I like to read a lot of books classified as historical fiction. But I’ve found a few books that can be classified as historical fiction with emphasis on characters and also the event it tries to describe.
## Historical Fiction Books that I didn’t like because it described a time/place than the characters
– Memphis by Tara Stringfellow – >! had multiple questionable choices by the mother, that was unexamined. The prose describing Memphis at different times was beautiful !<
– Trespasses by Louise Kennedy – >! much better book than above. Prose about 1970s Belfast was even better. But again I struggled to turn the pages !<
## Historical Fiction Books I liked because they were plotty
– Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – love magical realism. loved the language. I’m also Sri Lankan. So this was great
– The Colony by Audrey Magee – not sure if this can be classified as historical fiction. But it was about language, colonialism and plotty and I really it
– Small Things Like These – short but a gem. also Irish and about Magdalene Laundries
## Other Historical Fiction books I didn’t like
– Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry – I’m still reading this and the sudden changes between past and present even in the same paragraph is throwing me off. But I will trudge through
– Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin – was plotty. But maybe the story wasn’t as good as I thought.
## Books I am about to read that can be considered Historical Fiction
– Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morries
– The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
– Ninth Building by Zou Jingzhi
I’ve also noticed that majority of the historical fiction books that I read skew towards US, Britain and Ireland. If there are books from other regions, Maybe books from other regions/countries
by bangeneticalgorithms
8 Comments
I loved Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See – it’s set in fifteenth century China and I definitely think it falls into “plotty” – there’s a mystery that runs through the background which I found compelling and it’s very much about the characters more than the place (although of course the time period and place informs the characters).
I also LOVED A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Russia in the 1920s and continues for about 30 years. This one the time period is really important to the story but the main character is under house arrest in a hotel, so it’s very character driven.
Denise Mina, *Rizzio* – Scottish history as a crime novel, and *Three Fires*, which does the same for Renaissance Italy.
The Shadow of the Wind sounds like a perfect fit if you’re looking for a historical fiction that is heavy on plot with a historical background setting
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Don’t knock it till you try it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Luminaries – Eleanor Catton
The Witching Tide – Margaret Meyer
Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel
The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson
The Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is an historical magical fiction novel by David Mitchell. Set during the Dutch trading concession with Japan in the late 18th-century… and I loved it.