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29 Great WW1 Historical Fiction Novels
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.Reading novels about World War I can teach us the wide variety of ways women were essential to the war effort around the world. Many American women volunteered despite not having the nationwide right to vote until after WWI ended.
From spies and nurses to couriers and even the first female members of the US Navy, these brave women paved the way for victory in the war while advancing rights for women. Other books on the list highlight what it was like on the homefront, especially when soldiers returned with new mental and physical challenges.
Historical Fiction Novels About WW1
The Silent Canary
Book Summary
Poppy celebrates her 23rd birthday on the front steps of the Chilwell, England, ammunition factory with her favorite anti-war sign and her well-loved marching boots. She’s fiercely anti-war, but when her dear friend Luca enlists, Poppy joins forces with the yellow-skinned Chilwell munitionettes, known as the Canary Girls, willing to do whatever it takes to help Luca return home safely and quickly.
Jakob is a German spy with one final chance to prove he is capable. His assignment is to infiltrate the Chilwell factory. Their new employee, Poppy, seems to be his best opportunity.
Based on a True Story
This novel is based on the real Canary Girls and Chilwell ammunition factory, where a catastrophic incident in 1918 resulted in the largest loss of life from a single accidental explosion during World War I.
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade
Book Summary
In the final year of WW1, Jessie took a leave of absence from her job at the New York Public Library (NYPL) to work for Anne Morgan’s charity, the Committee for Devastated France (CARD). This international group of women was rebuilding devastated French communities just miles from the front. While she’s shocked to be so close to the fighting that she can hear the shelling, Jessie persevered to set up the first French children’s libraries by turning ambulances into bookmobiles and training the first French female librarians. Then, she disappears.
Seventy years later, in 1987, Wendy is a NYPL librarian who finds a reference to Jessie in the archives. She’s immediately intrigued and begins compulsive research into Jessie’s fate.
Based on a True Story
This novel is based on the true story of Jessie Carson, an American librarian known for her efforts to establish children’s libraries in war-torn France. It also highlights the important work of the CARD group in helping to restore French villages.
If you enjoyed The Paris Library, we think you’ll love this well-researched book by the same author!
The Star of Camp Greene
Book Summary
Broadway star Calla Connolly is touring American training camps to honor her fiancé, a fellow actor, who died early in World War I.
She is hoping to convince General Pershing to let her tour the French front to cheer the men over there, but her journey takes a devastating turn while she’s at Camp Greene in North Carolina. She contracts the Spanish flu at the camp, and during her recovery, she overhears a sensitive Army secret. As a result, she’s ordered to stay at Camp Greene for the duration of the war.
No longer able to tour, she becomes the resident performer at Camp Greene and begins to form an attachment to several of the musician soldiers. But when the mission she’s sworn to keep secret threatens the man she cares for, she has a very difficult decision to make.
About the Setting
Camp Greene was a real military training camp during World War I, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. At its peak, Camp Greene housed tens of thousands of soldiers and had its own hospital, YMCA, and other support services.
The camp also had a significant impact on the growth of Charlotte, bringing national attention, economic activity, and long-term infrastructure improvements to the region.
The Hidden Letters
Book Summary
Landscape architect Isaac is working at a beautiful estate in Cornwall, but he knows he’ll soon be called away to what seems to be the inevitable war. Cordelia is the daughter of the estate, and despite her mother’s concerns that it is unladylike to play in the dirt, she’s drawn to the garden as her escape. Isaac secretly teaches Cordelia how to tend the gardens so the house will still be able to produce food while the men are at war.
Although the connection between Isaac and Cordelia is clear, their love is forbidden as they are from different classes, and Isaac is an employee of the estate. However, when he’s called off to fight, he doesn’t forget her and begins sending letters. When the letters stop, Cordelia is determined to find out what happened.
Writing Style of This Novel
This book blends a traditional narrative style with an epistolary format, and readers especially enjoy the sections written as letters.
When the World Goes Quiet
Book Summary
It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, and Flemish housekeeper Evelien is trying to keep her head down and stay unnoticed. If she’s lucky, she’ll make it to the end of the war and be rewarded with a prized painting that she was promised in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions.
However, a member of the resistance has asked Evelien to steal a list of names from her employer’s home. While Evelien has long believed her husband to be dead, she’s told that in exchange for the names, she’ll receive a letter from Emiel. Is this a ploy, or is he still alive?
At the same time, Evelien finds herself in a growing friendship with a German soldier who shares her love of art.
What to Expect in This Book
This is very much a character-driven story that shares what it was like for a civilian in wartime. It’s not a fast-paced page-turner but instead a poetic look at life in 1918 Bruges. Readers consistently say that it’s beautifully written and truly transports you to another time and place.
The Bookbinder
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Twin sisters Peggy and Maude work at Oxford University Press’s book bindery. While Maude is very content, spending her days folding the pages of books with her fellow bindery girls, Peggy dreams of more. As Peggy works, she wishes she were instead across Walton Street at Oxford’s Somerville College, where female students have a huge library at their fingertips.
When Oxford is filled with Belgian war refugees, the sisters’ lives are impacted in surprising ways. Peggy becomes more determined to find a career that uses her intellect instead of her hands. But, the responsibility that comes with falling in love with a Belgian soldier may hold her back.
An Alternate Title
This book has an alternate title, “The Bookbinder of Jericho,” outside the US.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Book Summary
Considered by many to be the greatest war novel of all time, this classic book tells of the experience of a young German soldier who enlists in World War I. He starts youthful and enthusiastic, but soon experiences the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.
What to Know Before Reading
This classic is not for the faint of heart because it is quite graphic, but our readers also describe it as beautifully written.
Bess Crawford Series
Real Name: Caroline and David Watjen (Mother-son)
Book Summary
In this Historical Mystery series, Bess Crawford is a courageous World War I nurse and determined investigator. Instead of experiencing a typical upper-middle-class British gentlewoman’s upbringing, she grew up in India. Her father, an officer, is focused on teaching her the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty.
Bess volunteered for the nursing corps at the onset of WW1, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic. When she bonds with a gravely ill soldier, she promises to pass on a message to his brother. Months later, she’s back in England after her own injury and can finally relay the message. Soon, this task of delivering a message has her enveloped in a mystery that may turn deadly.
About the Author
This mother-son duo wrote together under the joint pen name Charles Todd until Caroline passed away in 2021. Now the son, David Watjen, has taken on the name Charles Todd and continued writing new books in the series under the same pen name.
Book Summary
Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood, and the rest of their classmates at their English boarding school feel protected from the war in 1914. In fact, they go as far as feeling the war is exciting when they hear news of heroic friends, even when those friends haven’t survived.
Gaunt is half-German, and his parents ask him to enlist in the British Army to help curb the anti-German sentiment they are facing. He jumps at their suggestion, but only because he’s been fighting a private battle. He’s been infatuated with his friend, unaware that the feelings are reciprocated. Ellwood makes the unexpected decision to join Gaunt on the front, and together they face the tragedies of war and of forbidden romance.
Thoughts on This Book
In Memoriam was a Goodreads Choice nominee for best debut in 2023 and has an incredibly high average rating of 4.52 with nearly 50,000 reviews. Readers say you’ll be transported to the trenches in heartbreaking detail while also stepping into a coming-of-age love story.
As you can imagine, based on the plot and the time, this book includes detailed horrors of war and homophobia (both external and internalized).
Don’t miss the author’s note that addresses the real people and places that inspired the novel.
The Summer Before the War
Book Summary
This novel features an interesting cast of characters in the coastal town of Rye, England. Medical student Hugh visits his aunt Agatha and her husband, who works in the Foreign Office. He isn’t too worried about the building tension over the Balkans. The summer is too beautiful for them to be concerned.
Mix in the new, attractive Latin teacher Beatrice, who is mourning the loss of her father (and his financial support). While everyone is distracted with their own problems and the summer creeps closer to fall, they have no idea how much their lives are about to change.
What to Know Before Reading
This novel from the author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand was a 2016 nominee for Best Historical Fiction. This book is a great pick if you love slow-burning character studies, but not the best choice if you prefer a quick, plot-driven read.
Book Summary
Based on a true story, Band of Sisters tells the story of the Smith College Relief Unit. Smith College alumna Betsy spoke to a group of graduates seeking volunteers to assist French civilians in areas devastated by Germany. Kate isn’t interested, but when another woman drops out, her best friend Emmeline convinces Kate to join her on the trip.
Four months later, eighteen Smithies set out with money, supplies, and good intentions. However, everything is so much worse than they expected when they arrive in France. Their chateau is in ruins, and the villages are in desperate need of food, water, and safe shelter.
While the women bring hope to the region, the barriers they face are huge and include continued shelling by the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British Army. They’ll have to pull together if they want to make a difference.
The Inspiration for This Novel
The author discovered a memoir written by one of the girls during their trip to France and used that, along with letters other girls sent home at the time, to recreate their war efforts in this novel. The audiobook is narrated by the fabulous Julia Whelan, and listeners say she does a fabulous job capturing the character of the Smith College women.
The Call of the Wrens
Book Summary
During the war, the Women’s Royal Naval Service, the “Wrens,” served as couriers, delivering carrier pigeons to the front lines on motorcycles. This historical fiction tells the story of Marion, a penniless orphan whose service with the Wrens gave her a feeling of purpose.
Nineteen years later, society girl Evelyn has overcome a disability and found her passion in automobile racing. As England enters World War II, she hopes to use her skills as a rider to assist the war effort. Her parents are not happy and threaten to cut her off if she doesn’t marry the man they have chosen and “act like a lady.”
Meanwhile, a fellow Wren comes to Marion and asks her to return to service in the new war, which is not a welcome request.
Book Summary
Pauline is a young Chinese woman staying at her uncle’s home in Paris, but she flees the city to avoid an arranged marriage back in Shanghai. She’ll need the help of her cousin, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. He’s one of the 40,000 Chinese workers who were brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during the Great War.
In a nearby town, Camille is planning an escape from her abusive marriage. When she offers Pauline a room, the two women become friends. But soon, Pauline uncovers a secret that Camille has been hiding. With danger closing in, the two women must make a terrible decision that will bind them together forever.
The Woman at the Front
Book Summary
Eleanor graduates near the top of her medical school class and dreams of going overseas to help wounded soldiers. Her parents, including her physician father, feel this is far too dangerous and instead insist that she marry and assume a proper place in society.
But when an unexpected twist sends Eleanor to the battlefield of France as the private doctor to a British man, she sees the opportunity to finally prove herself. Despite her skills, she faces commanders who question her skills, countless injured soldiers, and efforts by her family to force her to return home.
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during WWI and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
Our Thoughts on This Book
We’ve both read this novel and found the story of the WWI Alice Network fascinating and enjoyed the writing style that intertwined the stories of the two women. Unlike many other stories told from two perspectives in two different time periods, we liked that the two female protagonists were together in the later time period, forming a unique relationship, which added another layer to the story.
Book Summary
During the day, Josephine is forced to serve German officers at the Hotel Métropole in Belgium. However, at night, she’s part of the resistance with her brothers. They help Allied soldiers and civilians cross into Holland.
She meets Arthur, an English soldier trapped behind the German-occupied lines, who finds a new purpose in helping the resistance mission. Franz, a remorseful German soldier, is also a surprising source of protection. While the two men are from opposite sides, they both test her heart and loyalty.
The War Librarian
Book Summary
This dual-timeline book features two ground-breaking women. In 1918, Emmaline signed up as one of the volunteer librarians on the frontlines in France. As she participates in a secret book club for censored books, a romance blooms. However, this leads to events that cause her to find the courage she needs to survive.
In 1976, Kathleen was accepted to the first co-ed class at the US Naval Academy. But not everyone is welcoming to the women, and the Navy hasn’t prepared for them very well. After a tragedy, Kathleen becomes a target and must learn to trust others to make it through the Academy safely.
Girls on the Line
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
As WWI rages in Europe, twenty-four-year-old Ruby Wagner, the jewel in a prominent Philadelphia family, prepares for her upcoming society wedding to a man her family chose for her.
When her beloved older brother is killed in combat, Ruby follows her heart and answers the Army Signal Corps’ call for women telephone operators to help overseas. She becomes one of the trailblazing “Hello Girls” deployed to war-torn France.
Thoughts on This Book
This book is very well-researched and provides a fascinating look at the often unknown history of the role of women in WWI. You’ll fall in love with Ruby and find yourself invested in her personal story, which includes just the right amount of romance.
Book Summary
After a house fire kills her father, Arlene needs a way to support her mother and younger brothers. Jobs are scarce, but then Arlene finds a scary solution. The American Women’s Hospital needs ambulance drivers in war-torn France.
Day and night, Arlene and her all-female team assist wounded civilians and soldiers. While in France, she encounters a childhood friend, Jimmy, along with Felix, a charismatic Army captain with a secret. However, exposing Felix’s secret could risk her family’s future.
Bluebird
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Detroit museum curator Cassie loves solving mysteries from the past, especially when the stories involve the Detroit River rumrunners from the Prohibition days. When a home renovation uncovers a cache of Bailey Brothers Best whisky, she hopes it’s the missing piece she needs to understand the truth about the bootleggers.
In 1918, Corporal Jeremiah Bailey was wounded as part of his job planting mines under enemy trenches. As he recovers at a Belgian hospital, he’s cared for by nurse Adele, one of the Canadian “Bluebirds.” The connection between Jerry and Adele is strong as they’re from a similar area along the Detroit River. But when Jerry is sent back to the front, he’s not sure he’ll ever see Adele again.
When Jerry and Adele unexpectedly cross paths after the war, they have a chance for a fresh start, but both carry baggage from what they saw overseas. Prohibition is in full swing, bringing them both opportunity and the threat of destroying everything they’ve worked for.
Another Book You May Enjoy
Author Genevieve Graham also has another great WW1 option titled Tides of Honour.
Switchboard Soldiers
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
Book Summary
When General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe, he quickly identified the lack of communication with soldiers in the field as a significant barrier to success. Although women were not allowed to enlist at the time, the Army Signal Corps needed to recruit experienced telephone operators.
More than 7600 women responded to the call, like Grace, a Barnard grad, Marie, the French aspiring opera singer, and Valerie, the young telephone operator from Los Angeles, hoping to do their part. When the women arrived, they could connect a call in 10 seconds, compared to the 60 seconds it took the men they replaced.
The job was dangerous and included time near the front lines. This historical fiction novel shows the essential role the brave women of the US Army Signal Corps played in WW1.
The Girls in Navy Blue
Book Summary
In 1918, the US Navy allowed women to join as yeomanettes for the first time. Ten thousand women answered the call with various motivations. Marjory wanted to prove her patriotism toward the US as a German-American. Blanche was a suffragette and wanted to prove that women are equal. But Viv, the shy preacher’s daughter, joined in an attempt to escape the police. The trio finds friendship and sisterhood as yeomanettes, but when Viv’s dark past catches up to her, they find themselves in chaos.
In 1968, Peggy inherits a beach cottage from her estranged aunt, Blanche. Shortly after, she receives mysterious postcards dating from 1918 during Blanche’s service. As Peggy digs into her aunt’s past, it begins to collide with the present.
Book Summary
Inspired by real events, this novel tells the story of the women who kept the Royal Botanic Gardens alive in London amidst a war. Ivy & Louisa enlist as gardeners to replace men who have gone to fight, but not everyone is ready for women to work at Kew. However, under their care, the gardens flourish and become a place of solace.
What to Expect in This Book
This light read also has storylines of women’s equality and the suffragettes. It’s perfect if you’re looking for a comparatively pleasant book that still gives a peek into the war years in England.
However, some reviewers were disappointed that the gardens aren’t described in more detail, and others wished for a bit more conflict. If you enjoy the book, there is a highly-rated sequel called The Kew Gardens Girls at War.
A Bend in the Stars
Book Summary
Miri, a doctor, and her brother Vanya, a physicist, were raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs. It’s the summer of 1914, and war with Germany is looming. As Miri and Vanya race against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe, they are also trying to escape the anti-Semitism and violence overtaking their country.
When Vanya and Miri’s fiancé both go missing, Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them. With an eclipse darkening the skies, the safety of Miri’s family and the future of science hang in the balance.
Thoughts on This Book
This book is inspired by the real 1914 eclipse. The characters crisscross Russia and offer an excellent look at Russian-Jewish life, as well as the surprising feelings of the public and the government toward science at the time.
The Girl from Paris
Book Summary
Vianne has spent the war sewing military uniforms in Paris. With the war’s end in sight, she’s dreaming of the day she can begin sewing beautiful dresses instead. Just as it looks like peace is finally within reach, German bombs begin to fall. As Vianne runs through the streets of Paris, she sees the spires of the old church burst into flames – then she remembers that her mother and sister were inside.
With nothing left for her in Paris but sad memories, she gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer and decides to set sail for New York City. There, she spends her days working as a seamstress for wealthy Upper East Side women and her evenings dancing the Charleston at downtown clubs. She even meets a handsome man, and she begins to feel safe again.
But when news of a terrible accident compels Vianne to return to Paris, she discovers a secret that changes everything she thought she knew.
Lost Roses
Book Summary
While this book is listed as Lilac Girls #2, this novel is actually set a generation earlier and features Caroline’s mother, Eliza. Like Lilac Girls, the story is also inspired by true events.
Eliza met Sofya years ago during a summer in Paris, and they have become close confidantes. While the world is on the brink of war, journalists in New York aren’t taking the threat seriously because it has been present for so long. Not understanding the danger, Eliza plans to travel to St. Petersburg with Sofya, who is a cousin of the Romanovs. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia’s dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to the US while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate.
From her side of the world, Eliza works to help Russian families find safety, but when Sofya’s letters stop coming, Eliza fears the worst for her friend.
Sisters of the Great War
Book Summary
Coming of age in Maryland in 1914, sisters Ruth and Elise Duncan are eager to escape the roles prescribed for them by society and their family. Together, the sisters decide to volunteer for the war effort in Europe. Ruth, who dreams of becoming a doctor one day, is stationed as a nurse at a hospital in Belgium. Elise, an accomplished mechanic, becomes a driver for the all-female Ambulance Corps.
Despite the terrible circumstances, the sisters cherish the independence granted to so few women of the era. But they will soon learn that their greatest challenges are still to come.
Book Summary
Twenty-one-year-old Emily’s parents have been keeping her close to home ever since her brother, Freddie, was killed in the war. While her parents just want to keep her safe, Emily is longing to find a purpose and a way to honor her brother. When she meets a young Australian pilot who is recuperating at a hospital near her home, she falls in love and accepts his proposal.
When he is sent back to the front lines, Emily volunteers as a “land girl” and is assigned to tend to the grounds of a neglected Devonshire estate. It is here that she discovers the journals of a medicine woman who dedicated her life to her herbal garden. Soon, Emily learns that her fiancé has died in the war and that she is with child. Inspired by the journals, Emily learns the healing power of herbs, but the same journals will also bring her to the brink of disaster.
Fall of Giants
Book Summary
This epic story of love, hatred, war, and revolution begins in 1911, on Coronation Day for King George V. The timeline continues through the major events of WW1.
The complex plot of this nearly 1,000-page epic includes many intertwined characters, including a Welsh coal-mining family, the aristocratic coal-mine owners, a spy at the German Embassy in London, an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, and two orphaned Russian brothers. Book two in the series, Winter of the World, picks up right where the first left off, following the same families through WW2.
Last Christmas in Paris
Book Summary
Spanning four Christmases from 1914-1918, you’ll meet Evie, her brother Will, and his best friend Thomas. The boys are soon facing the front lines of World War 1, while Evie tries to help the effort from home. This compelling novel is told in epistolary form (through letters).
What to Know Before Reading
Keep in mind that it’s set in Europe during WW1, which was not a jolly time. While there are many Christmas mentions, there’s no mistaking that the book is set in wartime, which brings a lot of misery.
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Additional Reading About the 1910s
If you’re interested in reading more about this time period, we have a separate list of books set in the 1910s as part of our Decades Challenge. However, you don’t need to be a part of the challenge to enjoy the wide range of books on the list.
More Historical Fiction Book Recommendations
If you’re looking for historical fiction set in other eras, check out the additional book lists below.
- 29 Great WW1 Historical Fiction Novels
- Books Set in the 1900s and 1910s
- Books that Span Multiple Decades
- 24 Books Set in the 1880s and 1890s
- Christmas Historical Fiction Books
- 23 Must-Read Books for Downton Abbey Fans
- Historical Fiction Books About Libraries
- Books Set in the 1970s
- Summertime Reads for Historical Fiction Fans
- Books Set in the 1960s
So many good books here. I want to read them all
Thank you for this list! I’ve read loads of WWII historical fiction but I’m definitely checking for some of these at the library.
Also don’t forget the classic novellas The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate which takes place in 1913 at an English Country House, and The return of the Soldier, which takes place in 1916 (and was written in 1918) by Rebecca West, about cousins waiting at home for the return of their young man, and the controversy which arises when he’s reported in a hospital with shell-shock.