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Quick answer: If you loved Burial Rites, read Geraldine Brooks's Year of Wonders and People of the Book, then Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, then Toni Morrison's Beloved, and Amanda Coplin's The Orchardist and Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain. All are haunting historical fiction.
Hannah Kent's Burial Rites (2013) imagines the last days of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman executed in Iceland. These picks share its bleakness and beauty.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of Wonders | Geraldine Brooks | Adult | plague village |
| The Remains of the Day | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who like reflection |
| Beloved | Toni Morrison | Adult | readers ready for a masterpiece |
| The Orchardist | Amanda Coplin | Adult | slow Pacific Northwest fiction |
| Cold Mountain | Charles Frazier | Adult | literary historical fiction |
| The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | 13+ | readers who love books |
| The Silence of the Girls | Pat Barker | Adult | readers who want a different view of Troy |
| Wolf Hall | Hilary Mantel | Adult | readers who like court intrigue |
| Girl with a Pearl Earring | Tracy Chevalier | Adult | art and class |
| People of the Book | Geraldine Brooks | Adult | history of a manuscript |
| Jane Steele | Lyndsay Faye | Adult | dark retelling |
| The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | Adult | readers who want a big emotional story |
| Longbourn | Jo Baker | Adult | below stairs |
| The Bear and the Nightingale | Katherine Arden | Adult | readers who like folklore |
| The Secret Scripture | Sebastian Barry | Adult | readers who like lyrical prose |
1. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
A village isolates itself during the plague in 1666. Gripping and moving.
Best for: plague village.
2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens, a butler, recalls his years of service and a missed chance at love. Restrained and heartbreaking.
Best for: readers who like reflection.
3. Beloved by Toni Morrison
Sethe lives with the ghost of her daughter in post-Civil War Ohio. A landmark novel about the legacy of slavery.
Best for: readers ready for a masterpiece.
4. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
A solitary orchardist in Washington shelters two runaway girls. Quiet and lyrical.
Best for: slow Pacific Northwest fiction.
5. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks home to his love. Slow, lyrical and rooted in landscape.
Best for: literary historical fiction.
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Liesel, a girl in Nazi Germany, steals books and shares them with a Jewish man hiding in her basement. Narrated by Death.
Best for: readers who love books.
7. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Briseis, taken as a prize of war, tells the Trojan War from the women's side of the camp. Bleak, honest and powerful.
Best for: readers who want a different view of Troy.
8. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Thomas Cromwell rises in Henry VIII's court in this award-winning novel. Sharp, intimate and full of political danger.
Best for: readers who like court intrigue.
9. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
A maid works for the painter Vermeer. Quiet and visual.
Best for: art and class.
10. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
A conservator traces the story of a rare Haggadah through centuries. Rich and layered.
Best for: history of a manuscript.
11. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
A Jane Eyre-inspired heroine is also a killer. Dark and witty.
Best for: dark retelling.
12. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Two sisters in occupied France take different paths of resistance. A moving bestseller.
Best for: readers who want a big emotional story.
13. Longbourn by Jo Baker
Pride and Prejudice seen from the servants' side. Earthy, human and moving.
Best for: below stairs.
14. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Vasilisa lives in medieval Russia and must protect her village from spirits. Rich, cold and atmospheric.
Best for: readers who like folklore.
15. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
A woman in her hundreds looks back on her life in an Irish mental hospital. Lyrical and moving.
Best for: readers who like lyrical prose.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Burial Rites: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Burial Rites. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For historical fiction, read Year of Wonders. For literary, try The Remains of the Day. For lyricism, pick Beloved.
Related: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Burial Rites?
Hannah Kent, in 2013.
Is it true?
It is based on a real case.
Where is it set?
Iceland, in 1829.
Which book here is best for readers who like lyrical prose?
Try The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry, which suits readers looking for readers who like lyrical prose.
Which book here is best for readers who like folklore?
Try The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, which suits readers looking for readers who like folklore.
Which book here is best for below stairs?
Try Longbourn by Jo Baker, which suits readers looking for below stairs.
Which book here is best for readers who want a big emotional story?
Try The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which suits readers looking for readers who want a big emotional story.