Shōgun
James Clavell
An English pilot is shipwrecked into the deadly politics of feudal Japan.
Early modern · Adventure & epic · Biographical
Early modern · Adventure & epic · ~1500–1789
Early modern adventure & epic historical fiction books
Looking for historical fiction in the adventure & epic lane set during the Early modern (~1500–1789)? Early modern adventure & epic historical fiction books collects historical novels that match both filters—Tudors, exploration, Reformation, revolutions brewing. Sweeping quests, voyages, and large-canvas history 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 · 9 titles
Curated HisFic picks first, plus Open Library fills for this era + story type.
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
A WWII nurse walks through standing stones into Jacobite Scotland—and a complicated love story.
Early modern · World War II era · Time-slip · Romance
The East Indian
Brinda Charry
A boy from India arrives in colonial Virginia—America’s earliest Asian immigrant story (SAH Prize 2025).
Early modern · Literary · Adventure & epic
The Gallows Pole
Ben Myers
Coin-clippers in 18th-century Yorkshire defy king and crown (Walter Scott Prize 2018).
Early modern · Literary · Adventure & epic
The Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas
In 1625, Gascon cadet d’Artagnan rides to Paris to join Louis XIII’s musketeers and falls in with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—then into Cardinal Richelieu’s war of spies, diamonds, and honor. Dumas’s novel is early-modern historical adventure: duels, the queen’s honour, and the friendship behind “all for one, one for all.”
Early modern · Adventure & epic · Military & war
Quicksilver
Neal Stephenson
Scientists · Fiction · Adventure stories · Alchemists
Adventure & epic · Open Library
The Devil and His Boy
Anthony Horowitz
Fiction · Theater · Adventure and adventurers · Adventure and adventurers in fiction
Early modern · Mystery · Adventure & epic · Open Library
The Tao of Poison
Isham Cook
Historical fiction · Literary fiction · Adventure fiction · Picaresque fiction
Adventure & epic · Family saga · Open Library
Other story types in Early modern
Looking for a broader list? See Early modern historical fiction or adventure & epic historical fiction.