There’s something uniquely wonderful about immersing yourself in a great historical novel. It gives you the chance to disappear into another time, place and way of life entirely. But with so much of the past shaped by war, poverty and social injustice, historical fiction can also make for a pretty heavy reading experience.
Yet it doesn’t have to. From eccentric adventures and sweeping romances to stories of friendship and reinvention, these are the uplifting historical novels worth getting lost in…
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
In 1922, aristocrat Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to lifelong house arrest in Moscow’s grand Metropol Hotel. As decades of upheaval pass beyond its doors, he builds an unexpectedly rich new life within them in this witty, big-hearted story of resilience.
Windmill Books, £9.99
