I don’t take part in many year-long reading challenges as I prefer to just join in with shorter reading events these days. However, there is one that I like to participate in every year – and that is the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader. This is not really much of a ‘challenge’ for me as I read a lot of historical fiction anyway, but I still enjoy linking my reviews to the monthly challenge posts, seeing what other participants are reading and discovering new historical fiction novels and bloggers. This year, Marg has also been posting monthly statistics so we can see which books and authors are proving particularly popular.
Before I post the details of the 2024 challenge, I want to look back at what I achieved in 2023.
I had signed up at the ‘Prehistoric’ level, which meant reading 50+ historical fiction novels during the year. I managed to read 51 (I’m probably not going to finish any more before the end of the month) and here they are, with links to reviews where available:
1. The Giant, O’Brien by Hilary Mantel
2. A Marriage of Fortune by Anne O’Brien
3. My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
4. For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie
5. The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
6. Weyward by Emilia Hart
7. Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler
8. The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor
9. The Lodger by Helen Scarlett
10. These Days by Lucy Caldwell
11. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
12. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer
13. Rivers of Treason by KJ Maitland
14. Prize Women by Caroline Lea
15. Homecoming by Kate Morton
16. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
17. Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson
18. Farewell, the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield
19. The Stolen Crown by Carol McGrath
20. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
21. Savage Beasts by Rani Selvarajah
22. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor
23. Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry
24. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
25. The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker
26. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
27. The Graces by Siobhan MacGowan
28. The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
29. Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle
30. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
31. The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau
32. Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons
33. The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
34. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
35. Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue
36. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
37. A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin
38. The Ionian Mission by Patrick O’Brian
39. Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown by Alison Weir
40. Night Train to Marrakech by Dinah Jefferies
41. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
42. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
43. Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale
44. Scarlet Town by Leonora Nattrass
45. The Wayward Sisters by Kate Hodges
46. The Water Child by Mathew West
47. The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley
48. The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead
49. The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
50. Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
51. The Witch’s Daughter by Imogen Edwards-Jones (review to follow)
Here are the rules for the 2024 challenge, taken from Marg’s blog:
Everyone can participate! If you don’t have a blog you can post a link to your review if it’s posted on Goodreads, Facebook, or Amazon, or you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish.
Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)
During the following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:
20th Century Reader – 2 books
Victorian Reader – 5 books
Renaissance Reader – 10 books
Medieval – 15 books
Ancient History – 25 books
Prehistoric – 50+ books
You can sign up for the challenge here. I will be aiming for Prehistoric again in 2024.
Let me know if you’re planning to take part too!
She Reads Novels 
Well done, and good luck for next year’s challenge!
Thank you!
I managed 15 Historical novels this year with one review yet to do. FIFTY is very impressive!!
15 is still impressive too, especially as you read a lot more historical non-fiction than I do as well.
25 non-fiction History books…. [grin] I’m kind of addiction to the genre to be honest…!
That’s a really impressive list. I think my favourite of these that I have read is The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor. I’ve loved all the books in that series and can’t wait to see what he writes next.
I loved The Shadows of London too. I think I saw somewhere that Andrew Taylor’s next book will be a standalone, but he’s hoping to return to that series in the future.
I’ve enjoyed all of his books so far
This sounds wonderful, I love reading historical fiction but have slacked off in recent years – something like this might be just enough accountability to get me back into it more. Thanks for sharing! Well done on meeting your goal, and good luck with next year!
Thank you! I hope you’re able to read more historical fiction next year. This is a great challenge as you can choose your own level depending on how big a commitment you want to make.
I’m not sure how well I did, because I haven’t kept count. I have participated for years, but since it moved to this site, I haven’t been able to view the challenge or post anything on that page and have been having to post to the challenge’s Facebook page instead. Margaret has kindly posted mine to the challenge page.
That’s annoying!
Yes, I would like to see what everyone else is reading, too, and post my own books.
Brava! I read 36 HF books this year!
36 is an impressive number too! Well done!
Well done, though you’re far too young to be in the Prehistoric zone! 😉
I hope so…although I do feel Prehistoric sometimes!
Another amazing year of historical reading for you, Helen! 🤩I am also very pleased with my own historical reading; finishing double the books I was aiming for! I am looking forward to taking part in this challenge again in 2024 and will have my post up soon!
Blessings, Jessica 💌
Congratulations on finishing double the number you had aimed for! I hope you enjoy taking part in this challenge again in 2024.