Best New Historical Fiction Books to Read This September (Part 1)

There's a special kind of book that catches you off guard — not because it's unfamiliar, but because it asks you to believe in something you'd almost stopped looking for.

This September, that something is magic.

I sat down to put together this month's list of historical fiction books to read, and by the time I'd finished, I noticed a pattern I hadn't expected going in. Witches. Secrets. Women who refused to disappear quietly into the historical record. What I found changed the shape of this list entirely — because September isn't just bringing us new historical fiction. It's bringing us the strange, quiet corners of history we don't usually get invited into.

There were too many wonderful books to fit into one post, so I've split this into two parts. Today, we're starting with eight — and I think you'll feel the thread running through them almost as quickly as I did.

A Woman Who Refused to Ask Permission

We open with a woman who spent her life proving the rules didn't apply to her. The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon, out September 8th, is inspired by Grace O'Malley — the real Irish folk heroine who defied her family, her husband, and eventually Queen Elizabeth herself to command her own fleet.

If you loved The Frozen River, this is the same kind of storytelling: sweeping, fierce, and rooted in a real woman history nearly let slip past us. It's the ordinary-woman-becomes-extraordinary story that keeps pulling me back to this genre, again and again.

Because this is where the difference begins — the rest of this list follows women who took that same kind of risk, just in quieter, more dangerous rooms.

When Magic Becomes Dangerous

For a while, I didn't notice what was gathering underneath this month's list. Then I looked again, and four of the eight books had quietly built themselves around the same idea — that magic, in the wrong century, has always been dangerous for women to hold.

Witchbane by Deborah Carr

This one technically releases August 27th, but I couldn't leave it off the list. Set in 1640 Jersey, Witchbane follows Rue Underwood, a woman whose gift could get her killed in an age of witch hunters — including the witchfinder's own son, sent to find her. It's a dangerous, moonlit kind of story, and exactly the sort of atmosphere this genre does best.

The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman

Releasing September 8th, this is the one Practical Magic fans have been waiting for. Set in 1950s Cambridge, it follows two young women at Radcliffe College drawn into a secret society of witches — all while McCarthyism casts its own long shadow over their world. History and magic, tangled together, the way Hoffman does it better than almost anyone.

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin

Out September 1st, this dual-timeline novel weaves together two women across centuries — one in present-day Savannah, one accused as a witch in 1645 Suffolk — bound by blood and a legacy neither of them asked to carry.

Spellstruck by Martha Waters

And for something a little different: Spellstruck imagines an alternate 1920s London where magic is outlawed. A speakeasy owner supplying enchanted cocktails finds herself teamed up with the very enforcer sent to shut her down. Enemies-to-lovers, with a wink — releasing September 29th.

Secrets Worth Uncovering

That's when something unexpected surfaced in the research for this list — not every September release leans on magic to hide its secrets. Some of them use history's oldest tools instead: silence, distance, and the things we choose not to say.

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury

Set in post-WWII Oxford and releasing September 1st, this debut follows two undergraduates recruited by British intelligence to catch a Soviet spy on campus. Equal parts romance, academia, and espionage — a strong start for a debut novelist.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris

Also out September 1st, this debut follows a grieving widower on the Alaskan coast who follows a mysterious distress call into a decades-old mystery of stolen gold and missing women. Told across three timelines, it's atmospheric and quietly devastating.

The Library of Leaving by Emily Dunlay

Closing out today's list, releasing September 8th: an American librarian in 1920s Switzerland receives a package that forces her to confront the truth of who she was during the First World War. A lush, literary meditation on memory, and on the stories we choose to tell about ourselves.

Historical Fiction Series Worth Starting

If any of today's books leave you wanting more, it's worth knowing that several of these authors have deeper catalogs to explore once you've turned the last page. Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic series is the obvious next stop after The Witches of Cambridge, and Ariel Lawhon's earlier novels are full of the same real-women-history-almost-forgot storytelling that anchors The Pirate Queen.

It's one of the quiet joys of historical fiction as a genre — a single book rarely stands alone for long. There's almost always a shelf waiting behind it.

Talking through this list on camera is what made the witch thread impossible to ignore in the first place — and if you'd like to see how that realization unfolded in real time, you can watch the full Author Notes episode below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the newest historical fiction books?

New historical fiction releases arrive year-round, but September brings a particularly strong batch — including Ariel Lawhon's The Pirate Queen, Alice Hoffman's The Witches of Cambridge, and several other titles covered in this list. For an ongoing look at the newest releases, publisher new-release pages (like Penguin Random House's) are a reliable source to check alongside author-curated roundups like this one.

What is the most popular historical fiction book right now?

Popularity shifts from month to month, but among September's new releases, Alice Hoffman's The Witches of Cambridge and Ariel Lawhon's The Pirate Queen are generating the most early buzz — both from established authors with strong existing followings.

What historical fiction book should I read next?

It depends on what you're in the mood for. If you want a fierce, real-history heroine, start with The Pirate Queen. If you're drawn to atmosphere and a touch of danger, Witchbane or The Witches of Cambridge are the ones to reach for first.

Eight books in, and I still find myself thinking about that thread running underneath this list — how often the women in these stories had to hide some part of themselves just to survive their own history. Witches or not, that felt true.

Because sometimes, what makes a story stay with us is simply whether it feels true.

Part 2 goes live next Friday with eight more September releases, including one I suspect will end up being the most talked-about book of the year.

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