The Women
Kristin Hannah
A young American nurse serves in Vietnam and struggles to be seen when she comes home.
Cold War · Late 20th century · Military & war · Family saga
Late 20th century · Literary · ~1960–2000
Literary historical fiction books: Late 20th century
Looking for historical fiction in the literary lane set during the Late 20th century (~1960–2000)? Literary historical fiction books: Late 20th century collects historical novels that match both filters—Recent past as historical fiction. Character- and prose-forward novels set in the past HisFic is a free historical fiction discovery app: open a full reading journey with the same era and story-type filters, then add region, themes, or audience. Shelves mix curated historical fiction picks with Open Library titles so even thin combinations still have books to explore.
Shelf · 18 titles
Curated HisFic picks first, plus Open Library fills for this era + story type.
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi
Linked stories follow two half-sisters’ lineages across centuries of African and American history.
Early modern · Victorian / Gilded Age · Family saga · Literary
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
Four generations of a Korean family navigate life under Japanese rule and in Japan.
World War II era · Cold War · Family saga · Literary
The Help
Kathryn Stockett
Black maids and a young white writer risk everything to tell the truth about life in 1960s Mississippi.
Cold War · Late 20th century · Literary · Family saga
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
A boyhood betrayal in Kabul echoes through war, exile, and a chance at redemption.
Cold War · Late 20th century · Literary · Family saga
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
An evangelical family arrives in the Congo on the eve of independence—told through the daughters’ voices.
Cold War · Late 20th century · Family saga · Literary
Gain
Richard Powers
A corporation’s rise and a woman’s illness braid American industrial history (SAH Prize 1999).
Victorian / Gilded Age · Cold War · Literary · Family saga
In the Lake of the Woods
Tim O'Brien
A politician’s marriage unravels under the shadow of Vietnam (SAH Prize 1995).
Cold War · Late 20th century · Literary · Mystery
News of the Dead
James Robertson
A Highland glen’s stories across centuries of saints, strangers, and secrets (Walter Scott Prize 2022).
Medieval · Early modern · Literary · Time-slip
On Canaan's Side
Sebastian Barry
An Irishwoman looks back across a century of war, migration, and loss (Walter Scott Prize 2012).
World War I era · Cold War · Literary · Family saga
The Cattle Killing
John Edgar Wideman
Linked narratives of plague, prophecy, and Black life across centuries (SAH Prize 1997).
Early modern · Late 20th century · Literary · Time-slip
There There
Tommy Orange
Urban Native lives converge toward a powwow in Oakland (SAH Prize 2019).
Late 20th century · Cold War · Literary · Family saga
Birdsong
Sebastian Faulks
Stephen Wraysford’s prewar love affair in Amiens is swallowed by the Somme, the tunnels under the Western Front, and the unmaking of a generation. A later strand follows his granddaughter as she tries to recover what the Great War buried.
World War I era · Late 20th century · Military & war · Literary
The Hired Girl
Laura Amy Schlitz
Women household employees · diaries · authorship · farm life
Late 20th century · Literary · Open Library
Life After Life
Kate Atkinson
Reincarnation · FICTION · Literary · Englisch
Late 20th century · Mystery · Military & war · Open Library
Henderson's Boys 1 The Escape
Robert Muchamore
Forties (20th century) · British in France · Secret service · World War (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst01180924
Late 20th century · World War I era · Military & war · Open Library
Answer as a man
Taylor Caldwell
Emperors · Biography · Illyrians · History
World War I era · Late 20th century · Romance · Biographical · Open Library
Caddie Woodlawn
Carol Ryrie Brink
tomboys · Adolescence & Coming of Age · Adventure · Brothers and sisters
Civil War · Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Adventure & epic · Open Library
Other story types in Late 20th century
Looking for a broader list? See Late 20th century historical fiction or literary historical fiction.