The Greatest Australian Historical Fiction Books of All Time
Click to learn how this list is calculated.
This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 585 | The Thorn Birds | Colleen McCullough | 1977 | Australian | English | |
| 624 | The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | 2005 | Australian | English | |
| 642 | Voss | Patrick White | 1957 | Australian | English | |
| 864 | Schindler's List | Thomas Keneally | 1982 | Australian | English | |
| 902 | True History of the Kelly Gang | Peter Carey | 2000 | Australian | English | |
| 1194 | My Brilliant Career | Miles Franklin | 1901 | Australian | English | |
| 1419 | The Tree of Man | Patrick White | 1955 | Australian | English | |
| 1599 | The Getting Of Wisdom | Henry Handel Richardson | 1910 | Australian | English | |
| 1698 | The Living and the Dead | Patrick White | 1941 | Australian | English | |
| 1855 | A Fringe Of Leaves | Patrick White | 1976 | Australian | English | |
| 1890 | The Fortunes Of Richard Mahony | Henry Handel Richardson | 1917 | Australian | English | |
| 2079 | Oscar and Lucinda | Peter Carey | 1988 | Australian | English | |
| 2235 | For The Term Of His Natural Life | Marcus Clarke | 1874 | Australian | English | |
| 2235 | The Harp In The South | Ruth Park | 1948 | Australian | English | |
| 2607 | The Transit of Venus | Shirley Hazzard | 1980 | Australian | English | |
| 2659 | The Commandant | Jessica Anderson | 1975 | Australian | English | |
| 2870 | Johnno | David Malouf | 1975 | Australian | English | |
| 3096 | Remembering Babylon | David Malouf | 1993 | Australian | English | |
| 3493 | Coonardoo | Katherine Susannah Prichard | 1929 | Australian | English | |
| 3566 | The Secret River | Kate Grenville | 2005 | Australian | English | |
| 3620 | The Great Fire | Shirley Hazzard | 2003 | Australian | English | |
| 4563 | Shantaram | Gregory David Roberts | 2003 | Australian | English | |
| 5179 | The Swan Book | Alexis Wright | 2013 | Australian | English | |
| 5299 | That Deadman Dance | Kim Scott | 2010 | Australian | English | |
| 5730 | To Catch A Bride | Anne Gracie | 2009 | Australian | English | |
| 6872 | Bird | Courtney Collins | 2012 | Australian | English | |
| 7925 | The Sun Walks Down | Fiona McFarlane | 2022 | Australian | English | |
| 8178 | The House Tibet | Georgia Savage | 1991 | Australian | English | |
| 8489 | Confederates | Thomas Keneally | 1979 | Australian | English | |
| 8734 | Dirrayawadha | Anita Heiss | 2024 | Australian | English | |
| 9135 | Illywhacker | Peter Carey | 1985 | Australian | English | |
| 9157 | Restless Dolly Maunder | Kate Grenville | 2023 | Australian | English | |
| 9220 | Coming Rain | Stephen Daisley | 2015 | Australian | English | |
| 9575 | Cherrywood | Jock Serong | 2024 | Australian | English | |
| 9639 | Rapture | Emily Maguire | 2024 | Australian | English | |
| 10628 | Jessica | Bryce Courtenay | 1998 | Australian | English | |
| 10914 | Cafe Scheherazade | Arnold Zable | 2001 | Australian | English | |
| 11346 | Sixty Lights | Gail Jones | 2004 | Australian | English | |
| 11686 | The Devil's Advocate | Morris West | 1959 | Australian | English | |
| 11901 | The White Girl | Tony Birch | 2019 | Australian | English | |
| 12338 | She Who Became The Sun | Shelley Parker-Chan | 2021 | Australian | English | |
| 12647 | Robbery Under Arms | Rolf Boldrewood | 1882 | Australian | English | |
| 12752 | The Narrow Road To The Deep North | Richard Flanagan | 2013 | Australian | English | |
| 13891 | Power Without Glory | Frank Hardy | 1950 | Australian | English | |
| 14371 | The Playmaker | Thomas Keneally | 1987 | Australian | English | |
| 14371 | An Imaginary Life | David Malouf | 1978 | Australian | English | |
| 14371 | Forty Seventeen | Frank Moorhouse | 1988 | Australian | English | |
| 14371 | The Great World | David Malouf | 1990 | Australian | English |