Louiseog Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Welcome to my world, Susanna Gregory has to be my favourite of all I think. Have read Jecks and Sharon Penman and he was quite good, CJ Sampson' Dark Fire, Dissolution and Sovereign were great, also The Instance of the Fingerpost although not a classic whodunnit is very clever. Haven't read but have on tbr Karen Harper the Poyson Garden which has Elizabeth I investiagting a murder. The other one that had never occurred to me was Agatha Christie, am planning on reading her Tommy and Tuppence series soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maclsj Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I missed out C J Samson from my list! The last installment, Sovereign, I just could not put down! Given it's length I have to applaud the guy for keeping you interested right to the end and keeping a good pace through the story. Shardlake is such an unlikely hero that it just works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I missed out C J Samson from my list! The last installment, Sovereign, I just could not put down! Given it's length I have to applaud the guy for keeping you interested right to the end and keeping a good pace through the story. Shardlake is such an unlikely hero that it just works. They are great, my favourite though is Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael by Susanna Gregory (PS aren't you moving?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maclsj Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Yep, on Thursday Still got 3 more days here at work and am trying not to start anything new as there seems little point! Have you tried Susanna Gregory's Thomas Chaloner series? Very different but equally as good. Oh and I'd recommend the Brother Athelstan series by Paul Doherty (or Paul Harding as he sometimes writes as). Brother Athelstan and Sir John Cranston are another excellent pairing Plus you can't help but laugh at Athelstan's parishioners who keep trying to upstage each other! There are some real characters in that congregation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Yep, on Thursday Still got 3 more days here at work and am trying not to start anything new as there seems little point! Have you tried Susanna Gregory's Thomas Chaloner series? Very different but equally as good. Oh and I'd recommend the Brother Athelstan series by Paul Doherty (or Paul Harding as he sometimes writes as). Brother Athelstan and Sir John Cranston are another excellent pairing Plus you can't help but laugh at Athelstan's parishioners who keep trying to upstage each other! There are some real characters in that congregation! Have listened to a Conspiracy of Violence which is Challoner Off to look for Aethelstan ones now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I am reading James Blish's Doctor Mirabilis at the moment. It is a slightly fictionalised account of the life and times of the great 13th century English mystic Roger Bacon. Blish attempts to fill in the large gaps in what is known with what is speculated about the great man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 See that sounds good too. I do like historical fiction when it tries to fill in the gaps which historians can't! Or won't?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I do like historical fiction when it tries to fill in the gaps which historians can't! Or won't?!?! Me too: I think that's why I really like Sarah Waters' novels and I loved The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber: I find different perspectives of the Victorian era fascinating. I recently bought a second-hand copy of Persuasion by A.S Byatt, which is partly set in the (late?) Victorian period. I never thought I was an Historical Fiction fan, but I suppose I must be!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I missed out C J Samson from my list! The last installment, Sovereign, I just could not put down! Given it's length I have to applaud the guy for keeping you interested right to the end and keeping a good pace through the story. Shardlake is such an unlikely hero that it just works. CJ Sansom has to be one of the best. I have loved every page of Shardlake! I can't wait for the next instalment which is not due out until at least next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Oh I forgot one, Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear, sort of detectivey, set in the inter war years, my favourite historical era (special subject at uni was Great War) short and really clever and thought provoking, really showed an era. And Dorothy L Sayers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Would Virginia Woolf's Orlando count as 'historical fiction'? The androgynous title character was supposedly based on Woolf's close friend (and probable one-time lover) Vita Sackville-West but stretched over 4 centuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Would Virginia Woolf's Orlando count as 'historical fiction'? I guess it would! I love the scenes of the festival taking place on a frozen Thames, with Queen Elizabeth I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I love historical fiction! I've not read any of Susanna Gregory's books but I'm going to have to look out for them. I've read a few of Phillippa Gregory's - started with The Other Bolyne Girl as someone else said. I loved Jean Auel's Earth children series too. My favourite periods to read about have got to be the Jacobite's and the Tudors. I read Anya Seton's Devil Water when I was a teenager and got hooked on the Jacobites. She focusses mainly on the 1715 rebellion, but I've read other books which focus on the 45. Anya Seton's written a few other books set in historical times, but I don't know whether they are true historical figures. I don't really mind whether the books are of historical figures/events or just set in a particular period. I just prefer those times to these! Just remembered - Bernard Cornwell is another favourite. I've got nearly all of the Sharpe books, Stonehenge and the Heretic etc trilogy. I got the Winter King for Christmas but I've not read it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 Just remembered - Bernard Cornwell is another favourite. I've got nearly all of the Sharpe books, Stonehenge and the Heretic etc trilogy. I got the Winter King for Christmas but I've not read it yet. Some of us read The Winter King in the reading circle at the start of the year. Perhaps you'll nip along to the thread and leave your thoughts on it when you're done reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I read Anne Boleyn And Me about two and a half weeks ago. It's a diary that goes through from 1525 to 1536, and it's all about the drama of these messy years, told by a lady-in-waiting to both Queens that sat on the throne in those years. I liked it, as with all Tudor books, and I'll probably try others in the series, like the plague and the great fire of London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Historical fiction was never a genre I was particularly interested in (apart from Jane Austen, whose books I do like), and then I discovered Tracy Chevalier and Sarah Waters. I have only read one Sarah Waters book, and two Tracy Chevalier books, but I loved them both and have more by them on my pile waiting to be read. I got Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir a few weeks ago, which looks good, and also a number of Posie Graeme-Evans' books. I think it depends on the way that such books are written. I used to worry that it would feel like like reading a history textbook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Innocent Traitor is a fantastic book - I couldn't put it down. You will not be disappointed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I got Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir a few weeks ago, which looks good, and also a number of Posie Graeme-Evans' books. I have Innocent Traitor just added to my bookshelf to be read and I can't recommend the Posie Graeme-Evans books enough, I read all three last year and they were fantastic. They really gave me a taste for the genre, easliy as good as Philippa Gregory. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedge Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Bernard Cornwell's first three Sharpe books are near the top of my TBR pile and I've just discovered that there are over 20 more - good job I enjoy a good marathon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I find it really difficult to stop reading those once I start - and I've got most of them! Just picked up two of his latest ones which I've not read yet - looking forward to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedge Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Would you recommend reading them in the order they were written or chronologically by story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Definately chronologically by story. I started with Sharpe's Tiger and went through from there. It makes more sense to go with the timeline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedge Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Might try that - thanks Hazeltree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Thanks Angel and Lilywhite - I am looking forward to getting stuck into those books now:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I love historical fiction, however it has to be british history. I love the tudor era and also King Arthur's reign. I love it when the books are based on real life castles and places so I can research the areas and get a good feel of what the book was about. Ken Follett's book, The Pillars of the Earth was set in mainly in Wales, which I have found a lot of books are, I will have to visit these places! I know the Earths Children books were set in Europe, however they weren't historical as such, more about the time era and their travels. (I hope that makes sense!) These books were very interesting as a lot of the places mentioned in the books were real life places which you can visit. I think the best historical books are the ones which are researched well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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