Historical fiction demands a specific ambition: the discipline of genuine research combined with the imaginative freedom to render the interior life of people who lived, or might have lived, centuries before us. Anecdote Publishing House’s historical fiction list is compact but genuinely ambitious, spanning ancient South India, the edge of Alexander the Great’s Indian campaign, and a fresh engagement with the Ramayana tradition.
This guide brings together Anecdote’s historical fiction, three novels, each reaching into a different corner of India’s vast historical and mythological past.
Ancient South India
An Odyssey of Love, Avijit Dutt
Set in South India around the tenth century CE, An Odyssey of Love follows a love story shaped by the specific social, political, and cultural realities of its era, a period of South Indian history that receives far less fictional attention in English-language publishing than the Mughal or colonial periods. Dutt’s novel combines genuine historical texture with a love story that carries real emotional stakes, giving readers a window into a part of India’s past that most historical fiction overlooks entirely.
Why read it: One of the few English-language novels giving genuine fictional attention to tenth-century South India, a historical setting most Indian historical fiction skips over.
The Age of Alexander
War Games: The Indian Who Succeeded Alexander the Great, B. Rachana Appachoo
An epic historical novel built around one of the most tantalising footnotes in Indian history, the Indian figures and kingdoms that shaped, resisted, and ultimately outlasted Alexander the Great’s campaign into the subcontinent. Appachoo constructs a genuinely epic narrative scope, following the political and military strategy of the era with real ambition.
Why read it: A genuinely epic treatment of one of Indian history’s most dramatic and underused fictional subjects, the encounter with Alexander’s empire.
Mythology Retold
The Arrows of Ayodhya, Raman Sharma
A remarkable debut retelling drawing on the Ramayana tradition, The Arrows of Ayodhya demonstrates the deep familiarity with source material and genuinely fresh narrative angle that the best mythology-historical fiction requires, treating the epic not as fixed text but as living material for new storytelling.
Why read it: An ambitious debut engagement with the Ramayana tradition, told with real narrative confidence.
Anecdote Historical Fiction, At a Glance
| Book | Author | Era / Setting | Why Read It |
| An Odyssey of Love | Avijit Dutt | South India, 10th century CE | Rare fictional attention to this historical period |
| War Games | B. Rachana Appachoo | Age of Alexander the Great’s Indian campaign | Epic scope; underused historical subject |
| The Arrows of Ayodhya | Raman Sharma | Ramayana tradition | Ambitious debut mythology retelling |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the best Anecdote Publishing House historical fiction novel to start with?
An Odyssey of Love by Avijit Dutt is the most distinctive starting point, set in tenth-century South India, a period rarely covered by English-language Indian historical fiction. Readers drawn to epic scale should start with War Games by B. Rachana Appachoo; readers interested in mythology retelling should start with The Arrows of Ayodhya by Raman Sharma.
2. Does Anecdote Publishing House publish novels set during the Mughal or colonial periods?
Not currently, Anecdote’s historical fiction list is concentrated in ancient and classical India, spanning tenth-century South India, the era of Alexander the Great’s Indian campaign, and Ramayana-era mythology.
3. Is there mythology-based historical fiction in Anecdote’s catalogue?
Yes. The Arrows of Ayodhya by Raman Sharma draws directly on the Ramayana tradition. For further mythology fantasy beyond strict historical fiction, see our guide to Anecdote’s science fiction and fantasy titles, which includes Kaalchakra and Karthika Savarkar.
4. Is Anecdote Publishing House interested in historical fiction submissions?
Yes. If you are writing historical fiction set in any period of Indian history, submit your manuscript for a free consultation, we publish at zero cost to the author and distribute to over 100 bookshops across India.
5. Where can I buy Anecdote’s historical fiction titles?
All titles are available at anecdotepublishinghouse.com/all-books/.
Explore Anecdote’s Historical Fiction
Three novels, three distinct corners of India’s ancient and classical past, Anecdote’s historical fiction list is compact but genuinely willing to venture into historical territory that larger Indian publishers often overlook.
Browse the Anecdote Publishing House catalogue for the complete list. If you are a writer with a historical novel in progress, submit your manuscript for a free consultation.