Time travel is one of my favorite story elements—but not because I’m all that interested in the mechanics of how a character travels through the time. Whether the time travel occurs through magic or science or a rip in outer space, what I’m really here for is the high stakes, the shock of a new setting, and witnessing the main character’s world turn upside down in time travel novels. Plus I always love stories where someone gains a fresh perspective on the life they’ve become accustomed to, and stories in this category reliably make that happen.
I love seeing a character’s instant perspective shift when they get yanked out of their own time and place—or they’re in a familiar timeline they expect but looped in a “groundhog day” scenario. Time travel forces characters to reckon with the ramifications of their seemingly small decisions, and to grapple with their personal significance in the fabric of history.
Philosophical implications aside, I find time travel novels to be just plain fun! They combine thoughtful contemplation and page-turning plots across a variety of genres, so there’s a time travel tale for you no matter your reading taste. Some books I’ve raced through and then raved about it are on today’s list: Kindred, This Time Tomorrow, Sea of Tranquility. Among today’s eclectic collection of time travel titles, you’ll encounter heartfelt contemporary fiction, Jane Austen-inspired fantasy, quirky sci-fi, and unexpected classics. But don’t worry—this list isn’t exhaustive. There’s plenty of room for you to add your favorites to our list: please do so in the comments section!
Is there another plot device you can’t get enough of? I’d love to hear about your favorite story elements in the comments so we can nerd out together.
13 novels that transcend time and genre
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Kindred
I am so glad I read this science fiction classic—I dedicated a whole podcast episode to it in Volume II Episode III of One Great Book. Here’s the premise: when Dana, a modern Black woman from 1976, gets transported to the Antebellum South in order to save one of her white ancestors, she does what is required in order to preserve her family history. Back to her modern life, Dana is relieved for her trip to be over, but time suddenly rips her back again and again. Each trip to the past grows more and more dangerous, and Dana must figure out how to survive in a reality far more terrifying than the history books ever suggested. I'm curious about the new TV adaptation on Hulu and FX. If you've watched it, I'd love to hear your review. More info →
The House on the Strand
Daphne Du Maurier's 1969 novel, while lesser known, progressively explores mind-altering substances as a mode of time travel. The book opens in the middle of Dick Young’s "trip" to 14th century Cornwall, described in vivid, atmospheric detail. Dick’s friend Professor Magnus Lane offers him a place to stay in the country, so long as Dick helps the professor with his scientific experiments. After taking the professor’s new drug, Dick finds himself traveling all the way back to medieval times while physically remaining on the professor's couch. Time travel proves intoxicating for Dick, who increasingly loathes the modern world—but is he really traveling back in time, or is he imagining his trips due to the drug’s effects? Du Maurier crafts a story that questions the very nature of reality. More info →
The Rose Garden
This sweeping time travel story and the swoon-worthy couple at its center will delight historical fiction and romance readers alike. The atmospheric novel opens as Eva heads to Cornwall after the death of her sister, looking for comfort in the home where they spent their childhood summers. Once there, she realizes the house is a portal to the 18th century, and she can talk to the house’s inhabitants from back then. Not only that, she starts falling for a Jacobite smuggler, but being with Daniel requires staying in the past, and she isn’t ready to make such a life-altering decision. A lovely exploration of grief and the ways we figure out where (and when) we truly belong. More info →
Doomsday Book
I’d never heard of Connie Willis and her time travel series until Keren Form (self-professed mega-nerd) joined me to talk fantasy for all readers on What Should I Read Next. The first book opens on Kivrin, an Oxford University student and the first woman to travel back to the Middle Ages. Her instructors are part of a group of historians who use time travel for the sole purpose of historical preservation and study. Unfortunately, when Kivrin arrives in the past, she contracts a virus that leaves her delirious for weeks, relying on a medieval family to nurse her back to health. At the same time, her advisor is struck down by a virus, making the whole situation ever more precarious. Within this time travel story is a page-turning mystery, witty humor, and a deeply human story about how we care for others over the course of history. Keren also professed love for the next installment, which takes the characters to Victorian England. More info →
The Time Machine
Some scholars credit Wells with the original use of the phrase “time machine” to describe a man-made apparatus for time travel. If you’re curious about the construction of other time travel tropes, this 100 page novella is worth a quick read. Focused on the function of time travel itself and the possibilities of future technologies, this speculative story follows an explorer who propels forward in time to witness a dying planet Earth. In his explorations, he finds new species, new appliances, and new problems for humans to solve. In addition to time travel, Wells lays the groundwork for dystopian stories with explorations of social class, politics, and how humanity operates across time and space. More info →
The Jane Austen Project
I'm not the only one who found this Jane Austen time travel novel a pleasant surprise. At some unspecified point in the future, the earth's atmosphere has been destroyed, food can no longer be grown, and wormholes to the past are in constant use. So when Rachel is asked to go back in time and retrieve the finished (yes, really!) manuscript of The Watsons, she jumps at the chance. But things do not go as planned... Gentle readers, this does not read like an Austen novel, and Janeite purists will need their smelling salts. But if you love Jane Austen AND Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, give this one a try. More info →
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
This is not your usual action-packed science fiction. At a small Tokyo café, patrons sip coffee at seemingly normal tables, taking breaks from their seemingly normal lives—but this café is far from typical, as it serves as a portal for time travelers. Heartwarming and quirky, the story follows four customers who enter the café hoping for a unique travel experience. The most important rule they learn: your trip through time only lasts as long as your coffee stays warm. Their reasons for time travel vary, and we learn about these characters in gentle, quiet detail. At just over 200 pages, this Japanese novel in translation makes for a super quick audiobook listen, with delightful narration by Arina Ii. More info →
The Kingdoms
A mind-bending mystery, alternate history, and queer romance rolled into one. In this time-slip novel, Napoleon conquers England in the Battle of Trafalgar and a stone portal in the sea serves as a passageway between centuries. When Joe steps off a train in the city of Londre, 1898, he has a postcard in his pocket written in forbidden English, with a postmark dated 1805 though it inexplicably bears the image of a recently-constructed lighthouse. “Dearest Joe, come home if you remember,” says the postcard, signed simply “M.” Joe’s search for M leads him to the Outer Hebrides and back and forth through the stone portals many a time on his dangerous quest to reunite with his family without changing the course of history—or erasing his own existence. More info →
An Ocean of Minutes
This time travel novel also happens to be a pandemic novel with a deadly flu virus—but the virus is merely a catalyst for conflict in a story about love, time, and the choices we make out of desperation. Polly will do whatever it takes to save her boyfriend Frank when he falls ill, including selling her life to save his. Enter the company TimeRaiser: agree to be their bonded laborer and they’ll send you into the future and pay for your loved one to get life-saving treatment. Polly and Frank agree to meet again in twelve years, only she gets rerouted an extra five years in a country she no longer recognizes. Not only that, she can’t find Frank anywhere. Is he still alive? She must figure out a way forward in this new life and see whether it will bring her back to her old love. More info →
Sea of Tranquility
Emily St. John Mandel weaves a tapestry of stories like no other. Here she picks up three main threads: an exiled eighteen year old who hears an unusual sound while trekking the Canadian forest, an author whose book tour takes her to the moon, and a detective whose investigation will tie these tales together. We follow these characters from 1912 to 2401 in a unique story of space, time, art, and a pandemic. I was just as struck by the structure of Mandel’s work as I was by the character development. Her books, while quiet and character-centered—are surprisingly propulsive. I enjoyed this mind-bending and utterly unique novel on the physical page, but if you adore multiple narrators, try the audiobook for a fully immersive experience. More info →
This Time Tomorrow
When Emily Henry came on What Should I Read Next she raved about this book, describing it as a poignant, time travel tale of a father-daughter relationship. I picked it up that night and finished it the very next day. Alice is 40, living on the Upper West Side, and not un-happy, except for the fact that her beloved father is dying. After a disastrous birthday dinner, she falls asleep drunk at 3 am and when she wakes up, she's 16 again. Her father made his fortune writing a blockbuster time travel novel, so she KNOWS she shouldn't try to alter the future—but she can't resist trying to engineer an outcome that gives her father a longer life. A perspective-changing read that begs the question: what would you go back and change? More info →
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
I had so much fun talking about all things books and reading with Andrew and Craig of the Overdue podcast on What Should I Read Next. When Andrew mentioned his appreciation for time travel novels and cited this as a favorite, I took note. Harry August has nearly died eleven times. With his last breaths, Harry always returns to the beginning of his life story, destined to relive his life again and again and again. Harry isn’t the only person who lives this way, but he is one of the only people who remembers every life he re-lives. Now, at the end of his eleventh life just before he goes back in time, a young girl appears at his bedside with a message. The book follows Harry as his next steps threaten to alter the course of history. More info →
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Ginger, our book club community manager, LOVES this book, citing it as an all-time favorite. Published twenty years ago, Niffeneger’s debut novel has seen multiple cinematic adaptations and remains both beloved and divisive, making for excellent book club conversation. A love story for book lovers, this heart-wrenching novel revolves around Henry, a librarian who frequently travels through time with no control over where or when he disappears—and Claire, an art student who met Henry when she was just six years old. Over the course of their lives, Henry leaves (unwillingly), reappears (unpredictably), and they attempt to work around these unusual circumstances, making excuses to friends, missing each other while apart, and meeting again at different ages. Niffenegger explores what this jarring disruption does to a man, to a marriage, to a family. More info →
Do you share my love for time travel novels? Tell us about your favorite titles in the comments section!
P.S. Check out 12 novels that play with time or 15 immersive historical fiction books about overlooked events for creative explorations of past, present, and future events.
133 comments
Loved Kindred, Sea of Tranquility and the Time Traveler’s Wife. Also read a recent thriller/mystery/suspense Wrong Place, Wrong Time that I thought was very well done. The story keeps moving further and further back in time. Intriguing premise and great characters.
I loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time. I have even considered re-reading it! Time Travelers Wife is also a favorite of mine. I am surprised how much I enjoy time travel stories. I look forward to diving into these on Anne’s list.
One time travel book I read last year that I have found goes unnoticed is What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. I loved that book and try and place it into the hands of anyone I know who loves time travel.
I have this on my TBR!
That sounds great! I love Time travel books:)
I love What the Wind Knows!
I’ve heard enough good things about Wrong Place, Wrong Time that I think I may need to bump it up my list!
One of my favorites, I always recommend it!
Yes, I enjoyed What the Wind Knows, too. It has the added bonus of providing the reader with a bit of Irish history, too.
I cannot believe Outlander didn’t make this list! I don’t consider myself a sci-fi reader but these historical novels sucked me in with their epic plots, fantastic writing, well-developed characters, and romance.
I agree! Outlander definitely needs to be on this list. It’s so good!
I love time travel so thank you for this list! I have already read some of them and will add some more to my TBR list. One of my favorites not mentioned about is 11/22/63 by Stephen King.
Oh yes, 11/22/63 is one of my top three favorite books of all time. So good!
I agree that 11/22/63 is great. I was scared to read a Stephen King book but this is not horror at all. Loved it!
I really liked the premise of 11/22/63, and the storyline proved very intriguing. But I have to admit I was really disappointed in the book itself. As a life-long Texan, it felt to me like Stephen King had never actually visited Texas. The characterization of people didn’t feel at all accurate, and there were some glaring anachronisms that made it feel poorly researched (one that stood out to me was the “Don’t Mess with Texas” campaign, which didn’t materialize until the mid-80s).
Yes! I loved the book but agree King missed Texas by a mile. I grew up near Killeen and it is hours from DFW.
A book I recently loved was Gabrielle Meyer’s “When the Day Comes.” The protagonist lives two lives at the same time—she starts out in Revolutionary era America and when she falls asleep at night she instantly wakes up in 1914 England. She has to choose which life she wants when she turns 21, but feels pulls to both eras. Really well done and the author has another one coming out in May.
Ooooh that one was super good! And her second in the series comes out in May! Three times in that one! I made her team and can’t wait!
I love time travel books! Here are a few more to check out:
Faye, Fareaway
The Dream Daughter
Oona out of order
Replay
She wouldn’t change a thing
I read Oona Out of Order last month and LOVED it!
Replay! That was such a great book. I haven’t read it for years, but I know I’ve given away at least 5 copies!
I agree. When the Day Comes is the best book I’ve read so far this year! It was different from some of the time travel books I’ve read which made it even more enjoyable to me.
An excellent series by jody Hedlund is Waters of Time. People ingest a small amount of holy water and go back to Medieval times.
Tracy Higley has several but my favorite is: Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time, with characters from the past in a party in a secret walled garden next to a bookstore that is standing in the way of progress and a huge new hotel. The bookstore has a wardrobe to enter a children’s section ( not a real portal).
There’s an actual bookstore in Georgia that has this! It’s lovely.
A fun one that isn’t your usual time travel novel is Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau. Here the characters find a wormhole portal and use it to travel back in time and see their favorite bands. Its funny, filled with music references, and has a little love story thrown in.
Oh that sounds really good!
Oh my goodness, I’ve read this and had forgotten all about it! Thanks for mentioning it here.
I loved Time After Time, by Lisa Grunwald, set in and around Grand Central Station.
I was about to suggest Time After Time, as well!
Time travel + Manhattanhendge means I loved it!
I LOVE the St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor and her spinoff series Time Police. They use time travel as “a study of historical events in contemporary time” and are not supposed to use “time travel” in their vernacular!
I was about to suggest the St. Mary’s series! It’s so entertaining and easy to get into.
That’s the hidden gem I came to mention as well!! I HIGHLY recommend the audio version of this series, so entertaining!!!
I read the first of the St. Mary’s series and was appalled at how closely they resemble Connie Willis’s Oxford University books which were written well before Taylor’s novels. Several reviewers on Amazon noted this, too.
And Connie Willis is a much better writer than Taylor, IMO.
The last book I read was Kindred. Sea of Tranquility is waiting for me to pick up at the library.
The book I’m currently reading is Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
It’s more multiverse travel than time travel, but it’s quite good and I should be finishing it during my next break at work.
This isn’t my normal reading fare, but I guess this has been my current mood and it’s funny that this book list came out at this moment.
Dark Matter was fantastic on audiobook.
If you enjoy Dark Matter, definitely check out Recursion by the same author. One of my favorites!
Connie Willis is so great at this. I loved Doomsday Book and also Blackout and All Clear.
Blackout/All Clear weren’t only my favorite books in the series, they’re on my FOAT (Favorites Of All Time) list. When I finished All Clear, I immediately turned back to page 1 to start over. I just love these characters and how, at the end, everything matters and it’s all woven together.
I loved Blackout/All Clear, too, but thought they could have been edited into one book.
I agree, I was so pleased to see Doomsday Book on this list. I feel like sometimes Connie Willis gets overlooked but she’s such a fantastic author. To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of my all time favorites! And the Blackout/All Clear duology is also fantastic – all the details, the characters, everything!
I was aslo happy to see The Rose Garden mentioned, and I’ll second (third?) 11/22/63 by Stephen King
“To Say Nothing of the Dog” is one of my all-time favorite books. I can’t bear to give it away. The title hints at the fun of this next in the series by Connie Willis.
How I love To Say Nothing of the Dog! A perennial reread. Recently read Doomsday Book for the first time and nearly cried. Such a wonderful view of human relationships and caring for each other, with Willis’ trademark lightheartedness about it all.
To Say Nothing of the Dog is terrific too! It comes after Doomsday Book and before Blackout
For lovers of A Wrinkle in Time, definitely read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. It’s a middle grade novel that is so thought provoking and tender.
Absolutely – I read When You Reach Me just recently specifically because it was mentioned as a book for lovers of A Wrinkle in Time. It was amazing and I will read it again (and again just like I do A Wrinkle in Time).
I LOVED this book! Thanks for adding it to the comments section.
Along the lines of middle grade books- I think the 39 Clues series is a GREAT family read- even better listen!!! The audiobooks rule!!!
Great list! There’s just something about time travel stories that I find so fascinating.
Some of my favorites are are 11/22/63 by Stephen King as well as Replay by Ken Grimwood, which I think is an underrated gem.
Another fun one from recent years is Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore!
The movie Somewhere in Time was based on the book Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson. It was compelling too, although without the lush visuals of the movie. I’d recommend it to romantics.
I loved this one! My mother an old copy of this on her bookshelf, when I was a teen, and I read it and was enthralled!
Oona Out of Order!!!
Also, What Alice Forgot. It’s not technically a time-travel book but close enough.
Oh, I loved What Alice Forgot! It’s also a great audio book listen. Agree it’s not exactly time travel but gets at the same concepts.
I loved that book and hadn’t really thought about how it IS awfully close to time travel. Thanks for adding it here!
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain was an amazing read!
My favourites are:
This is how you lose the time war – it’s so beautifully written ❤️❤️❤️
Life after life by Kate Atkinson. This book is written like a dream.
Doomsday book by Connie Willis. I cried buckets at this near future Oxford and medieval village during the black death story. Pandemic warning though! There are more books set in the same universe and I also loved Blackout and All Clear set in the second world war
The first fifteen lives of Harry August by Claire North. One of my most favourite books ever. Reads like a thriller as well as a time travel novel.
Not quite as good as the above but still very enjoyable:
Jodi Taylor’s St Mary’s series about British time traveling historians who always find a huge problem and a cup of tea. A long long series with some trigger warnings
The Rearranged life of Oona Lockhart by margarita Montimore. About living your life out of order. Time travelers wife vibes for me
The Far Time Incident by Neve Madlakovic – time traveling historians narrated by the extremely practical secretary who keeps them all right
I adored This is how you lose the time war, as well as Life After Life. I’m happy to see them receiving some love in the comments.
I recently read a short story called The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow which was wonderful in only 30 pages.
I loved both Time and Again (Jack Finney, 1970) and its sequel, From Time to Time.
Yes! Time and Again is one of my favorite books — I think about it whenever I visit NYC.
I agree with Time and Again – I scrolled through the comments just to make sure this book was mentioned! I first read it probably 30 years ago and recently reread it.
Time and Again is absolute favorite time travel book!
Agree with Time and Again and the sequel are classics!
I’m sending you a virtual hug, Anne, to thank you for this list! Time travel is my all-time favorite book theme, and I never get tired of it. So many good choices on your list and in the comments above. I’m adding An Ocean of Minutes to by TBR! Here are a few additional that I didn’t see mentioned yet:
* Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey – Not so much a time travel novel but it is a time loop novel, in which the two main characters live multiple lives, and they have different relationships in each one. I loved this book!
* Time and Again by Jack Finney. In my opinion, this is THE classic time travel novel; it’s one of the first I read and it got me hooked on time travel novels.
* A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain – FBI agent gets hurled back to 1815! Great twist on a murder mystery!
Happy Reading!
Cam back to add Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gilly McAllister, which was so unique and had such a great ending!
Meet Me in Another Life! I really enjoyed this book and haven’t seen many people talk about it. I’m still not sure about the ending, but it was definitely surprising!
Allison – I agree! The ending to Meet Me in Another Life definitely took a completely different twist than what I expected. Such a great book!
Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister was an interesting read, worth adding to a TBR list.
I’m pretty fond of time-travel novels. Besides “A Wrinkle in Time,” I’ve recently read “Before the Coffee Gets Cold,” and was delighted to see you recommend it! It’s disparate stories are so sweet, touching, and have unexpected endings.
I’ve also read “Doomsday Book,” and enjoyed it also.
My most-loathed read ever? “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” The relationship of the two just felt like grooming to me. Icky. Icky. Icky.
I totally agree about The a time Traveller’s Wife. I wish I could unread it!
I’m so glad you added Before the Coffee Gets Cold to this list! What a gem.
I also didn’t like “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and cannot imagine why it is so popular. Beyond the ick factor – it just wasn’t very well written, IMO.
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells is a good one!
I loved that one!
Another vote for Jack Finney’s books, especially Time and Again.
I have realized that I really enjoy time travel books. And time loop books, which are close but different:
-The Midnight Library (magical realism)
-Oona Out of Order (magical realism)
-All You Need is Kill (graphic novel)
-One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (queer romance)
Yes to The Midnight Library and One Last Stop!!
Magical Libraries: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine ( 1st in a series) and The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman are both great series!
My favorite time travel book of all time (ha!) is Stephen King’s 11/22/63.
A Rip in Time by Kelley Armstrong is also enjoyable, a modern police detective ends up in the body of a Victorian maid in Scotland. The second book in the series is coming out this spring
sorry, that should be A Rip Through Time
Yes! I was going to mention this one, too. Looking forward to the second book in the series. 🙂
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt had me thinking of the various fun things I would want to see with this capability. Also Jack Finney’s Time and Again is wonderful and his time travel short stories are even better.
Don’t forget Time and Again by Jack Finney… my all-time favorite time travel novel!
Oh, and the Chronicle of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor, a delightful and funny series about time traveling historians.
I also really love the Found Things time travel series by Paula Brackston. The first book is called The Little Shop of Found Things.
I enjoyed this series too. I think there’s one more coming soon.
One of my favorite time-traveling novels is 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It kept me entertained while I recovered from a fall that broke both my legs. I also love Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.
I haven’t read any of these!
My favorite time travel books are 11/22/63 by Stephen King and The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain.
I really enjoyed When The Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer. Also, Oona Out of Order by Marguerite Montimore. And, while not specifically time travel, it’s more time travel adjacent, A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil is excellent!
Adding on to all the great suggestions:
The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk is a really fun Christmasy Groundhog’s Day tale.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle is a lovely time travel story that’s light on the time travel.
A unique twist on the time travel genre is Rewind by Carolyn O’Doherty. It’s the first in a trilogy. In essence, there is a small group of individuals that can rewind time to review past events and those individuals are hated and feared. This story focuses on one of these young individuals. Here is a link to a review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30807336
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned a lovely book, The Scribe of Sienna. A sweet story!
I enjoyed this one as well. 🙂
Timeline by Michael Crichton is a favorite of mine. A group of history students travel to 1300’s France to rescue their mentor.
I’m currently reading The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz. It’s a 2019 release that (surprisingly) flew under the radar. I find it interesting because it is a feminist time travel novel with the main character Tess traveling through time to preserve/save women’s rights.
I love Kindred and pretty much almost anything Octavia Butler writes!
I almost NEVER say this- but I’m enjoying the adaptation of Kindred showing on Hulu better than the book- they made some changes to the story that I think work well, she isn’t traveling from 1976 more like 2020 so it’s modernized and Kevin is not her husband, they are on a first date when it happens. Many may not agree but I like it.
I’m interested in watching this adaptation but didn’t know those details—thank you for sharing, Felicia!
Atomic Anna, by Rachel Barenbaum — and not just because she’s a close friend, it’s a great book and will hopefully be great on the small or big screen someday too!
I loved A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum, but had not heard of this one. Thanks for sharing!
I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t include “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon.
The books bring us romance, adventure, history and so much love. Outlander definitely needs to be on this list (especially the first one).
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. It’s fantasy time travel and one of my all-time favorites!
This is one of my all time favorites too!
I love this plot device and have read many of these. Of course, Outlander is my all-time favorite. I also love several mentioned already in the comments (What the Wind Knows, 11/22/63, Wrong Time Wrong Place). One that’s good for teens is a YA novel called Worth the Read by Diana and Kate Cockrell. It puts a modern teen and her mom in the midst of the Boston Tea Party.
I also love books that play with time like Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. These “sliding doors” type books are so heartfelt. Another I two liked was What Might Have Been and Maybe in Another Life.
Time Travel is my favourite! The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas is one I read recently and enjoyed as it focused on time travel as an enterprise rather than just one individual travelling. And I am planning to read the Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor.
The middle grade books that first got me hooked on time travel a long time ago were Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park, Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer and Tom’s Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce. And I have been addicted ever since!
Hands down, Outlander for me.
Cannot wait for the 10th (probably final book).
I got to travel to Scotland early last Fall & did an Outlander tour. We hit many nightlights, but missed out on the village of Falkland. That was the stand in for Inverness on the TV series.
Where Jamie’s ghost stood by the fountain!
I did enjoy Emma Straub as well.
The first time travel book I ever read, decades ago, was called The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. A young woman looks into an antique mirror and is transported back to 1900 into the body of her great grandmother, if I’m remembering that right.
Good grief, I remember reading this in the 1970s, & I’m 72! I loved it.
I remember reading this as a teenager, and it scared me (but I loved it)! It’s a really good one.
They made this a movie, right? With Lindsey Wagner. I remember loving that movie. (I’m sure it was cheesy!)
A Rip Through Time by Canadian author, Kelley Armstrong, is a great escape. It is a time travel murder mystery that takes place in Scotland. Characters are well drawn and the plot is propulsive. Book 2 coming out in May.
The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser and Second Sight by David Williams were my teenage favorites. Loved watching the tv movie adaptation with Lindsay Wagner, The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan.
Yes! Just commented above. I loved that movie. And loved Lindsay Wagner!
Outlander – the best writing & details of preparing for time travel.
Green Darkness – Anya Seton, an older historical romance, so fun & creepy.
House on the Strand – du Maurier, also an older book, & excellent!
So glad you mentioned The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. She also wrote Blackout and All Clear, a series of 2 time-travel masterpieces about Oxford historians who travel to WW2 and get stuck. These are amazing (audio too) and shouldn’t be missed!
I love the Kendra Donovan series (Murder in Time, Twist in Time, etc.) by Julie McElwain. A 21st century FBI agent gets transported back to 1815 England where she finds herself solving crimes without modern equipment as well as dealing with the difficulties of being a woman in that period. Part mystery, part Regency romance, part science fiction.
I can’t believe you missed St Mary’s!! Absolutely adore these books about historians who study major events in contemporary time (they are NOT timetravellers!).
Outlander series, of course. The best time travel series ever!
I love Jodi Taylor’s wacky St. Mary’s series, about a bunch of time-jumping British historians. I also really enjoyed Annette Christie’s The Rehearsals, in addition to some of the books mentioned here.
Connie Willis is SUBERB at time travel — so glad to see her on the list. To Say Nothing of the Dog is a delight through and through, and her two volume Blackout/All Clear is a masterpiece.
Ben Elton’s “Time and time again” is another great novel on time travel. The main character is sent from the early 2000s back to 1914 to prevent the outbreak of the First World War. (I also recommend Elton’s other books if you love a page turner.)
A somewhat similar story is told in Stephen Fry’s “Making history” in which time travel is sort of used to alter the course of history around the Second World War.
I have two books to recommend that would nestle near the time travel books but aren’t quite that.
First, A Day Like This by Kelley McNeill. More about alternate histories. A woman keeps waking up in an altered reality and goes back and forth. I really liked it.
And The Forgetting Time about a little boy who remembers his past life, and his mom trying to figure out why he has the fears and memories that he does.
Both excellent reads.
I used to love Son of the Morning by Linda Howard. very 90s romance novel. I read it again a few years ago and while it was certainly dated, the overall story was still engaging. My TBR grew exponentially reading everyone’s comments
Two others that I really enjoyed were The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
My favourite “time travel” series of novels is the Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor. Members of a research institute investigate historic events in contemporary time. Written with humour, drama,meticulous research and great storytelling these books make excellent reading.
The Gideon trilogy is absolutely fabulous. I found the first book in the middle grade section of our library, and the cover was so intriguing. It was so well written, and such an incredible storyline. I had to read the other two, and until the very very end, I had no idea how they were going to resolve all the storylines. I ultimately bought the series. Excellent storytelling!
Thanks for the list! I love time travel and enjoyed the Doomsday Book, but the second book in the series – To Say Nothing of the Dog – was soooo long and repetitive. Or maybe I’m just not as interested in Victorian society as I am in the Dark Ages, although the stories about the cathedral were interesting (but also confusing?)
There’s a time travel series called Middle Falls Time Travel. While the writing isn’t great, is it groundhog day scenarios of a person going back in their life to fix it/learn something. Some of the characters appear in other books which makes it fun. Some are better than others and they are a short easy read. I call them a palate cleanser for when I want something easy and different to get my mind off heaviness.
Between your list, Anne, and suggestions from commenters, my TBR list has really expanded! A lot of people have commented on 11/22/63 by Stephen King, which I agree was excellent; however, Stephen King wrote another more recent one called Fairytale, which I liked a lot. Not so much time travel, but similar in that the young man goes back and forth between our world and an otherworldly place. Another book by King which is not horror at all.
The Scribe of Siena by Melanie Winawer is a great time travel novel. I typically am not a fan of time travel books, but this one won me over!
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.
Time Travel is one of my favourite genres. Many of the books shown and many listed in the comments I have read. My very first was Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine which then led to The Mirror/Millhiser and I was hooked. Here are some that I don’t think have been mentioned:
The Good Part/Sophie Cousens
See You Yesterday/ Rachel Lynn Solomon
The Seven Year Slip/ Ashley Poston
Woke Up Like This/ Amy Lea
Maybe Next Time/Cesca Major (loved this one in particular)
Twice in a Lifetime/Melissa Baton
I’ll Stop The Eorld/Lauren Thomas
I just finished The Unmaking of June Farrow and I loved it! Highly recommend!
I’m glad someone mentioned The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I recently read and very much enjoyed that! I found it fascinating, and a fun exploration of the “what if” concept all of us probably think of at one point or another.
Sort of related to time travel/messing with time, I thought of the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series. I really liked these first 3 books, at least. I have yet to read the rest of the series, but I love the mix of creepiness and sweetness with a touch of time-bending.