Past Tense

Cozy Historical Fantasy For Fall

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Rachel Brittain

Contributing Editor

Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Twitter and Instagram: @rachelsbrittain

I love few things more than a good cozy book when the days start to get shorter and darker. Just low stakes and nonstop enjoyment, that’s the kind of book for me. The cozy fantasy genre encompasses a wide range of different types of fantasy books, but there’s a surprisingly high proportion of cozy historical fantasy books among them. Maybe this is because fantasy often draws on the past to imagine what a society more reliant on magic than technology might look like. But I’m particularly interested in the fantasy books that really lean into the historical elements, creating a true melding of historical fiction and fantasy. I want the fantasy books where the time period the story is set in isn’t incidental. Give me gaslamp fantasy and Edwardian fantasy and 1920s fantasy where cars run right alongside enchantments.

By setting stories in magical versions of the past, authors can choose to rewrite history as we know it. On the other hand, magic often serves as another source of division in many historical fantasy books. The existence of magic doesn’t necessarily — or ever — solve all of society’s problems.

But in these cozy historical fantasy books, despite whatever problems the characters or society may face, there’s always an underlying sense of hope driving the story. No matter how bad things get — and it’s usually not that bad in the case of cozy fantasy — we know things are going to turn out okay. Sometimes, that’s exactly what I want out of a book. If you feel the same, then these cozy historical fantasy books are perfect for you.

Cover of The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton

Rival ornithologists compete in a competition to capture a rare magical bird in this historical fantasy romp full of mishaps and manners. Their best chance of capturing an endangered caladrius bird and becoming Birder of the Year requires teaming up. Suddenly, the professional distance Beth and Devon have been keeping has been thrown out the window. An endangered bird and a coveted prize are on the line, but foul play seems to be fair game in this competition. Will Beth and Devon be able to keep up?

Sorcerer \to the Crown book cover

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Zacharias Wythe has more than enough on his plate as the first African Sorcerer Royal, especially with rumors that he killed his predecessor and guardian, Sir Stephen Wythe. It’s a rumor that would be easier to do away with if Sir Stephen’s ghost would quit following him around. To top it all off, for no apparent reason, Fairyland has cut off England’s supply of magic. The absolute last thing he needs is a female magical prodigy hellbent on leaving the so-called school she’s been forced to attend. Now, in addition to finding out why England’s magic supply has dried up, Zacharias — alongside Prunella — is going to have to reform magical society and ensure that a proper education in magic is granted to all young magicians, regardless of gender.

book cover of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Professor Emily Wilde is on a mission to document all of Faerie for her comprehensive encyclopedia on the subject. Her research is unmatched and her knowledge of faeries is impressive, but her people skills are sorely lacking. A fact that’s made plain when she travels to the remote village of Hrafnsvik and fails to make any headway in her research simply because no one wants to talk to her. When her researching rival, the jovial Wendell Bambleby, arrives shortly after her and begins charming everyone, Emily’s forced to admit she might need his help — especially when she gets tangled up in the dangerous court of the Hidden Ones. After all, Wendell’s charms aren’t entirely human.

Follow Emily’s charming adventures alongside her totally normal dog, Shadow, and her definitely human companion, Wendell, in the next two books in the series: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands and Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales.

cover of A Marvellous Light

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A grumpy magician and a cursed baronet are forced to team up to take on a magical conspiracy in this cozy historical mystery set in an Edwardian England steeped in magic. Before becoming the newest liaison to Britain’s magical government, Robin Blythe didn’t know a thing about magic or its presence in England. Now, within the span of a day, he’s learned about magic, met the most disagreeable magician on the planet, and been cursed. Edwin Courcey has no interest in working with Robin, but now that he’s been cursed, Edwin has no choice but to help him. Unfortunately, they soon realize they’re up against far more than a singular curse. Shadowy players are seeking out the very source of magic in England, threatening Robin, Edwin, and all of magical society as they know it.

The two follow ups in this series are equally fantastical and cozy, following other odd couples seeking to stop the magical conspiracy threatening Edwardian England.

cover of The Monsters We Defy

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

In 1920s Washington D.C., a young woman with the ability to talk to spirits sets out to solve the mystery of who’s been murdering people along Black Broadway. When one of the powerful spirits she speaks with tasks her with stealing a socialite’s magical ring, she and a jazz musician vying for the same artifact put together a ragtag team including a Vaudeville performer and a former “circus freak” to pull off this impossible heist.

Book cover of Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Regency + faeries = exactly the kind of cozy historical fantasy story I’m looking for. Theodora Ettings has had an unfortunate penchant for scandal ever since being cursed to have only half a soul. It’s made her something of an outcast in London society, so she’s determined to try to be a wallflower this season. But Lord Sorcier has other plans. When he discovers her strange condition, he’s determined to help her by drawing her even further into faerie affairs. His terrible reputation might finally spell the death of Theodora’s chances in society — or he might offer her something even better before they’re through.

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho book cover

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho

In this novelette, the afterlife can be bought. For Siew Tsin, this means a lonely but stable afterlife as the wife of the richest man in hell. His first wife makes her life unpleasant, but it’s not until her husband brings home an artificial bride in the form of a terracotta woman that her death is truly turned upside down. Does it matter that a terracotta bride may not be capable of reincarnation if Siew Tsin finally finds some happiness alongside her?

The Terracotta Bride can be found in Steam-Powered II: More Lesbian Steampunk Stories and Spirits Abroad.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

In a turn-of-the-twentieth-century Cairo where the supernatural and scientific have become inextricably intertwined, Senior Agent Hamed al-Nas and his new, overly enthusiastic partner, Agent Onsi, are tasked with investigating a haunted tram car. Only Agent Hamed isn’t so sure it’s haunted — not by a ghost anyway. This novella isn’t as cozy as some on this list, but it’s not not cozy. It’s a supernatural detective story where the stakes never get too high, and it perfectly encapsulates the mixture of fantasy and historical fiction that makes historical fantasy so unique.

If those aren’t enough cozy historical fantasy books to keep you busy, here are a few bonus recommendations: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields, The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller, and A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft.

And there are always even more cozy fantasy books to read, like these 20 Must-Read Cozy Fantasy Books, these 2024 Cozy Fantasy Books, or these Magical Cozy Mysteries. Or, maybe you’re more interested in exploring the historical fantasy side of things from book club recs to must-read queer historical fantasy. Whatever your interest, Book Riot has recommendations for you.