Romance
Best Historical Romance Novels
Regency dukes, Highland lairds and a Civil War spy. Heat level noted where it matters.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Start with The Duke and I if they loved Bridgerton, Devil in Winter or Lord of Scoundrels for the genre at its most satisfying, and An Extraordinary Union for something beyond the ballroom. Pride and Prejudice is the origin of the whole shelf, and the gentlest in heat.
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How we picked
We chose historical romances readers return to, spread them beyond Regency London to the Highlands, Victorian Oxford and the American Civil War, and noted where the heat is high. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Duke and IJulia Quinn · 432 pagesThe Bridgerton start | they loved the television series | |
| 2 |  Devil in WinterLisa Kleypas · 400 pagesThe reformed rake | they want the genre's favorite story done well | |
| 3 |  Lord of ScoundrelsLoretta ChaseThe sparring couple | they like banter with an edge | |
| 4 |  Bringing Down the DukeEvie DunmoreThe suffragist | they want a heroine with a cause | |
| 5 |  An Extraordinary UnionAlyssa Cole · 226 pagesBeyond the ballroom | they want a history the genre rarely tells | |
| 6 |  The BrideJulie Garwood · 358 pagesThe Highland classic | they love a Scottish laird | |
| 7 |  OutlanderDiana Gabaldon · 672 pagesThe epic | they want romance, history and time travel together | |
| 8 |  Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen · 351 pagesThe origin | they want the book the whole shelf descends from |
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Eight, from Regency London to the Highlands
1. The Bridgerton start
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn
Give this ifthey loved the television series
A duke who refuses to marry and a debutante with no serious suitors fake a courtship in Regency London. Light and funny, and the first of the Bridgerton novels.
One caveat: Open door, and one scene has become controversial for how it handles consent.
- Print length
- 432 pages
- First published
- 2000
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. The reformed rake
Devil in Winter
Lisa Kleypas
Give this ifthey want the genre's favorite story done well
A shy wallflower proposes a marriage of convenience to the most notorious rake in London to escape her family. Warm and funny, and a textbook example of the reformed-rake story.
One caveat: Open door.
- Print length
- 400 pages
- First published
- 2006
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. The sparring couple
Lord of Scoundrels
Loretta Chase
Give this ifthey like banter with an edge
A notoriously badly behaved marquess meets his match in the woman determined to stop him leading her brother astray. Sharp dialogue, real wit, and a heroine who gives as good as she gets.
One caveat: Open door.
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. The suffragist
Bringing Down the Duke
Evie Dunmore
Give this ifthey want a heroine with a cause
One of the first women admitted to Oxford campaigns for women's suffrage in 1879 and clashes with a powerful duke she needs on her side. Historical romance with politics, set outside the usual ballroom.
- First published
- 2019
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. Beyond the ballroom
An Extraordinary Union
Alyssa Cole
Give this ifthey want a history the genre rarely tells
A formerly enslaved woman spying for the Union during the Civil War teams up with a Scottish-born Union detective in Richmond. Tense and romantic, and set in a period the genre seldom visits.
- Print length
- 226 pages
- First published
- 2017
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. The Highland classic
The Bride
Julie Garwood
Give this ifthey love a Scottish laird
A young Englishwoman is married off by royal decree to a fearsome Scottish laird, and turns his Highland household upside down. Funny and old-fashioned, and a comfort read for fans of the Highland romance.
One caveat: Written decades ago, and some of its attitudes show it.
- Print length
- 358 pages
- First published
- 1989
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The epic
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
Give this ifthey want romance, history and time travel together
A Second World War nurse steps through a standing stone into eighteenth-century Scotland and falls for a Highland warrior. Long, sweeping and much more than a romance.
One caveat: Very long, open door, and violent in places, including sexual violence.
- Print length
- 672 pages
- First published
- 1991
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The origin
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Give this ifthey want the book the whole shelf descends from
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy misjudge each other at length, and countless romances since have borrowed the shape. Closed door, sharp, and still the funniest book here.
- Print length
- 351 pages
- First published
- 1813
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
What historical romance offers
Historical romance sets a love story in the past, most often Regency or Victorian England, and uses the period's rules — marriage markets, reputations, inheritance — as the obstacles the couple must overcome. The constraints are the point: they make every glance matter.
The genre has widened in recent years, beyond the ballroom and beyond the usual heroes, and the best newer books keep the pleasures while telling different histories.
Choosing by reader
- They loved Bridgerton: The Duke and I, then the rest of the series.
- They want the reformed rake: Devil in Winter.
- They want banter: Lord of Scoundrels.
- They want something different: An Extraordinary Union or Bringing Down the Duke.
- They want the door closed: Pride and Prejudice.
Related lists
Romance for beginners covers the wider genre, enemies-to-lovers the trope many of these use, and historical fiction for beginners the same periods without the romance at the center. Historical romance readers often read several books a month, which is exactly who the subscription panel on this page is for.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Assuming every historical romance is gentle
Readers who know the genre from Jane Austen or television adaptations sometimes expect closed-door romance, and most modern historical romance is not. If you are buying for someone who prefers the door closed, give Pride and Prejudice, or ask before choosing anything else on this list.
Questions people ask
What is a good first historical romance?
The Duke and I if they watched Bridgerton, or Devil in Winter for the genre at its most satisfying.
Are historical romances explicit?
Many modern ones are open door. Pride and Prejudice is the classic closed-door option; ask before assuming.
What should I read after Bridgerton?
The Duke and I, the first Bridgerton novel, and then Devil in Winter or Lord of Scoundrels.
Are there historical romances not set in England?
An Extraordinary Union is set in Civil War Richmond, The Bride in the Scottish Highlands, and Outlander moves between the twentieth century and eighteenth-century Scotland.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Kindle Unlimited signup page — The only authoritative source for current Kindle Unlimited pricing and catalog terms.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
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- Best Historical Fiction for Beginners
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- Books Like Outlander
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