Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

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.

3280+ 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 79 of 219

Reunion Betrayal

Submitted to Contest #188

So, what's the catch? That's what I asked myself when I received the invitation to my high school reunion. It had been fifteen years since I last saw any of my classmates, and I was curious to see how everyone had turned out. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about the whole thing. I had never been popular in high school, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to see me again after all these years. Still, I decided to attend. I put on my best suit and drove to the venue, feeling a mix of excitement and dread...

9 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Mission Partner, Recognition, and Disappointment

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” I ask Malcom—my boss—crossing my arms over my red suit jacket as I arch a dark eyebrow, unimpressed.“There’s no catch, Becs,” he grumbles in a deep voice, the unlit La Prosa cigar stuck between his yellowed teeth bobbing in my face.“There’s always a catch,” I remark, my rouged lips pouting at the word.I graciously turn around, nonchalance a second nature of mine by now, to be on my way. The heels of my matching red stilettos clacking loudly through the tiled hall, the echo bouncing off the walls to announce my coming....

14 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

RIDING FOR FREEDOM

Submitted to Contest #188

1961 "So, what's the catch?" I look around the room. Many more people I don't recognize enter the room. "Ayesha, the catch is we go to jail, we get beat, spit on and cursed at." I knew this is a strong possibility. I just didn't know it would happen so soon. Present Day Wow, look at me. I can't believe this was me, a girl in college fighting for her freedom. This picture was taken in 1961 the year I joined the fight for freedom. I still remember to this day the meeting that took place where we decided enough was enough. 1961 The meeting ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Of War and Song

Submitted to Contest #188

Of War and Song “So, what’s the catch?” James eyed the recruitment poster with a mix of apprehension and curiosity. The edges of the paper were frayed, and the colours had somewhat faded. But the image of the stern-faced soldier in uniform still had a powerful effect on James. The chance to travel the world and be paid to do it seemed like a good deal, nearly too good to be true. Many men were being asked to serve and join the war effort. Even Charles, James’ good mate, had joined and had looked pretty good in his uniform as he said hi...

6 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

If It Wasn't For that One Thing

Submitted to Contest #188

Horace Nathan Wright was digging the hot muggy weather of the southern Georgia coast.  Dressed in his neatly pressed soldier’s uniform with his boots shined to a high gloss, he sat wearing the ribbon he had won for valor.  It was June 1945 and all was right with the world if it wasn’t for that one thing.  His mama, Shatilly, would be at the bus stop in Washington D.C. with his fiancee Louanne Maples.  His future seemed to be lined with happiness for sure if it wasn’t for that one thing. Sure was pretty this time of year,...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Miracles Happen

Submitted to Contest #188

Miracles happen.The daffodils bloomed before the snowdrops fell this year, making the churchyard a veritable carpet of yellow. However, in late March,primroses blossomed among the graves, and some late daffodils put theirdelicate heads on the northern facade of the church. Together they replenish the yellow hues in time for Easter. On Good Friday morning, I turn my face to the sun. The weather is unseasonably warm, and the sun’s golden rays reach the rich earth, encouraging growing plants to bud forth. Birds twitter in the trees, nesting, wh...

17 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Between the Neck and the Knees

Submitted to Contest #188

Between the Neck and the Knees.  Douce I de Gévaudan, comtesse de Provence born 1101 By Susan Grant-Suttie ‘So what’s the catch?” thought Douce I de Gévaudan, comtesse de Provence, as it always came down to something between the neck and the knees.  Her young servant woman, Bruna, giggled then scratched her hair through her headscarf, most likely it was the persistent head lice that was bothering her. After sucking a piece of meat out from between her teeth the Bruna then leaned in for some exaggerated privacy to...

16 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

President Lincoln and the Three Kittens

Submitted to Contest #187

The kittens opened their eyes when they heard a new voice in the tent. Over the first weeks of their lives, after their ears had unfurled, they had grown dimly accustomed to the rise and fall of male voices, the quick step of boots in and out of the tent, and the click of the telegraph machine. This new voice, however, was thin and reedy, shrill enough to break through the kittens’ restless sleep. The trio blinked and stirred on their scratchy blanket in the tent’s warmest corner. They looked for their mother, as they had everyday for the ...

11 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Don't be an idiot (a story about a boy and a cat crossing paths in Classical Athens)

Submitted to Contest #187

************************************************************Lying on the ground, in the mudGrass between my fingersHeart beating painNo courage to pull out the blade.Contemplating my destiny patientlyThe caring touch of rain on the earthWhat an ancient and sacred groundEons and eons, layer over layerDifferent colors of soil, different texturesIron, bone, and voidRoots spreading beneath, into another world.To the mystical powers of Gaia, the giantess, and her childrenTo Hecate, the goddess sorceressThe earthly Hermes, who accompanies the soul...

17 likes 13 comments 13
Read story

Satan's Tongue

Submitted to Contest #187

Sunlight dappled the fallen leaves of the ground as Astrid Blackwood skipped through the well-worn pathway. She took a moment to breeze in the fresh spring breeze as she made her way into the Tumbledown village square. Her basket was thumping against her chest and her hair loose in her back. She hopped into the market square, heading for the direction of the bakery. She needed to buy some bread for her and her family’s supper. Her eyes glanced past the bakery and saw a black cat, prowling around the edges of the alleyway. That cat was the vi...

18 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Not So Stories

Submitted to Contest #187

Richard III. The Wicked Witch of the West. The first Mrs. Rochester. They’ve all had their day, the retelling of their stories. No longer unadulterated villains thanks to sympathetic authors, these figures have overcome the prejudices of history to revel in the spotlight of understanding. Now it is my turn to right a terrible wrong. My name is Satya, Bringer of Truth, and I am one of that most noble of creatures, a Bengal tiger. Many years ago my great-great grandfather happened upon an ailing tiger in our jungle. His name was Shere Khan, ...

12 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Touched by Time and Paws

Submitted to Contest #187

Passing along these ancient ruins of Ephesus, tourists felt the same nostalgia one experiences when they see an abandoned lot. A sense of human kinship for a time never lived through. A sadness at the remains of what was once a bountiful landmark. The happiness and pride in man-made architecture that has stood the test of time. The immortality of human creation. Travelers could rest easy knowing that one day their descendants would look upon their skyscrapers with the same nostalgia they felt in the crumbling Arcadian Theater. They could alm...

13 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Feline Promachos

Submitted to Contest #187

It wasn't a simple job to serve as the protector of the Acropolis, but oh, it had certainly been a glorious one.  The sun began its customary ascent into the sky, casting golden rays of light across the city of Athens to stir its sleeping inhabitants. Within a few hours, tourists hailing from the city and never-ending cruise ships would swarm the promontory. They would take countless photos of the ruins and learn about the ancient history, only to let it slip from their minds by the time they returned home to their beds. But Ailuros ne...

12 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Galinthias

Submitted to Contest #187

When my mother looks at me it is as if she is seeing me the day I was born, belting thunder, and covered in gore. Her gaze sparkles with the miracle of it. I don’t understand what is so miraculous about a dirty, scruffy-haired, ten-year-old boy. When my father looks at me it is with stiffness, as if he sits on nails and my hands are red. My hands are not red. I washed the blood from them long ago with the help of Mother’s gentle fingers and briny tears. Well, they had looked at me like that over a year ago, as Father decreed, I should go t...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Unnatural Habitats

Submitted to Contest #187

Unnatural Habitats: by Nathan You Lucy had always loved the atmosphere of Victorian London streets. The way the gaslights cut through the heavy fog. It gave the whole city an air of beauty and mystery. There wasn't anything like this back home, everything there was so boring. She was too used to that place, there was nothing new there, nothing interesting. But here it felt like there was some new secret to uncover everywhere she looked.  It almost made up for the discomfort that came from having to wear a corset. She desperately wa...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.