Turn Back the Clock: Edwardian Romance
Discover Edwardian Romance Beyond Traditional Historical Fiction
The Edwardian era—that fleeting window between 1901 and the outbreak of the First World War when the gaslit streets of London hummed with new electricity, suffragettes marched in long skirts, and the old order began a slow, if glamorous unraveling. It’s a period ripe for romance: manners still mattered, magic felt plausible, and change was crackling in the air.
Readers who enjoy Edwardian romance often look for stories that blend historical settings with fantasy, mystery, adventure, steampunk invention, or supernatural intrigue. This collection brings together Edwardian-inspired romance series featuring magical discoveries, hidden societies, scientific innovation, paranormal mysteries, and slow-burn love stories set against a world on the cusp of change.
These authors combined historical fantasy, slow-burn romance, and supernatural intrigue to produce these addictive series. Ask yourself: Do you prefer your Edwardian world firmly fixed in period England? Reimagined as a fae-touched secondary world? Transposed to an alternate America that feels Edwardian? Have a look at the first book in each series and see if there’s something on this list for you.
Fire in the Glass
by Jacquelyn Benson
Set in the gas-lit streets of 1914 London, Lily Albright, a woman cursed with visions of a future she can never change. When a blood-draining killer stalks the city’s mediums, she’s forced into the company of The Refuge—a sanctuary for outcasts with uncanny gifts—and into the orbit of the reclusive, black-gloved Lord Strangford. Amazon | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
Th Lord of Stariel
by AJ Lancaster
Hetta Valstar, an illusionist who returns home for her father’s funeral, is chosen as the estate’s new ruler—just as the fae return to the mortal realm for the first time in centuries. And soon, Hetta discovers the estate’s mysterious, too-handsome butler is not at all what he seems. This series is warm, witty, and whimsical with a slow-burn romance. Amazon
The Paper Magician
by Charlie N. Holmberg
In an alternate Edwardian England, follows Ceony Twill, who graduates top of her class only to be assigned the one discipline she never wanted: paper magic. Her master, the eccentric and unexpectedly kind Emery Thane, proves there’s more wonder in folded paper than she imagined—until a dark magician tears threatens his life. Amazon
Subversive
by Colleen Cowley
Set in a 21st-century America where unchecked wizard power has left women’s rights a century behind, we meet Beatrix Harper—a firm believer that wizards have done nothing but harm—who is conscripted as assistant to Peter Blackwell, the only wizard her small town has ever produced. Their adversarial arrangement becomes something neither of them anticipated. Amazon
The Vine Witch
by Luanne G. Smith
Edwardian fantasy romance moves across the Channel to turn-of-the-century France. Elena Boureanu, a witch whose magic is woven into the grapevines of the Chanceaux Valley, returns after seven years cursed as a marsh toad to find her vineyard sold to a Parisian man of science who considers witchcraft nonsense. The vines are hexed, and only Elena can save them. Amazon
A Marvellous Light
by Freya Marske
An administrative mishap sends the cheerful, non-magical Robin Blyth into a government role he was never meant to have: liaison to a hidden society of magicians. Dropped into the orbit of the cold, fastidious Edwin Courcey, who would very much prefer he were anyone else, the pair must untangle a conspiracy threatening every magician in Britain. Amazon
Pastiche
by Celia Lake
When Lady Alysoun discovers a magical anomaly in a museum, her independent digging overlaps with her husband Lord Richard’s official Guard investigation. Working together forces the emotionally distant couple to communicate openly, helping them balance Richard’s rigid sense of duty with Alysoun’s chronic illness and sharp insights to catch the culprits and fall in love. Amazon | Kobo | Apple Books | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
Witchmark
by CL Polk
At a hospital for traumatized veterans, a patient is poisoned and a doctor is forced to use his forbidden magic to ease the dying man’s mind. The murder plunges him into a dangerous conspiracy involving missing soldiers and stolen souls. To solve the crime and protect himself, he must team up with a mysterious and elegant gentleman from another world. Amazon | Kobo | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble
Breath of Earth
by Beth Cato
A headstrong secretary possesses immense geomantic abilities—a power forbidden to women. When an assassin’s bomb massacres the city’s geomancers, Ingrid and her mentor are left as the sole survivors. Forced on the run amidst rising political tensions, she must master her expanding magic to stop a catastrophic earthquake and prevent dark forces from weaponizing the earth’s raw energy. Amazon | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
Murder at the Mayfair Hotel
by CJ Archer
After her grandmother’s death, Cleopatra moves into her uncle’s opulent Mayfair hotel hoping for a fresh start. But on Christmas Eve, a guest is poisoned. Cleo takes it upon herself to investigate. Navigating the hotel’s rigid social world, she forms a wary, flirtatious alliance with the charming assistant manager as she hunts a killer hiding in plain sight. Amazon | Kobo | Apple Books | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
If You Enjoy… Continue With…
| If you enjoy… | You might also enjoy… | Why readers often enjoy both |
|---|---|---|
| Fire in the Glass by Jacquelyn Benson | The Watchmaker’s Daughter by C.J. Archer | Atmospheric historical mystery with magic, romance, and a determined heroine. |
| The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster | Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater | Fae influence, charm, humor, and slow-burn romance. |
| The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg | The Golden Spider by Anne Renwick | Intelligent protagonists using unusual talents to solve dangerous problems. |
| Subversive by Colleen Cowley | Opening Gambit by Tilly Wallace | Women pushing against restrictive magical systems and societal expectations. |
| The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith | Garden Folly Magic by Anne Rollins | Witchcraft woven into everyday life, romance complicated by social expectations, and magic closely tied to the natural world. |
| A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske | The Royal Occult Bureau by Barbara Russell | Hidden magic operating beneath the surface of British society. |
Ghosts, Spirits & Haunted Hearts
Where every haunting hides a mystery—and perhaps a happily ever after
Ancient Artifacts, Buried Secrets: Relics, Ruins, and the Reckless Souls Who Chase Them
Eight tales of adventure, danger, and reckless romance where the past refuses to stay buried.
A London reimagined-where invention and imagination blur in Victorian and alternate-history settings.
When Demons Walk the Gaslit Streets
Demon romance, incubus heroes, monster lovers, and dark supernatural mysteries
Regency Etiquette, Scandals & Spellcraft: Gaslamp Fantasy Romance Authors
Reimagining a strict social world through a lens of magic, fae intrigue, and supernatural power.
Turn Back the Clock: Edwardian Romance is a curated collection of romance novels inspired by the Edwardian era. These stories blend historical settings with fantasy, mystery, adventure, paranormal intrigue, and speculative technology while exploring the social changes and romantic possibilities of the early twentieth century.