I’m no history scholar, but I do have a casual interest. I don’t expect perfection when it comes to historical detail because I couldn’t even identify perfection! However I am getting tired of reading things that don’t really seem to take much care at all with their historical settings — I’m talking dialogue that’s glaringly modern and not era-appropriate, clothing descriptions that make no sense, vagueness that suggests something renaissance-y and all of a sudden there’s electric lights, etc.
For example I recently started Anatomy by Dana Schwartz (who does a very well known royal history podcast called Noble Blood) and was extremely disappointed at how poorly researched it was, especially coming from someone with her background.
I primarily read adult fiction, but I’m open to YA or historical fantasy if well done.
by teddy_vedder
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Janice Galloway’s *Clara* I think – fictionalized life of Clara Schumann.
The Tokaido Road by Julia St Claire Robson.
The Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson, takes place late 1890s and seems well researched and detailed about what life was like at that time in New York City. And it talks of lifestyles for the rich, poor, those of different ethnicities and cultures, etc. I love when the books mention a new invention, though I think she took a couple liberties on exact timing, but I don’t feel it ruins or takes away from the immersion.
Girl with a pearl earring
Do you have an interest in a particular historical period or setting?
Both are middle-grade, but…
The Roman Mysteries. It’s very well-researched, you get to see places and people all over the Roman empire, and the main character is a bossy but adorable little girl and her equally adorable friends.
Oddity by Eli Brown. It’s alternate history with a hefty dose of magic, but you can tell the author did his research
This suggestion might be a little out there, but try Matrix by Lauren Groff.
Or The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
You may like Georgette Heyer; she is most famous for her Regency books but she also wrote some medieval novels (and detective fiction that was set more or less contemporary to her own life in the 20s/30s but they’re not as good as her historical fiction). Her attention to period detail is incredible and her dialogue, in particular, is extraordinarily transporting and evocative. She wrote a fictionalised account of the run-up to Waterloo, An Infamous Army, which is so obsessively accurate that every piece of Wellington’s dialogue was specifically sourced. She was also extremely prolific so, if she clicks with you, you have a vast number of books to enjoy!