Amin Maalouf is another author who is really worth checking out. I was glad to see the greater part of his work has been translated into English.

Unfortunately, one of my other favourite authors is not, being Gilbert Sinoué. However, he is worth keeping an eye on. He is bound to be translated one of these days.

Most of the historical fiction I read is in French and not all of the authors are translated. But whenever I come across one that is, and he/she is worth checking out, I'll give you an update.

Enjoy.

Bonnie wrote: "Can I tack on a question to this thread by asking everyone's opinions on Elizabeth Chadwick? I haven't read anything by her, but the covers of her books are SO PRETTY I'm always real..."

I read one of Chadwick's books for the same reason: the pretty covers! I wasn't terribly impressed. It's basically romance. I can't tell you anything about the history, but the writing was a step above a Harlequin.

Umberto Eco and Kate Mosse are already on my TBR list butI'll have to check out the other authors.

Thanks!

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres. Here are some authors you may enjoy:

David Liss
Mika Waltari
Iain Pears
Umberto Eco
Noah Gordon
Kate Mosse

This is an eclectic bunch of authors actually, all covering different topics and periods. One is bound to appeal to you. Let us know how you're getting on.

You all have me looking forward to receiving the copy of Russka I ordered.

Renata wrote: "Petra, it's funny, but I started Sarum and couldn't get into it either. I still intend to read it some day, but London will be first."


i read London but for some reason i just couldn't get in to the last maybe 10% of the book. i don't know if the jump in time, or the sudden introduction of so many different characers is what did it, but i ended up just skimming the last portion of it. overall though, i love his stuff.

Renata wrote: "If you don't mind 800 pages plus, Edward Rutherford's Russka is excellent. Read it several years ago, and have been meaning to read his others, but they are all huge!"

i LOVED Russka. i can't recommend Rutherford's work enough, they take some time to get through, but so very worth it in the end!

Petra, it's funny, but I started Sarum and couldn't get into it either. I still intend to read it some day, but London will be first.

I absolutely adored In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin. It's about Casanova's first love and the life she led, I found it really sweet without being cheesy. :)

Renata wrote: "If you don't mind 800 pages plus, Edward Rutherford's Russka is excellent. Read it several years ago, and have been meaning to read his others, but they are all huge!"

I really like Edward Rutherford's books. My favorites were London and The Forest. However, I didn't really get into Sarum, which was a bit of a surprise. All of the others are really good.

Susan, you might like this one, and also London. I haven't read that one yet, but I see that you read World Without End, so it might work for you.

I've always wanted to read one of his books and I'm not intimidated by long books, I just haven't figured out which to invest my time in. You might have just given me the answer. Thanks!

If you don't mind 800 pages plus, Edward Rutherford's Russka is excellent. Read it several years ago, and have been meaning to read his others, but they are all huge!

Can I tack on a question to this thread by asking everyone's opinions on Elizabeth Chadwick? I haven't read anything by her, but the covers of her books are SO PRETTY I'm always really tempted to. I want to know whether they're worth picking up and, if so, which one I should start with.

A more obscure historical fiction novelist is Gwen Bristow - her specialty is American history. She has a terrific book about pre-Gold Rush California called Jubilee Trail, a terrific trilogy set in Louisiana that goes through the first Louisiana settlers, the Civil War, and the First World War, and a nice Revolutionary War book called Celia Garth. All highly recommended, but Jubilee Trail is my favorite.

Blayre wrote: "I want to start getting into this genre more and I'd like some advice from those who know a lot about it.
Before now the only historical fiction I've read and liked has been Young Adult (Ann Rina..."

Blayre I run a bookclub and Pope Joan is our all time favorite. It's a midieval story about the legend that there was a woman Pope. The book grabs you from the first page!

Judith wrote: "I love The Eight by Katherine Neville. It's thick, but you'll read it quickly and it's a very compelling novel. I also like The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It's ab..."

Judith' this is from an old post of yours. I also loved The Historian especially after reading Dracula first. If you have not read Stoker's Dracula yet, you must. I've read at least twice and it's fabulous.

I also enjoyed The Eight. A new sequal called The Fire. I want to reread the last few chapters of The Eight to freshen my memory then begin The Fire.

Has anyone read Desiree by Annemarie Selinko? My mother said it was one that changed her outlook on life when she was a teenager. I haven't read it yet, though I have a copy. She and I discuss all the time how she wonders if she would feel the same now, or if she were my age when she initially read it. I haven't come across anyone else who has read it to get their impression.

I recommend the Josephine Bonaparte series by Sandra Gulland.

I have The Angel of Darkness, but I haven't reead it yet. I've heard it's not as good as The Alienist, but I really wouldn't expect it to be. I gave The Alienist 5 stars and I'm a tough grader.

Okay, thanks--I'll check it out. :)

The other book is called The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. That's kind of funny. I really liked The Angel of Darkness but not The Alienist so much.

I just got done reading A Break with Charity A Story about the Salem Witch Trials by Ann Rinaldi. It is a YA novel but still very good.

Rebbie wrote: "I love that book. Didn't he write another one in the same time period or the same characters?

Kim wrote: "Caleb Carr's The Alienist is an excellent book."

"

I really enjoyed The Alienist, too. I can't remember the name of his other book but it was okay. Not as good as The Alienist, though.

I love that book. Didn't he write another one in the same time period or the same characters?

Kim wrote: "Caleb Carr's The Alienist is an excellent book."

Caleb Carr's The Alienist is an excellent book.

Eric Wentz
Piercing the Veil


I never know if I'm posting things in the right group...LOL...There's SO many! Debut novelist, Eric Wentz,recently published "Piercing the Veil" in April of this year and it is an excellent, excellent book...5+ stars. A more current military/historical novel, with a look into the past, this book has it all. Drama, mystery, suspense, romance and humor. I don't know where this author has been hiding all these years, but I can't wait until he publishes his next book.

It's excellent - and a VERY surprising ending!

Kate wrote: "Haven't read the third one, so I can't comment.

Brenda Vantrease is another good HF writer - she has two excellent books set in the Middle Ages, "The Illuminator" and "The Mercy Seller." "

Just bought "The Illuminator" last night. Glad to see an excellent recommendation.

Haven't read the third one, so I can't comment.

Brenda Vantrease is another good HF writer - she has two excellent books set in the Middle Ages, "The Illuminator" and "The Mercy Seller."

Kate - I have In The Company of the Courtesan (got it because I loved Birth of Venus so much) but I haven't gotten around to reading it. I'm glad to know it's equally as good.

There is another that she wrote, but I can't think of the name of it right now. The ending was very strange and that made it disappointing.

I second "The Birth of Venus" - it's marvelous. The author really knows the Renaissance. She has a second book called "In the Company of the Courtesan" which is equally good.

One of my all time favorites is a historical fiction novel called The Birth of Venus. The characters in the story are fictional, so nothing of a real person's life is being twisted or interpreted, but the facts surrounding the story are true. I loved it.

I love anything by Margaret George, but the Cleopatra was my favorite. Your mom has good taste, Grace.

Sure Rebbie! I really enjoyed your book, so I'm glad to plug it! :)

I've never read this but my Mom really loved this book: The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George.

She's pretty picky, too, so I'm guessing that it is pretty faithful to the times and history of Egypt.

I love this series. I've read them all and have not be disappointed.

Donna wrote: "The Maisie Dobbs series is wonderful. Good mysteries but also very interesting characters."

Thanks Becky and Elizabeth for mentioning CAST THE FIRST STONE! I hope you enjoy it--I love the pre-World War Two era, so I chose it for the setting for my first book. A really interesting place during that same time period is Europe, imo. The whole Berlin thing between the wars, like THE SUN ALSO RISES--so much happened in Europe then, as far as culture is concerned. It really was the birthplace of our culture's modern, kind of jaded attitudes that were exacerbated by the wars, the Depression and the advent of mass media. Oops. Got off on a tangent. :) Anyway, thanks for the mention.

Alison Weir is also good as a biographer. She's branched out into novels lately - "Innocent Traitor" about Lady Jane Grey, and "Mistress of the Monarchy" about Katherine Swynford, but her non-fiction biographies read as interestingly as fiction. She "did" the Tudors before they got trendy.

Some biographers I like:

David McCullough
Antonia Fraser
Robert K. Massie
Doris Kearns Goodwin

My mother is a big fan of the Falco Roman series, while I prefer Stephen Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa books, though we like both historical mystery series. I am also a big fan of Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome series, which is "straight" historical fiction about the fall of the Roman Republic. (It's a long story - there are seven rather fat books in the series!)

Pamela wrote: "Kate wrote: "Bernard Cornwell is also fantastic for historical fiction. He's written about 40 books, so if you like him you're set on reading material for the next year. A lot of people consider ..."

Sadly no - the Starbuck series is stuck at four. I wish he'd get cracking, but he's currently immersed in his Alfred the Great series. The only bright spot is that Bernard Cornwell writes fast - about 2 books a year, so we can hope he gets back to Starbuck soon.

Kate wrote: "Bernard Cornwell is also fantastic for historical fiction. He's written about 40 books, so if you like him you're set on reading material for the next year. A lot of people consider him a "man's ..."

I've read Cornwell's Civil War series and quite enjoyed them. My only complaint: There was only four! and the story wasn't anywhere near finished. It's been about 10 years since I've read them. Do you know if he's added anymore to the Civil War Series?

Bernard Cornwell is also fantastic for historical fiction. He's written about 40 books, so if you like him you're set on reading material for the next year. A lot of people consider him a "man's writer" and it's true his books are mostly about warriors and their battles: his Sharpe series follows a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, his Starbuck series follows a Yankee fighting on the Confederate side of the Civil War, his Saxon Series follows a Viking warrior who fights for Alfred the Great. But if you like action, battles, and fierce male characters, you'll love Bernard Cornwell's books. Well-written, fast-paced, and exciting.

Anything by Judith Merkle Riley is wonderful. Her books are as follows:

A Vision of Light
In Pursuit of the Green Lion
The Water Devil (these first three are a trilogy in the Middle Ages about a woman who can heal by touch)
A Serpent Garden (a female portrait painter during the reign of Henry VIII)
The Oracle Glass (a fortune-teller in the court of Louis XIV)
The Master of All Desires (an aspiring poet in the court of Catherine de Medici)

The Oracle Glass is my favorite, but they're all great: meticulously researched and surprisingly funny. And all her heroines are working women - midwives, painters, fortune-tellers, etc. - which I like. So much historical fiction revolves around wives, mistresses, or princesses.

Enjoy!

For lighter historical - and a well done take of ancient Rome - try the Didius Falco books by Lindsey Davis. Her research is exemplary, her characters are fun, and she has a nice slant toward dry humor. The first in the series is The Silver Pigs A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery. I found it quite engaging right from the start, with interesting family dynamics.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "She's a Goodreads author and a member of TNBBC. Good to hear about this one."

Yep, she actually sent me the ARC herself, and since it fit what we're talking about, I figured I'd mention it. :)

She's a Goodreads author and a member of TNBBC. Good to hear about this one.

Oh, I'm currently reading the ARC of Rebbie Macintyre's book, Cast the First Stone. It is a period fiction from the Depression era 30s, and it is very good so far. I am a little past the half-way mark, and I am really excited to see how it ends.

I generally prefer to read books set pre-1900, but this book has really sucked me in. It's very good so far.

One that I've wanted to read for a while is Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto. I'm not a big non-fiction reader, but I love Ron Paul, and I've wanted to read this for a while to learn more about his ideas.

Oh - and I'd like to read Truman - and have wanted to forever as well. I worked for an attorney when that book came out, a man in his early 70s, very bright, who raved about that book and I've wanted to read it ever since.

Yeah, Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln has been on my TBR, it seems, forever, but there's a long waitlist now because so many have drawn comparisons between Lincoln and Obama. I'd really like to read that this year, along with some other Presidential biographies.