Regency / Napoleonic · Family saga · ~1789–1837
Looking for historical fiction in the family saga lane set during the Regency / Napoleonic (~1789–1837)? Regency / Napoleonic family saga historical fiction books collects historical novels that match both filters—Balls, war, empire, Austen-adjacent and beyond. Multi-generational stories across decades or centuries 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.
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
John Steinbeck
Fiction · Family · Good and evil · migrant labor
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Literary · Open Library
Valerie Martin
Mistresses · Plantation owners' spouses · Slavery · Women slaves
Victorian / Gilded Age · Literary · Open Library
John Steinbeck
Labor Trilogy · psychological fiction · Male friendship · Goal (Psychology)
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Literary · Open Library
Julian Fellowes
Family secrets · History · Social life and customs · Large type books
Victorian / Gilded Age · Literary · Open Library
Jane Austen
English fiction · Women authors · Literary collections · Women
Victorian / Gilded Age · Romance · Literary · Open Library
John Steinbeck
Fiction · Social life and customs · World War, 1939-1945 · literary fiction
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Military & war · Literary · Open Library
John Jakes
Fiction · Historical Fiction · Large type books · Fiction, historical, general
Victorian / Gilded Age · Literary · Open Library
Patrick Quentin
Literature · Collections · migrant labor · historical fiction
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Literary · Open Library
Charlotte Brontë
British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author) · Children's fiction · Classic fiction · Classic Literature
Victorian / Gilded Age · Romance · Open Library
Tracy Grant
Fiction · Historical Fiction · Kidnapping · Missing children
Regency / Napoleonic · Romance · Mystery · Open Library
John L. Hare
American Domestic fiction · American Historical fiction · American Novelists · American fiction
Victorian / Gilded Age · Literary · Open Library
Looking for a broader list? See Regency / Napoleonic historical fiction or family saga historical fiction.