For the Napoleonic era from an English point of view, try Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. (Yes, it qualifies as a historical novel, because it was written in the 1840s about events in the 1810s).
I just finished The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It’s a wonderfully complex and descriptive novel set in Victorian London. It’s a little long and the ending is ambiguous, but the characters will stay with you long afterwards.
Also Sarum, same author. The author’s approach is to choose a locality (London, ancient Salisbury) and tell a series of short stories that span pre-history up until present day. In both books, there are both good and weak stories, but you can always skip to the next story if you’re bored with one of them.
Definitely agree with the Aubrey-Maturin recommendations. Patrick O’Brian’s stuff is like Jane Austen but with espionage and naval battles. What’s not to love?
Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series is good, too. Plenty of family trees and maps! (I also really dig those things.) It begins during the last days of the Roman Republic and ends with the story of Antony and Cleopatra.
You guys all rock!
Thank you so, so much for all the recommendations. I’ve noted most of them and already put a couple on hold. I will be keeping this thread marked forevah!
You know what seems to be missing are historical novels based in France, say, circa 15th-16th century and later. I would be very interested to know if any of you have read anything from that time and place. I don’t believe I’ve really ever delved into the French court except as an extension of England.
Jeff Shaara was already mentioned above, but I wanted to further point out that he’s done a number of books on alot of American wars. He’s in the middle of a WWII trilogy that basically follows the No. African and European campaigns. It’s told from the perspective of tank commanders, paratroopers, real generals (i.e. Eisenhower, Rommel), etc. Not the greatest literature in the world, but a good “popcorn-movie”-type book.
Another book that I wouldn’t necessarily have considered historical fiction is The Alienist, by Caleb Carr. It is a mystery/crime drama set in late 19th century New York, with a protagonist who is a very early forensic psychologist. I thought Carr did a very nice job with the setting, in particular describing the investigative tools of the day.
I’m sure you know about these: the only historical novels I can recall reading of that period (17th century France) are the Musketeer novels by Alexandre Dumas.
I love Cornwall’s Sharpe series of books and Dewey Lambdin’s naval series with Alan Lewrie.
Nothing against O’Brien or Forester, but Lambdin’s main character is much more in line with the sailors I’ve known (dad, grandpa[s], older brother & all of his friends, most of my cousins…); a grinning rogue who can’t wait for the fightin’ to be over so they can get into port to drink, fight and chase women.
Vietnam: Mark Berent.
France! They’re out of print and there’s a bit of bodice-ripping, but maybe your library has the Angelique series by Sergeanne Golon. I devoured those in my 20’s.
I know I’ve read some HF featuring Louis XIV but I’m drawing a blank on titles.
I love historical fiction. Ditto the recs for Sharon Kay Penman, James Clavell, The Forsyte Saga, Leon Uris (Mila 18 and Exodus), and Crimson Petal and the White.
I’ve been happy with HF novels by Sarah Waters (Fingersmith – wonderfully twisty), Iain Pears (Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio), Kathleen Winsor (Forever Amber and Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers West, Emma Donoghue Slammerkin), Margaret Atwood (Alias Grace).
Also the Civil War mystery series by Owen Parry starting with A Faded Coat of Blue, and the Matthew Shardlake mystery series (set in Reformation England) by C. J. Sansom.
Don’t forget westerns – they’re historical too! Lonesome Dove and the sequels and prequel by Larry McMurtry are particularly good, if a bit violent. Incident at Twenty Mile by Trevanian has a psychotic killer and a whole bunch of great western cliches, but set on their head a bit.
How about some historical time travel? Doomsday Book by Connie Willis!
WWI – Flanders by Patricia Anthony (recommended by a Doper, and I’ve never cried so hard over a book) and the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker.
Post Civil War America, the transition from rural to urban – Paradise Falls by Don Robertson.
A good WWII novel (also a Doper rec) is A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.
It’s been some years since I read them, but an author by the name of Parke Godwin wrote historical fiction versions of several legendary tales, Robin Hood, Beowulf for instance. The novel that introduced me to the author is Firelord, a “factual” version of the King Arthur story. It would appear that much of his work is out of print at present and I think that unfortunate. If you pick up a used copy of Firelord try and get Beloved Exile as well. It picks up the tale and follows Guinevere after the death of Arthur and may be the better story. I still recall one amusing scene that takes place in an early Saxon “court of law.”
I enthusiastically concur with the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. Two pieces of advice. Be sure to read the first in the series, “Flashman”, before the others. The order you read the others doesn’t really matter, but do the first one first. That sets the tone for all the rest.
Also, have two bookmarks. One for the body of the book, the other for the footnotes - that’s where a lot of the real history is. Be SURE and read the footnotes.
I once sort of amazed a Hindu co-worker of mine with my knowledge of Indian history. Which I got from reading several of the Flashman novels.
It was a sad day last year when the author died.
Thanks for this recommendation!
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. 18th century Scotland. Big red-headed warriors in kilts. Lot of loving, fighting, and intriguing.
Mmmmm…Jamie Fraser…
Thunder on the Mountain by David Poyer. Fine novel set in the Depression.
& I forgot - I Claudisu by R Graves. Best hiistorical novel ever
As much as I liked The Three Musketeers (haven’t read the others), I’d recommend The Count of Monte Cristo even more. It’s perhaps the best book I’ve ever read. I’ve heard it described as the best adventure novel ever written, and I believe it: as great as the adventure is, it’s also a profound meditation on vengeance and mercy.
There have been a lot of adaptations of it, but the ones I’ve seen or read miss out on the mercy aspect, which is like surf & turf without the lobster.
I have already read the first two parts of his WWII trilogy. I can’t wait for the last one, which deals with the invasion of Normandy. Woo-hoo!
When I was a teenager I was a Gwen Bristow fan. I fell in love with San Francisco decades before I ever got a chance to visit there, just from the book Calico Palace. It starts out in San Francisco just before the Gold Rush when it’s a boring, sleepy berg, then she puts her main character Kendra right into the thick of the early days Gold Rush country before the rest of the country finds out about it, then back to San Francisco as it grows, and burns, and grows, and burns, and grows and grows and burns and then explodes with growth, as the word spreads and more and more people show up. I thought it was all so fascinating, and I loved the naive and sheltered (but not for long) Kendra and her unlikely friend Marney, a worldly woman with big plans to open a gambling parlor/saloon in the wild town.
It may not be “up there” (Epic, Important) with many of the wonderful books mentioned already, but it’s a must, I’d think, for anyone interested in that time and place, and it’s also perfect for adolescent girls. I need to dig it out again. It’s been way too long since I’ve read it.
I’ve read other Gwen Bristow books and liked them all, but Calico Palace was like an old friend to me growing up and was my favorite.