BVBook Verdict

If you liked

Books like Bring Up the Bodies

Loved Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel? Here are 10 books with a similar appeal — drawn mostly from historical fiction, ranked by how confidently we'd recommend them next.

10 books · ranked

  1. 1

    All the Light We Cannot See

    Anthony Doerr · 2014 · Historical Fiction

    A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths cross in occupied France; luminous, intricate storytelling.

  2. 2

    The Book Thief

    Markus Zusak · 2005 · Historical Fiction

    A girl in Nazi Germany who steals books, narrated by Death itself; original, tender and devastating.

  3. 3

    The Pillars of the Earth

    Ken Follett · 1989 · Historical Fiction

    The building of a cathedral across decades of medieval turmoil; a vast, addictive saga.

  4. 4

    Regeneration

    Pat Barker · 1991 · Historical Fiction

    Shell-shocked officers and the psychiatrist treating them; a quiet, powerful look at war's hidden wounds.

  5. 5

    Tender is the Night

    F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1933 · Historical Fiction

    A psychiatrist, Dick Diver, treats and eventually marries a wealthy patient, Nicole. Eventually, this marriage destroys him.

  6. 6

    A Little Princess

    Frances Hodgson Burnett · 1905 · Historical Fiction

    This is a story about a different kind of princess than one might imagine; a princess that is an orphan - lonely, cold, hungry and abused. Sara Crewe begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a

  7. 7

    An Old-Fashioned Girl

    Louisa May Alcott · 1869 · Historical Fiction

    Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live--but also left out because of her "countrified" manners and outdated clothes.

  8. 8

    Antony and Cleopatra

    William Shakespeare · 1734 · Historical Fiction

    A magnificent drama of love and war, this riveting tragedy presents one of Shakespeare's greatest female characters--the seductive, cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The Roman leader Mark Antony, a vi

  9. 9

    Astoria

    Washington Irving · 1800 · Historical Fiction

    In 1811 a group of American traders built a fort at the mouth of the Columbia River, named Fort Astoria in honor of its financier, John Jacob Astor. Envisioned as the spur of a fur-trading empire, by

  10. 10

    Cymbeline

    William Shakespeare · 1734 · Historical Fiction

    Cymbeline, King of Britain is one of the best-known works of William Shakespeare. It is a romantic play interwoven with war and tragedy. It revolves around Cymbeline and his daughter, Imogen. Imogen d

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