Reading fiction is both entertaining and edifying. Conservative fiction authors write books in many forms. Some focus on economics or dystopian regimes, while others investigate conservative topics like individual liberty, human nature, God, and good versus evil. Finding conservative authors who write fiction isn’t always easy. The last thing most people want is to sink 100 pages into a novel before the author begins mocking conservatives or peppering the pages with wokeisms.
Before you waste time and money reading unknown authors, check out these classic conservatives. If nothing else, you would rather give you money to conservative book writers than an author who is going to annoy you with liberal ideas.
C. S. Lewis
Few people impact the world the way C.S. Lewis did. He was a British writer, theologian, and professor of English literature at Oxford and Cambridge. Lewis’ Christian conversion turned him into a leading apologetic, paving the way for a prolific and widely acclaimed career.
The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and The Space Trilogy are his most famous fiction for their ability to logically reveal the truth of the Christian faith through a fiction median. His non-fiction work, like Mere Christianity, state the logical case for Christianity in clear and convincing terms.
Ayn Rand
One of the most prominent conservative and libertarian thinkers of the 20th Century was Ayn Rand. She was born in Russia and moved to the United States early in life. Her philosophy, called objectivism, was based on laissez-faire capitalism, individual rights, and limited government.
Rand’s most influential fiction books are Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and Anthem. She remains required reading for all free-market capitalist and libertarian minded thinkers.
Earnest Hemingway
Hemingway’s influence during his life was unparalleled – and the accolades prove it. He’s known for his tough, manly veneer. His hobbies include offshore fishing, hunting big game, and seeking adventure from the American West to Africa and a bunch of islands between. The subjects most prominent in Hemingway’s writings are human nature, war, loss, and resilience. Most of his work wraps a tragic story into a real-life event he lived.
For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, and The Old Man and the Sea are Hemingway’s most noteworthy novels. He was such a prolific writer of short stories it’s hard to narrow down his best, but two must reads are The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
George Orwell
The English language improved because of Orwell’s additions of terms like “Big Brother,” “Thought Police,” and “memory hole.” Even his name has become an adjective, “Orwellian,” describing totalitarian habits of authoritarian governments.
Orwell’s novels are equally riveting and cautionary. The alarms he raises call attention to government overreach, surveillance, and generally depriving citizens of liberty. Writing during and following the Second World War, Orwell’s novels and essays often depict a dystopian future which shows signs of coming to fruition today. Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm are his more known books.
J. R. R. Tolkien
Tolkien is known as the father of modern fantasy literature. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are among the most famous works of literary fantasy ever written – and they remain today.
Finding wholesome family entertainment is challenging these days, but not if you are open to spending time in the imagination of Tolkien. Few authors are more fun, morally educational, and creative then Tolkien. C.S. Lewis credits his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien as one of the reasons he became a Christion. Accordingly, Tolkien’s work includes many Christion themes and conservative values.
C.J. Box
Among contemporary fiction authors, few have enjoyed more success than C. J. Box. He has sold over 10 million books and has been churning out more than a book a year for the past 20 years. While he steers away from directly engaging in politics, the themes he promotes in his novels make fun reading for conservatives.
The Joe Pickett novels depict a normal hero doing noble things to make his community a better place to live. What makes Box’s books great are the relatable characters – it’s middle-class America at its finest. If you like mystery, the American West, law enforcement, guns, hunting, nature, perseverance, and have a strong distrust for the federal government, then you’ll enjoy everything Box writes.
What About the Kids?
Parents have become increasingly suspect of children’s books – and with good reason. If you want to make sure you read un-woke books to your children, stick to the classics. Authors like Dr. Suess and Julia Donaldson are great. In addition, check out these book series:
- Otto’s Tales by PragerU
- Tuttle Twins by Connor Boyack
- The Berenstain Bears
- The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
Why Read Fiction?
Conservative fiction authors offer a variety of different types of stories. What’s most interesting about fiction is that it’s not just entertainment, but the classics are equally enlightening.
Fiction is often better at communicating ideas and emotions than non-fiction. Fiction illustrates brilliant ideas through storytelling, examples, and by developing a reader’s emotional attachment to a character. That attachment makes the message more real. Fiction is also a great prognosticator of possible future events.
For example, Ayn Rand knew her philosophy made more sense when it was demonstrated by way of examples in Atas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Hemingway comprehended that a historical retelling of war failed to capture the emotional complexity necessary to make people understand it. The internal conflict evident in the cliff scene in For Whom the Bell Tolls better represents the sacrifices made by people who have stood for good over evil than any story written by a historian.
There are many great non-fiction books, but just as fiction has limits so does non-fiction. Non-fiction is educational, but it is usually based on hard facts, and void of the experience. For this reason, it often lacks emotion. Similarly, non-fiction can teach us about the past and present, but it can’t predict the future like fiction.
Fiction, in short, makes the enlightenment palpable.
There are scores of good conservative fiction authors and hundreds of great conservative books. The authors on this list are among the best writers God created. For more book suggestions, read our review of Five Books Every Conservative Must Read and see our recommendations for kids. We also review books on our YouTube channel.
