Kristin Hannah has written over 25 books since 1991, but her most popular and successful is by far The Nightingale, which was published in 2015.

If you’re one of the millions of readers who have fallen in love with Hannah’s storytelling, you may be searching for similar books to add to your reading list.

In this post, we’ve selected 8 talented authors who write books reminiscent of Hannah’s work, many featuring strong female leads in historic settings. But each of these writers are unique and memorable in their own right.

Authors Like Kristen Hannah

Here are 8 authors to check out if you like Kristin Hannah.

1. Beatriz Williams

Beatriz Williams is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally best-selling author of historical fiction.

Her books typically feature strong female leads. Williams’ immersive, drama-filled narratives include themes of romance, crime, and class struggles, among others.

What to Read First: Summer Wives

In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler finds herself catapulted into the heady world of the New England elite after her mother marries into one of its wealthiest families.

But beneath the surface, Winthrop Island hides tensions between the wealthy summer families and the Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who keep the island going.

As Miranda begins to fall for the lighthouse keeper’s handsome son, those tensions rise inexorably to the surface and lead to an explosive end to the summer that will change everyone, forever.

2. Chanel Cleeton

Born and raised in Florida, Chanel Cleeton grew up listening to stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the Cuban Revolution.

Her family history, combined with her passion for politics and international affairs, have inspired many of her books, which are set around Cuba, Key West, and Florida during the 1940s and 50s.

What to Read First: Next Year in Havana

In 1958 Havana, 19-year-old Elisa Perez is the daughter of a sugar baron and a member of Cuba’s high society. Her mostly sheltered existence is shattered when she begins a forbidden affair with a passionate revolutionary.

Flash-forward to Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera has grown up listening to romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for her granddaughter to scatter her ashes in Havana.

Upon arriving in Cuba, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast between Cuba’s beauty and its dangerous political climate. When more of her family’s history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need lessons from Elisa’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

3. Martha Hall Kelly

New England native Martha Hall Kelly worked as an advertising copywriter before her debut novel, Lilac Girls, became a New York Times bestseller in its first week in 2016.

Kelly followed the historical fiction novel with two prequels, Lost Roses and Sunflower Sisters. Her works feature themes of love, loss, and strong women who fight for survival despite being pushed to their limits.

What to Read First: Lilac Girls

Kelly’s debut novel and the first in the Woolsey-Ferriday series, Lilac Girls is inspired by a real-life World War II heroine.

It follows New York socialite Caroline Ferriday, who works at the French consulate and finds herself forever changed when Hitler invades Poland in 1939, before turning his sights to France.

Meanwhile, in Poland, teenager Kasia Kuzmerick is drawn into the underground resistance movement. And a young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, believes a government medical position will pull her out of her desolate life—but once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a web of Nazi secrets and power.

The lives of these three women collide when Kasia is sent to a Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents as Caroline and Kasia fight for justice for the forgotten.

4. Taylor Jenkins Reid

After working in Hollywood as a casting assistant, Taylor Jenkins Reid realized that her true passion was writing.

Since the release of her debut novel in 2013, she has continued to write bestsellers such as Daisy Jones and the Six, Malibu Rising, and many others. Most of her books can be classified as women’s fiction or historical fiction.

What to Read First: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the story of her scandalous and glamorous life and rise to fame, including her 30-year career seven husbands.

To everyone’s surprise, Evelyn selects a relatively unknown magazine reporter, Monique, to cover her story. As Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the film legend, she also realizes that her life intersects with Evelyn’s in some tragic ways.

5. Kristin Harmel

Kristin Harmel is an author and magazine writer whose work has appeared in People, Glamour, Travel + Leisure, and more.

Her debut novel, How to Sleep with a Movie Star, was published in 2006, and since then she’s written over a dozen titles in historical fiction and romance.

What to Read First: The Room on Rue Amélie

In this powerful World War II novel, the lives of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish teenager intersect in occupied Paris.

When fate brings them together, they’ll have to summon the courage to defy the Nazis as they fight to survive.

6. Jennifer Chiaverini

Jennifer Chiaverini is the bestselling author of 32 novels, including critically acclaimed historical fiction and the popular Elm Creek Quilts series.

Chiaverini has also published six collections of quilt patterns inspired by her books. In 2020, she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for Resistance Women.

What to Read First: Resistance Women

Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish accompanies her husband, brilliant German economist Arvid Harnack, to his homeland, where a promising future awaits. But the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party changes their fate.

As Hitler wields violence and lies to seize power, Mildred, Arvid, and their friends resolve to resist. Mildred gathers intelligence for her American contacts, including Martha Dodd, the daughter of the US ambassador. Meanwhile, her German friends risk their lives to collect information.

For years, Mildred’s network fights to bring down the Third Reich from within. But when Nazi radio operatives detect an errant Russian signal, the Harnack resistance is exposed, with fatal consequences.

7. Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn has written eight novels and is known for her works of historical fiction, which explore time periods from ancient Rome to Renaissance Italy and post-World War II London.

Her 2017 novel, The Alice Network, made the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.

What to Read First: The Alice Network

This historical fiction novel follows the lives of two brave women of different generations whose stories collide in the face of World War II.

In 1947, American college girl Charlie St. Clair finds herself pregnant and unmarried. When her parents send her to Europe, she breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war

The other storyline brings us back to 1915. Eve Gardiner longs to join the fight against the Germans, and she gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. In enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by Lili, the “Queen of Spies.”

Thirty years later, haunted by a betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve drinks away her days in her crumbling London house. But when a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, it launches them both into a mission to find the truth.

8. Sadeqa Johnson

Formerly a PR manager, Sadeqa Johnson spent several years working with authors like J.K. Rowling and Amy Tan before writing a book herself.

Her debut novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag, received the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for best fiction, OOSA best book award, and USA best book award for African-American fiction.

What to Read First: Yellow Wife

Born on a plantation in Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman, along with the fact that she’s cherished by the Master’s sister, sets her apart from the others on the plantation.

Having been promised freedom on her 18th birthday, Pheby thought she’d run off to an idyllic life with her true love, Essex Henry. But she finds herself forced to leave the only home she has ever known, and is instead thrust into the bowels of slavery at an infamous jail in Richmond, where the enslaved are tortured and sold every day.

To survive, Pheby will have to outwit her Jailer, and soon face the ultimate sacrifice.

Authors Similar to Kristin Hannah

If you like Kristin Hannah or her bestselling books like The Nightingale, then you’ll definitely want to give the authors on this list a try.

For more captivating stories that take you back in time, be sure to check out our favorite historical fiction books.

Do you have a favorite author like Kristin Hannah? Share your pick in the comments below!

 

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• 8 Best Taylor Jenkins Reid Books