Top Ten Tuesday | Books Set In Another Time – The Past

Posted February 24, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 33 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books Set in Another Time

I was overwhelmed by all the books I could pick for this topic and so I decided to narrow it down a little and only do books set in the past. Maybe next time I’ll do one set in the future or some other time. I do enjoy historical fiction very much, and these are some of the ones I loved!

Top Ten Books Set In Another Time – The Past

  1. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon – Set in 1789. This is historical fiction/biographical fiction based on real people and true events that happened in Maine in the 1780s. I just finished it at the time of this writing and I loved it! I would highly recommend it!
  2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows – Set in an alternate universe of 1500s England where shapeshifters are a thing. I loved this one and the TV series too, and I’m so bummed that the series got cancelled.
  3. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I cannot believe that I’m calling a book set in the 1990s historical fiction but sadly, here we are. I’m not a sporty person and I don’t know anything about tennis, but this is one of my favorite books by the author.
  4. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – It spans the 1950s to 1990s and explores racial issues in America during that time. I am wholly ignorant about American racial issues but this was such a good look into what it was like at the time. Such an amazing book I still think about it.
  5. Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan – Set during WW2, this is another author whose works I love. I would happily recommend all his other books as well, but not all of them are historical fiction and this is one I really loved that fit the bill.
  6. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel – This one has the distinction of being the “oldest” in that it’s set during prehistoric times. I loved it when I read it, decades ago, but I never finished the series and I’m feeling the itch to reread.
  7. The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie – I’ve talked about this one a lot, but it’s so underrated that I feel the need to talk about it as much as possible to keep it alive! It’s set in Ancient Roman times, and it’s one of the top ten, maybe top five, most influential books in my life.
  8. Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck – Set during the Qing Dynasty in China. Another one of my favorite books that I’ve mentioned before. It’s funny because it’s a book I’ve reread many times but never finished – the last few chapters just seemed irrelevant to me back then and I haven’t reread it recently. Maybe I’ll try finishing it one day.
  9. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – Set in Texas, 1934, during the Dust Bowl. As with so much of history, this was another era I’m completely ignorant about, but this book was so emotionally devastating and I felt so much for the characters and their story.
  10. 11/22/63 by Stephen King – The time frame is in the title! Everyone knows I’m a huge fan of King, and of course, I had to include this book because it’s one of my favorites (I have so many though!). It’s not strictly historical fiction because it’s time travel, but it is technically historical fiction because it’s majorly set in the past about real historical figures. It’s an amazing book, regardless!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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33 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday | Books Set In Another Time – The Past”

  1. Rissi

    I did finally read My Lady Jane and thought it was quite fun, so now I need to read more in this “series.” Also, I’ve read one of Taylor’s books and feel like I would like to read another by her, BUT they all sound so bittersweet.

    Reply
  2. Dini @ dinipandareads

    I’ve heard so many interesting things about My Lady Jane and I’m curious to give it a try one day. I’ve got Carrie Soto and Vanishing Half near the top of my priority possibility pile for this year and I hope I finally get around to reading them. I’m also keen to check out King’s book but it’s SO chonky, it’s quite intimidating, haha. Great picksa!

    Reply
  5. Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

    I have so many favorite King novels too! I have one on my list today as well. It was so hard to pick. I even thought to myself, I wonder if I could find a Stephen King book for every decade. Lol 11/22/63 is one of my favorites as well.

    Reply
  6. TNT

    I’ve only read The Clan of the Cave Bear, also decades ago. I strongly suspect it would land differently today. I like that you included the time periods covered by each book on your list. Alas, I have so many favorites that fit the prompt I couldn’t possibly choose. Happy reading!

    Reply
  17. Jaime

    I haven’t read these, but I also love so many books and I like that you focused on books set in the past. I could also come up with a list of books set in the past AND the future 🙂

    Reply

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