Christmas Historical Fiction Books
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.We love reading Christmas books to help us stay present during the holidays. Sometimes, we need to enjoy the season while also escaping day-to-day life. The books on this list should help! Each title takes place in the past, ranging from the early 1800s to the 1980s.
Historical Fiction Novels to Read This Christmas
Christmas with the Queen
Book Summary
In 1952, when Princess Elizabeth was only 25 years old, she unexpectedly became the Queen of England. That December, she knew she must continue her grandfather’s and father’s traditional Christmas Day radio broadcast.
As the family and staff prepare for Christmas at Sandringham House, two old friends—Jack and Olive—find themselves reunited. Olive is a single mother, typist at the BBC, and aspiring reporter who is thrilled by the opportunity to cover the events. Jack is a widowed chef from New Orleans who is surprised to run into Olive after he accepts a last-minute chance to cook in the royal kitchens.
Over the next five Christmases, Jack and Olive continue to run into each other, but Olive has a heavy secret. On Christmas Day, 1957, Queen Elizabeth prepares for the first televised Christmas address as Olive prepares to tell Jack her shocking truth.
The Toymakers
Book Summary
By 1917, London was in the shadow of WWI. But in the Mayfair neighborhood, Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium is a place of hope where children’s dreams come true. Papa Jack has sold magical toys for years – patchwork dogs and bears that seem alive, toy boxes bigger on the inside than out, ‘instant trees’ that sprout from boxes, and even tin soldiers that can fight battles on their own.
Jack’s sons, Emil and Kaspar, are now old enough to work in the family business. When 16-year-old Cathy arrives, homeless and vulnerable, they take her in, and she discovers that while all toy shops are places of wonder, only one is truly magical.
What to Expect in This Novel
The Toymakers is told from Cathy’s perspective from the time she arrives until the 1950s, spanning both World Wars.
Readers note that when WWII begins, the tone of the book gets darker and drifts into more of a fairy tale. Some enjoy the book even more after this point, while others prefer the first half. If you’re looking for a light Christmas read, consider skipping this one.
Once Upon a Wardrobe
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
4.3 out of 5
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Promising physics student Megs is attending Oxford in 1950 and prefers facts to creativity. However, her beloved but critically ill, 8-year-old brother is obsessed with a world created in a book – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When he asks her to find out where Narnia came from, she can’t refuse his plea.
When she tracks down the Lewis brothers, who are also at Oxford, they graciously invite her for tea. While they fill her with stories she can pass along to her brother, she doesn’t understand why he won’t answer her most important question about the origin of Narnia.
Thoughts On This Book
While there are sad moments, this book is also described as filled with hope and warmth. Just what we all need on a cold winter night!
The Christmas Cherub
Book Summary
Clara is the head of the art department at Amberson’s Department Store, an upscale store in Indianapolis. Her fiancé, Jack, is a pilot who is still listed as missing in action even though WWII has ended.
During the holiday season of 1946, Clara is tasked with designing the store’s annual Christmas catalog, but it’s a challenge due to the store’s low inventory. To fill the blank spaces, Clara pours her heart and her grief into sketches of whimsical Christmas cherubs.
In an effort to find out more about Jack’s whereabouts, Clara reaches out to a journalist for help, and the results will surprise everyone.
Thoughts On This Book
This 182-page novella is said to be filled with nostalgia and hope, and readers have compared it to classics like The Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life.
While it’s classified by some as Christian fiction, religion plays a relatively minor role in the story, with Clara attending church and praying for Jack’s return.
Time of the Child
Book Summary
In 1962, as the people of Faha prepare for Christmas, the lives of the town doctor and his eldest daughter are turned upside down when a baby is unexpectedly left in their care.
More About This Book
This novel, set throughout the month of December, takes place in the same Irish small town as the author’s 2019 book, This is Happiness. Our readers tell us that it reads well as a standalone.
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas
Book Summary
Head back to Regency England to spend the twelve days of Christmas with Jane Austen in this historical mystery.
Spirits are high at a Christmas Eve gathering of wealthy and prominent guests in the Chute family’s lavish home, The Vyne. Jane’s Mansfield Park is selling well, and John Quincy Adams has just signed the Treaty of Ghent to end the War of 1812. Everyone is eager to celebrate the holiday season and the end of the war.
But then one of the fellow guests at The Vyne dies in an accident, which Jane suspects was really a murder. But if she’s right, the murderer is one of the fellow guests. Who can Jane trust to help her stop the killer?
Christmas Bells
Book Summary
In 1860, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published his classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” a month before Christmas. The political unrest in the country was on his mind as he celebrated with his wife, Fanny, and five children at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In present-day Boston, Sophia is a dedicated teacher whose music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts. Not only is she worried about her own unemployment, but she’s also concerned about the effect on her underprivileged students. Sophia is also the music director at her church and has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow after being moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago.
Book Summary
In this prequel to A Christmas Carol, we see orphans Clara and Jacob Marley trying to survive in the poorest section of London. Each night, Jake tells his sister that “tomorrow will be better.”
When he sees a chance to escape poverty, he pursues it, eventually partnering with Ebenezer Scrooge. But Clara can see the truth—that hardening his heart may lead to a terrible fate.
Thoughts On This Book
This short book (162 pages) is perfect for picking up before watching or reading the classic, A Christmas Carol.
The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle
Book Summary
Darling is a small rural town in Alabama where the residents are trying to get by during the Great Depression. The Darling Dahlias are the local garden club, made up of people from different backgrounds who are united by their love of gardening.
In this book, set in the Christmas season of 1934, the club members are confronted with two problems. The first problem is how to help Mildred and Earlynne open the bakery of their dreams.
The second problem is far more serious. Cupcake, a young girl living with one of the Dahlias and her partner, has gained some attention with her talent for performing. Unfortunately, that has also brought her to the attention of a shadowy figure from her past who seeks to uproot her from her happy home.
Thoughts on This Book
Readers say this book has the perfect amount of nostalgia for small-town life. The author is a respected master gardener and has also done extensive research into the Great Depression. Details about both topics are sprinkled throughout this book and the others in the series.
About the Series
There is enough background information in each book in the series that they can be read as stand-alones. Although all of the books in the series receive good ratings, we can’t, in good conscience, recommend book 2 in the series because of the ways in which it romanticizes the Confederacy.
The Santa Claus Girl
Book Summary
Did you know that Virginia, from the unforgettable line “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus,” went on to become a teacher and principal at a school within New York General Hospital? In December 1952, reporter David Lindsey was sent to follow up with the now-adult “Santa Claus Girl.”
After the interview, he learns of a little girl who needs polio treatment with an iron lung, but none are available. A fundraiser is in motion, but it’s a race against time, feasibility, and even a snowstorm.
What to Expect in This Book
This novel is based on true events, and readers say it’s a feel-good story, but also an interesting look at the polio epidemic. Readers who don’t enjoy it as much find the introduction of several side characters confusing or are opposed to swearing in a book with holiday themes.
Mr. Dickens and His Carol
Book Summary
Did you know that Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in only six weeks? This novel takes that fascinating piece of history and reimagines what those weeks were like for Dickens and those around him.
The novel begins with Charles learning that his latest book, Martin Chuzzlewit, has been a flop in America. His publishers provide one way out of the money he now owes them – write a Christmas book in a month, or they will call in his debts, and he could lose everything. His wife has just given birth to their fifth child, so failure is not an option.
Fun Background Info
If you enjoy A Christmas Carol, don’t miss this fun list of 10 facts about Dickens’ classic.
8-Bit Christmas
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This short and humorous read is packed with all the 80s nostalgia you could ask for! It’s 1980-something, and all Jake wants for Christmas is a Nintendo Entertainment System. But somewhere in town, a TV falls on (and kills) a small dog, and all the parents in town blame the NES.
In a look back at the kid pop culture of the 1980s, this quest of Super Mario proportions is complete with flaming wreaths, speeding minivans, lost retainers, and Cabbage Patch Kids.
Our Thoughts About This Book
If you’re a child or teen of the 80’s who grew up watching A Christmas Story, we think you’ll be entertained by this retelling set in the decade of your youth and told from a nostalgic adult perspective! Or if you were a parent in the 1980s who remembers the challenge of shopping for the elusive Cabbage Patch dolls, you’ll also enjoy the humor of this book.
This was a pretty unknown book – a bit of a random find – when we first added it to our list. So imagine our surprise when a couple of years later it was released as a movie starring Neil Patrick Harris. We recommend reading the book and then watching the movie. Both Book Girls and our families really enjoyed it!
The Baker’s Daughter
Book Summary
Reba is a writer in El Paso working on a feel-good Christmas piece, despite feeling perpetually on the run from memories of a turbulent childhood. She’s engaged to a Border Patrol agent, Riki, who finds comfort in strict rules and regulations.
Her assignment takes her to Elsie’s German Bakery to interview the elderly baker. While this process should have been one visit, she finds herself returning again and again, trying to get to the heart of Elsie’s story. But for Elsie, Reba’s questions are a reminder of the dark days of World War 2. As Elsie, Reba, and Riki’s lives intertwine, they’re forced first to confront the truths of the past in order to forgive.
Thoughts On This Book
In addition to the present-day timeline, you’ll see Elsie’s perspective in 1945 while she is a naive teenager protected by a high-ranking Nazi who wants to marry her.
Jacob T. Marley
Book Summary
If you’ve ever wondered what life was like for Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley before A Christmas Carol, this reimagining is for you! You’ll see the backstories of both men leading up to the events in the holiday classic. Why did the ghost of Christmas spirit give Scrooge a second chance but not Marley?
This book is told from Marley’s perspective and, like the original, is a tale of forgiveness and kindness.
Book Summary
In 1864, Eliza’s husband Will joined the Kansas volunteers to fight the Confederates, leaving her in charge of their land. She passes the time by working on a quilt to be his Christmas gift, which she hopes will keep him warm during his winter in the army.
Eliza finds comfort in her quilting group and tries to do her part by taking in a woman and child who have been left alone and made vulnerable by the war. Then, she is asked to help hide an escaped slave and must decide who she should be loyal to, and who will be loyal to her.
Note the Duplicate Title
Be aware that there is another Christmas-themed novel by the same title, which we have featured on several of our other lists. A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson is another great holiday pick, but unlike the Sandra Dallas book, it is not historical fiction.
26 Ways to Come Home for the Holidays
Book Summary
Stella is the first-ever head of holidays for Hanover’s Department Store, which includes oversight of twenty-six ‘Home for the Holidays’-themed Christmas windows. On Thanksgiving Day in 1942, just 48 hours before the windows would be unveiled to the public, her lead window designer quit.
It’s up to Stella to gather a ragtag team of store employees to finish the job, including their picky luxury stylist, two flirtatious personal shoppers, a handful of delivery boys, and Stella’s best pal, Hector. When she discovers that Hector is newly single, she finds old feelings are trying to distract her from the task at hand.
Inspiration For This Novel
This 164-page novella was inspired by the author’s memories of visiting Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle each year to see the Christmas decor.
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. The compelling novel is told in epistolary form (through letters).
Consider This Before Reading
Melissa read this one after seeing it recommended over and over. She LOVED it as a book and was so enthralled that she read right through the time she was supposed to put up her Christmas tree.
BUT, keep in mind that it’s set in Europe during WWI, which was not a jolly time. While there are many Christmas mentions, there’s no mistaking that the book is set in wartime, which also comes with a lot of misery.
A Christmas Story
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Did you know that the now-classic 1983 movie A Christmas Story was based on a series of short stories? This 144-page book contains the autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film.
Whether your favorite scenes include the Ovaltine decoder ring, the leg lamp prize, or Ralphie’s obsession with the Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle, you’re sure to chuckle while reading this book.
Short Story Format
We can’t think of a more fun book pick to end the year than this quick Christmas read! Because it’s formatted as a series of short stories, it’s especially easy to fit into this busy holiday season.
A Magical New York Christmas
Book Summary
Sabrina Post is a 26-year-old struggling writer who arrives at the Plaza Hotel to begin her next gig – ghost-writing a memoir for a famous art dealer. It’s a dream job – she gets her own suite and a big paycheck! Her week gets even more magical when she finds out the art dealer once worked for the author of the Eloise books, Kay Thompson.
Throw in a member of the British aristocracy whom Sabrina meets at the hotel bar, and you have the perfect heartwarming holiday read!
Why We Think You’ll Love It
Fans of Fiona Davis novels will love this book! Like many of Davis’ books with an NYC landmark building at their center, the Plaza Hotel is like a character in the story. You’ll learn so much about the history and architecture of this grand hotel. We also love books that feature characters interacting with real authors, and this holiday novel has a dual timeline with a historical fiction story that introduces us to the author of the famed Eloise books.
This book actually takes place during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. It features many of the quintessential NYC Christmas activities and culminates with a glamorous New Year’s Eve gala.
The Christmas Lights
Book Summary
Bo and her partner Zac live a life of wanderlust, traveling the globe while sharing their adventures with their millions of social media fans.
They are spending Christmas 2018 in the Norwegian fjords on a farm owned by an enigmatic mountain guide and his fierce grandmother, Signy. Surrounded by picturesque snowy peaks and frozen falls, it’s easy for them to convince their followers that everything is perfect, but the life they are portraying online is diverging further and further from the truth. Bo can’t quite put her finger on what is wrong, but Anders is the only person who will listen.
Signy was just 14 when, in the summer of 1936, she and her sister and village friends were sent to work as milkmaids in the pastures. Protecting the goat herd is the key to sustaining the farm through the long, cold winter months. But away from the safety of their homes and families, they discover threats lurking behind friendly faces.
Bo is learning that the mountains keep secrets, which is something that Signy knows better than anyone. Like the old woman before her, Bo is now forced to question who is a friend and who is a foe.
The Book Girls Say…
While this book includes romance, it’s also a suspenseful, page-turning mystery with elements of magical realism. Readers describe it as a “dark festive read” that, unlike the typical holiday book, won’t make you feel warm and cozy. Instead, you’ll feel the winter chill of this isolated location.
The Christmas Table
Book Summary
In 1972, Joan’s husband is determined to build her a beautiful dining room table before Thanksgiving dinner. While he works on the table, Joan works on her mother’s recipes, inspired to make a delicious meal. Their lives are interrupted when Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer.
In 2012, a pregnant Lauren finds an old table that has recently been refinished. When she gets home, she discovers handwritten recipe cards, complete with loving notes from a mother to her daughter. After being raised in foster care without that kind of relationship in her life, Lauren is moved by the card and wants to learn how to cook for her baby using the recipes. She’s drawn to the family on the cards and hopes to unlock the mystery of who they belong to before Christmas.
About the Author
Donna VanLiere wrote the popular holiday tear-jerker, The Christmas Shoes. The Christmas Table is her most recent Christmas release, and it sounds like it may have the same effect.
Consider reading this book and then watching The Christmas Shoes movie with Rob Lowe! While watching, you can snack on treats made using the recipes throughout the book.
Homecoming
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
On Christmas Eve sixty years ago, a deliveryman made a gruesome discovery that forever changed the small town of Tambilla. In the present day, Jess is a journalist in London when she gets a call to return home to Australia to help with her grandmother, Nora. Nora was more like a mother to Jess after Jess’s mother, Polly, left her with Nora and moved to Brisbane when Jess was only 10.
Nora fell in her attic while searching for something, and now she is mumbling about an event from her past, making it difficult to understand. As Jess tries to piece things together, she learns that Nora was agitated and restless even before the fall. She knows something is going on and is determined to figure it out. As she searches the house for clues, she finds a true crime book about the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve. But what does this cold case have to do with her family?
Thoughts On This Book
This mystery is on the longer side at 547 pages. Some readers feel like the first 400 pages could have been shorter, but most agree that you won’t be able to put this book down in the last 100 pages.
What Child Is This
Book Summary
Years ago Jack and Maggie Harris lost their child at Christmas. This Christmas Eve, they’ve lost their home to the London Blitz. With nowhere to go and nothing but memories to take with them, they settle into a seemingly deserted mansion for the night.
Inside the mansion they find the needed shelter and warmth, but surprisingly they also find some holiday cheer thanks to the unexpected compassion of strangers.
What to Expect in This Short Story
Despite being only 55 pages, readers say this novella is heartwarming historical fiction read. While you’ll be left wondering what comes next for the characters, it’s ultimately a story of hope during dark times.
Murder on Mistletoe Lane
Book Summary
Stella is about to spend her first Christmas season as the “Lady” of Morrington Hall. As an expat who married an aristocrat, she’s eager to embrace all the yuletide traditions in the English countryside. She’s thrown herself into starting a horse farm charity for the holidays. Initially, she doesn’t notice items disappearing from her bedroom. But then her housekeeper, Mrs. Nelson, is found dead in the cold on Mistletoe Lane.
Stella wonders if someone else on her staff knows the killer, but then another person dies at a Boxing Day race. Stella and her husband, Lyndy, must figure out how to save the estate’s reputation and keep themselves alive until the new year.
A Christmas Memory
Book Summary
As the 1967 Christmas season approaches, it’s been a tough year for the Evans family. Richard’s brother Mark was killed in Vietnam, his father lost his job, they moved from California to Utah, and his parents separated.
At his new school in Utah, Richard is bullied until an elderly neighbor, Mr. Foster, chases off the bullies and offers Richard hot cocoa. This is the start of an unexpected and important friendship that brings back a little joy and light to the Christmas season.
About the Author
This is perfect for those looking for a classic Christmas book without romance.
Author Richard Paul Evans grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he still resides today. While A Christmas Memory is a work of fiction, he drew heavily upon his childhood memories when writing it.
Evans is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the Mormon church). His books are often lightly religious-themed and feature characters who are struggling with a moral issue or life-changing event.
The Christmas Club
Book Summary
It’s 1952, and Verna is ready for a great Christmas season. But as she’s leaving the bank, a strong wind blows her Christmas Club money out of her hands and through the streets of busy downtown Cleveland. Strangers come to her aid and set in motion an unexpected turn of events.
Film Adaptation
This 127-page novella was also made into a Hallmark movie with the same name! The movie is available for streaming via Amazon.
The Liberty Scarf
Book Summary
In the midst of WW1, three women are connected by one silk scarf.
In 1917 London, Iris Braxton designs and stitches secret messages into her work, hoping one will reach the soldier she loves at the front. They made plans to meet in Strasbourg, France, for Christmas, but then she received word that he had been injured.
Across the English Channel, a Belgian nurse tends the wounded while guarding her own fragile hopes. While tending to soldiers in a palace-turned-hospital, she finds a connection with a violinist.
In Maine, a French-Canadian telephone operator enlists and becomes a switchboard “Hello Girl.” Working as a bilingual operator, she must keep lines clear while rumors and loyalties blur.
As the scarf is gifted, lost, and found, it carries comfort, courage, and the promise that strangers can become a lifeline. Through blackout nights, censored letters, and the aching wait for news, each woman faces a decision that may alter the course of her life.
Structure of This Novel
Colloratively written by a team of three authors, this book is structured as a three-part / three-novella collection. Each part is written by one of the three authors and follows a different woman’s story.
While the entire novel is set during the winter of 1917, one of the three novellas is specifically set at Christmas time. Nevertheless, this is heavier on historical fiction and lighter on holiday themes.
Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue
Book Summary
This series revolves around midwife Sarah Brandt and her detective significant other, Frank Malloy. In this book, however, these two main characters are off on their honeymoon, and their family and friends are carrying on without them.
Una, the daughter of their neighbor, Mrs. O’Neill, has recently married a wealthy man. However, her happiness soon comes to an end when she is found with her husband’s dead body. With Una being the chief suspect, and Frank and Sarah away, the others work together to uncover the real murderer.
Consider this Before Reading
While the author has excellent knowledge of the time period, which shines through in the Gaslight Mystery Series, she also leans heavily into her descriptions of class differences in a way that may not appeal to some readers.
The Christmas Chronicles
Book Summary
In 1343, Klaus was orphaned and adopted by a craftsman’s guild. As he grows up, he becomes a master toymaker with an infectious laugh. His talent and generosity led him to give gifts to hundreds of children at Christmas and make Anna fall in love with him.
Unfortunately, he is envied by Rolf, who will do anything to subvert Klaus’s goodness. Then one day, Klaus unleashes the full magic of Christmas during a battle of good and evil. With the aid of flying reindeer, the legend of Santa is born.
What to Expect in This Read
This magical read imagines the beginning of Santa Claus within a broadly Christian context. Reviewers often note that it “maintains a Christian connection without being evangelical.” You can expect gentle faith elements woven into a family-friendly legend.
A Little House Christmas Treasury: Festive Holiday Stories
Book Summary
Fans of The Little House on the Prairie series will enjoy celebrating the holidays with the Ingalls and Wilder families. This collection includes the big Ingalls family party in Wisconsin, the Wilder Christmas in New York, and the time Mr. Edwards crossed a swollen river to deliver Christmas presents for Santa.
The original text of these stories is paired with the well-known Garth Williams illustrations.
Thoughts On This Book
If you’ve read all of the Little House books, you won’t find any new stories here. Rather, this is a collection of all the Christmas chapters from the various books that will remind you of simpler times.
Keep in mind that these are middle-grade books, so while some people love the nostalgic feel of revisiting a childhood favorite, others are surprised by the simplicity of the writing when they pick them up for the first time as adults.
Also, remember that, due to their age, the Little House books include inappropriate attitudes and language that are unfortunately reflective of the times. However, it does not appear that any of the Christmas chapters contain any of these offensive descriptions.
Join Our Christmas Reading Mini Challenge
Can’t get enough seasonal reading? Neither can we! We have a self-paced Christmas reading challenge just for you. To make it easy and fun, we include highly-rated book recommendations for each of the Christmas reading prompts.
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More Holiday Books to Enjoy
- Festive Holiday Books Set in New York: Christmas & Hanukkah Novels
- Charming Christmas Novels Set Across Europe (By Country)
- Christmas Novels Set in England (London & Beyond)
- 11 Snowy Christmas Books Set in Colorado
- 16 Christmas Books Set in Scotland
- 12 Great Christmas Books Set in North Carolina
- 11 Cozy Christmas Books Set in Canada
- Christmas Books Set in the UK
- Best Christmas Mystery Books: 22 Cozy Whodunits & Thrillers
- Christmas Historical Fiction Books
