[mlouisalocke]

Hi,

There is an enormous amount of historical fiction out there, and more and more of it is making it into Kindle and other ebook formats.

--- sorry no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread.

 

[apbschmitz]

Another little shout-out for Geraldine Brooks: her novel, Year of Wonders, is a great treatment of the Black Plague, is that's your cup of tea.

 

[JRTomlin]

I strongly recommend Robert Low's Oathsworn series, at least part of which is available for Kindle. It is extremely well researched and well written, which is unusual when it comes to Viking culture. In fact, it is by far the best series of Viking novels I've ever read, a bit dark and violent at times and no romantic nonsense.

 

[Kerry Greene]

Seconding Edith Pargeter's Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet if you like Sharon Kay Penman. It's a very different style of writing, but tells the story of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd and his brothers, so it's interesting to compare with Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning. Pargeter also wrote the Brother Cadfael series of historical mysteries under the name Ellis Peters, which are kind of fun if you like historical mysteries.

For something a bit more Penman-like in tone, I recommend Legacy, by Susan Kay, which is a really excellent and sadly overlooked Elizabeth I novel.

 

[Iain Manson]

I have a problem with historical fiction: so much of it seems to me to be irredeemably of the time of writing, and thus no more than contemporary fiction in period dress.

This fault, I think, is not to be found with any of the following:

Patrick O'Brian: The Aubrey-Maturn series
Set on a British warship during the Napoleonic Wars. O'Brian's knowledge of his subject was encyclopaedic, yet he wears his learning lightly.

William Golding: To the Ends of the Earth trilogy
A young upper-class Englishman keeps a journal of his voyage to Australia in 1812. Smells of salt and ship's tar, and was a thoroughly deserved winner of the prestigious Booker Prize.

Joseph O'Connor: Star of the Sea
Eighteen forty-seven. To escape the famine raging in Ireland, a group of refugees take ship to America. If you want to learn about the Irish potato famine without having to plough through anything too academic, this is where you should go. A wonderful and heartbreaking novel.

George MacDonald Fraser: The Flashman series
Fraser resurrects the bully Flashman of Tom Brown's Schooldays, and makes him an officer in Queen Victoria's army. Though a cad and a coward, events always conspire to make him look a hero. Meticulously researched, exciting and hilarious. But be warned: when the first volume was published, one American reviewer in three took the work for fact.

 

[CNDudley]

I have a problem with historical fiction: so much of it seems to me to be irredeemably of the period of writing, and thus no more than contemporary fiction in fancy dress.

I agree completely with this. Or when the author uses a period term and proceeds to define it. Ugh. I'll look it up if I need to.

I've been wanting to try the Flashman series. I think I was too dumb to understand the Aubrey-Maturin books--sometimes I actually wasn't completely positive what was happening--something about some woman riding a horse??

 

[JRTomlin]

No one has mentioned Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. As someone who normally loathes Tudor fiction (talk about over-done about a loathsome royal family *eye roll*), the fact that I would recommend this one says something.

I have a problem with historical fiction: so much of it seems to me to be irredeemably of the period of writing, and thus no more than contemporary fiction in fancy dress.

Any 'historical fiction' that is "contemporary fiction in fancy dress" is simply BAD historical fiction, in my opinion. There is some good historical fiction out there though. It's more work than other fiction, so it isn't as common but it is there.

 

[Linda Andrews]

I love Amanda Quick's books. They're Victorian England (Romances, some with paranormal elements).

Linda

 

[Lisa J. Yarde]

I'd recommend every novel Elizabeth Chadwick has written, as well as all of Helen Hollick's, Bernard Cornwell and Jeanne Kalogridis' work.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Susan Howatch is my favorite author. Her writing is excellent and she does her research. She uses the historical stories and sets them in the late in different time periods and settings.

The Rich Are Different and Sins of the Fathers - Julius Caesar through Octavian set in New York and Norfolk
Penmarric - Henry II through John I set in Cornwall
Cashelmara - Edward I through Edward III set in New York, London and Ireland
Wheel of Fortune - Edward III through Henry V set in Wales

 

[41419]

I love historical fiction; I can't get enough of it.

These are my favorites.

Mario Vargas Llosa - he just won the Nobel Prize. My two favorites are "Who Killed Palomino Molero?" by Mario Vargas Llosa - a noirish mystery set in 40s rural Peru, and "The Feast of The Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa - tense, lyrical, vivid novel set during the dictatorship of Batista in the Dominican Republic

Jorge Amado - his books aren't historicals in the strictest sense. They were written in the 40s/50s depicting the 20s, but they read like historicals, so I am going to include them. They are set in North-eastern Brazil. "Gabriella, Clove & Cinnamon" is amazing and I loved "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands"

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Anything by him. He is a master. Especially recommended are "100 Years of Solitude", "Love In The Time of Cholera", and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold."

Louis de Bernieres - he wrote a South American trilogy which was a homage to Garcia Marquez in many ways, and very, very good. Even better are "Corelli's Mandolin" set on a Greek island during WW2, and his masterpiece "Birds Without Wings" set in Western Turkey during WW1 and its aftermath.

Hmm. I appear to have a Latin American thing going on.

 

[JRTomlin]

And of course, there is the marvelous Mary Renault. My own favorite (although it wasn't a historical novel when it was written) is The Charioteer. However, a close second is her fantastic trilogy on Alexander the Great beginning with Fire From Heaven.

Edit: And anyone who hasn't read I, Claudius should immediately go out and do so, but I always assume that historical fiction fans have already read it. It is not only one of the best historical novels ever written; it is one of the best novels ever written, whatever the type.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

I just started On Falcon's Wings by Lisa J. Yarde. I have no recollection as to why it's on my Kindle, but I'd finished my previous read and it was just sitting there on my home page -- I hadn't even categorized it yet. I think it must have been free earlier this summer, though now it's priced at $2.51.

ANYWAY. . . . it's definitely a historical. I'm still in the 'set up' stage, only about 11% in, but it's well written so far. It will ultimately be a romance, it seems, and is set in the 20 years or so leading up to the Battle of Hastings. I am enjoying it.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

And of course, there is the marvelous Mary Renault. My own favorite (although it wasn't a historical novel when it was written) is The Charioteer. However, a close second is her fantastic trilogy on Alexander the Great beginning with Fire From Heaven.

Edit: And anyone who hasn't read I, Claudius should immediately go out and do so, but I always assume that historical fiction fans have already read it. It is not only one of the best historical novels ever written; it is one of the best novels ever written, whatever the type.

I never read I, Claudius but the I have the DVD's with Derek Jacobi and a wonderful cast. The series is fantastic. To be honest, I never thought about reading the books. now I'm going to have to.

 

[journeymama]

This is a great thread!

I was also going to recommend Geraldine Brooks.

I LOVED The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, by David Mitchell. I love historical fiction because I come away knowing something I didn't know about a period (and often a place) I have never been able to be myself. But it's true- has to be well-researched.

I'm looking forward to checking out other books recommended here.

 

[WriterCTaylor]

I don't know if it's your thing, but I read Timeline by Michael Crichton. Total fiction, but he seems to have researched the time period to a good degree. I found it enjoyable.

 

[Isabella]

For Victorian set page turners I would heartily recommend Michael's Cox's two novels The Meaning of Night and Glass of Time. Influenced by Victorian sensation fiction and mysteries they make for a gripping read.

Cox was an editor at Oxford University Press and really knew his period. Sadly he died in 2009 and so there won't be any more, but he was a superb writer.

 

[yomamma]

If you like Ancient Egypt, Pauline Gedge is a totally overlooked but absolutely wonderful author. Her book Child of the Morning is about Hatshepsut, and she writes in other time periods of ancient Egypt as well. She doesn't sugarcoat, though, or clean up historical accuracy for a modern audience. Love her books.

I'm also really fond of Philippa Gregory, but am told hers are more dramaticized than historically accurate?

 

[unitbit]

I have a problem with historical fiction: so much of it seems to me to be irredeemably of the time of writing, and thus no more than contemporary fiction in period dress.

I could not agree with you more on this. Perfect.

 

[N. Gemini Sasson]

I'm a huge, huge fan of Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Chronicles (The Last Kingdom, Sword Song, Lords of the North, The Pale Horseman). They are Dark Ages Britain and if you like action and an intriguing antihero, they're fascinating, but if battle scenes are not your thing, maybe not.

For something tamer with internal conflict and man (or woman) vs. nature, I enjoyed both The Personal History of Rachel DuPree (Dust Bowl era Badlands) and Kathleen Shoop's The Last Letter (late 19th century Dakotas).

I'm also really fond of Philippa Gregory, but am told hers are more dramaticized than historically accurate?

I've enjoyed several of hers, too, Jill. My favorite was The Boleyn Inheritance, although The Other Boleyn Girl seems to be the more popular one. Interestingly, she not only has an undergraduate degree in history, but a PhD in literature.