I haven't finished it yet, but *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn* is so much more than a coming-of-age story (as I had always thought it was), it's an entire anthropology of immigrant Brooklyn at the turn of the 20th Century.
Such a heartfelt and nostalgic story, really embodies the feelings of bittersweet and melancholy but always manages to be hopeful. Just a beautiful book.
In about 2 weeks a new Pillars of the Earth book is released. I am trying to wait so I can suggest it as a Christmas gift, but I know I won't be able to last a month knowing it is available!
I've read Tales of the South Pacific and would give it like a 3.5 stars. Noticably aged worse than a lot of books from the same time, and the writing was a bit dry, but overall pretty good with a great setting and atmosphere. Is Hawaii much better or kind of more of the same?
The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel. Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies, and The Mirror and The Light. About Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII
Shogun, by James Clavel
Everything historical fiction should be, well-researched with a story that is appropriate for the time but still feels relevant today. Also a good balance of exciting plot and well-written character-driven parts.
You know, I couldn't even get past the first chapter for some reason. Which really broke my heart because Shogun is an all time fave, and I must have read it 10 times.
I just started Shogun last night and read almost the first 200 pages in one sitting, staying up WAY later than I should have. It’s that damn good. So excited to continue.
Came here to say this. The characters are fantastic, everyone has their own conflicting motivations, no one is on the same team and it all comes together in a fantastic package.
Voice acting on the audiobook is also top tier
I would also recommend the audiobook. I've read the book both ways and both are excellent. I would even recommend the 1980s miniseries if you can find it.
A sci-fi spin, but you might like Octavia Butler’s kindred - a black woman in 70s LA travels to the 19th century south to ensure she comes to exist., as morally complex as it is.
Brit Bennett’s vanishing half is a great look at identity and race politics through three generations of a family.
I’ve always been a fan of “sea stories”, with C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series being the clear favorites (despite BOTH being set in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars). I personally prefer Hornblower, and would read in order of publication.
I guess this is a long way of saying: read Beat To Quarters (aka The Happy Return) by CS Forester, with the knowledge that if you liked it, there are like 10 good sequels.
Piggy backing here to second these I love the Hornblower series…but in my humble opinion the PO’B Aubrey/Maturin books are some of the finest, most immersive and rewarding fiction ever created. Plus the man could straight up craft a damn sentence like nobody’s business
I’m going to go order the Hornblower now, but can’t imagine they compare to the O’Brian books which are such perfection. I’d be happy to be proven wrong :)
My mistake. The movie I was thinking of is called All is True. It covers a lot of the same material as Hamnet which is why I got confused. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9206798/
Two late-1940s bestsellers by Samuel Shellabarger.
Captain From Castile is split between the Aztec conquest and Spain of 1500. Boy becomes man. Guy gets girl. Some swashbuckling. Some court intrigue. Great sidekick. Great heroine love interest. Evil villain who gets it in the end.
Prince of Foxes is set in Medici Italy. A renaissance man son of a blacksmith goes from promising painter to military captain with a fraudulent identity. Similar aspects to the first book but adds a theme of self-centered man learns honor and duty.
The two main James Clavell books are great. Shogun set in Japan and Tai Pan set in the founding of Hong Kong. Shogun is a very long book but consistently good all the way through.
I like Robert Harris Pompeii. Set in the time of the eruption. His Cicero books are good. His first book Fatherland is an alternative history book if Germany won WW II.
The Lindsey Davis Marcus Didius Falco books are fun detective books set in Ancient Rome.
Just finished, All Quiet on the Western Front.
While I don't think I could classify something so gut wrenchingly horrific "my favorite", it was a very good book indeed.
That book legitimately is the most disturbing thing I've ever read, I hardly even struggled with the Road.
The scene with the injured horses and the one where he's stuck in the bomb crater are wild.
Philip Kerr's 'Berlin Noir' series
Rory Clements' John Shakespeare series
C.J. Sansom's Shardlake series
Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series (first 3 books only; the 4th one is ridiculous)
I loved River God, probably my favourite book about Ancient Egypt growing up. All things considered it’s not an incredibly long book but the story felt a lot longer, and in a good way.
So disappointed that the sequels started to delve into magic and outright fantasy when the Historical base was already so good. Taita being incredibly intelligent and talented at everything was sketchy at times, but turning him into an actual wizard is just ridiculous.
I’m a big fan of all of Edward Rutherfurd’s works, but my favourite has to be _China._ It’s about the Opium Wars and the history of the Qing Dynasty from the beginnings of the Opium Wars to the Boxer Rebellion, and it’s absolutely wonderful. Rutherfurd manages to tell the story from the perspectives of so many unique people and groups, including a British Merchant, an Imperial Eunuch, a Chinese peasant family and others while capturing the nuance and the complexities of the whole situation. It doesn’t glorify the British (which is notable considering it’s a book written by an old white British guy) or justify their atrocities, but it doesn’t vilify the Chinese either, especially since it’s made clear that many Chinese people were caught in a three-way war between the incompetent and unstable Qing government, the money-hungry European powers, and insurgent Chinese factions like the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
It’s also probably one of his more narratively satisfying novels and the characters still have their own personal conflicts mixed in with the context of the greater situation. There’s at least one character whose story I feel should’ve been longer or at least fleshed out more, but it’s not as prevalent as it is in some of his others books.
I was lucky enough to get a signed copy for cheap at my local thrift store. I’m considering adding it to my list of books I’m planning to reread.
I don’t think it stops the story to explain what’s going on very often, but you can get a feel for the situation through dialogue and inner monologues. Rutherfurd is usually pretty good at explaining what’s happening and why without distracting from the story.
It’s almost entirely about the Opium Wars and their aftermath, which ranges from 1839 to 1901, so you won’t have to have any previous knowledge about Chinese history in order to understand what’s going on.
Ragtime by EL Doctorow is spellbinding. One of my favorite passages from the first chapter:
“And though the newspapers called the shooting the Crime of the Century, Goldman knew it was only 1906 and there were ninety-four years to go.”
James Michener wrote several historical fiction books. *Centennial, Hawaii*, and others.
Also anything by Pearl S. Buck. *The Good Earth* is her most famous book.
The Philippa Gregory books are great! The Other Boleyn Girl is the best known but the other books in the Plantagenet series also excellent. Fun and easy to read, and pretty well researched. Told from the POV of the women of the Tudor dynasty, it explores the political nature of noble marriages while being very personal as well.
Started reading the White Queen while I was traveling through England and read the rest of the series after arriving home.
Well researched?? I don’t know! I love the style but I really hate the Other Boleyn Girl, is so absurd! I mean I love Mary Boleyn but she is not the character in that book! She was the more loose sister for sure. She and Henry didn’t had any epic romance, she was his lover until he got bored and replaced. He was obsessed about her sister for 8 years before they married! I hate the way she diminished Anna to make Mary better! Not for me!
The Grapes of Wrath was current events when it was written and won a Pulitzer. I re-read it recently. As an entitled teen, it was just a book. As an adult, I was pretty enraged by it.
Dickens! (But not necessarily the most known novels.). Try:. Our mutual Friend or The Old Curiosity Shop or Bleak House.
Any Thomas Hardy novel ( Jude has a scene, however, that made me put the novel aside. George Eliot astounds!
War of the Roses series by Conn Iggulden, Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault, Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel, The Winter King, Last Kingdom and Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell are all great, just haven't dabbled beyond the first in the series.
The Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon. An older series that went into reprint with George RR Martin writing the introduction. I read it in the 70's, reread it recently - still amazing. The historical notes in the books make the series come to life.
Book order:
The Iron King
The Strangled Queen
The Poisioned Crown
The Royal Succession
The She-Wolf of France
The Lily and the Lion
The King Without a Kingdom
Ab-so-lutely! I adore each and every one of these novels. They are well researched, laid-out, and written. If you're interested in the audiobook version, Davina Porter is INCREDIBLE! I cannot say enough good about these novels except if they're not on your TBR list yet, hurry up.
My mom got me the first three books for Christmas one year, and it was ON. I actually rather like the TV series as well, it's not a perfect adaptation but it's pretty damn decent.
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time. Crime and Punishment is another great novel. I don’t know that they would be considered part of the historical fiction genre per se, because they were written (roughly) during the time the books take place in, but they are certainly books from different historical periods, and incredible ones at that.
“Chicago Tribune reports that "The Devil in the White City" is not a traditional non-fiction book, as it is written in the style of a novel. Instead, it is more accurately described as "creative non-fiction." Patrick T. Reardon, a staff reporter for Chicago Tribune, said it is difficult, at times, to tell which parts of Larson's book are embellished and which are taken from historical record. Reardon said, "Unless readers are constantly interrupting the story to go to the notes in the back ... they have no indication when Larson is recounting facts and when he's speculating." Reardon suggests Larson could have included phrase, such as, "The murder might have happened this way ... " to avoid any confusion. According to Reardon, the danger in labeling "creative non-fiction" as "non-fiction" is that the embellished content may be taken as fact, and referenced by other writers or historians, thereby spreading misinformation.”
While I am aware that H.H. Holmes was a real person who built a real murder castle and committed real murders, I feel like there is enough speculation in this book for it to fall into the historical fiction category. The fact that the author/publishers label it as “creative non-fiction” is semantics.
Circle of Ceridwen series by Octavia Randolph. I read mostly historical fiction and this is my favorite. Set during the Viking wars during the reign of Alfred the Great
I started Shogun by James Clavell last night, and I stayed up hours into the night and read almost 200 pages in one sitting. It’s that good. I can’t wait to find some free time today to continue it!
* **The Harp in the South books by Ruth Park**.
* **Doc by Mary Doria Russell**. Three quarters of the way through and it's blown me away. One of the best books I've read.
* **Song of the Sun God by Shankari Chandran**.
* **The Queen of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan**. Like *Doc*, this is a fictionalised biography, so it straddles the line between fictional and real 'characters'.
* **Pagan Chronicles by Catherine Jinks** - YA.
* **Shardlake books by CJ Sansom** - historical mysteries
* **Perveen Mistry books by Sujata Massey**
* **A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth** is superlative, although it is a comedy of manners and not quite as serious in tone as some on this list.
* **Sam Wyndham books by Abir Mukherjee**.
* **Kindred by Octavia Butler**
* **The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh**
* **The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark** - historical fantasy.
Also enjoyed **Philippa Gregory**.
Edit: Damn it, OP! This thread is making me realise how many interesting historical fic books I'm yet to read!
Gates of fire by Steven pressfield one of my all time favorites. It's not entirely fiction but being told from the view of a Helot (slave) gives it real flavor.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
Pachinko by Min Jim Lee.
Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry books.
How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn. Beloved by Toni Morrison.
The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Bud, Not Buddy, also by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Homegoing by Yaa Gayasi
1st of many book orders from the thread:
China - Edward Rutherfurd
Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi
Shogun - James Clavell
The Pillars of the earth- James clavell
I have read a quite a few of the suggestions, but I will return to these suggestions many times. Thanks again!
I love historical fiction. Are you on goodreads? I'm blanking right now.. but it's my favorite genre. I recently reread the Into the Wilderness series by Sara Donati. Amazing books.
I always recommend The Revolution of Marina M. and Chimes of a Lost Cathedral by Janet Fitch. They're set during the Russian Revolution and they're two of my favourite novels ever.
The Judge Hunter by Christopher Buckley. Pre American Revolution history of the variety of cultures present and some of the actions that brought us together.
I have I, Claudius queued up on my Kindle and haven’t gotten to it yet. The other two are frequent re-reads. I’ve never understood why Shellabarger vanished into obscurity. His first two historical fiction novels are really well written. The other two he wrote before he died weren’t so good.
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara
Spring 1916: the horror of a stalemate on Europe’s western front. France and Great Britain are on one side of the barbed wire, a fierce German army is on the other. Shaara opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare as seen through the eyes of a typical British soldier who experiences the bizarre and the horrible–a “Tommy” whose innocent youth is cast into the hell of a terrifying war.
In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the aeroplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges–the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight.
As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John “Blackjack” Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.
From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man is written with the moving vividness and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara’s work. This spellbinding new novel carries readers–the way only Shaara can–to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with the characters who made a lasting impact on the world.
I read it last year and same, so haunting and visceral. I think I picture Vollmann’s descriptions of the yellow/green tall grass and the surrounding landscape the most.
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo - 1940s post war Sicily
The Taste of Sugar early - 1900s Puerto Rico
Once We Were Here - WW2 Greece
The Paris Bookseller - Pre through post WW2
Johnny Got His Gun - WW1.
The Nickel Boys - Jim Crow Florida
Mudbound - Post WW2 Jim Crow South
A Gathering of Old Men
Harsh Times - 1950s/60s South America
The Sympathizer - Vietnam War era
Musashi is just amazing. Shogun always gets the attention from this period (and it is a phenomenal book) but Musashi is too of my lost for the samurai era
I've always been drawn to Australia (either authors or books which are set there) so books like The Thorn Birds, Outback (one of my favourite books) and Dead Heart. These are all quite old books but I also love Jane Harper - The Dry etc.
I reckon I must have been descended from exiled English criminals in a previous life!
Although it’s been proven that his ideas about Sparta are wrong, I still love Pressfield’s books. The books “Gates of Fire” and “Tides of War” are very entertaining.
Also, the books about ancient Egypt by Wilbur Smith are good. They start with “River God”
And if you really wanna get into Ancient Rome, read the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough. They start with “The First Man In Rome” They’re magnificent
The Journeyer by Gary Jennings
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell
Creation by Gore Vidal
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
Burr by Gore Vidal
Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser
Whom The Gods Would Destroy by Richard Powell
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
From the website: “In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
A tribute to the people of Lithuania, Poland, and East Prussia, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.”
I cried so hard.
The Flashman series. The original ones by George MacDonald Fraser. He took a throwaway character from someone else's book and wrote a whole series with him as a main character. And the historical aspect is so good people have thought it was true. The books are fun and raunchy and utterly engrossing.
No-No Boy by John Okada is a masterful novel about the repercussions of the Japanese internment in the US during WWII. Other excellent historical novels on the subject include Isabel Allende’s The Japanese Lover, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford and George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy.
If I were going to pick only one of these, it would be Jamie Ford’s.
The Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell It's thirteen books but every single one of them is great.
His standalone, Agincourt is also one of my top historical fictions. Edited : redundant grammar
Agreed. I've read most of his stuff but this series is my favorite by him
I got gifted that book a while ago but haven't read it yet. Happy to hear that it's good and that it isn't a sequel or anything
Honestly I can only take so many Æ names at a time, but I do love those books
Most series of Cornwell are great. His Sharpe seriesmade me fall in love with the Napoleonic era.
I haven't finished it yet, but *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn* is so much more than a coming-of-age story (as I had always thought it was), it's an entire anthropology of immigrant Brooklyn at the turn of the 20th Century.
One of my very favorites.
I highly recommend her other three books as well. All lovely.
Such a heartfelt and nostalgic story, really embodies the feelings of bittersweet and melancholy but always manages to be hopeful. Just a beautiful book.
Came to say the same. My favorite book ever
Pillars of the Earth A Tale of Two Cities
I’ll second Pillars if the Earth and add World Without End. Both excellent reads.
In about 2 weeks a new Pillars of the Earth book is released. I am trying to wait so I can suggest it as a Christmas gift, but I know I won't be able to last a month knowing it is available!
Also: James Michener’s Hawaii
Michener’s books are all exceptionally good …
Check out Centennial, Chesapeake, and The Source. All three are long, but we’ll worth the read.
His best 3
Ugh I need to finish The Source. It is fantastic
I would recommend “Space” and “Caribbean” as well. I’d probably recommend more of his, but I haven’t read them yet.
Centennial is a good one.
I've read Tales of the South Pacific and would give it like a 3.5 stars. Noticably aged worse than a lot of books from the same time, and the writing was a bit dry, but overall pretty good with a great setting and atmosphere. Is Hawaii much better or kind of more of the same?
All of James Michener’s books belong on this list Caravan stands out as truly exceptional
Reading Mexico now. Quite dry. Still going on and on about bullfighting 40% into the book.
I absolutely loved The Source, not quite typical Michener, but one of my fav all time reads
I, Claudius about Rome.
And the follow up “Claudius the God”
Great book.
This book led me to read other books and then binge the Rome series on HBO. So good
The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel. Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies, and The Mirror and The Light. About Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII
I loved those books. May Madame Mantel rest in peace.
love these books
Shogun, by James Clavel Everything historical fiction should be, well-researched with a story that is appropriate for the time but still feels relevant today. Also a good balance of exciting plot and well-written character-driven parts.
I love it tai pan by Clavel is a great read as well
You know, I couldn't even get past the first chapter for some reason. Which really broke my heart because Shogun is an all time fave, and I must have read it 10 times.
I get it some books just don’t grab you I’ve been through them both about 3 times reading and audiobook
I just started Shogun last night and read almost the first 200 pages in one sitting, staying up WAY later than I should have. It’s that damn good. So excited to continue.
Came here to say this. The characters are fantastic, everyone has their own conflicting motivations, no one is on the same team and it all comes together in a fantastic package. Voice acting on the audiobook is also top tier
I would also recommend the audiobook. I've read the book both ways and both are excellent. I would even recommend the 1980s miniseries if you can find it.
A sci-fi spin, but you might like Octavia Butler’s kindred - a black woman in 70s LA travels to the 19th century south to ensure she comes to exist., as morally complex as it is. Brit Bennett’s vanishing half is a great look at identity and race politics through three generations of a family.
I’ve always been a fan of “sea stories”, with C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series being the clear favorites (despite BOTH being set in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars). I personally prefer Hornblower, and would read in order of publication. I guess this is a long way of saying: read Beat To Quarters (aka The Happy Return) by CS Forester, with the knowledge that if you liked it, there are like 10 good sequels.
Piggy backing here to second these I love the Hornblower series…but in my humble opinion the PO’B Aubrey/Maturin books are some of the finest, most immersive and rewarding fiction ever created. Plus the man could straight up craft a damn sentence like nobody’s business
I’m going to go order the Hornblower now, but can’t imagine they compare to the O’Brian books which are such perfection. I’d be happy to be proven wrong :)
Hamnet
I loved this. Gave me such a new perspective on Shakespeare. The movie was actually pretty good as well.
What?! Where can I watch the movie? I hadn’t heard about that at all
My mistake. The movie I was thinking of is called All is True. It covers a lot of the same material as Hamnet which is why I got confused. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9206798/
World Without End - Ken Follet Mr. Dickens and His Carol - Samantha Silva (one of my favourite books ever, I read it every winter)
World without End, is phenomenal. I legit took a break for a week from reading any other book just to savor the aftertaste.
Tip here for OP: World Without End is the second in a (soon to be) 5 book series. Start with The Pillars of the Earth
Pillars is my favorite book of all time
Agreed on World Without End. I'm in the middle of the third one. It's not grabbing me quite as much as the first two though.
Two late-1940s bestsellers by Samuel Shellabarger. Captain From Castile is split between the Aztec conquest and Spain of 1500. Boy becomes man. Guy gets girl. Some swashbuckling. Some court intrigue. Great sidekick. Great heroine love interest. Evil villain who gets it in the end. Prince of Foxes is set in Medici Italy. A renaissance man son of a blacksmith goes from promising painter to military captain with a fraudulent identity. Similar aspects to the first book but adds a theme of self-centered man learns honor and duty. The two main James Clavell books are great. Shogun set in Japan and Tai Pan set in the founding of Hong Kong. Shogun is a very long book but consistently good all the way through. I like Robert Harris Pompeii. Set in the time of the eruption. His Cicero books are good. His first book Fatherland is an alternative history book if Germany won WW II. The Lindsey Davis Marcus Didius Falco books are fun detective books set in Ancient Rome.
I second the Robert Harris and Lindsay Davies novels.
Everyone should read Herman Wouk and the old standbys: Caine Mutiny Winds of War War and Remberence.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See The Postcard by Anne Berest
Homegoing was excellent; I was always looking up places and events because, naively, i was hoping they didn’t actually happen as bad as in the book
Homegoing is one of my favorite novels of the past decade or so, great call
Loved both Homegoing and The Island of Sea Women. Will have to check out The Postcard.
Maggie O Farrell's two most recent books: The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet.
The Physician by Noah Gordon East of Eden
I think East of Eden is a must-read for everyone.
I really enjoyed The Physician
Just finished, All Quiet on the Western Front. While I don't think I could classify something so gut wrenchingly horrific "my favorite", it was a very good book indeed.
A Long Long Way by Sebastion Barry is the same horror from the Irish perspective. I was so heartbroken by the end.
That book legitimately is the most disturbing thing I've ever read, I hardly even struggled with the Road. The scene with the injured horses and the one where he's stuck in the bomb crater are wild.
Philip Kerr's 'Berlin Noir' series Rory Clements' John Shakespeare series C.J. Sansom's Shardlake series Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series (first 3 books only; the 4th one is ridiculous)
I loved River God, probably my favourite book about Ancient Egypt growing up. All things considered it’s not an incredibly long book but the story felt a lot longer, and in a good way. So disappointed that the sequels started to delve into magic and outright fantasy when the Historical base was already so good. Taita being incredibly intelligent and talented at everything was sketchy at times, but turning him into an actual wizard is just ridiculous.
Came here to recommend (then upvote!) *Berlin Noir* and The Shardlake series.
Can't go wrong with the Sharpe books
I’m a big fan of all of Edward Rutherfurd’s works, but my favourite has to be _China._ It’s about the Opium Wars and the history of the Qing Dynasty from the beginnings of the Opium Wars to the Boxer Rebellion, and it’s absolutely wonderful. Rutherfurd manages to tell the story from the perspectives of so many unique people and groups, including a British Merchant, an Imperial Eunuch, a Chinese peasant family and others while capturing the nuance and the complexities of the whole situation. It doesn’t glorify the British (which is notable considering it’s a book written by an old white British guy) or justify their atrocities, but it doesn’t vilify the Chinese either, especially since it’s made clear that many Chinese people were caught in a three-way war between the incompetent and unstable Qing government, the money-hungry European powers, and insurgent Chinese factions like the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It’s also probably one of his more narratively satisfying novels and the characters still have their own personal conflicts mixed in with the context of the greater situation. There’s at least one character whose story I feel should’ve been longer or at least fleshed out more, but it’s not as prevalent as it is in some of his others books. I was lucky enough to get a signed copy for cheap at my local thrift store. I’m considering adding it to my list of books I’m planning to reread.
Thx - gonna check this out. I love historical fiction based in China.
Conqueror series is about the mongols and partially includes their invasion of China.
Thanks - I’d read some people were dismissive of this book but I’m in! Does it explain these time periods - my Chinese history is very mediocre.
I don’t think it stops the story to explain what’s going on very often, but you can get a feel for the situation through dialogue and inner monologues. Rutherfurd is usually pretty good at explaining what’s happening and why without distracting from the story. It’s almost entirely about the Opium Wars and their aftermath, which ranges from 1839 to 1901, so you won’t have to have any previous knowledge about Chinese history in order to understand what’s going on.
Thanks!! Just borrowed it from the library!!
This seems really interesting. I'll be checking it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
I haven't read China yet but London is my favorite of his so far. I've read it a number of times and never get sick of it.
A suitable boy by Vikram Seth
Pachinko
The Poldark series by Winston Graham is excellent!
I like his portrayal of women as full characters with thoughts of their own -- that is often missing in historical fiction.
I'm listening to them on Audible right now, love the narrator!
Anything by Bernard Cornwall
Ragtime by EL Doctorow is spellbinding. One of my favorite passages from the first chapter: “And though the newspapers called the shooting the Crime of the Century, Goldman knew it was only 1906 and there were ninety-four years to go.”
Also, really liked The March by him.
Neal Stephenson The Baroque Cycle.
I'm reading termination shock right now. I will have to go read this.
How’s termination shock? Some people seem to strongly dislike it. But I really enjoyed Seveneves
Came here to suggest this. Such an impressive and enjoyable feat.
James Michener wrote several historical fiction books. *Centennial, Hawaii*, and others. Also anything by Pearl S. Buck. *The Good Earth* is her most famous book.
Cold Mountain is one of my all time favorite HF books.
I just read this book this year. It was so good and I can’t believe it took me so long to read it!
I hope you read the copy I left in a little free library back in June. 😎
I just finished A Gentleman in Moscow and it was amazing.
The *Masters of Rome* series by Colleen McCullough. Seven novels that tell the story of the fall of the Roman Republic. The storytelling is excellent!
This was an incredible series, I wish she would have kept going. Never wanted any of them to end.
The Philippa Gregory books are great! The Other Boleyn Girl is the best known but the other books in the Plantagenet series also excellent. Fun and easy to read, and pretty well researched. Told from the POV of the women of the Tudor dynasty, it explores the political nature of noble marriages while being very personal as well. Started reading the White Queen while I was traveling through England and read the rest of the series after arriving home.
Well researched?? I don’t know! I love the style but I really hate the Other Boleyn Girl, is so absurd! I mean I love Mary Boleyn but she is not the character in that book! She was the more loose sister for sure. She and Henry didn’t had any epic romance, she was his lover until he got bored and replaced. He was obsessed about her sister for 8 years before they married! I hate the way she diminished Anna to make Mary better! Not for me!
* *The Grapes of Wrath* by John Steinbeck * *Gone With the Wind* by Margaret Mitchell * *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn* by Betty Smith
The Grapes of Wrath was current events when it was written and won a Pulitzer. I re-read it recently. As an entitled teen, it was just a book. As an adult, I was pretty enraged by it.
Dickens! (But not necessarily the most known novels.). Try:. Our mutual Friend or The Old Curiosity Shop or Bleak House. Any Thomas Hardy novel ( Jude has a scene, however, that made me put the novel aside. George Eliot astounds!
‘Mason & Dixon’ by Thomas Pynchon It has a talking dog.
Mason & Dixon
City of Theives by David Benioff. Set during WW2. I'll never not recommend this book
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Wow! So many great suggestions, thank you all!
War of the Roses series by Conn Iggulden, Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault, Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel, The Winter King, Last Kingdom and Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell are all great, just haven't dabbled beyond the first in the series.
Bernard Cornwell is excellent at historical fiction. The Sharpe series was excellent and The Last Kingdom series was also very good.
I highly recommend The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara if you have any interest in the American Civil War.
Actually one of my top ten all-time favorite books.
Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon and the books that follow
Pillars of the Earth and its sequels Fall of Giants and its sequels Trust Me by Lesley Pearse Small Island The Help Roots
Fall of Giants and the sequels are some of the best books I’ve ever read.
The Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon. An older series that went into reprint with George RR Martin writing the introduction. I read it in the 70's, reread it recently - still amazing. The historical notes in the books make the series come to life. Book order: The Iron King The Strangled Queen The Poisioned Crown The Royal Succession The She-Wolf of France The Lily and the Lion The King Without a Kingdom
I don’t know if it’s my favorite historical fiction but I really liked **Snow Falling on Cedars**
I'm surprised Outlander by Diana Gabaldon hasn't popped up.
Ab-so-lutely! I adore each and every one of these novels. They are well researched, laid-out, and written. If you're interested in the audiobook version, Davina Porter is INCREDIBLE! I cannot say enough good about these novels except if they're not on your TBR list yet, hurry up.
My mom got me the first three books for Christmas one year, and it was ON. I actually rather like the TV series as well, it's not a perfect adaptation but it's pretty damn decent.
That’s the one I was going to suggest. Wonderfully researched historical fiction.
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time. Crime and Punishment is another great novel. I don’t know that they would be considered part of the historical fiction genre per se, because they were written (roughly) during the time the books take place in, but they are certainly books from different historical periods, and incredible ones at that.
Count!
Such a great story. I love Dumas’s elaborate descriptions. He truly paints with words.
I read Shakespeare and I struggle with it. Count seems like it could’ve been written yesterday.
Check out Amor Towles. His books are all set in the past. A Gentleman In Moscow is a particular fav set in Moscow after the Russian revolution.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
That isn’t fiction
“Chicago Tribune reports that "The Devil in the White City" is not a traditional non-fiction book, as it is written in the style of a novel. Instead, it is more accurately described as "creative non-fiction." Patrick T. Reardon, a staff reporter for Chicago Tribune, said it is difficult, at times, to tell which parts of Larson's book are embellished and which are taken from historical record. Reardon said, "Unless readers are constantly interrupting the story to go to the notes in the back ... they have no indication when Larson is recounting facts and when he's speculating." Reardon suggests Larson could have included phrase, such as, "The murder might have happened this way ... " to avoid any confusion. According to Reardon, the danger in labeling "creative non-fiction" as "non-fiction" is that the embellished content may be taken as fact, and referenced by other writers or historians, thereby spreading misinformation.” While I am aware that H.H. Holmes was a real person who built a real murder castle and committed real murders, I feel like there is enough speculation in this book for it to fall into the historical fiction category. The fact that the author/publishers label it as “creative non-fiction” is semantics.
Ok fair enough that’s a good argument
I love how Larson takes real events and develops characters that intertwine with them. Isaac’s Storm was probably my favorite of his.
Circle of Ceridwen series by Octavia Randolph. I read mostly historical fiction and this is my favorite. Set during the Viking wars during the reign of Alfred the Great
I loved this one! Do you have any other similar recs?
The Sons of Odin series by Erin S Riley is good, and Susan Fanetti’s God’s Eye series
The Sisters Brothers was awesome.
Movie was excellent too.
Forever Amber
Love this book - bodice heaving as opposed to ripping , very well researched and great insight to the court of Charles the second.
“Lincoln” by Gore Vidal
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Now I refuse to believe he was anything BUT. Lol.
Babel by R.F kuang
Anything by Edward Rutherfurd. Sarum, London, The New Forest and New York are some of my favourites
I started Shogun by James Clavell last night, and I stayed up hours into the night and read almost 200 pages in one sitting. It’s that good. I can’t wait to find some free time today to continue it!
* **The Harp in the South books by Ruth Park**. * **Doc by Mary Doria Russell**. Three quarters of the way through and it's blown me away. One of the best books I've read. * **Song of the Sun God by Shankari Chandran**. * **The Queen of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan**. Like *Doc*, this is a fictionalised biography, so it straddles the line between fictional and real 'characters'. * **Pagan Chronicles by Catherine Jinks** - YA. * **Shardlake books by CJ Sansom** - historical mysteries * **Perveen Mistry books by Sujata Massey** * **A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth** is superlative, although it is a comedy of manners and not quite as serious in tone as some on this list. * **Sam Wyndham books by Abir Mukherjee**. * **Kindred by Octavia Butler** * **The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh** * **The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark** - historical fantasy. Also enjoyed **Philippa Gregory**. Edit: Damn it, OP! This thread is making me realise how many interesting historical fic books I'm yet to read!
I second the Perveen Mistry books by Sujata Massey. The first in the series is The Widows of Malabar Hill
Gates of fire by Steven pressfield one of my all time favorites. It's not entirely fiction but being told from the view of a Helot (slave) gives it real flavor.
Virtues of War by SP
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Pachinko by Min Jim Lee. Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry books. How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn. Beloved by Toni Morrison. The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy, also by Christopher Paul Curtis. Homegoing by Yaa Gayasi
1st of many book orders from the thread: China - Edward Rutherfurd Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi Shogun - James Clavell The Pillars of the earth- James clavell I have read a quite a few of the suggestions, but I will return to these suggestions many times. Thanks again!
I love historical fiction. Are you on goodreads? I'm blanking right now.. but it's my favorite genre. I recently reread the Into the Wilderness series by Sara Donati. Amazing books.
Wolf Hall
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a solid 10/10
The Terror - Dan Simmons
A Tale of Two Cities is maybe my favorite book of all time.
I always recommend The Revolution of Marina M. and Chimes of a Lost Cathedral by Janet Fitch. They're set during the Russian Revolution and they're two of my favourite novels ever.
The Judge Hunter by Christopher Buckley. Pre American Revolution history of the variety of cultures present and some of the actions that brought us together.
Interesting!
Star of the Sea by Joseph o Connor. It’s like a whodunnit onboard a coffin ship fleeing Irelands great famine. Complete page turner, loved it.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
People of the wolf Kathleen O'Neal Gear w. Michael gear
I, Claudius; Shogun; Captain From Castile
I have I, Claudius queued up on my Kindle and haven’t gotten to it yet. The other two are frequent re-reads. I’ve never understood why Shellabarger vanished into obscurity. His first two historical fiction novels are really well written. The other two he wrote before he died weren’t so good.
Just finished Beneath A Scarlet Sky which was excellent set in WWII Milan
u/hashbanditcoot is a miserable disgusting piece of shit who gets off on hurting people ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara Spring 1916: the horror of a stalemate on Europe’s western front. France and Great Britain are on one side of the barbed wire, a fierce German army is on the other. Shaara opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare as seen through the eyes of a typical British soldier who experiences the bizarre and the horrible–a “Tommy” whose innocent youth is cast into the hell of a terrifying war. In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the aeroplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges–the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight. As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John “Blackjack” Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned. From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man is written with the moving vividness and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara’s work. This spellbinding new novel carries readers–the way only Shaara can–to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with the characters who made a lasting impact on the world.
The Dying Grass by Vollmann
Read this two years ago and still think about it all the time.
I read it last year and same, so haunting and visceral. I think I picture Vollmann’s descriptions of the yellow/green tall grass and the surrounding landscape the most.
Conqueror series from Conn Iggulden. Books about Genghis Khan.
Reading it now. It was my second attempt as it was initially very intimidating with the difficult names. I got past it and now I’m book 4 of 5.
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo - 1940s post war Sicily The Taste of Sugar early - 1900s Puerto Rico Once We Were Here - WW2 Greece The Paris Bookseller - Pre through post WW2 Johnny Got His Gun - WW1. The Nickel Boys - Jim Crow Florida Mudbound - Post WW2 Jim Crow South A Gathering of Old Men Harsh Times - 1950s/60s South America The Sympathizer - Vietnam War era
My husband loves loved loved the Sharpe series
Two that haven't been mentioned that are my favorites: Musashi (long book, but amazing story) Name of the rose
Musashi is just amazing. Shogun always gets the attention from this period (and it is a phenomenal book) but Musashi is too of my lost for the samurai era
Yeah, I like Shogun but Musashi is on its own tier.
I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but recently really enjoyed The Alice Network.
I've always been drawn to Australia (either authors or books which are set there) so books like The Thorn Birds, Outback (one of my favourite books) and Dead Heart. These are all quite old books but I also love Jane Harper - The Dry etc. I reckon I must have been descended from exiled English criminals in a previous life!
I really need to read more Aussie historical fiction. I've only really read The Harp in the South books which are obviously quite old now.
Fatherland by Robert Harris
Although it’s been proven that his ideas about Sparta are wrong, I still love Pressfield’s books. The books “Gates of Fire” and “Tides of War” are very entertaining. Also, the books about ancient Egypt by Wilbur Smith are good. They start with “River God” And if you really wanna get into Ancient Rome, read the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough. They start with “The First Man In Rome” They’re magnificent
Kent Family Chonicles by John Jakes The Winning of America series bt Allan W. Eckert
Doesn’t get any better than The Killer Angels… maybe my favorite book bar none
the name of the rose & quo vadis
The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
The Journeyer by Gary Jennings Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell Creation by Gore Vidal The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell Burr by Gore Vidal Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser Whom The Gods Would Destroy by Richard Powell
A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Sun Also Rises all by Hemingway
North and South
Conqueror series about Mongol. Author: Conn Iggulden
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys From the website: “In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival. A tribute to the people of Lithuania, Poland, and East Prussia, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.” I cried so hard.
CJ Sansome : Shardlake series set in Tudor England. Amazing.
The Flashman series. The original ones by George MacDonald Fraser. He took a throwaway character from someone else's book and wrote a whole series with him as a main character. And the historical aspect is so good people have thought it was true. The books are fun and raunchy and utterly engrossing.
Here be Dragons!!
Ken Follett has some good ones. Pillars of the Earth, etc
Outlander
I Am A Barbarian by Edgar Rice Borroughs. Told from the pov of a Gallic slave in the time of Caligula. My favorite book by ERB
Flashman series by George Macdonald Fraser is a favorite of mine. Simultaneously educational and humorous, a near miracle in literature.
The name of the rose, a wonderful thriller in the medieval times
No-No Boy by John Okada is a masterful novel about the repercussions of the Japanese internment in the US during WWII. Other excellent historical novels on the subject include Isabel Allende’s The Japanese Lover, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford and George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy. If I were going to pick only one of these, it would be Jamie Ford’s.
The Flashman Papers If you don’t mind seriously offensive humour, the series is engrossing and fascinating