In what has become a December tradition here on the blog, it’s time to look ahead to the historical fiction being published in the year to come. I’m listing below a selection of 2026 releases that have caught my attention for one reason or another – some are review copies I’ve already received, some are new books by authors I’ve previously enjoyed and others just sound interesting. 2026 looks like being a great year for historical fiction and I hope there’s something here that appeals to you!
Dates provided are for the UK and were correct at the time of posting.
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JANUARY
A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis (22nd January 2026; Doubleday) – A Gothic novel set in an English country house.
Brigid by Kim Curran (29th January 2026; Michael Joseph) – A reimagining of the life of Ireland’s St Brigid.
FEBRUARY
The Wandering Queen by Claire Heywood (12th February 2026; Hodder & Stoughton) – The story of Dido, Queen of Carthage.
The House of Fallen Sisters by Louise Hare (12th February 2026; HQ) – A new novel about the dark side of 18th century London
The Night Hag by Hester Musson (26th February 2026; Fourth Estate) – Historical mystery set in 19th century Scotland.
The Cromarty Library Circle by Shona MacLean (26th February 2026; Quercus) – A group of people are drawn together by their love of books in 1830s Scotland.
Nonesuch by Francis Spufford (26th February 2026; Faber & Faber) – Historical fantasy set during the London Blitz.
MARCH
A Far-flung Life by ML Stedman (5th March 2026; Transworld) – A family saga set in Western Australia. It’s been such a long time since Stedman’s first novel!
Pixie by Jill Dawson (12th March 2026; Bloomsbury) – A fictional account of the life of Pamela ‘Pixie’ Colman Smith, a British artist, illustrator, writer and occultist.
A Remedy for Fate by MA Kuzniar (12th March 2026; Hodderscape) – Historical fantasy set in the Magic Quarter of 18th century Prague.
Love Lane by Patrick Gale (26th March 2026; Tinder Press) – A sequel to A Place Called Winter, this time taking us to 1950s Liverpool.
The Dreadfuls by A. Rae Dunlap (31st March 2026; Kensington Publishing) – Historical thriller revolving around the Jack the Ripper murders.
APRIL
The Crownless Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick (9th April 2026; Sphere) – The second in Chadwick’s duology about Jeanette of Kent.
Lochbound by Rebecca Templeton (16th April 2026; Sphere) – A woman in 1720s Scotland is cursed to spend her days in the form of a monster imprisoned in a loch.
Lidie by Jane Smiley (21st April 2026; Knopf Publishing Group) – Two women flee America just before the Civil War begins to start a new life in England.
The House of Boleyn by Tracey Borman (23rd April 2026; Hodder & Stoughton) – A novel about the rise and fall of the Boleyn family.
MAY
Rebel’s Gambit by SJ Parris (21st May 2026; Hemlock Press) – The second book in Parris’ new Sophia de Wolfe mystery series.
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (21st May 2026; Penguin) – Stockett’s long-awaited second novel follows a group of women living in Mississippi during the Great Depression.
Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (21st May 2026; Faber & Faber) – The second book in the Nora Breen mystery series, starring an ex-nun detective and set in a 1950s seaside town.
The Boleyn Secret by Alison Weir (21st May 2026; Headline) – The latest of Weir’s Tudor novels, this time about Anne Boleyn’s niece, Kate Carey.
The Repentants by Kate Foster (28th May 2026; Mantle) – Foster’s new novel is set in the 18th century and inspired by a real-life attempt by Scottish landowners to annex Iceland for the British Empire.
JUNE
Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See (2nd June 2026; Scribner) – The story of three Chinese women who arrive in Los Angeles in 1870.
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (2nd June 2026; Century) – Historical fantasy set in the magical forests of Brittany. I can’t wait for this one!
Land by Maggie O’Farrell (2nd June 2026; Tinder Press) – The story of a father and son working on a project to map the whole of Ireland in 1865.
The Queen’s Sister by Carol McGrath (4th June 2026; Headline) – A Tudor novel about Elizabeth Seymour, sister of Henry VIII’s wife Jane Seymour.
A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Catching a Killer by FH Petford (4th June 2026; Hodder & Stoughton) – The second book in the Alma Timperley mystery series set during the First World War.
Pale Mistress by Naomi Kelsey (4th June 2026; Harper North) – Set in 17th century Cyprus, this is a reimagining of the story of Bianca from Shakespeare’s Othello.
The Lost Chateau by Dinah Jefferies (4th June 2026; HarperCollins) – A sequel to The Greek House, this time taking us to the French countryside in the 1930s.
This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint (4th June 2026; Viking) – A retelling of the story of Aphrodite and her relationship with Ares.
JULY
The Scandalous Ladies Football Club by Frances Quinn (2nd July 2026; Simon & Schuster) – A group of women form Britain’s first ever women’s football team in 1890s London.
AUGUST
Henrietta by Sophie Irwin (13th August 2026; Penguin) – Described as ‘the first and only authorised Georgette Heyer continuation novel’, this book takes characters from Heyer’s Snowdrift collection and works them into a new novel.
Agrippa by Robert Harris (27th August 2026; Hutchinson Heinemann) – The story of the Emperor Augustus seen through the eyes of his closest friend, Agrippa. I love Harris’s books set in Ancient Rome!
SEPTEMBER
Cold Sunset by William Boyd (3rd September 2026; Penguin) – The third book featuring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, this time taking us to Cold War Russia.
The Midnight Guests by Alex Hay (10th September 2026; Headline) – A mystery unfolding over a period of twenty-four hours in a 1920s London hotel.
The Housekeeper by Rose Tremain (17th September 2026; Chatto & Windus) – A fictional account of the woman who inspired Mrs Danvers in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
OCTOBER
The Puffin by Michelle Lovric (8th October 2026; Salt) – A sequel to Lovric’s The Book of Human Skin, set in 19th century Venice.
DECEMBER
Domain of Darkness by Marisa Linton (3rd December 2026; Hodderscape) – The sequel to the Edwardian supernatural mystery Circle of Shadows, which I read earlier this month and enjoyed.
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Will you be reading any of these books? Are there any other 2026 historical fiction releases you’re looking forward to?
She Reads Novels 
The Cromarty Library Circle and Brigid both sound like my type of books but I also will keep an eye out for Agrippa as I am doing a 10 week intensive short course on the Roman Empire through Oxford Uni in 2026. Thank you for bringing these to our attention. Being in Australia means an extra few weeks, even months before they are available to us but I have written them down.
I hope you enjoy those books, even if you have to wait a bit longer for them. The Roman Empire course should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to Agrippa as Robert Harris writes so well about Ancient Rome – I loved his earlier trilogy about Cicero.
I will go look for that now.
That’s next year’s reading sorted!
Definitely!
There are some fantastic sounding books here and I’m especially excited for the new Robert Harris. I think I’m going to pass on the Boleyn novels though. I definitely feel Boleyned out😀
Yes, I always look forward to anything new from Robert Harris. I understand how you feel about the Boleyn novels – there are so many of them!
Well, anything by Maggie O’Farrell or Jess Kidd is going on my list, and probably also William Boyd. Some of the others look good, too, and some nice covers!
Yes, I think there are a lot of good books coming next year. The Maggie O’Farrell sounds interesting and Jess Kidd is always entertaining.
Yes, lots of them sounded interesting. It’s great that there has been so much more good historical fiction the past, say 15 or 20 years. A long time went by when it wasn’t that popular, and most of it was historical trashy romance.
‘Pixie’ looks interesting… ‘Lochbound’ looks… bizarre (but interesting!)… ‘The Unicorn Hunters’ looks like FUN and its been a long while since I’ve read much Fantasy… Plus Harris is an auto-buy for me. 2026 is looking like a GOOD year!
Harris is an auto-buy for me too and I’ve loved some of his other Ancient Rome books. And yes, The Unicorn Hunters should be good. I don’t read a lot of fantasy but usually enjoy it when I do!
I had to read Dido et Aeneas for Latin GCSE. I must order that Claire Heywood book 🙂 .
It should be interesting!
Glad we don’t have to wait too long for the third in the Boyd trilogy! I’ve got a NG copy of The Cromarty Library Circle too – sounds a bit different to her usual stuff, but interesting!
I hope we both enjoy The Cromarty Library Circle. And yes, I’m pleased we don’t have long to wait for the third Boyd book – I want to find out what’s really going on with Faith Green!
There’s a lot to look forward to!
The Calamity Club caught my eye, but suspect I’ll read quite a few from this list.
I’m looking forward to The Calamity Club. It’s been such a long time since Stockett’s first book!
Lots here, Maggie O’Farrell and Patrick Gale but it’s probably The Wandering Queen that catches my eye the most, I’d like to know a bit more about Dido without Aeneas!
Yes, The Wandering Queen should be interesting! I would like to know more about Dido too.
New Maggie O’Farrell! New Jane Smiley! But most of all, new Francis Spufford! (I’ve already been rejected for an advance e-copy from NetGalley, no explanation given. Hrrrumph.)
I’ve also been rejected for that one. It’s annoying, isn’t it, when they don’t give a reason? I’m still looking forward to reading it, though!
Same same!
Hello Helen, looks like there are some really interesting historical books coming out next year. I really hope to read Alison Weir’s new Tudor novel. Blessings, Jessica 💌
Yes, I think next year looks like a great year for historical fiction. I’m looking forward to the new Alison Weir book!
Great post, I always love these kind of lists. I already have a few of these on my most anticipated releases list (like The Unicorn Hunters, This Immortal Heart & The Wandering Queen). Ive just looked a lot of the new to me titles up and added those to my more general 2026 TBR though with a few maybes for that anticipated list (if I add any of those I’ll credit you with a link to this post).
I love a gothic tale so the first book went straight on my TBR, I saw a rave reviews for A. Rae Dunlap’s debut so that new title has also caught my eye, especially with such an intriguing premise. Ive been meaning to read The King’s Witch for ages and am very excited to see a Boleyn title by that author. And I adored The Help (the movie admittedly, I haven’t yet read the book) so I’m definitely curious by that one too.
I also saw that Alison Weir has another 2026 release whilst looking up the one you menyioned – The Haunting of Greys Court. Its described as a ‘Tudor ghost story’ so I’ll definitely be seeing what thats like too.
I hope you enjoy all of these and will definitely be watching out for your thoughts on a fair few of them.
I’m glad you’re interested in reading some of these too! I loved A. Rae Dunlap’s debut, so I’m really looking forward to the new one, but I think The Unicorn Hunters is the book I’m most excited about for next year.
I hadn’t noticed that Alison Weir had a ghost story out in 2026 as well. Thanks!
So many interesting books that will come out and the list will only get longer throughout the year :D.
Yes, I’m already finding more books that I didn’t include on this list. It should be a great year for historical fiction, I think!