I want something that has depth, philosophy along with good character and world building but not tedious either.
Some other historical fiction that I thought were OK but definitely DIDNOT have much depth or good quality writing were the Outlander series and Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth. They're OK but not for me. I want something like O'brian but it doesn't HAVE to be nautical fiction. Any historical fiction will do.
According to my friend Wolf Hall is good.
What else?
by Retrospective84
8 Comments
Hild by Nicola Griffith.
The best I’ve read.
I loved The Historian by Kostova. She did like a decade of detailed research before writing it. It is part historical fiction but takes a fantasy “what if” turn that you’d have to be on board with. It is told through a series of letters over decades and different characters. I really enjoyed it!
Sharon Kay Penman, maybe.
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland is good. The two main threads are the life of Arthur, the son of a minor noble on the Welsh / English border as he grows and matures, and a re-telling of the King Arthur legend.
Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff is another good one, set in Roman Britain / Pictish Scotland, it concerns a retired legionary looking to recover the banner of the Ninth Legion.
Temeraire
You might be looking for the Wolf Hall trilogy.
Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell
The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver