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Hello everyone, for those of you who read historical fiction, what has been your favorite read to date?

Hello everyone, for those of you who read historical fiction, what has been your favorite read to date?

Andrea #recommend #historical fiction

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96 Answers

Mary

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

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Nicole

The Dress Lodger by Shari Holman

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Holly

OMG. I read a book many moons ago that I loved and couldn’t remember the name of. THIS IS IT. I thought I would never find it again. I have never heard of anyone discuss this book before. Thank you for recommending this book. It is one of my favorite discoveries. I can’t wait to read it again and to continue recommending it to others.?

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Nicole

@Holly I’ve never met anyone else who’s read it! This is amazing ?

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Holly

We can start a movement. Lol

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Holly

Nicole Coster have you read any of her other books? They got good reviews on Goodreads.

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Nicole

@Holly I read A Stolen Tongue and The Mammoth Cheese, both of which I liked a lot, but were nowhere close to The Dress Lodger. Have you? She hasn’t released anything recently, as far as I know ?

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Holly

Nicole Coster I have not. It is my passion to go into used bookstores and buy books just by looking at the cover. I have read some of my favorite books using this method ?. A Golem and a Jinney is another book I
discovered in a used bookstore an had not heard of and loved. Anyways I give my books away when I love them. I have to share these wonderful gems with others. I have been on a mission for over 10 yrs to find this book again. So long story long,? No I have not had the pleasure of reading any of her other books. I look forward to it immensely. First thing first, I am go to reread The Dress Lodger.?

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Carolyn

America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton were both great stories

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Heather

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

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Addy

Nightingale is good, The Lost Girls of Paris, The Huntress, The Alice Network

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Tina

The Pink Carnation Series.

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Holly

I loved this book. I never hear anyone talking about it.

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Tina

@Holly I loved the series! Nice historical fiction written by an attorney no less!

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Holly

The second one has been on my tbr list for years. I best get to reading it?

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Mary

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker was very different book describing Washington during the Civil War.

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Mary

I also enjoyed The Alice Network—female spies during the First World War.

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Stephanie

Lilac Girls

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Millicent

My notorious life

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Susan

Pillars of the earth & their sequels

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Gayle

Outlander by DIana Gabaldon! It is a wonderful series!

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Dawn

@Gayle Except it’s Genre isn’t historical fiction LOL, it’s a Romance Sci-Fi Fantasy ?

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Gayle

@Dawn I have never thought it to be a sci-fi. It has so much history in it! And yes it definitely has romance!:)

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Kim

Pillars of the Earth

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Gemma

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

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Lori

Pillars of the Earth the others in that series and Lilac Girls

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Aimee

I just finished reading A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable. Based on a true story of an apartment that was locked in 1940 and not opened again until 2010. Very interesting!

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Sara

@Aimee this has been sitting on my shelf FOREVER … I need to get to it!

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Pat

The island of Sea Women by Lisa See. Excellent read and interesting story!

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Paige

The Glass Ocean by Karen White and two others. It is fiction, takes place on the
Lusitania just as the US is about to enter the war.

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Pam

Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. She complained to her husband that she was running out of good historical fiction. He said. “Why don’t you write one?” ?

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Pamela

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. Amazing book in so many ways. You shared the struggles of each character.

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Kathi

Loved this book

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Wendy

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

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Caroline

@Wendy thats on my. list

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Kathee

Any James Mitchner

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Jessica

All the Light We Cannot See (Doerr) and Everyone Brave is Forgiven (Cleave)

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Pam

James Mitchners Centennial. Actually any James Mitchner!

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Kathryn

Agree with Pam and Kathee.

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Patricia

Vienna Prelude by Brock and Bodie Thoene

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Stacy

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, about Gettysburg.

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Jai

The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett

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Diane

@Jai, isn’t she wonderful!

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Jai

Diane McCarrick She was! Her Niccolò series and King Hereafter were great too but TLC will always be my favorite ♥

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Jai

and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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Pam

Another favorite is R. F. Delderfield’s “To Serve Them All My Days.” A Welsh miner’s son suffering PTSD after WW II, takes a post at a posh (to him) English boarding school.

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Moira

I loved all the Delderfield books. The series God is an Englishman is masterful as is the trilogy A Horseman Riding By are his Napoleonic era stories.

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Jennifer

All that Swagger by Stella Miles Franklin. An oldie but for an Australian historical fiction it is brilliant!

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Mary

@Jennifer if you have any more good Australian historical fiction recommendations please please post, I love Australian history. Tia.

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AndreaQuestion author

Thank you to all of you! I can’t wait to start looking these up. I’ve read some of these, some I’ve never heard of.

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Kathleen

WWI & WWII:
Lilac Girls
We Were the Lucky Ones
The Alice Network
Warlight
Corner of Bitter & Sweet
The summer before the war

Anything Amy Tan for Asia.

Gentleman in Moscow (in a class of its own)

Other US and misc:
The Japanese Lover

A fall of marigolds
Kitchen House
Glory over Everything
The invention of wings
The Help

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Cindy

Thank you for this list!!

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Kathleen

@Cindy if you aren’t already on the Goodreads app give it a try. I love it! Great way to keep a TBR list and find other books in any genre.

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Mary-Ann

Kathleen McClure named the ones I would recommend! But here are some others: Secrets of a Charmed Life–WWII England, Night Witches–WWII Russia (YA but not childish), Victory Garden– WWI England, Runaway Quilt, Sugar Camp Quilt, Union Quilter, The Lost Quilter, The Spymistress– Civil War or pre-Civil War by Jennifer Chiaverini.

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Moira

Hilary Mantel, Patrick O’Brian, Bernard @Judith.

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Sue

Sharon Penman The Sunne in Splendour my favourite but also When Christ and All His Saints Slept, The Devils Brood there are more if you love Early English and Welsh historical fiction

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Sheila

I loved “Far from Home” by Valerie Wood and “Tomorrow’s Promises” by Anna Jacobs.

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Dawn

Legacy by Susan Kay and Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman.

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Yael

The Orphan Train

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Joy

If you liked Orphan Train you would probably like Before We Were Yours!

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Yael

@Joy , thanks

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Yael

I don’t have a favorite, I have favorites

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Yael

My Glorious Brothers

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Yael

Lust for Life

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Stephanie

Chesapeake by James Michener

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Abby

Shining Through, by Susan Isaacs

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Wendy

Rainwater historical fiction by Sandra Brown

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Joyce

The Wall Flower series by Lisa Kleypas and the Slightly series by Mary Balogh

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Sharon

We Were the Lucky Ones

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CP

Kate Morton’s book we’re all good. Not a series but she has several. Also the Keeper of lost things was a quick read that I read last week!

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Margaret

All Girls Filling Station last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg.

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Sharol

I love anything by Annie Flagg.

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Elizabeth

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

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Robin

Impossible question to answer. (Just to be clear, that is a statement, not a book title)

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Elizabeth

Outlander series.

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Elizabeth

Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.

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Sandy

Pillars of the Earth

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Elizabeth

Sweet potato pie peel society

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Barbara

Anything by Phillippa Gregory, or Anya Seton.

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Karen

Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. Fiction but based on an actual person and events but with fictional characters added. I read it several months ago but still feel it with me every day.

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Judy

@Karen that was an interesting book!

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Karen

@Judy it was. The Carnton Plantation is only about 2 1/2 hours from me and I have to go visit but can’t until I can go without crying and making a spectacle of myself. lol

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Julia

Between Shades of Grey

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Mary

The Nightingale, followed by Beneath a Scarlet Sky and Lilac Girls.

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Susan

Learning To See.

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Frederi

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

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Nicole

@Frederi I’m reading this later in the month! I’m really looking forward to it.

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Ellen

A Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman. Excellent book.

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AndreaQuestion author

Since I asked the question and have gotten so many wonderful replies, I thought I should comment with some of my own favorites. The Orchardist, The River Wife, Flight of the Sparrow, and A Stolen Marriage. Enjoy!

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Joy

Loved A Stolen Marriage!

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Diane

The tendency displayed here to call everything and anything ‘historical fiction’ really distresses me.

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Danyel

gods of new port

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Michaela

I love Rebecca Gablé´s series.

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Shavon

I really enjoy The Glass & Steele series

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Yael

Peony

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Yael

Cleopatra

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