Regency / Napoleonic · Literary · ~1789–1837
Looking for historical fiction in the literary lane set during the Regency / Napoleonic (~1789–1837)? Literary historical fiction books: Regency / Napoleonic collects historical novels that match both filters—Balls, war, empire, Austen-adjacent and beyond. 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.
Curated HisFic picks first, plus Open Library fills for this era + story type.
Alexandre Dumas
In 1815, sailor Edmond Dantès is framed for Bonapartist treason and locked in the Château d’If; he escapes, claims a hidden fortune, and returns to Restoration France as the Count of Monte Cristo to ruin the men who stole his life. Dumas’s novel is Napoleonic-aftermath historical adventure—prisons, treasure, and a revenge plotted across Marseille, Rome, and Paris.
Regency / Napoleonic · Adventure & epic · Literary
Leo Tolstoy
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.
Regency / Napoleonic · Family saga · Literary
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.
Regency / Napoleonic · Family saga · Literary
Andrea Levy
A Jamaican woman narrates slavery’s last years and emancipation with wit and steel (Walter Scott Prize 2011).
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Literary · Family saga
Georgette Heyer
Open Library Staff Picks · Fiction · Romance · Historical Fiction
Regency / Napoleonic · Romance · Open Library
Sarah Waters
Fiction · Social conditions · Pickpockets · Fiction, historical
Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Literary · Open Library
Teresa Medeiros
Blind · Invalids · Social life and customs · Nurses
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Romance · Military & war · Open Library
Bernard Cornwell
Fiction · Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) · Military History · Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Open Library
Bernard Cornwell
Fiction · Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) · Military History · Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Mystery · Military & war · Open Library
Bernard Cornwell
Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) · Peninsular War, 1807-1814 · Military History · Great Britain in fiction
Regency / Napoleonic · Civil War · Biographical · Military & war · Open Library
C. S. Forester
History, Naval · Open Library Staff Picks · Horatio Hornblower (Fictitious character) · Fiction
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Adventure & epic · Open Library
Bernard Cornwell
Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) · Military History · Fiction · History, Military
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Adventure & epic · Open Library
Bernard Cornwell
Fiction · Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) · Great Britain in fiction · Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 in fiction
Regency / Napoleonic · Victorian / Gilded Age · Military & war · Open Library
Looking for a broader list? See Regency / Napoleonic historical fiction or literary historical fiction.