As I’ve said before, there are two kinds of historical fiction readers: those who can’t get enough of World War II settings and those who would prefer to read about any other era. Today’s post goes out to everyone who can’t get enough of this time period. While I love all manner of historical fiction, many World War II novels are among my favorites. I’m drawn to true stories of unsung heroines and depictions of the war from a different vantage point than I’ve encountered before.
WWII fiction has been around since the war itself but it seemed to grow in popularity in the 2000s. That shows no signs of abating any time soon. Many theories have been posited about why readers and authors gravitate toward this historical fiction subgenre and there’s probably a grain of truth in most of them. But at this point, it might boil down to the simple fact that these books sell. Because so many World War II novels exist, it’s incumbent for authors to find a new angle so their book will stand out from the rest. That fresh take is likely why readers gravitate toward it and keep the interest going.
World War II novels cover a vast historical fiction landscape. While I’m sharing some of my favorites today, this list is a tiny fraction of what’s on offer. That’s where you come in. I hope you’ll share your favorites in the comments.
WWII novels that are worth your time
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Suite Française
The story behind this story is heartbreaking: Irène Némirovsky, a Ukrainian Jew, was a bestselling author in Paris when she began working on this novel in the early 1940s. In 1942, she was deported to Auschwitz, where she died one month later. She had written the first two parts of this planned five-part novel before her arrest, which were hidden in a suitcase. Her daughters had the manuscript for years, not knowing what they possessed, until they finally took a look and did not find the journals they expected. They published this sixty-four years later, as translated by Sandra Smith. The connected vignettes explore the exodus from Paris before the Nazi invasion, as well as the German occupation of a small village. This is possibly the earliest work of fiction about World War II. More info →
Secrets of a Charmed Life
Meissner takes us back to the London Blitz through the eyes of two sisters. Fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree dreams of becoming a fashion designer but her younger sister Julia needs her as they adjust to being evacuated from London and settling into their foster home in Cotswold. When the sisters get separated, one will carry a burden for the rest of her life, until she meets a young American scholar who is eager to learn her secrets. Enjoyable and moving. More info →
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
The titular hotel is a real place: it's Seattle's Panama Hotel. In this fictional story, an old man looks back to his 1940s childhood and fondly remembers his friendship—and maybe something more—with his young Japanese friend Keiko. They lose touch when Keiko and her family are evacuated during the Japanese internment. (I learned so little about this in my U.S. history classes that when I first read the book ten years ago I kept googling Ford's historical references to see if they really happened. They all did.) More info →
Everyone Brave is Forgiven
I knew I had to read this when my husband (who beat me to it) couldn't stop sharing Cleave's well-turned sentences aloud, and even many years later, I still think about this book all the time. This tale of four young, warm, wise-cracking friends in wartime England is a standout in the WWII historical genre. Through their characters, Cleave throws issues of wartime morality, race, and class into sharp relief. This is for you if you love a great story and admire a beautifully-rendered, wry turn of phrase. Discussing this book with author Chris Cleave in MMD Book Club in 2016 made me love the novel even more. More info →
Salt to the Sea
You know about the Titanic, and maybe even the Lusitania disaster (the subject of Erik Larson's Dead Wake). But you've likely never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy of 1945, though the lives lost outnumber the people who died in those two better-known disasters at sea. The ship was hugely over capacity when it sank in the Baltic Sea after being hit by Soviet torpedoes. Told in four distinct characters' voices, that of a young nurse, a Prussian soldier, an expecting mother, and a delusional Nazi recruit converge. Sepetys excels at writing historically accurate, page-turning YA novels equally beloved by tweens, teens, and grown-ups. More info →
The War That Saved My Life
This WWII adventure will appeal to fans of historical fiction and underdog stories. Nine-year-old Ada has never been allowed to leave her family’s small apartment. Her foot is twisted and her mother is too ashamed of the physical impairment to let Ada out in public. When the war arrives in London, Ada's little brother is put on a train to safety and Ada makes a daring escape to join him. Out in the countryside, a woman named Susan begrudgingly takes the children into her home. There, Ada experiences a freedom she never experienced in the city, learning to read and ride horses and all the while wriggling her way into Susan’s heart. Readers will be riveted by the danger, daring, and risks that both Ada and Susan take to discover true belonging and a place to call home. More info →
We Were the Lucky Ones
When Georgia Hunter started getting curious about her family history, a few questions put to the right relatives uncovered something she didn’t expect: a sweeping multi-generational drama just begging to be written down—and so she did. Told over the span of six years, the story follows the Jewish Kurc family as they face exile, escape death, and struggle to survive during WWII. While the war scatters the siblings across the globe, they never give up the hope of one day being reunited. To hear more about Hunter's writing experience, listen to WSIRN Episode 157: The stories behind the stories we love to read. Readers may also be interested in Hunter's newest WWII novel called One Good Thing, just released in March 2025, about two female Jewish friends living in Italy during the war. More info →
The Chosen
Potok’s best-selling debut about two Jewish boys growing up in 1940s Brooklyn, published in 1967, is now considered a classic. Danny is Orthodox, while Reuven is Hasidic. While Reuven recovers from an eye injury courtesy of baseball, he listens to coverage of D-Day on the radio. After the war ends and the horrors of the Holocaust emerge, Danny and Reuven’s fathers have very different ideas about their sons and what role Israel should play in their future. Nominated for the National Book Award, this explores the nuances of religious differences, assimilation in the US, and the gift of friendship. More info →
Transcription
This historical sticks to the WWII setting of Life After Life and A God in Ruins but stands on its own. It's 1940, and an eighteen-year-old girl named Juliet, in search of a job, is surprised to find herself plunged into the world of espionage. It took me more than a few chapters to get oriented but this book cemented Atkinson as one of my must-read authors. I especially loved its droll British sense of humor. More info →
The Huntress
Inspired by a true story she stumbled upon in the historical archives (which would totally spoil the big reveal—you’re going to have to read the author’s note to learn all!), Quinn weaves together three perspectives to tell a gripping story set in the aftermath of WWII: Jordan is a Boston teenager who works in her father’s Boston antiques store, Ian is a British journalist determined to bring his brother’s killer— known as “the Huntress”—to justice, and Nina is a Russian fighter pilot and the only woman alive who can identify the Huntress. There’s no weak link in the story; each thread is fascinating—and when they began to come together I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. A mesmerizing tale of war crimes, coming of age, love and fidelity, and the pursuit of justice, with stirring implications for today. More info →
Resistance Women
This historical novel is inspired by the life of Mildred Harnack, a real historical figure whose story was previously untold because the U.S. government deliberately buried it after the war. Harnack was one of dozens of members of the network of American and German resistance fighters the Gestapo called die Rote Kapelle (Red Orchestra). The bulk of the action takes place between the wars, beginning in 1929, so you see events escalate over time through these women’s eyes. The setup feels leisurely but the payoff is worth it. More info →
Code Name Hélène
This novel tells the story of Nancy Wake, the unsung French Resistance leader who was #1 on the Gestapo’s most-wanted list by the end of the war. The real Nancy was larger than life; bold, bawdy, and brazen—a woman who, as the only female among thousands of French men, was not only respected as an equal, but revered as a leader. The story is set during WWII, yes—a setting the author says she came to kicking and screaming, because there are a lot of WWII stories these days—but at its heart this is a story of friendship, and of love. Nancy leaps off the page with her Victory Red lipstick, snappy one-liners, and incredible bravery. More info →
The Lost Vintage
Mah draws readers in to her historical/family saga with diary entries and a dual timeline, as Kate unearths the secrets her family hid for decades. Kate heads to her family’s vineyard estate in Burgundy, in need of a retreat while she studies for the Master of Wine Examination. She can’t afford to fail again and she hopes this will allow her to reconnect with family while learning about Burgundian vintages. As she helps her cousins clear out the basement, she stumbles across a diary and a treasure trove of wine. Her great-aunt was a teen during WWII but it’s not clear whether her family sided with the Resistance or the Nazis, nor can she figure out what happened to several bottles of wine missing from the cellar’s collection. More info →
Flygirl
Few of the WWII historical fiction stories I’ve read focus on the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP, a group that was created by the U.S. Army to help defeat Germany and Japan. Ida Mae's father was a Black pilot who taught her to fly planes, though her race and gender prevent her from following in his footsteps. Eager to soar, Ida is ready to join WASP as a way to fly and to help her brother who is fighting in the Pacific. But when the new organization denies her entry based on her race, Ida's only choice is to pass as white in order to live her dream. Smith expertly explores identity, family, and legacy while immersing her readers in history in this fantastic YA novel. More info →
This Lovely City
In 1948, the Empire Windrush arrived in Essex, London, carrying 492 Jamaican immigrants who were recruited by the British government to help rebuild the economy after WWII. In her debut novel, Louise Hare tells a fictional story about recent immigrant Lawrie Matthews who works as a postman by day, a jazz musician by night. In between, he makes time to woo the girl next door. When Lawrie discovers something terrible on his way to work one day, he becomes a criminal suspect, despite all evidence to the contrary. The local community turns against him in a show of xenophobia and racism, dashing his dreams for the future. With vivid historical detail, Hare combines mystery and romance and provides a decidedly hopeful ending. More info →
The Postcard
The premise of this 2023 Minimalist Summer Reading Guide selection is rooted in real life. In 2003, Anne Berest’s mother Lelia received an old postcard addressed to Berest’s deceased grandmother. The card is blank except for four names written in a shaky hand: Ephraim, Emma, Noemie, and Jaques. These names belong to her grandparents, aunt, and uncle, all of whom were murdered at Auschwitz. Anne was about to give birth so the postcard was put away and then forgotten. But when Anne remembers the postcard nearly two decades later, she becomes determined to find out who sent it and why. This sweeping French novel deals with history and memory, hope and grief, past and present French culture, and trauma. Translated from the French by Tina Kover. More info →
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Talk about a strong premise! In 1960s London, a young woman named Hazel unwraps a parcel from America while working at Hogan’s Rare Book Shop. She is gobsmacked to find an illustrated children’s book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. This book shouldn’t exist, because only two people in the world know about Whisperwood: Hazel and her sister Flora, who created the fairy tale together while billeted in Oxfordshire during WWII. Hazel believes the book is proof that her sister didn’t die, as presumed, back in 1940, and embarks on a quest to find her. A heartfelt historical novel about the power of stories, forgiveness, and love. More info →
The Underground Library
Lovers of hopeful historical fiction, books about books, and Blitz-era stories, take note: three women are brought together by London’s Bethnal Green library in the early days of the Blitz in WWII London. Juliet is the newly appointed Deputy Librarian, who shocks patrons (and her male bosses) by moving the branch to the nearest tube station to evade Nazi bombers—and bring residents some measure of solace and distraction during the raids. Katie is a young library clerk with a secret, whose imminent departure for university is surprisingly disrupted. Sophie is a Jewish refugee who escaped Germany’s dangers only to find herself employed by a cruel boss in London, but she finds strength from and safety with her library friends. More info →
All the Light We Cannot See
The characters in this captivating war novel are fascinating and altogether unexpected, and the book’s setting couldn’t be lovelier: much of the action takes place in Saint-Malo, France, a unique walled port city on the English Channel. Though it is a heavy hardcover, it doesn't feel overlong: its 500+ pages give Doerr plenty of room to build a believable world, and give his characters depth and feeling. An intelligent, detailed, literary novel that stays with readers long after turning the final page, and the 2015 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More info →
The Secret Keeper
Nearly all of Morton’s novels are beloved, but in my opinion, The Secret Keeper is her finest. When she was 16, Laurel witnessed a violent crime involving her mother, Dorothy. The family hushed it up, and Laurel hasn’t spoken of it since. Now, fifty years later, Dorothy is dying, and Laurel is determined to unravel the secret while there’s still time. As Laurel pursues her clues, the story flips back and forth in time between today and the years before and during World War II, including the London Blitz, which Morton recreates so vividly you can almost hear the bombs dropping. Filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end. More info →
What are your favorite World War II novels? Please share in the comments.
P.S. Historical fiction that isn’t set during World War II and 33 historical fiction books avid readers can’t get enough of.
97 comments
I’d add two really unique middle grade series: Max in the House of Spies and Max in the Land of Lies (duopoly by Adam Gidwitz) and Westfallen by Ann and Ben Brashares (first in a trilogy, book 2, Into the Fire releases later this year).
two WWII books that think you missed are the Nightingale by Kristen Hannah and The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I have read many on your list The Postcard being my favorite. I’ll have checkout a few that I missed this summer!
The Postcard was excellent! And almost completely non-fiction, except for dialogue
You are right! The Nightingale is the best WW2 book ever! I’ve read most of these and they don’t compare to it. In fact, it’s my favorite book of all time!
The Book Thief is another excellent book. I’ve read it twice.
Definitely looking for The Book Thief! So good!!
Yes! Both favorites of mine.
I loved both of those books!
I also enjoyed When we had Wings by Ariel Lawhon. I tend to read WW2 books that are set in Europe – this book is set in the Pacfic. I learned a lot about the hardships faced by the nursing and support staff during the Japanese occupation. ( Also based on true events. )
I loved that book as well!
From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon (Italy)
The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron (dual timeline–Manhattan, Austria/Auschwitz)
Both are gorgeous WWII novels!
For a fantastic extended family says set just before, during and after WWII, read Elizabeth Jane Howard’s The Cazalet Chronicles.
If you like your WWII with a side of Sci-fi or spec fic – I have some suggestions:
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (it’s a wild ride but so so good)
• Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis (time traveling historians in WWII!)
• Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (POV switches between a WWII code breaker and a marine and their modern day descendants in a romping, decades-long adventure – too much to explain but one of my very favorite books EVER.)
Life After Life is one of my all time favorite books. Kate Atkinson is the best and do inventive.
This is a great list. The Secret Keeper is Kate Morton’s best book! The Nightingale nearly broke me. Oh, I cried and cried.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is by far my favorite WW2 novel (and her best novel, in my opinion). Hannah weaves the lives and choices of two sisters in occupied France in a moving and compelling way, and it is difficult to finish the book without tears at some point. I have enjoyed many of the books on this list, but you can’t read WW2 novels without including the Nightingale! Thanks for this great list and for some new titles to add to my TBR!
I’ve read it 4 times and cried every time!
I have read many of the above WWII novels, and I am currently reading Pam Jenoff’s Last Twilight in Paris.
I love all books that I’ve read by Pam Jenoff, The Orphan’s Tale, The Kommandants Girl, and The Diplomats Wife. The Kommandants Girl was especially moving! The Book of List Names by Kristin Harmel was also very good. Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan and The Rose Code by Kate Quinn are other favorites. Our book club likes to read World War II novels.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay and Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland. I don’t hear much about these books and they are both excellent.
Oh yes! Sarah’s Key was SO good.
The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie
Society. ❤️
Oh right!! Absolutely!! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it right off!
Great list. A few additions that I would add are: Still Life by Sarah Winman, A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell, and My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor. I found all three of those books to be exceptional.
My Father’s House is based on the true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who was an Irish Monsignor working in the Holy Office in Rome. It is an incredible story.it was a wonderful movie called “The Scarlet and the Black” and starred Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer. Sir John Gielguld played Pope Pius XII.
I‘ll suggest reaching back a few more decades:
The Winds of War then War and Remembrance
Both by Herman Wouk and sequential
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron — still squeezes my heart
And another vote for The Nightingale as well as Winter Garden. Kristin Hannah’s work gave me new perspective: the experience of women in France, and a family whose roots were in the USSR
I was just coming here to suggest Winds of War and War and Remembrance – they’re a commitment, but if one loves a sweeping family saga and is interested in WWII those can’t be beat.
How could I have forgotten Sophie’s Choice? Styron’s masterpiece.
Another “classic” WWII – the English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.
Such a great list, and many others in the comments as well! I’ve read almost all of them. The Nightingale broke me too—I read it when it first came out, and want to read it again, but am STILL not emotionally ready. 🥺 I just finished Georgia Hunter’s newest book, One Good Thing, and loved it. It’s a story about Italian Jews during the war, who haven’t been written about as much as others.
I read a lot of WW2 fiction so this is perfect for me. I have many favorites that didn’t see listed. Some are the Guernsey Literary and potato Peel pie society, The Chilbury Ladies Choir, anything by Sarah Sundin or Ruta Sepetys. The list could go on.
I’m glad there’s a Kate Hunter book on here already, but I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention my favorite…Rose Code
Don’t miss Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy. Written in 1987. I read the paperback about 10 years ago – 757 pages and I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down.
I love your distinction between the two types of historical fiction readers! It’s so true. I’ve read quite a few and eventually got to the point where I had enough of that specific time period. All the Light We Cannot See is definitely my favorite WWII book though!
I would also add A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus as another children’s book option. I actually enjoyed it more than The War that Saved My Life. I wrote a full review of it on my blog: https://brittanydahl.com/blog/a-place-to-hang-the-moon-book-review/
Albus is a phenomenal writer and she very eloquently ties in themes from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She frequently mentions lots of favorite children’s books and there is a beautiful main character who is a librarian. Everything a good book needs!
Oh, my goodness! You must be my book twin! I was just thinking of adding A Place to Hang the Moon. I absolutely sobbed reading that book–I loved it! And All the Light We Cannot See is my favorite WWII novel as well. It’s so beautiful. I read it and then a few months later read The Nightingale and while I enjoyed The Nightingale and agree with someone who said it’s Hannah’s best book, I think Doerr’s book is better. But there’s room for all!
Let’s make that book triplets! I was on my way to mention A Place to Hang the Moon and here you are. So, I’ll add another children’s book – The Swallows’ Flight by Hilary McKay.
I always love another quality children’s book recommendation. Finding good ones always makes me think of CS Lewis’ quote: A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.
I’ll add this one to my list! I haven’t read it before. Thank you!
Haha! We are book twins because I felt the exact same way about The Nightingale. It was great, but at the same time, it just didn’t compare to All the Light. Have you read any of Doerr’s other books?
It is not a novel but reads like one. Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown. Tells the story of the internment camps and the hard choices that young Japanese men had to make. Stay in the camps or go to war and fight for a country that was imprisoning their families.
Many great books already listed, but here are a few that I really enjoyed that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
Dear Mrs. Bird
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Kitchen Front: A Novel
The Hiding Place
One of my favorite WWII novels takes place in Italy – A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
My favorite World War 2 books are The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk. I learned so much from these books through the experiences of the Henry Family throughout the years leading up to the war to the end of the war in Europe. It is impossible for me to summarize the books and do them justice. Just read them and enjoy!
I read a book in 1997 and it was about two women in Poland and one was the daughter of the town laundress and more and she dies and her teenage daughter takes over to survive and a young Jewish couple who are part of the resistance show up and then later the woman returns with a baby and the Polish woman takes her and is also delivering the mail and a letter from the U.S. arrives and the woman who it is for has died so the woman takes her identity and takes her place to the U.S. with the baby and marries and the couple have survived the war and now have gone to start Israel and at some point the woman finds out her identity and tries to find them. It was so good and taught me more about Israel. I can’t remember the title! Can anyone help?
I read The War that Saved My Life, and I much preferred Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian. That has been one of my favorite books since I read it in fifth grade.
The Long March Home: A World War Novel of the Pacific is excellent. It’s a fictional account of the Bataan Death March. The characters are terrific!! It’s a laugh/cry book.
I’m done reading WWII based in Europe, but have recently discovered a whole new perspective by reading (nonfiction) about the Pacific theater. Any recommendations for Pacifc theater historical fiction?
A fictional historical thriller I enjoyed recently was P.T. Deutermann’s “The Second Sun.” The premise of the book was: what if Japan also had atomic weapons?
Sara Ackerman has some good WWII books set in Hawaii. They’re not quite as deep or complex as Kate Hannah, but they are still well done, historically accurate, and a good read.
You may have seen “Bridge Over the River Kwai” but it’s a book by Pierre Boulle, written in 1952, about the Pacific theater. The Japanese are forcing a group of Allied Prisoners to construct a bridge for the Burma Railway, and the although the story is fictional, the real bridge still exists in Thailand. It’s a good story.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North; The Thief of Glory; Tales of the South Pacific; Under the Java Moon; Remember the Lilies; books by Sara Ackerman set in Hawaii during WWII; John Grisham has one about the Bataan Death March titled The Reckoning.
I just finished When the Elephants Dance. It tells the story of resistance and surviving during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 3 POVs. It is a hard read at times. Very glad I read it.
The Last Rose of Shanghai, by Weina Dai Randel
Yes! When We had Wings was so good! Written by Susan Meissner and Ariel Lawhon
One of my favourite WWII reads is The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. It’s about a group of English women who are in a cooking contest using only the foods available with ration cards and from their gardens and the countryside. Fascinating look at how the Brits were affected in their everyday lives by the war.
I just finished Hold Strong by Robert Dugoni. Intertwined story of American soldier who survived Bataan Death March, and his girlfriend who becomes a government code breaker. Fictionalized account of true events during WWII.
Thank you for including “Suite Française” by Irene Nemirovsky. After reading “Nightingale,” I figured Hannah was inspired by Irene’s novel. I’d also recommend “The Invisible Bridge” by Julie Orringer – which interestingly has a cover that, in my mind, has a very similar vibe/feel to both “All the Light We Cannot See” and “Everyone Brave is Forgiven.” I love the blue hues in all three covers.
The Invisible Bridge was excellent! And you are right about the covers!
Yes—I had similar thoughts! I loved The Invisible Bridge too!
I agee with so many of you on your favorites that you shared. A couple of my favorites are Dragonfly by Keila Meaghan and Once We Were Brothers by Ronald Balson. I highly encourage everyone interested in this era to check these two out.
For an utterly original, fast-paced, funny and thought-provoking exploration of identity in WWII, check out The Torqued Man by Peter Mann. I love how the two conflicting narratives of its queer heroes intertwine while leaving it to the reader to decide what really happened.
Mann also has a Pacific theater WWII book coming out this summer – World Pacific – which looks great too!
You listed several of my favorites but I would add Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.
Upton Sinclair’s 11-part Lanny Budd series sets the prelude for World War II in the first book with some coming-of-age youngsters in World War I and the peace negotiations and the next 10 follows them, family, and friends through World War II, Budd turning up at major events and worming his way into chats with Hitler while also working as a secret agent for FDR, along with other people, from Goering to Hearst and characters of his own creation. The series was Sinclair’s attempt to make money by appealing broadly and avoid the long ideological rants of some of his earlier works, instead setting up ideological antagonists, not just between the war’s opponents but the America Firsters and Nazi sympathizers in England and France, all friends of Lanny, and who he returns to again and again as the war proceeds. The books were written mostly during the war, so a few years before the times they chronicle. Little known nowadays but lovely and easily available in eBooks.
My husband and I enjoy the Billy Boyle series.
I have loved many of these books on your list and in the comments. Here are a couple more that I have loved and don’t see listed yet –
“When We Were Young and Brave” by Hazel Gaynor (Set in a missionary school in China)
“From Sand and Ash” by Amy Harmon
I am very much looking forward to reading “One Good Thing” by Georgia Hunter and “Hold Strong” by Robert Dugoni!
“A Town Like Alice” and “Pied Piper” by Nevil Shute. “Dear Mrs Bird”, “Yours Cheerfully” and “Mrs Porter Calling” by A J Pearce. “Crooked Heart”, “V for Victory” “Their Finest Hour and a Half” and “Small Bomb at Dimperley” by Lissa Evans.
I loved the Emmy Lake Chronicles by AJ Pearce! You may know that there is a fourth and final instalment, Dear Miss Lake, coming out later this year? I was given a NetGalley copy of manuscript to review and it really is a wonderful finale to the series. I hope you will enjoy it too.
Also “The Shell Seekers” and “Coming Home” by Rosamunde Pilcher. “The Paris Library by Janet Skeslein Charles
Thanks for the list! I recently read The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Larry Loftis about the Dutch resistance against the Nazi’s including Corrie Ten Booms family, and her faith and courage. It reads like a spy thriller!
I just finished rereading Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis, and her depiction of life in South England (London and Dover) during the Blitz is absolutely fantastic. It’s got stranded time-traveling historians, cheeky urchins, and incendiaries and V1s galore.
The Nightengale. By Kristen Hannah
I just finished reading Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan based on the true story of a Italian teen who risked his life to help Jews escape over the Alps into Switzerland. Then later on in the war, he joined the Nazi party and became a spy. Not many WWII historical fiction books take place in Italy, so this was fascinating. In a similar vein, there is an excellent podcast called Pack One Bag, that feels like an audio book when you listen to it. It tells the true story of the podcaster’s travels to Italy to discover his relatives’ part in the Italian war.
I have read and loved many of those on this list, and mentioned by other readers. I would add, Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian, and The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan. I loved both of these as well.
I have read 13 of these and added a couple more to my TBR! My favorite that I think is underrated is Everyone Brave is Forgiven. Highly recommend!
Good night Irene about the red cross doughnut dollies that followed the troups
This is such a rich subject area with endless options to choose a great read! A couple that really made an impact on me were “The Invisible Bridge” by Julie Orringer, which introduced me to the Hungarian perspective of the war, and “The Plum Tree” by Ellen Maris Wiseman, which I am not sure how I came across it, but it moved me significantly.
My favorites would be The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk.Epic!
So glad to see The War That Saved My Life on this list, and also The Huntress. One of my all-time favorite books is Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, told by a captured British woman pilot. Absolutely riveting.
Strong support for Code Name Verity – it’s so different than anything else I’d read to that point and so good. Sad, but so funny also.
So many great books here and so many added to my TBR. I would like to suggest to anyone interested in the Blitz specifically The Report by Jessica Francis Kane. Beautifully written.
As I was scrolling I started to get nervous that my favorite book of all time, All the Light We Cannot See, was not going to be on the list. But phew it’s there! I read that book in November 2014 (I remember because I was on my honeymoon) and it’s held the title ever since. I’ve reread it once (which I never do!) and it held up! Surprisingly I’m not a huge WWII historical fiction fan – I’ve likely read 2-3 since in the last 10 years.
The series that got me interested in WWII historical fiction was the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. She makes you feel you are there and part of the family.
I have to add a few more that I left out in my previous post. The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is set in the U.S. during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, including part of WWII, and was an excellent read. I also loved The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (there is now a sequel that I have yet to read), The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton, and Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry. There are more, so I guess I am definitely one of those who continues to love reading books set in the WWII era.
Had to comment about my all time favorite: Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. Please tell me you’ve read it! The prequel is very good, too.
Im interested that none of the books in the list refer to the War in the Pacific. As a US based blog this suprises me as it was such an active theatre of war for the USA with so many great stories. As we remember the 80th anniversary of the ending of World War Two lets remember it didnt really end until Victory was achieved in the Pacific on August 15. A wonderful prize winning account of the plight of POWs after the fall of Singapore is “The Long Road to the Deep North” by Richard Flanagan. An outstanding read.
Awesome list! I’ll add a few I haven’t seen yet:
– The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin- during the blitz
– The Library of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes- Starts in 1930s Germany and explored censorship leading up to and during WWII including the Reichstag fire.
– Sisters of the Resistance by Christine Wells. French resistance.
– Hannah’s War- Follows a German Jewish nuclear physicist before and during the war working on research related to the bomb.
– The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. Takes place in 3 time periods, one of which is WWII.
– Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan- Children help smuggle gold out of Norway during Nazi occupation (children’s novel)
I am now realizing I’m one of those people referenced that read all the WWII fiction…
Under the Java Moon by Heather B. Moore. Interesting story of a family’s experience during the Japanese occupation of the island of Java.
A truly poignant book is Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. It’s about three women and the horrors they saw at the concentration camp in Ravensbruck. The experiments the Nazis did on some of the women were hard to read, but a part of the history many do not know.
I don’t tend to gravitate toward WWII fiction, as it’s not really a period that interests me – having said that, I picked up The Huntress after hearing about it WSIRN, and really enjoyed it! And Great Circle was another one like that – it’s not 100% a WWII novel, but there is a significant section set in the war that I found interesting because of the main character’s activities.
A book that I don’t see mentioned many places is Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea. It’s about the Red Cross “Donut Dollies”, which was something I didn’t know about! It gave WWII historical fiction a fresh feel reading about a lesser-known aspect, and he writes so beautifully. It is based on the author’s mother’s service, and the author’s note is as interesting as the book! I always recommend this one!
I just finished When we were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor. This is my go-to genre for sure. Snow Treasure, The Book Thief, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, All the Flowers in Paris are all amazing reads. For non-fiction The Story of the Von Trapp Family Singers has been a favorite since I found a copy on my grandma’s bookshelf as a child.
As others have mentioned, I have enjoyed many of the above listed books. One I recently read, which no one mentioned is “The Secret War of Julia Child”. Long before Julia Child was a French cook, she was a spy for “Wild Bill” Donovan. I really enjoyed this book!
I have Suite Francaise on my nightstand to begin soon. I think though, there is a novel that predates it and might be one of the first works of fiction about WWII. Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressman Taylor. It’s a short epistolary novel with the story told in letters between two friends and business partners. One stays in America, the other moves back to Germany and becomes enamored by Nazi propaganda, with devastating results for both families. It is an extraordinarily powerful book, first published in 1938, when many Americans were unaware or unconcerned with all that was going on in Germany. It was republished in the 90s, so it is available.
The Book Thief, The Nightingale & Code Name Verity. Also, Lady Clementine & Man’s Search for Meaning. And Unbroken. A Gentleman in Moscow. All of these are on my Goodreads favorites of all time. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant
Both are listed as young adult but the maturity of the writing and story stood up to many of the novels listed for older readers. Code Name Verity is one of my top ten
“Coming Home” by Rosamunde Pilcher is a WW2 novel I’ve re-read many times. The story is so realistic and enveloping because the author experienced the war first hand as a WREN (Women’s Royal Navy Service). A+. The story, set in Cornwall and London England and also Sri Lanka, follows the life of the main character Judith from age 14 to 24…the late 1930s to the end of the war.
The “Mrs Tim” series by D E Stevenson
“A Woman of No Importance” by Sonia Purnell
So many titles I’ve enjoyed in the list and comments! Adding two:
*Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Middle grade novel of the mosque in Paris that helped Jews escape
*Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen
Biography of Hepburn, mostly exploring her WWII experience as a child and teen in the Netherlands
My undergraduate degree is in WWII History and I have a minor in German. My favorite WWII historical fiction writers are Julia Kelly, Jennifer Robson and Madeline Martin. I didn’t like and couldn’t finish All The Light I Cannot See because it was too predictable and it rambled. That said, my knowledge base is different and deeper from the average reader.
One of my all-time favorites is Under an English Heaven! I found it completely by accident in a secondhand shop and now reread it almost yearly. ❤️
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a very good read, inspired by the true story of a young woman who creates identity papers for Jewish children to help them escape to Switzerland.
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