Read Free Historical Romance Novels

Step into the excitement, drama and romance of days gone by. Historical romance novels are set before the World Wars. Experience the pain and loneliness of a Civil War romance, or the challenges of a young woman in late 19th century society.

Historical romance novels can be set in any timeframe in history and in any geography. Step back into the American Revolution, the European Dark Ages, the French Revolution or Medieval or Victorian England. The characters could be members of a medieval court, an aristocratic family or a gang of misfits. Regardless of when or where the romance is experienced, the hero and heroine still face the same issues of love, loss, regret and renewal. Historical romance novels are just one of the many types of free online romance novels on PublicBookshelf.

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  1. Daddy Long Legs
    Daddy Long Legs
    by Jean Webster

    Rating: 3.7/5 (825 votes cast)

    Comments

    From an orphanage to college, Jerusha, or Judy, Abbott hopes to continue her education, but has no funds. When an anonymous benefactor offers to finance her studies, Judy accepts. Her witty letters to this generous man may bring her closer to knowing his identity than she expects.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  2. Jane Eyre
    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Bronte

    Rating: 3.5/5 (610 votes cast)

    Comments

    Like heroines in many romantic stories, Jane Eyre was a penniless orphan who was an ugly duckling. She left an unhappy time at a boarding school to become a teacher and governess for a proud man with a secret.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense

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  3. The Great Gatsby
    The Great Gatsby
    by F Scott Fitzgerald

    Rating: 3.5/5 (958 votes cast)

    Comments

    This love story is set in the 1920s - a period of jazz and decadence. Jay Gatsby, a poor army officer falls for Daisy who marries a rich man while Jay is overseas. After the war, Jay becomes a multi-millionaire focusing on making money, throwing parties and enticing Daisy to return to his life.

    Categories: Romance, Other Fiction, Historical Romance

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  4. North and South
    North and South
    by Elizabeth Gaskell

    Rating: 3.3/5 (397 votes cast)

    Comments

    Margaret is torn from her comfortable home in Hampshire and has to move to industrial northern England. She becomes passionate about the suffering of the local mill workers and clashes with mill owner John Thornton. Their disagreements over her sympathy for the workers turn to passion. Thornton falls in love with Margaret, who rejects his marriage proposal. Only when he withdraws his affections does Margaret reconsider.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  5. Oak Trees with Pink Leaves
    Oak Trees with Pink Leaves

    by Wendy Lee Nettles

    Oak Trees with Pink Leaves
    by Wendy Lee Nettles

    Rating: 3.3/5 (405 votes cast)

    Comments

    Christina had loved Rafael all her life, all eight years of it anyway. But things change when she is moved away across the country. She pines for her friend and her home in New Orleans. But time has a way of healing what ails you.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  6. The Bairn of Brianag
    The Bairn of Brianag
    by Ida Flowers

    Rating: 3.0/5 (545 votes cast)

    Comments

    The adored and indulged youngest child of a wealthy plantation owner in the South Carolina colony, Jessie Maclaine is determined to marry Robbie Stewart, her childhood playmate and recent obsession. She hatches a plan to capture the heart of her beloved, but the outcome shakes her world to the foundations and ultimately very nearly claims her life—and Robbie's.

    Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance

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  7. Wuthering Heights
    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Bronte

    Rating: 3.0/5 (265 votes cast)

    Comments

    This is the love story of a tormented foundling who falls in love with the daughter of his benefactor. They long for each other and have to share the violence and misery caused by their attraction.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  8. Anna - The Highlander Series (A Sample)
    Anna - The Highlander Series (A Sample)
    by Marti Talbott

    Rating: 2.9/5 (256 votes cast)

    Comments

    In love with a woman he had only seen once and could not find, the Highlander Kevin MacGreagor needed a wife to give him sons. No other woman pleased him, even the daughters of other larids, so he finally settled for Anna sight unseen. But when his men went to meet her escort, they found her alone in a clearing and badly beaten. Who could have done such a thing and why?

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  9. Dear Enemy
    Dear Enemy

    by Jean Webster

    Dear Enemy
    by Jean Webster

    Rating: 2.9/5 (174 votes cast)

    Comments

    Judy Abbott has come a long way from the orphanage where she grew up in this sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs. She reaches back through time to help childhood friend Sallie McBride improve conditions for the children living there now, but romantic entanglements may foil their plans.

    Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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  10. The Scarlet Letter
    The Scarlet Letter

    by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    The Scarlet Letter
    by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Rating: 2.9/5 (290 votes cast)

    Comments

    Hester Prynn carries with her a mark signifying adultery, a true sin in 17th century Puritan Boston. The red letter A on her clothing brings public shame, but she will not name the father of her daughter, Pearl, no matter the threat to her own reputation and her life.

    Categories: Romance, Other Fiction, Historical Romance

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Featured Novel
Featured Novel Family Reunion

Glenn Lee Starks

Charleen had a last wish - she wanted her family to get back together before she died. She hoped their family reunion would force her children to at least talk to one another. But nothing could have prepared the family for the turns all of their lives would take because of the family reunion.

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