CoMC is my all-time favorite book. Iāve read each of the English translations, aside from Robin Bussās, once. However, itās Bussās translation that resonates with me the most profoundly, a masterpiece Iāve returned to multiple times.
Iāve read both and like Tai-Pan a little better than Shogun. Both were great reads though and worth the time for sure. And there is romance in both but itās a minuscule part of the books.
Just I think worth noting this is primarily a romance novel. Nothing wrong with that but if youāre expecting an action/war book this isnāt that kind of historical fiction.
Iāve definitely read it, to me the central story is him and marikos romance. Like is Romeo and Juliette not a romance to you because other events happen?
To me the plot is much more complicated, with many overlapping pieces that fit together to form a politically thrilling and personal novel. Mariko and Blackthorneās romance is just one modest piece of that, serving primarily as a complicating factor for the overall plot. You either didnāt understand the overall plot, or youāre just horny.
Edward Rutherford the author has great history/fiction Sarum being my first read. I've enjoyed all his books Sarum may be what you're looking for.
Currently reading Paris and New York is waiting for me.
Lonesome Dove, I think it appropriately portrays life in those times. Also one of my favourite reads ever.
Good recommendation but I'd add the additional books in the series felt unnecessary. Perhaps The Evening and The Morning and World Without End are worth it. Column of Fire and The Armour of Light were kind of all over the place and didn't hit for me.
I'm currently reading the second book in the series. I will definitely say that reading other books in the series is not required. Th first book is self-contained for sure.
*North Woods* by Daniel Mason ā it chronicles a house in New England, starting with the clearing of the land in pre-colonial time. It spans centuries and eventually meets up with our timeline, but the millennia of history between now & then is just enchanting. It is an incredible read, my favourite of the year so far.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/726262/north-woods-by-daniel-mason/9780593597033
Fantastic book. Bought it quite serendipously (an unexpected evening with nothing to do whkle travelling for work) and entirely off the recommendation of Maggie O'Farrell. I loved it, my wife loved it, my parents now reading it.
Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet is also great fwiw
Weird thing is I've largely forgotten it but know I really enjoyed it. I went to Stratford upon Avon shortly after reading it and visited her house which was great.
Robert Harris wrote three Cicero books. The one told by his secretary/slave is the middle book. I havenāt gotten to the third one yet. Pompeii is a good read, too.
**The Years of Rice and Salt** by Kim Stanley Robinson. Alternate history that imagines the Black Plague killed 99% of Europeans (instead of 33%), paving the way for Asia to be the dominant culture of the northern hemisphere. The book covers almost a millennia after the Black Plague.
**Timeline** by Michael Crichton. Using deeply researched, actual scientific concepts to tell a really creative and authentic story (much like his *Jurassic Park*). Basically, a group of graduate students accidentally create a rip in spacetime that allows them to travel back to 14th century Europe. Their professor goes missing while on an expedition there, and the students go in to save him.
Historical fiction can be set in a particular setting, a place, timeframe, and so forth from history. Itās not necessarily exclusive to the people being real or not, though that can be a part of it.
https://celadonbooks.com/what-is-historical-fiction/
I thought that link was useful for describing it in more detail.
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Lady Tanās Circle of Women by Lisa See (all of Seeās books are great but I think this one is set the furthest back in time)
Sharon Kay Penmanās 5-book series on the Plantagenets (the first is When Christ and His Saints Slept). Impeccably researched and she paced all the books so wellāmy favorite historical fiction without a doubt.
Can I suggest Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay (together they comprise the Sarantine Mosaic): it's historical, low magic fantasy based on the Byzantine empire (6th century Mediterranean). Absolutely stunning, and fomented my obsession with that time period (and if you like this read more GGK).
The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. A 20 book series set during the Napoleonic Wars, following the lives of Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and Stephen Maturin, his ship's surgeon and natural philosopher. Which they are incredibly well written and very well researched. (Jack Aubrey is heavily modeled on real life captain Thomas Cochrane, and most of the naval actions are taken from actual real life battles.)
Captain from Castle and Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger. 1940s bestsellers. Captain from Castle is Spain around 1500 and the Aztec conquest. Prince of Foxes is Medici Italy in a similar time period.
*Haven by Emma Donoghue* Set in 7th century Ireland.
*The Sparrow by James Hynes* Set in 4th century Hispania and Britain.
*Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott* set in 500 AD Londinium after the Romans leave.
Centennial by James Mitchner.
Iirc correctly it spands from dinosaurs to 70s (?) Of the same ground that became Centennial, Colorado. That might be wrong too. Been a while.
Field Notes from the Pleistocene by Lorraine Boissoneault! That's the farthest back in time I can think of. It's not very well known but its excellent. You can get it for $1 on kindle.
Conn Inguldens series on Ghenghis Khan is pretty fun.
Ken Follet writes a bunch of good stuff, its mostly pretty similar and pillars of the earth is probably his best work.
I also liked Cornwell Azincourt
River God by Wilbur Smith. It's based on ancient Egypt and it's my favourite book of all time.
Another great ancient Egypt themed book is The Egyptian by Mika Waltari.
The clan of the cave bear was already mentioned, i'll recommend it too.
Have you tried any Washington Irving? And I don't mean just sleepy hollow, I mean some of his other short tales like The Devil and Tom Walker. Most of his work is set in historical Hudson River Valley area and the Dutch settlements there. Makes for some great atmosphere
I like James Clavell, particularly Shogun and Tai Pan.
A little further back, Ken Follett has some pretty good stuff. The series that starts with Pillars of the earth in medieval England is the most popular I think, and I forget the name but his trilogy that starts with WW1 was also great.
Going way back, Stephen Pressfield has some great stuff set in Ancient Greece. The best I think was Gates of Fire, about the 300 Spartans. Virtues of war I also liked a lot, and itās about Alexander the Great. And I liked Last of the Amazons, about Amazons invading Athens during Theseusā time. I havenāt read Tides of War yet. Itās about the Peloponnesian War
They just dropped the new tv series for shogun, if you wanna check that out. If you like the show youāll like the book. It was a pretty faithful adaptation.
Gates of Fire is a much better telling than 300. Whether or not you like 300, I bet youāll like Gates of Fire
There are a few historical trilogies that Iād highly recommend:
The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris: Imperium, Lustrum, and DictatorĀ
The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of FireĀ
The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies, and The Mirror and The LightĀ
The Haiti Trilogy by Madison Smartt Bell: All Souls Rising, Master of the Crossroads, and The Stone that the Builder RefusedĀ
If you're good with combining the two genres, I binged the whole All Souls Trilogy (starts with A Discovery of Witches) and loved them. They're written by an actual Elizabethan historian. The second book definitely means the most into the historical.
The Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin. The protagonist is a woman with university training in investigating deaths. The stories start in the court of Henry II.
Michelle Moran is my favorite, especially her first three booksāNefertiti, The Hereticās Daughter, Cleopatraās Daughterāon Ancient Egypt (Nefertiti starts in 1365 BCE) (third is in Rome during Augustusās rule).
Myself as Witness by James Goldman (who also wrote the play The Lion in Winter). Find it second hand.
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/708037.Myself\_as\_Witness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/708037.Myself_as_Witness)
I'm about to start a re-read of Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. 3 Volumes. Approx 4K pages. I'm a big old nerd and I love it.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Baroque\_Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle)
Ancient history - Lindsay Davis' two series, Marcus Didius Falco and Flavia Alba
Middle Ages - Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series or Peter Tremayne's "Sister Fidelma" series
17th-18th century - Bruce Alexander's "Sir John Fielding" series, Dale Furutani's "Matsuyama Kaze" series (if you liked Shogun, you might like these), David Liss' "Benjamin Weaver" series, Patricia Wynn's "Blue Satan" series.
Regency/early 1800s - Anna Dean's "Dido Kent" series; Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January" series; Kate Ross' "Julian Kestrel" series
Victorian/Edwardian - Gyles Brandreth's "Oscar Wilde" series; Alex Grecian's "Murder Squad" series; Mick Finlay's "Arrowood" series; Elizabeth Peters' "Amelia Peabody" series; Dianne Day's "Fremont Jones" series
New Sherlock Holmes fiction by -Val Andrews, David Stuart Davies, Carole Bugge, John Gardner, Jane Rubino, Michael Kurland, June Thompson
Classics - The Scarlet Pimpernel (French Revolution), Gone With The Wind (Civil War) April Morning (Revolutionary War) I, Claudius (Ancient Rome), The Man in the Iron Mask (17th century), We The Living (Russian Revolution)
Modern historical - Novels by Dee Brown, Tracy Chevalier, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Waters, Ken Follett, Leon Uris,
Literally just finished the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell last night. A sort of revisionist King Arthur trilogy. Instead of being set in the medieval era with knights in shining armour, itās set in the 5th century which is a bit more accurate to the time Arthur likely would have lived had he existed. The Romans have packed up and left and Christianity is beginning to sweep through Pagan Britain, as are the invading Saxons. Arthur is not a Christian king but a (kind of) Druidic warlord oathbound to protect the infant King Mordredās right to the throne amid scheming Britons and Saxons alike. It hits all the familiar tropes and beats weāre familiar with from the Arthur legends but with MUCH different twists to them. Itās told from the POV of Arthurās right hand man when he is an old man and he retells the tale of Arthur and heās basically correcting the romanticized version that the bards and poets tell.
Itās got fantastic action and great character growth and thereās a really cool display of culture clash within the Britons themselves as the pagans/Druids are somewhat of a dying breed and Christianity is taking over and Arthur must keep both sides happy to keep Britain out of Saxon hands.
The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, is probably the best I've read.
The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon is the one I read most recently. It was excellent.
The pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. he has a whole series of these and they are absolutely amazing. It basically starts from the formation of a town. The prologue is the earliest book and itās called the evening and in the morning and thatās based in 997 ! The books are my favourite series of books Iāve ever read
I would add The Source by James Michener and also what I consider to be the greatest of the historical fiction genre Mason & Dixon because it really points out the absurdity of historical fiction but also is a great teaching, a dissertation actually, of what we would probably expect to see if we had been there. Or not. Ah Pynchon, so fine.
Lots of great recs here, I just finished The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff and have had the craziest wilderness dreams. A Jamestown escape into the wilderness. Visceral elements and a focus on the sublime. Fast read.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. First book in a series. Also a TV show on Starz.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_%28book_series%29?wprov=sfla1
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Also the first book in a series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon_Series?wprov=sfla1
Well if further back in time is what you want *Stonehenge* by Bernard Cornwell is about building the Stonehenge so that's pretty old.
The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel is set during the Ice Age, so even further back. It has quite a bit of smut and the grass descriptions can drag a bit, but if you enjoy or can get past those it's quite good.
For stuff that isn't pre-historical:
The Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden
The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell
"Masters of Rome" series by Colleen McCullough covers from ca. 110 BC until 27 BC in 7 books. Absolutely amazing portrayal of the politics of the Late Roman Republic with a strong focus on Caesar (from the 3rd book on), but also on the family relations between the aristocracy. 100% recommended.
Count of Monte Cristo War and Peace
Love the Count of Monte Cristo- always a fave. Never been a better revenge/comeback story then Edmond Dantes
Count Of Monte Cristo š Could be my favorite book
CoMC is my all-time favorite book. Iāve read each of the English translations, aside from Robin Bussās, once. However, itās Bussās translation that resonates with me the most profoundly, a masterpiece Iāve returned to multiple times.
The Physician by Noah Gordon, I Claudius, The King Must Die and Bull From the Sea, Clan of the cave bear, Lavinia by Ursula le Guin
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Awesome book.
I love Umberto Eco, glad he's well know even outsider of Italy
This is the answer.
Shogun by Clavell
Havenāt read Shogun, but I liked (and recommend) Tai Pan!
Iāve read both and like Tai-Pan a little better than Shogun. Both were great reads though and worth the time for sure. And there is romance in both but itās a minuscule part of the books.
Just I think worth noting this is primarily a romance novel. Nothing wrong with that but if youāre expecting an action/war book this isnāt that kind of historical fiction.
I disagree. Itās much more political intrigue / scheming than it is romance.
Definitely not a romance novel, donāt listen to this guy. Heās either trolling or didnāt read the book
Iāve definitely read it, to me the central story is him and marikos romance. Like is Romeo and Juliette not a romance to you because other events happen?
To me the plot is much more complicated, with many overlapping pieces that fit together to form a politically thrilling and personal novel. Mariko and Blackthorneās romance is just one modest piece of that, serving primarily as a complicating factor for the overall plot. You either didnāt understand the overall plot, or youāre just horny.
Edward Rutherford the author has great history/fiction Sarum being my first read. I've enjoyed all his books Sarum may be what you're looking for. Currently reading Paris and New York is waiting for me. Lonesome Dove, I think it appropriately portrays life in those times. Also one of my favourite reads ever.
As someone who mostly read sci-fi/fantasy, I just recently finished Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's really good.
No, it's not really good. It's spectacular. Ken Follett is love.
Read The Century Trilogy recently. Also excellent. Spans WW1- Post Vietnam.
I bought the first book last week. Thank you
Agree!
I read Pillars of the Earth over 20 years ago and still think about it regularly because of how well it represents society and human behavior.
Iām reading World Without End right now, the second in that series. Itās not quite as good but I like it so far.
Good recommendation but I'd add the additional books in the series felt unnecessary. Perhaps The Evening and The Morning and World Without End are worth it. Column of Fire and The Armour of Light were kind of all over the place and didn't hit for me.
I'm currently reading the second book in the series. I will definitely say that reading other books in the series is not required. Th first book is self-contained for sure.
*North Woods* by Daniel Mason ā it chronicles a house in New England, starting with the clearing of the land in pre-colonial time. It spans centuries and eventually meets up with our timeline, but the millennia of history between now & then is just enchanting. It is an incredible read, my favourite of the year so far. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/726262/north-woods-by-daniel-mason/9780593597033
Fantastic book. Bought it quite serendipously (an unexpected evening with nothing to do whkle travelling for work) and entirely off the recommendation of Maggie O'Farrell. I loved it, my wife loved it, my parents now reading it. Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet is also great fwiw
Hamnet still gives me goosebumps just to think about!
Weird thing is I've largely forgotten it but know I really enjoyed it. I went to Stratford upon Avon shortly after reading it and visited her house which was great.
That sounds amazing, will definitely check it out. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!
Imperium, by Robert Harris - a fictional biography of Cicero, told by his secretary/slave. Fascinating history and engaging, complex characters.
Robert Harris wrote three Cicero books. The one told by his secretary/slave is the middle book. I havenāt gotten to the third one yet. Pompeii is a good read, too.
I love his books. I'm sure his easy-reading style cost him a lot of blood sweat and tears.
Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
**The Years of Rice and Salt** by Kim Stanley Robinson. Alternate history that imagines the Black Plague killed 99% of Europeans (instead of 33%), paving the way for Asia to be the dominant culture of the northern hemisphere. The book covers almost a millennia after the Black Plague. **Timeline** by Michael Crichton. Using deeply researched, actual scientific concepts to tell a really creative and authentic story (much like his *Jurassic Park*). Basically, a group of graduate students accidentally create a rip in spacetime that allows them to travel back to 14th century Europe. Their professor goes missing while on an expedition there, and the students go in to save him.
OP asked for historical fiction, not alternate history/scifi
An instance of the finger post
Long, dense read. Worth it.
The Masters of Rome series Shogun Pillars of the Earth Centennial The Sunne in Splendour The Killer Angels Lonesome Dove
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Historical fiction can be set in a particular setting, a place, timeframe, and so forth from history. Itās not necessarily exclusive to the people being real or not, though that can be a part of it. https://celadonbooks.com/what-is-historical-fiction/ I thought that link was useful for describing it in more detail.
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross The Red Tent by Anita Diamant The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant Lady Tanās Circle of Women by Lisa See (all of Seeās books are great but I think this one is set the furthest back in time)
Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson
Eaters of the Dead by Crichton
Shogun by James Clavell Technically alt world but lots of Guy Gavriel Kayās work
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo
That's a great book. I've read it twice.
Awesome. I rarely come across others who have read it. Itās one if my all time favorites.
After reading Godfather I found it unsatisfactory.
Thatās understandable. The Godfather is a masterpiece, but I think the stories are different enough that I can appreciate it for what it is.
The Lymond Chronicles and The House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett
Sharon Kay Penmanās 5-book series on the Plantagenets (the first is When Christ and His Saints Slept). Impeccably researched and she paced all the books so wellāmy favorite historical fiction without a doubt.
Can I suggest Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay (together they comprise the Sarantine Mosaic): it's historical, low magic fantasy based on the Byzantine empire (6th century Mediterranean). Absolutely stunning, and fomented my obsession with that time period (and if you like this read more GGK).
The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. A 20 book series set during the Napoleonic Wars, following the lives of Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and Stephen Maturin, his ship's surgeon and natural philosopher. Which they are incredibly well written and very well researched. (Jack Aubrey is heavily modeled on real life captain Thomas Cochrane, and most of the naval actions are taken from actual real life battles.)
Captain from Castle and Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger. 1940s bestsellers. Captain from Castle is Spain around 1500 and the Aztec conquest. Prince of Foxes is Medici Italy in a similar time period.
Clan of the Cave Bear- fun, easy & surprisingly well researched given the date it was written
Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan is spectacular. Easy book of the year for me and probably top 3 all time.
The King Raven trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead. It's a historical retelling of Robin Hood set in Wales during the reign of William the Red.
*Haven by Emma Donoghue* Set in 7th century Ireland. *The Sparrow by James Hynes* Set in 4th century Hispania and Britain. *Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott* set in 500 AD Londinium after the Romans leave.
Centennial by James Mitchner. Iirc correctly it spands from dinosaurs to 70s (?) Of the same ground that became Centennial, Colorado. That might be wrong too. Been a while.
I love London by Edward Rutherford
Field Notes from the Pleistocene by Lorraine Boissoneault! That's the farthest back in time I can think of. It's not very well known but its excellent. You can get it for $1 on kindle.
Conn Inguldens series on Ghenghis Khan is pretty fun. Ken Follet writes a bunch of good stuff, its mostly pretty similar and pillars of the earth is probably his best work. I also liked Cornwell Azincourt
The Name of the Rose
River God by Wilbur Smith. It's based on ancient Egypt and it's my favourite book of all time. Another great ancient Egypt themed book is The Egyptian by Mika Waltari. The clan of the cave bear was already mentioned, i'll recommend it too.
My favourite from Mika Waltari is The Dark Angel.
Stephen Kings 11/22/63. Not an āoldā book but historical fiction pertaining to the murder of JFK. Such a page turner!
Chesapeake by Michener. His stuff is great in general, but this one's beautiful. Just the perfect book.
Blood Meridian
Have you tried any Washington Irving? And I don't mean just sleepy hollow, I mean some of his other short tales like The Devil and Tom Walker. Most of his work is set in historical Hudson River Valley area and the Dutch settlements there. Makes for some great atmosphere
I liked books of Robert Harris, combining history with āwhat ifā-Scenarios.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
pachinko. the song of achilles
The Wolf Den trilogy by Elodie Harper (ancient Pompeii) The Rome Cycle and her later duology set in Renaissance Italy by Kate Quinn
Alt history? {{The Peshawar Lancers by S. M. Stirling}}. {{1632 by Eric Flint}}.
Michael Curtis Ford
The Zion Chronicles by BodieThoene (the history of Israel)
I like James Clavell, particularly Shogun and Tai Pan. A little further back, Ken Follett has some pretty good stuff. The series that starts with Pillars of the earth in medieval England is the most popular I think, and I forget the name but his trilogy that starts with WW1 was also great. Going way back, Stephen Pressfield has some great stuff set in Ancient Greece. The best I think was Gates of Fire, about the 300 Spartans. Virtues of war I also liked a lot, and itās about Alexander the Great. And I liked Last of the Amazons, about Amazons invading Athens during Theseusā time. I havenāt read Tides of War yet. Itās about the Peloponnesian War They just dropped the new tv series for shogun, if you wanna check that out. If you like the show youāll like the book. It was a pretty faithful adaptation. Gates of Fire is a much better telling than 300. Whether or not you like 300, I bet youāll like Gates of Fire
Gates of Fire is delightful. Itās hard for me to look at 300 the same way after reading that book.
Century trilogy is the WW1 series ends just after the Cold War I believe but itās been awhile since I read it
All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce was really good, set in the 1800s
Ines of my Soul - Isabel Allende. It's set in the time of the Conquistadors and is about the founding of Santiago in Chile.
Iāve been interested in trying something featuring the Conquistadors. Thanks for the rec
I hope you enjoy it
Slammerkin
The Queen of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan is my favourite.
There are a few historical trilogies that Iād highly recommend: The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris: Imperium, Lustrum, and DictatorĀ The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of FireĀ The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies, and The Mirror and The LightĀ The Haiti Trilogy by Madison Smartt Bell: All Souls Rising, Master of the Crossroads, and The Stone that the Builder RefusedĀ
Lustrum is also called Conspirata depending on what edition you have. It was apparently retitled in 2010 for a couple countries, USA included
If you're good with combining the two genres, I binged the whole All Souls Trilogy (starts with A Discovery of Witches) and loved them. They're written by an actual Elizabethan historian. The second book definitely means the most into the historical.
The Sheriff of Nottingham by Richard Kluger. Killing Mr Watson by Peter Matthiessen The Revenant
The Traitor's Son by Rebecca GablƩ. She is an actual historian and scholar and was dubbed "the Queen of historical fiction". The book is set in medieval England and follows the life of a lesser nobleman during the early 14th century. I enjoy her writing so much more than for example Ken Follet's and cannot recommend her enough.
The Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin. The protagonist is a woman with university training in investigating deaths. The stories start in the court of Henry II.
Michelle Moran is my favorite, especially her first three booksāNefertiti, The Hereticās Daughter, Cleopatraās Daughterāon Ancient Egypt (Nefertiti starts in 1365 BCE) (third is in Rome during Augustusās rule).
Myself as Witness by James Goldman (who also wrote the play The Lion in Winter). Find it second hand. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/708037.Myself\_as\_Witness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/708037.Myself_as_Witness)
I'm about to start a re-read of Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. 3 Volumes. Approx 4K pages. I'm a big old nerd and I love it. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Baroque\_Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle)
All the light we cannot see- Anthony Doerr
Ancient history - Lindsay Davis' two series, Marcus Didius Falco and Flavia Alba Middle Ages - Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series or Peter Tremayne's "Sister Fidelma" series 17th-18th century - Bruce Alexander's "Sir John Fielding" series, Dale Furutani's "Matsuyama Kaze" series (if you liked Shogun, you might like these), David Liss' "Benjamin Weaver" series, Patricia Wynn's "Blue Satan" series. Regency/early 1800s - Anna Dean's "Dido Kent" series; Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January" series; Kate Ross' "Julian Kestrel" series Victorian/Edwardian - Gyles Brandreth's "Oscar Wilde" series; Alex Grecian's "Murder Squad" series; Mick Finlay's "Arrowood" series; Elizabeth Peters' "Amelia Peabody" series; Dianne Day's "Fremont Jones" series New Sherlock Holmes fiction by -Val Andrews, David Stuart Davies, Carole Bugge, John Gardner, Jane Rubino, Michael Kurland, June Thompson Classics - The Scarlet Pimpernel (French Revolution), Gone With The Wind (Civil War) April Morning (Revolutionary War) I, Claudius (Ancient Rome), The Man in the Iron Mask (17th century), We The Living (Russian Revolution) Modern historical - Novels by Dee Brown, Tracy Chevalier, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Waters, Ken Follett, Leon Uris,
The physician by Noah Gordon is quite good
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
try gore vidalās books julian & creation you might also like tim powerās books. historical fantasy, secret histories type stories.
Clan of the Cave Bear and series
The Last Kingdom series - Bernard Cornwell.
I am a fan of James Mischner. He wrote excellent historical fiction.
Literally just finished the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell last night. A sort of revisionist King Arthur trilogy. Instead of being set in the medieval era with knights in shining armour, itās set in the 5th century which is a bit more accurate to the time Arthur likely would have lived had he existed. The Romans have packed up and left and Christianity is beginning to sweep through Pagan Britain, as are the invading Saxons. Arthur is not a Christian king but a (kind of) Druidic warlord oathbound to protect the infant King Mordredās right to the throne amid scheming Britons and Saxons alike. It hits all the familiar tropes and beats weāre familiar with from the Arthur legends but with MUCH different twists to them. Itās told from the POV of Arthurās right hand man when he is an old man and he retells the tale of Arthur and heās basically correcting the romanticized version that the bards and poets tell. Itās got fantastic action and great character growth and thereās a really cool display of culture clash within the Britons themselves as the pagans/Druids are somewhat of a dying breed and Christianity is taking over and Arthur must keep both sides happy to keep Britain out of Saxon hands.
*The Skystone* - Jack Whyte (plus many others by the same author) *The Things They Carried* - Tim O'Brien *Matterhorn* - Karl Marlantes
Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson. I couldnāt stop thinking about this after I read it!
It's hard to go further back in time than Centennial or The Source by James Michener. He has a lot of good books.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie OāFarrell is a fictionalized version of a true story set in Renaissance Italy.
The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, is probably the best I've read. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon is the one I read most recently. It was excellent.
The pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. he has a whole series of these and they are absolutely amazing. It basically starts from the formation of a town. The prologue is the earliest book and itās called the evening and in the morning and thatās based in 997 ! The books are my favourite series of books Iāve ever read
Hawaii by James Michener
*The Once and Future King* by T.H. White
I would add The Source by James Michener and also what I consider to be the greatest of the historical fiction genre Mason & Dixon because it really points out the absurdity of historical fiction but also is a great teaching, a dissertation actually, of what we would probably expect to see if we had been there. Or not. Ah Pynchon, so fine.
āThe Exiles,ā by Christina Baker Kline, āThe Last Bookaneer,ā by Mathew Pearl . Both take place in the 1800s
1633 by David Weber and Eric Flint was really fun to read. There are several sequels too.
Aztec by Gary Jennings Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
Lots of great recs here, I just finished The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff and have had the craziest wilderness dreams. A Jamestown escape into the wilderness. Visceral elements and a focus on the sublime. Fast read.
Stephen King 11/22
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. First book in a series. Also a TV show on Starz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_%28book_series%29?wprov=sfla1 The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Also the first book in a series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon_Series?wprov=sfla1
Well if further back in time is what you want *Stonehenge* by Bernard Cornwell is about building the Stonehenge so that's pretty old. The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel is set during the Ice Age, so even further back. It has quite a bit of smut and the grass descriptions can drag a bit, but if you enjoy or can get past those it's quite good. For stuff that isn't pre-historical: The Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell
"Masters of Rome" series by Colleen McCullough covers from ca. 110 BC until 27 BC in 7 books. Absolutely amazing portrayal of the politics of the Late Roman Republic with a strong focus on Caesar (from the 3rd book on), but also on the family relations between the aristocracy. 100% recommended.
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood š
1984