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Stories Set in the 19th century (1800–1899)
1800–1899 · worldwide, all places
Moving through time
Steam power, railways and factories reorganized work and cities within a single lifetime, and European empires used the industrial lead to colonize most of Africa and large parts of Asia. Millions emigrated to the Americas, and the United States fought a civil war over slavery that killed more than 600,000 people.
The American Civil War ran from 1861 to 1865, and Japan's Meiji Restoration began in 1868. Django Unchained is set in the slave South of 1858, and The Last Samurai follows the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 that ended the samurai era. Open the 19th century on the StoryTerra map and explore its stories by place.
10 famous stories set in the 19th century
Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 1,411 books, 2,128 movies, 47 TV shows and 70 games set in the 19th century (1800–1899).
Django Unchained
With the help of a German bounty hunter a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Pride & Prejudice
A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbearing wife and five daughters but if he dies their house will be…
The Hateful Eight
Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception.
The Greatest Showman
The story of American showman P.T. Barnum founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
12 Years a Slave
In the pre-Civil War United States Solomon Northup a free black man from upstate New York is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive but…
The Revenant
In the 1820s a frontiersman Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Little Women
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
For a Few Dollars More
Two bounty hunters are in pursuit of "El Indio" one of the most wanted fugitives in the western territories and his gang.
Klaus
When Jesper distinguishes himself as the Postal Academy's worst student he is sent to Smeerensburg a small village located on an icy island above the Arctic Circle where grumpy inhabitants barely exchange words let…
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
As a wild stallion travels across the frontiers of the Old West he befriends a young human and finds true love with a mare.
The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 3,656 in the catalogue for this entry. For the live 1800–1899 catalogue, use the button above — or browse each decade below. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.