I don’t often take part in year-long reading challenges as I prefer to just join in with shorter reading events these days. However, there’s still one that I like to participate in every year – and that is the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader & Baker. Although it’s not really very challenging for me as I read a lot of historical fiction anyway, I do enjoy linking my reviews to the monthly challenge posts, seeing what other participants are reading and discovering new historical fiction novels and bloggers. 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 2026 challenge, I want to look back at what I achieved in 2025.

I had signed up at the ‘Prehistoric’ level, which meant reading 50+ historical fiction novels during the year. I managed to read 57 (which, coincidentally, is exactly the same as last year!) and here they are, with links to my reviews:

1. The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor
2. The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay
3. The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
4. The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick
5. Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton
6. Island Song by Pepsi Demacque-Crockett
7. The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
8. The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn
9. Clear by Carys Davies
10. Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
11. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
12. The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
13. The Queen and the Countess by Anne O’Brien
14. The Eights by Joanna Miller
15. The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley
16. Mother Naked by Glen James Brown
17. The Versailles Formula by Nancy Bilyeau
18. The Darkening Globe by Naomi Kelsey
19. The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn
20. The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones
21. Cleopatra by Natasha Solomons
22. The Edinburgh Murders by Catriona McPherson
23. Traitor’s Legacy by S.J. Parris
24. The Sirens by Emilia Hart
25. The Cardinal by Alison Weir
26. The Surgeon’s House by Jody Cooksley
27. Love, Sex & Frankenstein by Caroline Lea
28. Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor
29. A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor
30. The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
31. The Rush by Beth Lewis
32. These Wicked Devices by Matthew Plampin
33. The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
34. The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster
35. Love & Other Poisons by Lesley McDowell
36. A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith
37. The Lily and the Lion by Maurice Druon
38. Sinners by Elizabeth Fremantle
39. The Emerald Shawl by Louise Douglas
40. How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin
41. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
42. The Greek House by Dinah Jefferies
43. The House at Devil’s Neck by Tom Mead
44. No Life For a Lady by Hannah Dolby
45. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
46. The Portrait Artist by Dani Heywood-Lonsdale
47. The House of Seymour by Joanna Hickson
48. The Elopement by Gill Hornby
49. The Predicament by William Boyd
50. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
51. A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Solving a Murder by F.H. Petford
52. Simon the Coldheart by Georgette Heyer
53. Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
54. The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
55. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Susan Stokes-Chapman
56. The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric
57. Venetian Vespers by John Banville

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Now, here are the rules for the 2026 challenge, taken from Marg’s blog:

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 2026.

Let me know if you’re planning to take part too!