My boyfriend and I are looking for our next book to read together, and what something we’ll both enjoy. We both love historical fiction but in different ways. He’s not super into romance novels, I don’t love war novels. We both really enjoyed our last book, a thousand splendid suns. Open to all suggestions!
by Afcmanchester
13 Comments
ken folletts pillars of the earth series, 5 books in all, big books, move fast, not a lot of gobbolie gook, or unnecessary dialog … pillars of the earth, world without end, column of fire, the evening an the morning, armour of light….. have not read any of this other titles and i am just starting the third book….
You might really enjoy Pauline Gedge (Child of the Morning/The Eagle and the Raven) or Gary Jennings (Raptor).
*A Place of Greater Safety* by Hilary Mantel, about French revolutionaries, is essentially domestic as well as somewhat political in focus (if you’re not familiar with this period, the reality of events was not the Anglo propaganda pop culture view of it). Obviously her Cromwell novels are also good, and more about the politics, though many into historical fiction will have read those already. Oddly *A Place of Greater Safety* is sometimes overlooked, though just as good, more experimental, and I actually prefer the use of different perspectives, and how it reveals the dynamics between the characters and gives a wider view of the period, over the tight focus on Cromwell’s.
It’s the book that made me learn French.
small things like these by claire keegan!! it’s a short one, so you should both be able to get through it quickly!
The Physician by Noah Gordon,
The King Must Die and Bull From the Sea,
Tai Pan and Noble House and Shogun by Clavell,
Roots by Alex Haley,
I Claudius,
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead,
This is technically pre-history, but if you haven’t read the Earth’s Children series (Clan of the Cave Bear) they are epic.
Lonesome Dove (top 3 of all time for my husband and me!)
Nickel Boys. Not a romance but a heartbreaking exploration of our past and how some of the human experience was.
Or…
Demon Copperhead. Has a romance element but is more a historical fiction of the early 2000s. Heartwrenching and explorative. Won the Pulitzer for a reason.
*The Books of Jacob* by Olga Tokarczuk
The three musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas.
Fun fact: though it was written in the late 19th century, it takes place in the 17th century and was already meant as a historical novel.
A little romance, but not too much, a little fighting but no war. Mostly politics. And, you know, plot twists and word fights.
[Lone Wolf and Cub](https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/28/lone-wolf-and-cub) (note: this was the inspiration for Hawk and Chick on Bob’s Burgers)
[Vagabond](https://www.viz.com/vagabond)
[Vinland Saga](https://kodansha.us/series/vinland-saga/)
[Golden Kamuy](https://www.viz.com/golden-kamuy)
[Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba](https://www.viz.com/demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba)
[The Elusive Samurai](https://www.viz.com/elusive-samurai)
[Ya Boy Kongming!](https://kodansha.us/series/ya-boy-kongming)
Roberto Fabri’s Vespasian series. A good mix of everything – history, a bit of romance, some fight scenes, a lot of political intrigue. It covers everything from Vespasian’s birth to his death and is well-researched
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Course of Honour by Lindsay Davis
Spartacus by Howard Fast
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
An Officer and a Gentleman by Robert Harris
The Lost Army by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone