BVBook Verdict

If you liked

Books like The Merry Wives of Windsor

Loved The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare? 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

    Wolf Hall

    Hilary Mantel · 2009 · Historical Fiction

    Thomas Cromwell's rise in the court of Henry VIII; political intrigue rendered in extraordinary close-up prose.

  2. 2

    The Pillars of the Earth

    Ken Follett · 1989 · Historical Fiction

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

  3. 3

    The Book Thief

    Markus Zusak · 2005 · Historical Fiction

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

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    Lorna Doone

    R. D. Blackmore · 1656 · Historical Fiction

    This work is called a 'romance,' because the incidents, characters, time, and scenery, are alike romantic. And in shaping this old tale, the Writer neither dares, nor desires, to claim for it the dign

  6. 6

    Princesse de Clèves

    Madame de La Fayette · 1678 · Historical Fiction

    The Princess of Cleves is a French novel published in 1678 that is regarded as one of the first psychological novels. The plot is set in the royal court of Henry II of France.

  7. 7

    Bring Up the Bodies

    Hilary Mantel · 2012 · Historical Fiction

    Cromwell engineers the fall of Anne Boleyn; tense, brilliant and even sharper than its predecessor.

  8. 8

    Regeneration

    Pat Barker · 1991 · Historical Fiction

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

  9. 9

    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

  10. 10

    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.

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