Best 2025 fiction novels based on real events or people

Book recommendations
Written By The Bookish Bulletin
 
Image of a world war II nurse with text: Best 2025 fiction based on real events
 

This post contains affiliate links that earn us a commission at no cost to you. This helps to support the work of The Bookish Bulletin.


I love stories inspired by real life—they bring a sense of authenticity and depth that pure fiction sometimes can't match. That's why I’m thrilled to see so many books inspired by real people or events published in 2025. I’ve compiled a list below!

From trailblazing women fighting for gender equity to Harlem and WWII resistance fighters, these stories will transport you to moments that shaped history. You'll also meet fascinating characters like the inventor of Barbie, a detective working to solve a gripping disappearance case, and you’ll learn about a pretender to the throne in Richard III’s court—imagine the intrigue!

Additionally, you can board the Paris Express and meet characters unknowingly headed into one of France’s biggest train disasters, many of whom were influential figures at the turn of the century.

These novels aren’t just entertaining—they offer eye-opening perspectives on pivotal moments and extraordinary lives.

Dive into the list below and discover stories that show how real-life heroes, villains, and mysteries can inspire compelling fiction—sometimes even more engaging than pure imagination!

Happy reading!

Featured
When the Fireflies Dance by Aisha Hassan
CA$0.00


Inspired by the shocking true story of a young man’s life in Pakistan

After witnessing his brother’s murder in rural Pakistan, Lalloo grows up determined to free his family from the Lahore brickyards—risking everything to escape the cycle trapping them.

AMAZON

The Fault Between Us by Stephanie Landsem
CA$0.00


Based on the real events of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake

In 1959, three estranged sisters reunite in Yellowstone to rescue one of their own—just before a devastating earthquake shatters the land and their fragile bond.

AMAZON

Sonora by Jenni L. Walsh
CA$0.00


Inspired by the true story of one of the first female horse divers.

Penniless during the Great Depression, Sonora Webster joins a traveling horse-diving act. When an accident threatens her sight and the show’s future, she must risk another dive.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA‍ ‍| US

The Last Witch by C.J. Cooke
CA$0.00


Based on the real-life story of a woman imprisoned for witchcraft and murder

Accused of witchcraft and murder, Helena Scheuberin must survive a dungeon filled with fear and magic, where a cursed severed hand may doom them all—or set them free.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA‍ ‍| US

Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory
CA$0.00


Based on the untold story of Jane Boleyn

In Henry VIII’s ruthless court, Jane Boleyn is sister, wife, and spy—roles that demand cunning and silence. One wrong word could doom her, and those she loves, to the scaffold.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA‍ ‍| US

The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes
CA$0.00


Based on true events following the airing of Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds in Ecuador

In 1938, Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds radio drama terrified Americans into believing Martians were invading. Eleven years later, an Ecuadorian radio station adapted the show—with catastrophic consequences.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA‍ ‍| US

The Guest in Room 120 by Sara Ackerman
CA$0.00


Inspired by the death of Stanford University’s founder Jane Stanford… one of America’s most mysterious deaths

Author Zoe Finch investigates Jane Stanford's 1905 mysterious death at the Moana Hotel, spurred by haunting nightmares.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA‍ ‍| US

Beings by Ilana Masad
CA$0.00


Based on true experience of a New Hampshire couple in 1961

When Betty and Barney Hill describe aliens stopping their car in the White Mountains, their trauma fuels scandal, inspires secret letters, and haunts an Archivist decades later.

AMAZON

Letters to Kafka by Christine Estima
CA$0.00


Based on Milena Jesenská’s torrid love affair with Franz Kafk

Milena Jesenská’s translation of Kafka ignites a forbidden passion; their secret letters and stolen meetings drive her to risk marriage, reputation, and freedom for a love that defies silence.

AMAZON

The Girl in the Green Dress by Mariah Fredericks
CA$0.00


Based on a true 1920 murder of the gambler Joseph Elwell

Shell-shocked writer Morris Markey seeks his big break with Zelda Fitzgerald, investigating a locked-room murder in Jazz Age New York and a deadly conspiracy that ultimately claims his own life.

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA | US

The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck
CA$0.00


Based on the true story of award-winning photojournalist Dickey Chapelle

Disgraced 1950s combat correspondent Dickey Chapelle defies discrimination, braving global warzones to witness and report the truth from the front lines.
Read my book review

AMAZON

Books on discount by this author:
CANADA  |  US

The Night Sparrow by Shelly Sanders
CA$0.00


Inspired by real female snipers and interpreters who worked in the Red Army during World War II

A young Jewish woman trains as a Soviet sniper to avenge her family, forging fierce bonds and confronting evil on the brutal Eastern Front during WWII.

AMAZON

The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman
CA$0.00


inspired by the experiences of the author’s own family after the Holocaust

In 1946 Vienna, Chana bakes secretly, torn between a black-market dealer offering her family security and an apprentice baker who shares her culinary passion.

AMAZON

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
CA$18.00


Based on real events. From the bestselling author of Room, The Wonder, and The Pull of the Stars

A runaway train hurtles towards Paris in 1895. A diverse cast of passengers – politicians, lovers, and a dangerous anarchist – must confront fate and their own secrets as the catastrophic crash unfolds.
Read my book review

AMAZON

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
CA$0.00


Based on the real-life history of luxury West Virginia hotels during WWII

June Porter Hudson, a skilled hotel manager, navigates her loyalty to her staff and the hotel’s aristocratic owners while secretly balancing her own safety and morality amid Nazi diplomats and an FBI agent with secrets.

AMAZON

Heartwood by Amity Gaige
CA$0.00


Inspired by the real-life disappearance of Geraldine Largay
APRIL 2025 READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK

Valerie Gillis vanishes 200 miles into the Maine woods, leaving poetic letters suggesting her disappearance may be deliberate.
Read my book review

AMAZON

A Daughter's Place by Martha Batiz
CA$0.00


Inspired by the real-life daughter of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote

In 1599 Madrid, Isabel, the illegitimate daughter of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, poses as a maid in her father’s home while awaiting his return.

AMAZON

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
CA$0.00


Inspired by the life of English novelist and playwright Dorothy L. Sayers

In 1930 London, five renowned women crime writers, led by Dorothy L. Sayers, form a secret society to solve the murder of a young nurse in France.


AMAZON

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
CA$0.00


Based on the life of Jessie Redmon Fauset, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance

In post-war Harlem, Jessie Redmon Fauset, a literary editor at The Crisis, champions young Black writers while navigating a complex affair with W.E.B. Du Bois

AMAZON

The Girls of Glimmer Factory by Jennifer Coburn
CA$0.00


Based on the real story of Theresienstadt ghetto during WWII

In Theresienstadt, Jewish prisoner Hannah and fellow resistors aim to expose the truth behind Nazi propaganda

AMAZON

The Pretender by Jo Harkin
CA$0.00

Based on the life of Lambert Simnel, pretender to the throne of England

In 1480, John discovers he is the Duke of Clarence's son, hidden from Richard III. Educated for kingship, he allies with the politically savvy Joan, seeking to alter England's future. Inspired by a true story.

AMAZON

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen
CA$0.00


Based on the life of Ruth Handler, the real-life mastermind of the Barbie doll

Ruth Handler pitches her revolutionary doll, Barbie, to her toy company team in 1956, aiming to empower girls to dream big. Together, they navigate challenges that shape Barbie's legacy.

AMAZON

The Eights by Joanna Miller
CA$0.00


Inspired by the experience of the first women to be admitted to Oxford University

Set in 1920, four pioneering women at Oxford forge an unlikely friendship amid societal challenges, exploring sisterhood and courage.

AMAZON

Looking for more book suggestions?

The Bookish Bulletin
Previous

Book review: Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin
Next

Book review: The Lies Our Children Tell by Lisa Timoney