Regency / Napoleonic · Biographical · ~1789–1837
Looking for historical fiction in the biographical lane set during the Regency / Napoleonic (~1789–1837)? Regency / Napoleonic biographical historical fiction books collects historical novels that match both filters—Balls, war, empire, Austen-adjacent and beyond. Novels based on real historical figures 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.
Curated HisFic picks first, plus Open Library fills for this era + story type.
Ariel Lawhon
In the winter of 1789, Maine midwife Martha Ballard is called to a body trapped in the frozen Kennebec River, then drawn into a rape accusation the town’s powerful men want buried. Drawn from Ballard’s real diary, it is historical mystery with a working woman’s eye for birth, ice, and justice.
Regency / Napoleonic · Mystery · Biographical
Annemarie Selinko
In 1794 a Marseille silk merchant’s daughter opens a diary the day her brother is arrested, and the pages follow an engagement to Napoleon Bonaparte, marriage to General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, and his election as Crown Prince of Sweden in 1810, through to her coronation as Queen Desideria in 1829. Annemarie Selinko’s 1951 novel (English 1953) is Regency romance historical fiction of the Napoleonic years as a merchant’s daughter lived them, from the Terror to a Stockholm crown.
Regency / Napoleonic · Romance · Biographical
Hannah Kent
In 1829, in the north of Iceland, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is sent to wait for execution at Kornsá, a district officer’s farm, because the valley has no prison for the servant convicted of murdering Natan Ketilsson. Hannah Kent’s 2013 novel is Regency biographical historical fiction of that winter—and of Tóti, the young priest she asks for, who hears a story the court record does not contain.
Regency / Napoleonic · Biographical · Literary
William Styron
In the autumn of 1831, Nat Turner waits in a Southampton County jail to be hanged for the August rising he led, and tells the life that brought him there. William Styron’s 1967 novel is Regency biographical historical fiction of that confession—an enslaved preacher’s life in southeastern Virginia, and the revolt he believed he was called to begin.
Regency / Napoleonic · Biographical · Literary
Dan Simmons
Biographical Fiction · Charles Dickens · Detective · Fiction
Victorian / Gilded Age · Civil War · Mystery · Biographical · Open Library
Donald K. Hartman
American Biographical fiction · American Historical fiction · American Young adult fiction · American fiction
Victorian / Gilded Age · Biographical · Open Library
Cora Kaplan
Civilization · Criticism · English literature · Historiography
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Biographical · Open Library
Shane R. Barker
Fiction · History · Mormons · Religion
Victorian / Gilded Age · Biographical · Open Library
Looking for a broader list? See Regency / Napoleonic historical fiction or biographical historical fiction.