# What is the best Historical Novel (based on a true story)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459 "2002-10-23T02:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CurlyD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@CurlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurlyD)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/41 "2002-10-26T01:23:39Z")
**Andersonville** by MacKinlay Kantor, a novel based on the history of Camp Sumter, the Confederate POW stockade in Georgia. This novel won a Pulitzer Prize (like **The Killer Angels** ), and while the story is horrible, the writing is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/42 "2002-10-26T01:44:24Z")
They’re only novelettes and they don’t use any well-known figures, but I would recommend Robert W. Chambers’ “The Street of the First Shell,” found in the collection The King in Yellow, and Poul Anderson’s “The Peat Bog,” found in the collection Homeward and Beyond. Chambers’ novellette involves American art students in Paris on the brink of the German invasion during the Franco-Prussian War. Anderson’s novellette focuses on two Romans who visit the area around Denmark or northern Germany in the first or second century A.D. And even though it’s science fiction, I also commend Anderson’s novel The Corridors of Time. It offers an excellent portrait of the Beaker culture circa 1800 BC. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/43 "2002-10-26T01:47:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\*And how did it go this far without a mention of Tolstoy’s **War and Peace**? \*\* I’ll see your **War and Peace** and raise you one **Les Miserables**. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/44 "2002-10-26T01:59:51Z")
Oops! I forgot to mention other books! While not necessarily historical, I just finished the highly autobiographical novel of William Somerset Maugham, **Of Human Bondage**. Definitely worthwhile reading. More of a historical novel, and also great, is **Darkness at Noon** by Arthur Koestler. Autobiographical and historical: **Night** by Elie Wiesel. Somewhat historical and based on a true story: **The Count of Monte Cristo** by Dumas. Based on a true story but not really historical: **An American Tragedy** by Theodore Dreiser. Recent history put through a conspiracy theory blender: **American Tabloid** by James Ellroy. You have your assignments. Next stop, the library! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/45 "2002-10-26T04:42:20Z")
I will second **Night** by Elie Weisel. One of the finest and most provoking books I have ever read. A very fast paced read. If you are interested in Holocaust stuff: \*\*Donbas \*\* by Jacques Sandelescu (sp?) A young teen taken by Nazi’s from his home in Eastern Europe and transported to Siberia to work as a slave in the coal mines. A tale of survival, courage, escape and hope. Once you have a firm grasp of American History, for a much lighter side of it all \*\* Dave Barry Slept Here: A sort of history of the United States \*\* The more I read it the funnier it gets. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/46 "2002-10-26T04:58:49Z")
While _The Killer Angels_ is a good read, way too many people take it as real history instead of a narrative novel using real people as characters. Let me suggest _Sergeant Lamb’s America_ by, I think, Robert Graves, or that old war horse Stephen Crane’s _Red Badge of Courage_, or _All quiet on the Western Front_ for something with a little meat on its bones. Somebody has to throw out the _Hornblower Stories_ for consideration. They may all have too much testosterone in their blood for the taste of some. Those people can go read _Little Women_. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/47 "2002-10-26T05:14:37Z")
I would also recommend **Julian** by Gore Vidal. I would also recommend **Creation** by Gore Vidal as well. I agree with **Diogenes the Cynic** that Gary Jennings’s novels have a disturbing amount of underage sexual activity but perhaps that was more normal in the times that those novels are set. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/48 "2002-10-26T05:22:23Z")
Crap, I posted this and then I remembered **Justinian** by H.N. Turtletaub. Ken Follet has written at least two historical novels from what I recall, \*\* A Dangerous Fortune\*\*, and **The Pillars of the Earth**. They are not bad but IMHO they are not nearly as engrossing as the Gore Vidal historical novels. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/49 "2002-10-26T05:24:29Z")
I’d like to second AMERICAN TABLOID, there is also a sequel to that, dealing with the assinations of MLK and RFK called THE COLD SIX THOUSAND. Also: GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield (about the Spartans and the battle of Thermopolae) IF I NEVER GET BACK by Darryl Brock (a time travel baseball novel with a lot of real historical characters) CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL by Glen David Gold (about an early 20th century magician, VERY entertaining, much better than it sounds) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/50 "2002-10-26T16:00:17Z")
CS Forester’s _Hornblower_ series. No one’s mentioned Caleb Carr’s **The Alienist**. I haven’t read it yet and I’d love to hear some comments. ---
**Author:** ![Hickory6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hickory6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hickory6)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/51 "2002-10-26T17:40:21Z")
I liked Mila 18 by Leon Uris. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/52 "2002-10-26T20:57:39Z")
I can’t believe no one mentioned THE best historical novel of all times. “Hadrian’s Memoirs” by Margarite Yourcenar. I can’t recommend it enough, it is one of my favourites books. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/53 "2002-10-27T07:28:19Z")
For medieval historical fiction, try **Sharon Kay Penman** ( I especially like _The Reckoning_) and **Cecelia Holland** (who has also written some fine books set in gold rush California, and a science fiction book that is great, although I can’t remember its name). Holland is very psychological–try _Rakossy_ or _The Death of Attila_. Both author are historically accurate, with minor changes (moving the date of a battle), Penman has historical figures as her main characters, Holland usually has a completely fictional character somehow involved in the events of a historical figure (with the historical figure only a minor part of her story). For an excellent mystery series set during the Roman Empire, look for **Lindsey Davis’s** books. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/54 "2002-10-27T08:07:46Z")
Really liked Caleb Carr’s _The Alienist_ and the follow-up novel (I think it’s called _The Angel of Darkness_ but I’m not sure.) They’re historical mysteries, and they’re extremely detailed about turn-of-the-century criminology, forensics, and psychology. I’m not sure how accurate the history is, but they’re engrossing. ---
**Author:** ![Homer\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c37758/32.png) [@Homer\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer_J)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/55 "2002-10-27T16:49:57Z")
The Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker, based on the First World War, the final book in the trilogy one the booker prize a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![merrily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@merrily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrily)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/56 "2002-10-28T01:07:11Z")
**Mary Renault’s** books move me. _The King Must Die_ and _Bull from the Sea_ are about Theseus; _The Last of the Wine_ includes Socrates; and _The Persian Boy_ is about Alexander the Great. What I particularly like is that she tells you the cultural details you need to know without it at all seeming like she is showing off her research, and that her characters never have a false political correctness or anachronistic feelings. Another vote for _The Killer Angels_, which is accurate as far as my research has shown, although of course it is fiction in inventing what the characters say. And charming they are, too. I also love _The Three Musketeers_ – if it doesn’t make you laugh from the start, get a better translation. I like thinking about the queen being the mother of Louis XIV, too. Finally, I liked _The Alienist_ very much–what I would call a possible, if not a probable, story, and I thought he pulled off the conceit of the main idea nicely. However, the sequal was very silly, all over the place and not accurate at all, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/57 "2002-10-28T01:38:21Z")
Count me as another vote for both Graves’ **Claudius** books and Mary Renaults’ **Greek** books. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Umberto Eco’s **The Name of the Rose**. I’m counting the days until his new book hits my library. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/58 "2002-10-28T21:21:29Z")
While I enjoyed _The Killer Angels_ (as well as some of the other books mentioned), the best historical fiction novel I’ve read is _Unto This Hour_ (Wicker). It is another Civil War novel set during the Second Battle of Manassas. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459/59 "2002-10-28T23:51:30Z")
There is a Historical novel Society and they have excellent (newer) references. [http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/main.htm](http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/main.htm) & another good site [http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~soon/histfiction/](http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~soon/histfiction/) Tho you can’t go wrong with the “classics” suggested here. 1 nitpick: the Lion of Ireland is by “Morgan” Llwelleyn and almost any novel by her is excellent. I second or third Killer Angels, Burr the Jennings & Graves stuff. I’d add the Michener’s Chesapeake and Texas as good ones too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-historical-novel-based-on-a-true-story/133459.md?page=2)