12 best historical fiction novels of 2023

It’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the state of the world right now — so why not escape to the past? Enjoy a feast of great historical fiction, chosen by our experts. Whether it’s the man who eats everything, a courtesan visiting Pompeii (at exactly the wrong time) or a pianist settling into married life in 1930s Rome, you will find plenty to be absorbed in.

Few historical novels this year were more striking, in subject matter and use of language, than this second novel by the author of The Manningtree Witches. AK Blakemore’s bizarre anti-hero is Tarare, a boy born into rural poverty in pre-Revolutionary France who grows up to become a freak show attraction, famous for his prodigious appetite and ability