Historical fiction · Similar reads
Books like Alias Grace
The best books like Alias Grace are The Handmaid's Tale, Educated: A Memoir, and In Cold Blood. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood is about memory and unreliable testimony, gender and power, class in victorian society. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Handmaid's Tale
01
Margaret Atwood · Literary fiction
The Handmaid's Tale is set in the near-future theocratic Republic of Gilead, carved out of what was once the northeastern United States after a coup by a fundamentalist Christian movement.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - Educated: A Memoir
02
Tara Westover · Memoir
Educated is Tara Westover's memoir about growing up in a survivalist family in rural Idaho and eventually earning a PhD in history from Cambridge University.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - In Cold Blood
03
Truman Capote · Memoir
Truman Capote's account of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas — and of the investigation, capture, trial, and execution of the killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock — is the founding document of the true crime genre and one of the most admired works of American nonfiction of the twentieth century.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Promised Land
04
Barack Obama · Memoir
A Promised Land is the first volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoirs, covering his 2008 campaign through the first two and a half years of his presidency, ending with the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Alienist
05
Caleb Carr · Historical fiction
The Alienist is set in 1896 New York City, where Dr.
Both dig into gender and power.
Read the summary → - Mystic River
06
Dennis Lehane · Mystery
Three boys play together on a Boston street in 1975.
Both dig into guilt and innocence.
Read the summary → - Presumed Innocent
07
Scott Turow · Thriller
Rusty Sabich is the chief deputy prosecutor in a fictional Midwestern city, a competent, serious man trusted by his boss and respected by his colleagues.
Both dig into guilt and innocence.
Read the summary → - Raven Black
08
Ann Cleeves · Mystery
Raven Black is the first book in Ann Cleeves's Shetland series, set on the Scottish island archipelago at the very edge of British territory.
Both dig into guilt and innocence.
Read the summary → - The Luminaries
09
Eleanor Catton · Literary fiction
The Luminaries is set in Hokitika, a New Zealand gold-rush town, in 1866.
Both dig into gender and power.
Read the summary → - The Trial
10
Franz Kafka · Literary fiction
On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, Josef K.
Both dig into guilt and innocence.
Read the summary → - A Gentleman in Moscow
11
Amor Towles · Historical fiction
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal — not to death, but to permanent house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Tale of Two Cities
12
Charles Dickens · Historical fiction
A Tale of Two Cities is set against the French Revolution and follows three intertwined characters: Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat who has renounced his title and family legacy; Lucie Manette, the daughter of a man who spent eighteen years imprisoned in the Bastille; and Sydney Carton, a dissolute English lawyer who loves Lucie without hope and knows he will never be the man Darnay already is.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary →
Books like Alias Grace: quick answers
What are the best books like Alias Grace?
The best books like Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood are The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, A Promised Land by Barack Obama, The Alienist by Caleb Carr, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Alias Grace, such as memory and unreliable testimony, gender and power, class in victorian society.
What should I read after Alias Grace?
A natural next read after Alias Grace is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. A kindred historical fiction read. Other strong choices are Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, A Promised Land by Barack Obama.
What books are similar to Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood?
Alias Grace centers on memory and unreliable testimony, gender and power, class in victorian society. Books with a similar feel include The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, A Promised Land by Barack Obama, The Alienist by Caleb Carr, Mystic River by Dennis Lehane — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
