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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of historical fiction short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Historical fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Whether you’re looking to step back into ancient civilizations, the 19th-century, or anywhere in between, our collection of historical fiction stories is here to keep you riveted.

Historical fiction Short Stories – Page 6 of 10

I’m the Guy Who Rejected June McCarroll’s Proposal to Add White Lines in the Center of Roads to Stop People From Crashing Into Each Other All the Time

Weekly Contest #347

Based on the true story of June McCarroll. It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time before lines were painted on the roads. A time when you’d look out above your dashboard and see nothing but open gray. A time when you can drive wherever you please: left side of the road, right side, center, into another car's windshield, you name it. The choice was yours. You were the captain of your destiny, not a white-line-painter, castrating your freedom.But all of that changed when pro-white-liner June McCarroll stepped into my office. The ...

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Diary of an Unknown Woman

Weekly Contest #347

{TW: Miscarriage, Sexual Violence, Physical Violence, Death} Sextilius 4 1634 We are starving. Johannes is sick, and he isn’t getting better. Fortunately, Jack is a skilled hunter who never misses his mark. That’s one of the reasons I married him, though there wasn’t much of a market so to speak. He was among 4 bachelors in the community, and the only one not twenty plus years my senior. Usually he takes about two days to search for game, a half day hike into the slowly encroaching trees that surrounded was usually enough for him to eye an e...

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Garden Knight

Weekly Contest #347

Garden KnightNot all heroes carry swords—some carry watering cansThe wagon beneath Arken rattled over the ruts of the old road. But his mind was not on the road; it was up in the clouds with the birds, dreaming of the future. He saw himself as a knight, riding to battle against dragons. He would be brave, noble, loyal. The princess would fall in love with him, and one day he would be king by her side. His brain wondered for a moment if the princess was beautiful. She had to be. She was a princess. He prodded his arm, shaped by years of worki...

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JUCHE

Weekly Contest #347

He had sworn it at fourteen, with his right hand raised higher than his eyes were allowed to wander.Not to the sky. Not to the birds. Not even to the hills beyond the city, though they rose like a promise he had never been taught to interpret.He had sworn it to a portrait.The frame was thick, lacquered, and always dustless. The glass held a reflection he avoided—his own face, flattened into obedience. Behind it, the Leader smiled with the kind of calm that made silence feel like virtue.“I will never betray the homeland,” he said then, voice ...

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Applause

Weekly Contest #347

*Early teen pregnancy* “Put your hands together for Miss Incola Nullius!” Amans kissed her hand for all to see, and they bowed to the crowd's applause. It was a percussive texture of a thousand golden raindrops on a window. He turned and whispered to her, “Sweet dove, you are my marvel.” Incola suppressed an acrid burp, held her arms up, and the crowd fell silent in anticipation as Amans left the stage. From behind her, the first tones of the violin played an F major chord, its notes warm and familiar.She searched for her parents’ faces on ...

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Blossom of Hope

Weekly Contest #347

“Here you are, Miss Edwardson,” Mr. Chester’s solicitor declares as he drops the keys of Chester Manor into my outstretched hand. I breathe a sigh of relief. Chester Manor is mine. After spending my whole life hoping for this moment, I cannot help but take a moment to feel the cool metal of the ornamental key with my fingertips. I have a home. “Thank you, sir. I greatly appreciate your services and kindness over the past week.” “Pleased to be of service, miss.” He tips his hat, then turns to walk out the la...

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The Very Tall Tales of Jim Bagly

Weekly Contest #347

Welcome to Milford, Tennessee set in the foothills of the idyllic Smokie Mountains. With a population of around six thousand. Most of the good citizens of Milford have roots that go back before the American Revolution. I had sent here about a curious story of a legendary man named Jim Bagly. It was during the summer of 1962 as I recall when I was still just a rookie stringer for a Nashville publication. “Could you send in Lathers?” Mr. Nash asked his secretary over the intercom. “Certainly, Mr. Nash.” She acknowledged. That was my first c...

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The Time Traveling Kitchen

Weekly Contest #346

“This looks like a kitchen.. like a cooking show kitchen…” I say, surprised when the other tech showed me. “I know, its weird right? An alien, building a kitchen, an Earthly kitchen.” “Have you guys figured out why yet?” “Nope, unfortunately the new alien doesn’t speak any of the languages the other aliens do, and they don’t have a translator.” “Huh. You’d think they’d know some Earth language if they could build a kitchen that looks identical to one on Earth.” “Yep. Anyways, since you’re the intern, you’re going to investigate the kitchen.”...

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The Unsatisfied Time Traveller

Weekly Contest #346

I tried reasoning with the girl behind the counter, whose hair was the colour of pink sand, but she would not lower the price.“It’s already discounted,” she said, tapping her finger against a machine that was made out of glass in front. It could fit in her hand and it glowed against the side of her face.“Perhaps that machine of yours has made a mistake.”“Are you gonna pay for it or not?” she asked.“You are asking twenty-five dollars for this?” I replied. “That, where I come from, miss, would be considered a crime.”She stared at me for a mome...

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Teddy and the Tyrannosaur

Weekly Contest #346

Good sir, I must warn you that my services are costly, but your adventure will certainly stand the test of time. I will need a deposit and a binding guarantee of secrecy. My clientele includes only a select few gentlemen of high esteem who can experience wonder in obscurity. Take for instance, Mr. Roosevelt. Why yes, Teddy Roosevelt himself! I came into his circle shortly after the whole hullabaloo with the election in 1912. I told him exactly what I’m telling you now, “If you wish to brag and boast, look elsewhere. You may reveal to no one ...

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There is a River in Space Above Earth

Weekly Contest #346

Laughter came from a little boy all the way down from faraway Japan. After that, there hadn’t been much left empty cities lie vacant, and the animals that scrape them come from nightmarish fevers of poisoned families and the aftermath of a crossfire war that shook entire countries and rooted a seed of radiation underneath our feet. There are not many rivers left, except: Capilano. When I was a child, it had been my dream. I had read it in a children’s science magazine, in a country named Canada. Clean water sounded nice. A river seemed so bi...

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❄️Miss Holiday❄️

Weekly Contest #347

Coldness is an incurable sickness. The frozen rule set in my mind that I’m prohibited from standing too close to windows. With a perfect view and perfect shot, I could be dead in seconds. Anything from assassinations to catching a cold. I am as delicate as a walk on thin ice.Then I was taught that nowhere was safe. Sickness affects anyone, even members of nobility. I wasn’t safe anywhere, not even in the comforts of home.The sooner I can make it to the safety of my room the better I’ll feel. My hand gripped the door handle, pushing the door ...

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Swan's Heist

Weekly Contest #346

No one was around to hear the loud pop before Agatha and Jane stepped out of the bathroom stall together. The date was November twenty-eight, nineteen sixty-six, and these two women were dressed to impress. The Plaza Hotel had filled with Truman Capote’s guests, and it was a good night for a heist.“We have exactly fifty-five minutes and forty-five seconds to get what we need and be back in that stall,” Agatha said as she freshened her lipstick, “or Oscar might just kill us.”Jane chuckled, turning this way and that to inspect her elegant blac...

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Trace of Blood, Path of Time

Weekly Contest #346

The team of five archaeologists were making their way across the ruins of Dhanushkodi to find clues about the methods of construction of the legendary Ram Setu. Svetlana, the team leader of the mission, led the group on this expedition. After carefully examining and collecting various samples for research, she and her team dived underwater for further examination. According to the plans made earlier, they each took on their sections of the bridge to carefully examine the structure. Svetlana was very optimistic that she and her team would be ...

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Henry The Navigator

Weekly Contest #346

LondonSeptember, 1939. The morning skies filled with the wailing cries of the lost, and Henry knew he would never find home again. Henry hated not knowing where he was. In his neighborhood he knew every street and every alley, but here he could barely tell up from down. He scrunched closer to the only navigation point he had, gripping his Ma’s elbow tight. He tried to focus on the map spread over her best dress. Ma’s shaking finger pointed where the station was, and where he was going, but the squiggly lines on the paper were no match for th...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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