In light of Reformation Day soon approaching, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite historical fiction tales that celebrate how God used great Christian Reformers in the 1300s-1600s, as well as bringing some famous historical events to light for young readers!
Here are 8 historical fiction books that celebrate the Protestant Reformation:
Ages 8-11
The Queen’s Smuggler
Sarah Poytnz is the daughter of a shipping merchant in 16th century Belgium. When her friend, William Tyndale, is captured and imprisoned for translating the Bible into English, Sarah becomes the only chance of saving his life. If she can smuggle a copy of Tyndale’s translation into the hands of King Henry’s wife, Queen Anne, she may be able to convince the King to pardon Tyndale. But if she is discovered, all hope could be lost.
Ages 12-14
Ink on His Fingers
Since the moment twelve-year-old Hans Dunne was accused of stealing type, he became enraptured with the new process of printing that men like Johann Gutenberg were using to print the Bible. But others are competing for the same technique. Can Gutenberg finish the Bible before his work is foiled by his enemies?
Ages 12-14
Morning Star of the Reformation
Young John Wycliffe and his friend, Sebastian Ayleton, are merely students at Oxford University in the 14th century. But as the years progress, they find a shared unity in the desire to translate a Bible into English that all men can read. But the religious and political leaders are strongly opposed to this new idea, and John Wycliffe becomes another target of their hatred.
Ages 12-14
Kitty, My Rib
Katharine von Bora is a Catholic nun with Protestant beliefs. When she and eleven other nuns attempt to escape the Nimbschem convent, they are punished for heresy. Desperate to escape, the women write to the Reformer, Doctor Martin Luther, with the request that he help them run away from the convent to discover the truth about God’s Word and their own lives. Will he help the nuns?
Ages 12-14
False Coin, True Coin
Cissy Nidd is the daughter of a jailer and thief. Forced to help conceal her father’s counterfeiting business, she must spread false coins throughout London and the surrounding English counties. But when she meets John Bunyan, a Dissenter preacher who happens to be imprisoned in their jail, she begins hearing about God’s redeeming grace, and how it could change her criminal life.
Ages 15+
Crown & Covenant Trilogy
Duncan M’Kethe has only ever known peace in his beautiful Scottish homeland. But rumors of Sir James Turner and his horrific persecutions against the faithful Christian believers have reached the M’Kethe home. Is Duncan willing to die for the Covenant, or will he surrender to the Church of England’s heresy?
