Hello! I am trying to broaden my horizons and read outside of my usual genres, and as such, id like to try historical fiction.
I would like it to be real world based, so no fantasy please, and not about any of the wars America has been involved in. Id also like for it to be set at least before 1900. Im really not a fan of pioneer times or the wild west but i dont discount a book only because of that. Everything else is fair game as far as location, time period, ect. I trend toward YA books for im open to all. I also definitely want it to be fully fictional – ive recently picked up a number of nonfiction books.
Thanks for any suggestion!
by wendigostorms
18 Comments
Ken Follett: The Pillars of the Earth
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5043
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
* How do you define “fully fictional”? Is it okay if it is based on real people? If yes, then try Robert Harris’ Cicero trilogy. Sandra Gulland has a couple of books on Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine. I liked them very much when I was a teenager.
* Also, if you care for fiction from pre 1900 (instead of historical fiction with a pre 1900 setting), you could try Vanity Fair, the Palliser novels or North and South.
Biographies by Robert Massie, such as *Peter the Great* (last Czar of Russia).
*Doctor Zhivago*, Boris Pasternak. Russian revolution, the background and release of the book and the uproar over the Nobel….Stunning book.
*Team of Rivals*, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, about the Lincoln Administration.
*Lawrence of Arabia*, Jeremy Wilson.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Wolf Den Trilogy by Eloise Harper. Follows an enslaved prostitute in the lupinar in Pompeii
The Marriage Portrait or Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
some historical fiction i’m interested in reading:
*Empty Theater* by Jec Jamc
*Hamnet* by Maggie O’Farrell
*My Name Is Yip* by Patrick Crewe
*Glorious Exploits* by Ferdia Lennon
*A Tip for the Hangman* by Allison Epstein
If you like YA history fiction, maybe you like novels by Thea Beckman.
Arthur and the Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland has two story lines, one is about the life of Arthur, the son of a minor noble in the Welsh / English borders. The other is a retelling of the King Arthur legend. The book clearly switches between the two, so hopefully that’ll meet your criteria.
[Wolf of the plains](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1265656) by Conn Iggulden. This is my favourite book by him, he has a lot of good books. He also has a very easy writing style.
Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Set in 1850, amazing true story and very well written.
The Poisonwood Bible is set in 1950s Congo through the eyes of missionaries. Amazing book.
*Julie of the Wolves* by Jean Craighead George.
*The Bronze Bow* by Elizabeth George Speare.
*Anne of Green Gables* by LM Montgomery. Most of her books are available for free on Project Gutenberg Canada. Set in the early 20th century.
These are YA
There are also books that were contemporary when they were written, but are now historical such as the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers. They’re set and were written in the 1920s and 1930s. Lots of these are also available for free on Project Gutenberg Canada.
And there are tons of books written in the 19th century.
Colleen McCollough Rome series
{{Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel}} and the two books that follow.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Walking Drum by Louis L’Amour
The Physician by Noah Gordon