When people think of historical romance, the most common images conjured up are probably set in the Regency period. It’s the era of Jane Austen, empire-waist gowns, and bonnets everywhere. But there’s another era in history that deserves its due as a pitch-perfect setting for romance books: the Victorian era.
The contrast between Victorians’ straitlaced cultural norms and the passion of the romance genre makes for some fiery, delicious books indeed. It’s also a time of historical upheaval, with women’s suffrage and anti-colonial movements often taking center stage. That kind of backdrop is catnip for romance authors and readers alike. So it’s no wonder we’ve gotten so many fantastic Victorian romances in recent years, like the books and series that we’re recommending here!
The Luna Sisters series by Liana de La Rosa
Want your Victorian romance with a side of historical commentary and political intrigue? You can’t go wrong with the saucy, thrilling, heartfelt adventures of Liana de la Rosa’s Luna sisters. Three Mexican heiresses are sent away from home as the French invade and the sisters’ father flees into exile as part of the Juárez government. Under the auspices of friends and relatives in England, the Luna sisters find new challenges — and love — while still fighting for their homeland.
The first book, Ana María and the Fox, focuses on the eldest sister, her conflict between what’s expected and what she wants, and her romance with a biracial politician. The second, Isabel and the Rogue, pairs off the bookish wallflower (and secret spy) of the family with a roguish British agent. It’s a deeply emotional and wildly romantic series, but also one firmly rooted in a piece of history that we—at least, Americans—don’t learn much about, and one in which the sisterly bonds are just as important. Plus, gather round, Bridgerton fans: there’s a wallflower-blossoming plot and a hot air balloon scene!
Hell’s Belles series by Sarah MacLean
The Belles of MacLean’s Victorian romance series aren’t quite like the historical romance heroines you might picture. Loosely (very loosely) inspired by the real-life “girl gang”, the Forty Elephants, the series takes us out of ballrooms and into rollicking adventures. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, the Belles use their talents to defend the downtrodden and take society’s elite down a peg or two—usually with the support of men who love them and are exasperated by them in equal measure.
Our heroines include a scandalous aristocrat, a wallflower thief, a lady-turned-scientist, and a duchess with a secret. The whole series (three books so far, with a fourth planned) is delightful, but Knockout, the third, just might be the best. Featuring a heroine who likes to blow things up and a detective inspector who has a constant headache thanks to the Belles, it’s a gleeful adventure and sexy romance all at once. These books are for anyone who enjoys a bit of anachronistic butt-kicking and hijinks along with classic historical romance tropes.
The Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas
Speaking of classic historical romance, you can’t ask for historical recs online without getting at least one Lisa Kleypas novel suggested. The long-running Ravenels series centers, as you might guess, on the Ravenel family, described as “the most eccentric noble family in Victorian England.” A sprawling family with siblings, cousins, and even illegitimate members, the Ravenels all tumble headlong into angsty romances with love interests of varying degrees of “appropriateness.”
The series features many of the premises and character archetypes that most readers of historical romance are accustomed to, from reforming rakes to young ladies with plenty of gumption and everything else you expect. They also touch on other topics that are particularly relevant in the Victorian era, like women’s rights, class struggles, industrialization, and more.
Ladies Most Scandalous series by Manda Collins
If you prefer a bit of a genre mash-up, go with this series of Victorian romantic mysteries from Manda Collins. Set in 1860s England, the series features a group of intrepid women who want more than what society expects of them. They’re reporters, secretaries, governesses—the kinds of women who occupy an in-between or otherwise liminal space—and they somehow always end up entangled in murder mysteries and other investigations, alongside men who come to appreciate their talents.
There’s a bit of a Miss Scarlet and the Duke or Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries vibe to these books, in the best way. Classic tropes like fake betrothals and second-chance romances abound, and the blend of mystery and romance balances nicely. The stakes are typical of a cozy romance: not too mild, but not edge-of-your-seat intense either. Ladies who take no nonsense, gentlemen who love them for it — what’s not to fall in love with?
Dangerous Damsels series by India Holton
Does your list of favorite media include things like The Princess Bride, Galavant, or A Knight’s Tale? If so, India Holton’s giddy, quirky Victorian romance/fantasy adventure series is definitely for you! They’re set in an alternate Victorian world full of lady (and gentleman) thieves, flying houses, courtly pirates, witches, and spies. Assassination attempts are to be expected and even desired, and chaos regularly reigns.
Although the world-building might seem like it could overpower the characters, it never does. In fact, it lays the groundwork for memorable characters and swoon-worthy romances, usually with some form of a rivals-to-lovers setup. One couple meets when one is hired to assassinate the other; another reluctantly teams up to steal a famed amulet; a third goes undercover as a married couple. It’s all firmly tongue-in-cheek, skewering Victorian society while still maintaining a real warmth to the emotional beats.
Las Leonas series by Adriana Herrera
Adriana Herrera’s clever, steamy series centers on trailblazing Victorian women—specifically, a quartet of Dominican women—building their businesses while, of course, finding love in unexpected places. A Caribbean Heiress in Paris pairs a rum heiress with a Scottish earl whose own whisky business is his form of rebellion against his father. The next entry, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal, is a steamy sapphic slow-burn between an artist headed for an arranged marriage and a ruthless duchess-turned-businesswoman.
As you might guess from its industry- and Caribbean-centric setting, the series is about much more than romance. It also takes the time to dissect the era’s colonialism, racism, exploitation, history of slavery, and wealth (and power) inequalities. Our heroines deal with these issues in complex ways, but the books still soar with deliciously scandalous drama and big emotions. These are can’t-put-down romances with a big brain and an equally big heart, and we can’t wait to see the next entries!
The Wedgeford Trials series by Courtney Milan
With the fictional town of Wedgeford, Milan crafts a predominantly Chinese enclave in Victorian England, giving those small-town vibes crossed with the historical setting and cultural details. Since the town is well-known for its annual games, the Wedgeford Trials, it tends to attract more than its share of tourists, outsiders, and long-lost returning sons and daughters. In other words, it’s the perfect setting for a historical romance series focused on a less-written-about community of the time.
The first book, The Duke Who Didn’t, is perfect for fans of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and relatively low angst. No-nonsense Chloe finds her well-planned life thrown into upheaval when Jeremy, her mischievous childhood sweetheart returns — and reveals his real name and noble title. The second, The Marquis Who Mustn’t, switches gears into fake engagements and long cons, as Naomi embarks on a freedom-granting fake relationship with Kai, who is a little busy with plans to steal a fortune and flee the country. They’re classic historical romances with a twist, and with all the swoon-worthy romance you expect.
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Take the social season pressures of Bridgerton, add a Parent Trap/Cyrano setup, and focus it on a sapphic love story, and you’ve got this delightful Victorian romance. Debutante Beth has to make an immediate match or risk her family’s ruin, while Gwen prefers avoiding the marriage mart. To solve both their dilemmas, they hatch a plot to set up their respective parents — even if those parents hate each other.
As their schemes and hijinks progress, Gwen and Beth find themselves growing closer. Their own feelings grow beyond what either of them expects, just as their plan begins working and Beth finds herself the object of interest from a seemingly perfect gentleman. If they want to achieve their own dreams, and not just set up the lives of others, they’ll have to take a leap of faith. For a tender and charming romance full of ballrooms and secrets, pick this one up for sure!
The Duke Gets Desperate by Diana Quincy
Who knew inheritance battles could be so sexy? After his father’s death, Anthony, Duke of Strickland, is horrified to find out that his father left the family estate not to him, but to his detested American stepmother Deena. When she dies under mysterious circumstances, the estate passes to her cousin, Raya, an Arab-American woman overlooked by her family’s business. Anthony takes the opportunity to press his claim on his family’s home again, but Raya isn’t giving up so easily, and she might even have ideas on how to save the faltering estate.
You have to love a romance where the reason the leads dislike each other is realistic rather than contrived or based on misunderstanding. Both Raya and Strick are complicated characters, full of biting wit and frustrated attraction — there’s definitely something here for Bridgerton’s Kanthony fans! Plus, the mystery of Deena’s death adds a little more urgency and atmosphere to the story for extra tension beyond the romance itself.
Belles of London series by Mimi Matthews
There’s a boldness to Matthews’s heroines, but without an overly-modern girl-power vibe. These are women who know what they want, what stands in their way, and are willing to take risks to get there. The historical setting is impeccable, and the characters feel like people you wish you could be friends with.
Each of the books has its own distinctive sensibility. The Siren of Sussex follows an ambitious equestrienne as she falls for the biracial tailor who makes her eye-catching habits. Next up is The Belle of Belgrave Square, a Beauty and the Beast-esque story featuring an anxious heiress proposing a marriage of convenience to a mysterious and reclusive war hero. The Lily of Ludgate Hill is a second-chance romance between an upright lady pushed around by her family and the rogue she once loved. There’s one more entry to go, and they’re worth every moment!
The Secret Scientists of London series by Elizabeth Everett
Love the STEM romance trend but prefer historicals over contemporaries? Elizabeth Everett’s series is tailor-made for you! Alternately serious and playful, the series revolves around a secret society of scientists, engineers, and more—all very “unladylike” pursuits! The patrons of Athena’s Retreat face plenty of pushback (and even danger), but they’ve got each other.
And, of course, they’ve got the men who love them and their ambitions, too. We’ve got a scientist-slash-spy bantering with her protection officer, a mathematician at odds with a roguish viscount, and an engineer doing battle (or working with — or both) a reform-minded earl. The romances are steamy and swoony, and, more importantly, the books are a fantastic reminder that women have been making strides and making discoveries since time immemorial, even if the history we learn chooses to present things differently.
A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell
A bike race, an intrepid lady botanist, a rakish trans artist—what’s not to love about Joanna Lowell’s Victorian take on the road trip adventure? Botanist Muriel arrives in a seaside town to plead with Kit to illustrate a particular type of British seaweed. What she doesn’t know is that Kit has left all that behind; when he left the Sisterhood of women artists to live authentically as himself, he seemingly left his artistic spark behind, too.
He reluctantly makes a bargain with the undeterred Muriel. He’ll do her illustrations if she’ll accompany him on a bike race to prove to an all-male cycling club that women are just as capable as men. As they cycle the summer away, Kit and Muriel find a connection they can’t deny, but their respective pasts leave them wary. It’s an elegant and moving depiction of queer identities in history, the power of art, and the exhilarating yet scary feeling of falling in love and being seen for your whole self.
A Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles
Fantasy and Victorian romance entwine in this quirky and queer steampunk series. Where most romance series focus on different couples in each installment, this one feels more like a traditional fantasy series by focusing on the same characters lead throughout.
Those characters would be Lucien, a lord reluctant to inherit from his estranged family, and Stephen, a magician with his own reasons for hating the new Lord Crane’s family. Forced to work together to fight off a series of threats both supernatural and ordinary, the two men realize their growing feelings for each other. As the series goes on (three novels and several novellas so far), their love story deepens, but so do the threats around them. It’s all set in an off-kilter steampunk world that feels dangerous enough to build tension but still has a sense of playfulness and humor.