I am reposting almost word-for-word a post that someone wrote here 7 years ago, because it is /exactly/ what I’m after.
“Alright boys n girls, I’m craving some historical fiction. \[…\] However, I reeeeally don’t need another Western-oriented, Game of Thrones type, medieval, European epic. I read a lot of fantasy and I’m a little over that trope.
Ideal book:
Set in Africa, Latin/South America, or pre-colonial Australia \[or Asia or the Middle East\]
Female characters are well-written, dynamic & realistic \[ideally female MC and female author\]
War is NOT the main focus of the story
Most of the story is about day-to-day life and relationships, highly detailed, well-researched, and accurate (Think the Kingsbridge series)
Ideally not about royalty or high class people but I’ll take it
Examples I have loved recently:
\-Lady Tan’s Circle of Women (Ming-Dynasty China)
\-The Storm We Made (WWII era Malaysia \[formerly Malaya\] but NOT primarily about the war and no combat)
\-Sistersong (set in Britain in the 500s, right before the Saxon invasion)
\-the earliest Kingsbridge books (set in 900s, 1100s, and 1300s Britain)
\-Homegoing (Ghana, mostly)
\-House of the Spirits (Chile)
\-The Pomegranate Gate (inquisition-era Spain BUT about the expulsion of the Jews and from a Jewish perspective)
\*Western in this context implies anything set in Europe, North America, or post-colonial Australia.
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Thank you for your suggestions!
by hawthorneandsage