What is the best historical fiction book that you have read?
What is the best historical fiction book that you have read?
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What is the best historical fiction book that you have read?
The Alienist
Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran
This sounds interesting! Adding it, thanks.
Love all of Michelle Moran’s books
@Megan look at all Michelle Moran’s books, everyone of them is excellent!
Outlander
A Gentleman in Moscow
I can’t think of a name but the author would be Susanna Kearsley or MJ Rose. All their books have been great. MJ puts you into another time and place and something magical thrown in.
So many favorites, but The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom and Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty were 2 really good ones. Oh- and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Sorry can’t just list 1!
Can’t pick one. These are my favorite WW2 Historical Fiction:
1.Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
3. The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron and its sequel A Sparrow in Terezin
4. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
6. Second Hand Smoke by Thane Rosenbaum
7. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
8. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
9. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Non WW2
1. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
@Lori I read most on your list except for 1 and 8 and love them all. Thanks for the other recommendations
@Lori, you hit most of my favorites. I’d add The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and Loving Frank, by Nancy Hiram.
@Lisa read #8, it’s so good.
@Lori I couldn’t get into Lilac Girls… not sure why. Read most of the others on your list and loved them all!
Some of my favorites:
Outlander
The Nightingale
My Dear Hamilton
The Last Kingdom
The Lost Queen
The Pillars of the Earth
I like anythkng by James Patterson.
And I Darken – The Conquerors Series. ?
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons .
Following
I like Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra and The Autobiography of Henry VIII. Never could get into the 3rd book I bought from her Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles, though. Might give it another shot though ^_^
The secret life of bees by sue monk kidd
North and South Trilogy by John Jakes.
The Other Boelyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
I, Claudius by Robert Graves and The Pharaoh And The Priest by Bolesław Prus. When I was a child I read The Heart of Jade
by Salvador de Madariaga and loved it but I didn’t have a chance to read it again as an adult so I don’t know if it will still impress me the same.
The Help
I really liked Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert, The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Essex Serpent
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier.
Davinci code even tho it was fiction. Lots of great history and facts
Following
Pretty much anything by Larry McMurtry.
I liked Company Aytch by Sam Watkins as well.
Centennial. James Michener
The other Boleyn girl.
I just finished Beneath A Scarlet Sky and it might be my new favorite. It’s fantastic.
The Other Bolyne Girl
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah
Secrets of a Charmed Life – Susan Meissner
The Alice Network
Storm Coulds Rolling In by Ginny Dye
All quiet on the western front
Grapes of Wrath.
To Kill a Mockingbird
F
WW1 – Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. WW2 – The Nightingale, Tudor period – Wolf Hall/Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, Middle Ages (Medieval period) Kristin Lavrandsdatter by Sigrid Undset. But the best of these by far is ‘Bring up the Bodies’ by Hilary Mantel, cannot wait until the last one in the trilogy comes out ‘The Mirror and the Light’ which covers the last 4 years of Thomas Cromwell’s life, from the execution of Anne Boleyn to his own execution in 1540.
@Sandra oh my! I didn’t read this post when I responded and you chose several of the same books I shared! I’ve not encountered anyone beyond my family who loves Kristin Lavransdatter before! ?
@Deirdre me neither! I can’t remember where I first came across the trilogy. I loved it from the first chapter. Historical fiction is my favourite genre though.
Katherine by Anya Seton
Will give this one a go!
I really enjoyed that, but I loved her “Devil Water” and “Avalon” more (y)
@Eileen I also enjoyed The Hearth and the Eagle
I think I probably loved those books because they are set in England and I’m more interested in English history than American, sorry ? Devil Water is barely half an hour’s drive from where I live. 🙂
@Eileen, have you read Minette Walters ‘The Last Hours’ 1348 set in Dorset? I have just picked up the sequel from the library, ‘The Turn of Midnight’, hope it’s good. I didn’t realise that the first one did not have a ‘The End’ until the last paragraph!! ? I was very disappointed and have had to wait about 10 months for this sequel, better be good!
Another author I’ve never read. 😮 And forgot to mention that probably my favourite Anya Seton book, which is “Green Darkness” set in modern and Tudor times about reincarnation – one of my favourite books ever.
@Eileen on my list! I am a Tudor fan too.
My favourite period of history – the Tudors. Also like the Stewart period too. I spent a holiday with friends who owned a castle in Scotland and actually slept in the bed that James VIII (The Old Pretender) slept in. When he came to challenge for the throne in 1715 he was declared King of Scotland at Fetteresso Castle just outside Stonehaven – piece of trivia LOL 🙂
Anything by Wilbur Smith
I like the Robert Langdon series and cotton Malone series
the orphan train
Pillars of the Earth
Next year in Havana
Nightingale.
I love Elizabeth Chadwick
All the Light You Cannot See
I am also a Katherine by Anya Seton fan, have read it several times. Fell in love with Katherine and John of Gaunt. Also visited Lincoln Cathedral where she is entombed.
Shogun !
It is hard to pick the best, I loved Centennial by James A Michener and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey @Lauren
11/22/63!!
@Lexie I didn’t think of this for that category, but good one!
The Red Tent!
Widow of the south
That would be “Daughters of Fire” by Barbara Erskine. Cartimandua is probably my most favourite book heroine ? Actually just about every book by hers is among my favourites.
@Eileen Lady of Hay I loved also Kingdom of the Shadows also by Barbara Erskine
Kingdom of Shadows was the first book of hers which I read, way back in the late 1980’s and I loved it. Went straight out and bought Lady of Hay and have waited patiently for every book that came out after that – just love her writing!
And because I’m very old and have read some great books in my lifetime that I barely even see mentioned here, I need to add that I really loved the 3 books by Edith Pargeter set in 12th century England. Also “Devil Water”, “Avalon” and “Katharine” by Anya Seton and also the Borgia series by Jean Plaidy and most of her books too.
And I totally forgot Anya Seton’s “Green Darkness” set in modern and Tudor times about reincarnation – one of my favourite books ever.
I could go on ………….. ??
@Eileen we have some similar tastes! Have you read anything by Nevil Shute? I’ve read all of his books several times and love them especially A Town Like Alice and Pied Piper
No, I haven’t actually.
@Eileen he’s not alive anymore but the library usually has a selection
I guessed, as I came across him many years ago, just never looked at a book and thought I fancied reading it??? 😮
@Eileen just finished Green Darkness which I first read more than 40 years ago and was mesmerised by. This time round I found the “modern” parts (set in the 1960s when the book was written) highly dated but still loved the Tudor part which was, thankfully, most of it, really good
That’s another on my list to re-read – I’ll probably think the same, but as the main interest was always in the Tudor period, I’m sure I’ll still enjoy it again too. (y)
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
The Secret Wife by Gill Paul
The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva is my favorite!
The Nightingale
I’m reading one right now called Telex to Cuba. It’s pretty good. My favorite would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn though.
@Sarai I love ATGIB!!
Gone with the wind
Mercedes Lackey – Elemental Masters
Ministry of Curiosities- C. J. Archer
We Were The Lucky Ones
Munich by robert harris
The century series by Ken Follett
F
Agree with those who said Anya Seton’s Green Darkness,
The Believers is short and well written about the shakers,
Wolf Hall and its sequel about Thomas Cromwell
Kristin Lavransdatter series is amazing about Norway In I believe the 1300s
And so very many more!
The Dovekeepers by Alice @Hoffman
Dispara, Yo ya he Muerto (Julia Navarro)
Almost anything by Ken Follett
All of C J Samson’s Shardlake books
When I think of a historical novel I think Tudors. Stuarts and earlier. Also Poldark novels which are magnificent, rather than the last century
I can’t remember the name. It’s Mrs Lee and Mrs.( I can’t remember the name of the slave) There were parts that were true but some of the things that happened in the book were fictitious.Robert E. Lee’s wife was an Arlington and the Arlington National Cemetary was started on her plantation during the Civil War.
Will check it out ?
I’ve just realised that I recommended Edith Pargeter’s trilogy of books, but forgot to give their titles, “The Heaven Tree” “The Green Branch” and “The Scarlet Seed”, but I understand they’ve now also been combined into an omnibus edition. These are just about the only books I’ve actually re-read, I loved them so much and boy did I cry – both times! 🙂
Aztel by Gary Jennings
Outlander!?
Ken Follett
Unbroken