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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Oak Trees with Pink Leaves  |
Oak Trees with Pink Leaves
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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The Kama Sutra  |
The Kama Sutra
The ancient Indian Sandskrit text was considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior. It contains practical advice on dating, sex, sexual pleasure within the confines of Indian life in the 4th to 6th centuries. Categories: Romance, Sex & Relationship, Historical Romance |
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Alexander's Bridge  |
Alexander's Bridge
Bartley Alexander is a middle-aged construction engineer whose love is divided between his demanding American wife and his exciting British mistress. As he loses his integrity, he also struggles to keep the new bridge he's constructing from also collapsing. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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Venus in Furs  |
Venus in Furs
Severin was so infatuated with Wanda that he asks to become her slave and to be treated in degrading ways. Initially Wanda refuses but she eventually agrees, and soon finds that she likes the idea; but, she starts to dislike Leopold for the role he wants to play. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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The Beautiful and Damned  |
The Beautiful and Damned
Anthony, a fun-loving socialite, and his wife Gloria spend their time enjoying the finer things in their Roaring Twenties life while they wait to inherit the fortune of Anthony's grandfather. As time goes on their lust for life and their similarities threaten to destroy their innocence and their relationship. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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Little Women  |
Little Women
The four March sisters suffer because of growing up poor during the Civil War but they remain happy and learn about life and love while growing up in New England. A wealthy next door neighbor and one sister's tutor fall in love with two of the sisters in this first book of the series. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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And You Will Find Love  |
And You Will Find Love
Barbara is a pioneer aviatrix in the mid 1930s who loves her flight instructor, but he chooses instead her best friend and Barbara lives by a code that enables her to give him up. She pursues happiness following the creed: Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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The Viking (A Sample)  |
The Viking (A Sample)
At fourteen, Stefan’s father let him take part in a Viking raid, then he found himself stranded in Scotland. At 13, Kannak’s father deserted her and the only way to survive was to take a husband. Instead, she found herself helping a hated Viking. Could she hide him and who wanted her laird dead? Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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The Bairn of Brianag  |
The Bairn of Brianag
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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Domnei  |
Domnei
Falsely accused of killing the king, Perion disguises himself as a count and falls in love with Lady Melicent, the true count's sister. She may be the only one who can save him when his ship is captured by the warlord Demetrios. Melicent even offers herself in exchange for her lover's freedom. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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The Gorgeous Isle  |
The Gorgeous Isle
Warner is a brilliant poet, but only when he is drinking. A Caribbean romance leads him away from the bottle and into marriage, but his writing comes to a stop as well. His new bride must decide whether to keep her husband to herself, or allow him to unleash the creative monster inside. Category: Historical Romance |
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Tish, The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions  |
Tish, The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions
When Tish sets her mind on a goal, things happen. The fifty-something firecracker leads her lady friends on wild adventures in pre-WWII America. Whether they are chasing Canadian spies, backing automobile racers, or aiding Syrian immigrants, the "girls" always find love along the way. Category: Historical Romance |
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Armadale  |
Armadale
A flame-haired villainess is the link between several generations of Armadale men as they attempt to solve the mystery of who is the rightful heir to the Armadale estate in Barbados, West Indies. Miss Lydia Gwilt, beautiful and deadly, may hold the key to their past and thus their future. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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Red Hair, or The Vicissitudes of Evangeline  |
Red Hair, or The Vicissitudes of Evangeline
Evangeline may be young and innocent, but she is not powerless. When her caregiver dies and the heir decides to marry the red-headed beauty, Evangeline fights back. The resulting romantic adventures may not be what she planned, but the feisty young woman rises to every challenge. Category: Historical Romance |
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Daniel Deronda  |
Daniel Deronda
It is late in the summer of 1865 when Daniel Deronda meets Gwendolen Harleth. She is beautiful, but also stubborn and reckless. Having gambled her money away, Gwendolen pawns a priceless necklace, but Daniel redeems it for her and opens the adventure-filled path to her heart. Category: Historical Romance |
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Adam Bede  |
Adam Bede
A pure-hearted English carpenter, Adam Bede is an unlikely match for the vain and selfish Hetty Sorrel. He pursues her anyway, even as she is seduced by haughty Lord Arthur. Things change when Adam meets minister Dinah Morris and finds a moral and intellectual equal like he has never known. Category: Historical Romance |
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Cranford  |
Cranford
How would a Victorian English town fare if it were inhabited almost solely by unmarried or widowed women? What would happen to the few men who dared to venture into the very female world of Cranford? Miss Matty Jenkyns and her friends will take care of him, one way or another, in this wry tale. Category: Historical Romance |
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Our Mr. Wrenn  |
Our Mr. Wrenn
A simple New York clerk, Mr. Wrenn receives an inheritance that sets him sailing for adventure. When he leaves for London, he has no idea all he will learn from the free-thinkers he meets on the way, or how his adventure will prepare him to return to the romance that had been waiting all along. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Maid of Maiden Lane  |
The Maid of Maiden Lane
New York City, 1791. It's a time of new beginnings, when all things seem possible. This is especially true for young Cornelia Moran, who is falling in love with Lieutenant George Hyde. In spite of her father's misgivings and a jealous rival's scheming, the two are determined to be married. Category: Historical Romance |
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Prisoners of Chance  |
Prisoners of Chance
Louisiana Province in the 1760s carries contradictions political and personal for Geoffrey Benteen. As an adventurer in a new land, he encounters mysterious natives and battles his own countrymen. As a man, he must choose between pursuing the woman he loves and saving her husband's life. Category: Historical Romance |
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Jane Cable  |
Jane Cable
A railroad man and his wife feel their marriage is beyond salvation when an orphan unexpectedly enters their lives. Caring for their new daughter gives them renewed hope and motivation, until Jane grows up. Then, Jane's hidden history comes back to haunt her, her fiance and her adoptive parents. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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The Romantic  |
The Romantic
Young Charlotte Redhead falls head-over-heels in love with an older man, a married man who is ruthless with her young heart. She strikes out on her own, vowing not to fall so far again. Then she meets John Conway, and try as she might, she is unable to resist his roguish charm. Category: Historical Romance |
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Lorraine, A Romance  |
Lorraine, A Romance
Lorraine is the twofold tale of a young woman and her country. Lorraine is coming of age during dramatic years of war in France. Her growth, conflicts, and eventual renewal are reflected in the struggle of a country fighting for its independence. France, and Lorraine, will never be the same. Category: Historical Romance |
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Havoc  |
Havoc
Secret plots and forbidden alliances lie behind the politics leading to WWI, and not just between Germany, Russia and Austria. Romantic relationships play a surprising role in the English move to split Russia away from the alliance. What is said behind closed doors sometimes comes out in the open. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Magnificent Adventure  |
The Magnificent Adventure
Early American explorers Lewis and Clark ventured into the unknown, willing to risk their physical lives for the frontier. But what of their inner, emotional lives? Here, Meriwether Lewis puts his love on the line for Theodosia, daughter of Aaron Burr. Category: Historical Romance |
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Vendetta  |
Vendetta
Nina quickly recovers from the loss of her husband Count Fabio Romani to cholera and turns to his friend Guido Ferrari. The pair want to celebrate their love, but are thwarted by the sudden appearance of an old family friend with a suspicious resemblence to the man they buried not so long ago. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance |
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Lo, Michael  |
Lo, Michael
True selflessness shines through when young street urchin Michael risks his life to save wealthy Starr Endicott. Years later, he meets Starr in the city again. Ever honorable, he tries to keep his feelings in check, but when a suitor with bad intentions comes after Starr, he cannot stay away. Categories: Historical Romance, Inspirational Romance |
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Three Weeks  |
Three Weeks
Upper-class Englishman Paul falls for a stranger at a Swiss resort in this vacation romance extraordinaire. Her mysteries include intimations of royal duties awaiting her back home. When she must return to her Slavic homeland, she carries with her more than memories of Paul; she carries the future. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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Old Rose and Silver  |
Old Rose and Silver
Golden maple trees, breathtaking violin music, and beautiful old treasures set the stage for this sentimental romance with a touch of humor. Come along as Rose accompanies Allison on his violin and puts love in the air. Categories: Historical Romance, Inspirational Romance |
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Carnac's Folly  |
Carnac's Folly
Carnac has a grand time pretending to marry Luzanne during a lively lunch with friends. What he doesn't know is that the judge and ceremony are real enough to make Luzanne into Mrs. Carnac Grier. Her plans for the future are many, while Carnac looks longingly back to his childhood love. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Man Between  |
The Man Between
The bonds of matrimony come in many forms for Ethel Rawdon and her friends. Ethel sees the future in a band of gold, hoping to be united with her beloved Tyrrel. But for Dora, the marriage ties become suffocating, a trap. Her escape takes her through tragedies and heartbreak and back home again. Categories: Romance, Historical Romance |
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Susan Lenox, Her Fall and Rise  |
Susan Lenox, Her Fall and Rise
Orphaned at birth, Susan depends on rural relatives who arrange everything, including her marriage. Not inclined to follow the rules, headstrong Susan instead runs away. Relying on a series of questionable men and working a variety of irreputable jobs, Susan makes her way back up in the world. Category: Historical Romance |
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Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 3  |
Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 3
An endless and relentless flow of suitors comes to woo beautiful young heiress Cecilia Beverly. Her challenge is to sort them out, which means uncovering the true story of each. She finds love gone wrong, mistaken identities, and family scandals before she locates true husband material. Category: Historical Romance |
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Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 2 |
Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 2
An endless and relentless flow of suitors comes to woo beautiful young heiress Cecilia Beverly. Her challenge is to sort them out, which means uncovering the true story of each. She finds love gone wrong, mistaken identities, and family scandals before she locates true husband material. Category: Historical Romance |
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Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 1 |
Cecilia, Or Memoirs of an Heiress Volume 1
An endless and relentless flow of suitors comes to woo beautiful young heiress Cecilia Beverly. Her challenge is to sort them out, which means uncovering the true story of each. She finds love gone wrong, mistaken identities, and family scandals before she locates true husband material. Category: Historical Romance |
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Graham of Claverhouse  |
Graham of Claverhouse
Princess Mary, daughter of the Duke of York, is to marry William of Orange. Graham of Claverhouse finds himself in service to a conflicted court with an ambitious agenda. Court intrigue is not purely political, and Graham must also oversee the private wars of passion that lurk beneath the politics. Category: Historical Romance |
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Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady  |
Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady
Evelina comes from humble beginnings, but has her eye on a distinguished nobleman. To reach him, she must navigate the maze of manners that is 18th century society. Her letters tell the tale of her evolution from an innocent, rural seventeen-year-old into a self-assured society woman. Category: Historical Romance |
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Sir Nigel  |
Sir Nigel
In service to King Edward III, Sir Nigel Loring must prove himself worthy of the hand of his the Lady Mary by performing three deeds in her honor. On his way to the altar, Nigel rescues a woman from dishonor, fights a pirate leader, and battles against the Spanish at sea, among other heroic feats. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Fighting Chance  |
The Fighting Chance
The battle of the bottle has nearly undone the high-society world of Stephen Siward. When young Sylvia Landis enters his life, he thinks he may yet have a chance redeem himself. Sylvia herself, however, is not without challenges, including her unwelcome engagement to the wealthy Howard Quarrier. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Monk  |
The Monk
Raised in a monastery, Ambrosio becomes a charismatic monk who seems above all scandal. The devil will tempt him, though, in the form of Matilda, a wanton woman who enters his flock disguised as a boy. Categories: Historical Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance |
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This Side of Paradise  |
This Side of Paradise
Amory Blaine is a romancer, seducing attractive women at Princeton and in New York after World War I. He learns of true love the hard way, though, falling for women who cannot reciprocate. His deepest relationship may in the end be with himself. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Little Lady of the Big House  |
The Little Lady of the Big House
A love triangle on a California ranch sounds very modern, yet the story of Paula Forrest and her lovers is nearly a hundred years old. Scandalous in its time, the tale follows Paula and the two men she cannot choose between: her husband and her lover. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Secret of the Storm Country  |
The Secret of the Storm Country
Simple, strong Tessibel Skinner keeps secret her marriage to Frederick Graves even when his parents force him to marry an heiress. Even when pregnant, Tess refuses to betray Frederick as a bigamist. But what will she make of her new admirer, Mr. Young? Category: Historical Romance |
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The Half-Hearted  |
The Half-Hearted
As the nineteenth century draws to a close, Lewis Haystoun finally decides to start living the life he has only read and written about. He meets Alice Wishart at a Scottish country house party and soon finds himself taking off on adventures in Kashmir, seeking success with a new love and a new land. Category: Historical Romance |
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Tess of the Storm Country  |
Tess of the Storm Country
Never accepted by the high society of Ithaca, Tess is still shocked when her father, a squatter, is accused of murder. Barefoot and innocent, Tess sets out into the world to clear his name, forever changing the shape of life for herself and all she touches. Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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The Street of Seven Stars  |
The Street of Seven Stars
Violin student Harmony Wells is alone in Vienna when her funds dry up. When she meets a medical resident who offers the frugal solution of sharing a household, she accepts. Even with an older woman joining them for propriety, the unusual living arrangements cause quite a scandal. Category: Historical Romance |
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The Suitors of Yvonne  |
The Suitors of Yvonne
Swashbuckling swordplay and suspense surround Yvonne St. Albaret de Canaples and her would-be lovers in the very first romance novel written by Rafael Sabatini. Even when the beautiful Yvonne is disguised, she attracts love-struck men who would do anything to be near her. Category: Historical Romance |
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An Eye for an Eye |
An Eye for an Eye
When Fred Neville becomes heir to the Earl of Scroope, he is sworn to marry a woman deemed suitable for carrying on the family name. But when he meets Irish beauty Kate, who has a dark family history, he is torn between the call of love and the bonds of duty. Category: Historical Romance |
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Love Eternal  |
Love Eternal
Timeless passion takes on new dimensions in this romance between two souls bound together regardless of the eras or bodies they inhabit. The physical world limits their union, but changes are at hand to bring them together forever in the spirit realm. Categories: Historical Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance |
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Rose O'Paradise  |
Rose O'Paradise
Due to inherit a fortune on her eighteenth birthday, Rose finds herself the subject of much attention from three men. Should she trust the father who has been absent her whole life, the uncle who may be responsible for his absence, or her new suitor? Categories: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense |
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