Most Popular Historical Fiction Books of the 1980s

A Matter of Honor

Jeffrey Archer

Crime Fiction · Suspense Thriller · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Mystery

July 1, 1986

The Lost Get-Back Boogie

James Lee Burke

Crime Fiction · Suspense Thriller · Historical Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

1986

Inspector Lestrade #2

Brigade

M. J. Trow

Crime Fiction · Sherlock Holmes · Historical Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

1986

The Sharpe Series #17

Sharpe's Regiment

Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction

1986

Wolves of the Dawn

William Sarabande

Fantasy · Historical Fiction

1986

Men at War #2

The Secret Warriors

W.E.B. Griffin

Spy Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Thriller

June 1, 1985

Men at War #1

The Last Heroes

W.E.B. Griffin

Spy Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Thriller

January 1, 1985

Brotherhood of War #5

The Berets

W.E.B. Griffin

War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Thriller

January 1, 1985

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #11

An Excellent Mystery

Ellis Peters

Crime Fiction · Historical Fiction · Mystery

June 20, 1985

The Tenth Man

Graham Greene

War & Military · Movie · Novella · Historical Fiction · Thriller

January 1, 1985

Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy

Horror · Historical Fiction · Western

April 28, 1985

Liam Devlin #3

Confessional

Jack Higgins

Spy Thriller · War & Military · Adult · Adventure · Historical Fiction

January 1, 1985

The Secret Families Trilogy #1

The Secret Generations

John Gardner

Spy Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Romance

July 1, 1985

Agnes Mallory

Andrew Klavan

Suspense Thriller · Historical Fiction

January 1, 1985

Inspector Lestrade #1

The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade

M. J. Trow

19th century · Crime Fiction · Sherlock Holmes · Historical Fiction · Mystery

1985

The Sharpe Series #16

Sharpe's Honor

Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction

1985

The Guardian of the Land

Joanna Orwin

Fantasy · Historical Fiction

1985

Killer

David Drake, Karl Edward Wagner

Science Fiction · Historical Fiction

1985

Lizzie

Evan Hunter

Horror · Crime Fiction · LGBTQ+ · Adult · Historical Fiction

January 1, 1984

The Haj

Leon Uris

War & Military · Historical Fiction · Thriller

March 1, 1984

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #10

The Pilgrim of Hate

Ellis Peters

Crime Fiction · Historical Fiction · Mystery

September 1, 1984

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #9

Dead Man's Ransom

Ellis Peters

Crime Fiction · Historical Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

April 1, 1984

San Andreas

Alistair MacLean

Crime Fiction · Suspense Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction

January 1, 1984

In Honor Bound

Gerald Seymour

Spy Thriller · War & Military · Historical Fiction · Thriller

January 1, 1984

Keystone

Peter Lovesey

Historical Fiction · Mystery

June 1, 1984

First Among Equals

Jeffrey Archer

Suspense Thriller · Historical Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1984

The Sharpe Series #15

Sharpe's Enemy

Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction

1984

Gilgamesh

John Champlin Gardner, John Maier

Fantasy · Historical Fiction

1984

The Twelfth Transforming

Pauline Gedge

Historical Fiction · Mainstream

1984

Brotherhood of War #4

The Colonels

W.E.B. Griffin

War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Thriller

June 1, 1983

Brotherhood of War #3

The Majors

W.E.B. Griffin

War & Military · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Thriller

January 1, 1983

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #8

The Devil's Novice

Ellis Peters

Crime Fiction · Historical Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

August 1, 1983

Paul Christopher #5

The Last Supper

Charles McCarry

Crime Fiction · Spy Thriller · Suspense Thriller · Historical Fiction · Mystery

January 1, 1983

The Sharpe Series #14

Sharpe's Sword

Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction

1983

Cassandra

Christa Wolf

Fantasy · Translation · Historical Fiction

1983

The Sword is Forged

Evangeline Walton

Fantasy · Historical Fiction

1983