national scale—ballrooms and battlefields, Pierre and Natasha, and the question of who makes history.
Why read it: The head-term Napoleonic historical novel—family-saga historical fiction of Russia at war, and the land-campaign counterpart to naval stories like Master and Commander.
About this historical novel
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is historical fiction set around 1805–1820 in the Regency / Napoleonic period with key settings including Russia, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Borodino. Five Russian families move through court, love, and the Napoleonic invasion as 1805 becomes Borodino and Moscow burns. Tolstoy’s epic is Napoleonic historical fiction on a national scale—ballrooms and battlefields, Pierre and Natasha, and the question of who makes history.
On HisFic we tag it under 7. Family saga, 1. Literary historical fiction, and 5. Military & war so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include war, family, love, history, and invasion. The head-term Napoleonic historical novel—family-saga historical fiction of Russia at war, and the land-campaign counterpart to naval stories like Master and Commander.
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Plot summary
Five Russian families move through court, love, and the Napoleonic invasion as 1805 becomes Borodino and Moscow burns. Tolstoy’s epic is Napoleonic historical fiction on a national scale—ballrooms and battlefields, Pierre and Natasha, and the question of who makes history. The head-term Napoleonic historical novel—family-saga historical fiction of Russia at war, and the land-campaign counterpart to naval stories like Master and Commander.
Subgenres
Eras
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Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- Les Misérables · Victor Hugo
In 1815, convict Jean Valjean is released from the galleys and tries to live honestly under a stolen name, while Inspector Javert hunts him through Restoration and July-Monarchy France. Hugo’s novel follows Fantine, Cosette, Marius, and the 1832 Paris barricades—crime, mercy, and a social epic that still defines French historical fiction after Waterloo.
- Vanity Fair · William Makepeace Thackeray
Becky Sharp leaves finishing school with nothing but wit and climbs Regency England beside gentle Amelia Sedley—through London drawing rooms, a disastrous marriage, and the chaos of Waterloo. Thackeray’s novel without a hero is Napoleonic-era historical fiction of class, hypocrisy, and a social war fought as fiercely as the one on the Belgian field.
- A Tale of Two Cities · Charles Dickens
After eighteen years in the Bastille, Dr Manette is restored to his daughter Lucie in London—then the French Revolution draws an exiled aristocrat, a wasted English lawyer, and the Manettes back to Paris and the shadow of the Guillotine. Dickens’s novel is historical fiction of 1775–1793 London and Paris: sacrifice, revenge, and the best and worst of times.
- The Long Song · Andrea Levy
A Jamaican woman narrates slavery’s last years and emancipation with wit and steel (Walter Scott Prize 2011).
- The Women · Kristin Hannah
A young American nurse serves in Vietnam and struggles to be seen when she comes home.
- The Song of Achilles · Madeline Miller
Patroclus narrates his bond with Achilles against the backdrop of the Trojan War.
Regions & places
Europe
Russia · Moscow · St. Petersburg · Borodino
Themes
- war
- family
- love
- history
- invasion
Tags
classic · epic · literary