Your Favorite Historical Fiction Novels

I was wondering whether anyone here has read any historical fiction set in the medieval time period which they would recommend? I have read a couple, and I enjoyed them very much. If you would like to recomend a book or three, please give a short description of the book and rate it on a scale from 1 - 10 (10 being the best). *NO SPOILERS PLEASE!*

Pillars of the Earth is a very long book which centers around a stone mason and his family. It focuses on medieval politics, especially where the Catholic Church is concerned. I also learned a great deal about the life of common people during the time period from this book. I would recommend it 9/10.

I enjoyed another series of books, but unfortunately I can't remember the exact title. The title is simply a year, i.e. 1985. I believe it is actually set in the 1300's. The sequels to the book are titled with the next successive years. The original premise of these books is a bit, well okay VERY, science-fictionish. A small mining town in modern America is suddenly picked up and dropped in the middle of Germany during the middle ages. The science fiction goes no farther than that point. Throughout the rest of the series, the author does an amazing job of exploring every facet of life, religion, politics, war and survival for "the americans" and for the Europeans who now live among them. I can't describe in this post how well the author addresses every facet of life and survival for the people in this town. What do they do when the medicine runs out? When the ammo for their guns runs out? How do they deal with medieval Europeans who wish to become part of their new country? How do they deal with mercenary armies consisting of tens of thousands of men assaulting their small town? The cast of characters includes many actual historical figures. I would imagine that the accuracy with which these figures are portrayed would depend on the reader's own prejudices. (The facts of every historical argument I've read on this site can be argued differently depending on which side of the conflict the historical source was on) Watching these people learn to govern themselves and learn to interact with other governments and powers while also learning to adapt their resources and technologies to the limitations of the Middle Ages was entertaining and educational in the extreme for me. I would highly recommend this series of books 10/10.

... this has nothing to do with the MTW game, a mod will probably coem along and move this...

Moved to the Monastery.

Alexander trilogy by Manfredi.

I also hear the series by Simon Scarrow is pretty good too.

I enjoyed Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose very much. I don't think the book is spoiled in any way if you've seen the film. The novel is a murder mystery, but illuminates medieval attitudes, philosophy, and religious thought by contrasting them with the more modern, rational approach of the protagonist.

If you enjoy Eco, you might also be interested in his Baudolino which is a lighter book but similar in its interest in medieval modes of thought.

Bernard Cornwell: The Grail Quest.

Yes, Also The Last Kingdom by Cornwall, while your at it check out his Warlord Chronicles for a "historical" version of Arthur.

Shogun by James Clavell, set in medieval Japan. 10/10

Colleen McCulloughs Masters of Rome. Not really mediveal but damned good anyways. 8/10

If you ever happen upon one or more books of Maurice Druon's seven-part series The Accursed Kings, don't hesisate.

I might give those a try. I saw the series on TV during the autumn and found it very good, although the scenery was a bit strange, a sort of Excalibur setting (i.e completely wrong).

The Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, which are side-splittingly funny as well as being well researched.

Yes, the Flashman novels are fantastic. I've only read the first ony, Flashman, and the description of the 1st Afghan War is excellent.

I liked Gates of Fire by... damn, I don't rember is name. Anyway, it's the battle of Thermonoplyae from the view of a Spartan squire, telling it to his Persian captives.

Knight Crusader - Ronal Welch, a fantastic book, I've read it several times - there are a few others by the same author that wander through history - well worth picking up.

Also, The White Company by Conan Doyle is a must-read medieval historical fiction novel.

I'll add another mention of Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, they're good fun.

What else is there... I know I've read a few more, but can't for the life of me remember titles and authors... One called Kemp or something about an archer at Agincourt... Umberto Eco's work is good - Name of the Rose, Baudolino...

To be honest, I am far more interested in novels set in the Classical era, but that's just me - the McCullough series were an excellent coupla months entertainment, the Manfredi books are... not particularly accurate in my opinion - airport novels... Of course, the person to read is Mary Renault, who is excellent. I find that I'm reading more fact than fiction on the subject though, so hmm...

Other areas... Clavell's good, for something similar, this is good for early 20th century China. The Flashman series is awesome in every way shape and form. Patrick O'Brian's Napoleonic era sailing novels are great...

I could go on and on, but I am getting off-topic, so I won't.

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

I liked Gates of Fire by... damn, I don't rember is name. Anyway, it's the battle of Thermonoplyae from the view of a Spartan squire, telling it to his Persian captives.

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By Steven Pressfield I think....

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Originally Posted by Sjakihata

Colleen McCulloughs Masters of Rome. Not really mediveal but damned good anyways. 8/10

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I second that. Someone at the Org put me onto them and I've read all 6 books in the last year. Outstanding stuff, from Gaius Marius to Octavian ~:)

Cornwell is entertaining, not always believable but entertaining.

I especially liked being able to identify most of the source material for the "historical" aspects of his warlord trilogy, very entertaining (both identifying the sources and the trilogy).

The author of the Cadfael series has done some other entertaining historical novels too.

Edit: for spelling

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Originally Posted by Mount Suribachi

I second that. Someone at the Org put me onto them and I've read all 6 books in the last year. Outstanding stuff, from Gaius Marius to Octavian ~:)

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Eh, I read a few, but it was too politicy... not enough battles, too much stuff about whos sleeping with who.

Spartacus by Rafaello Giovanolli ( very interesting novel focused on Rome)
Great insight, great subject, great ending.
Also I enjoyed Shogun by James Clavell.

Tyrant by Valerio Manfredi (sp) - he also did the Alexander trilogy

A brief synopsis

The thundering new historical epic from the bestselling master of the genre Sicily 412 BC: the infinite duel between a man and a superpower begins. The man is Dionysius, who has just made himself Tyrant of Syracuse. The superpower Carthage, mercantile megalopolis and mistress of the seas. Over the next eight years, Dionysius' brutal military conquests will strike down countless enemies and many friends to make Syracuse the most powerful Greek city west of mainland Greece. He builds the largest army of antiquity and invents horrific war machines to use against the Carthaginians, who he will fight in five wars. But who was Dionysius? Historians have condemned him as one of the most ruthless, egocentric despots. But he was also patron of the arts, a dramatist, poet and tender lover.

Bloody good stuff for RTW fans :book:

Also the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden brilliantly interweaves history and adventure to recreate the astonishing life of Julius Caesar - an epic tale of ambition and rivalry, bravery and betrayal, from an outstanding new voice in historical fiction.

Set from the start of Ceaser's lifr to the bloody end. Great characters and very enjoyable.

[QUOTE=Craterus]Alexander trilogy by Manfredi.

Yes, that is a good read...is it famous? I got it 4 Christmas years ago...

Aonther book...not novel but just as good to read is "The Adventures of Ibn Batutta". To sum it up: theologically educated guy travelles as Muslim scholar pretty much through the whole Islamic world of the 14th century. From Byzanz (i know that one ain`t Islamic) to Indonesia, from Siberia to the Maledives....It is very interessing and funny....

[QUOTE=Subedei]

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Originally Posted by Craterus

Alexander trilogy by Manfredi.

Yes, that is a good read...is it famous?

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Fairly famous, AFAIK.

Amin Maalouf's Leo Africanus and Samarkand were quite good. The first one especially achieved to depict the early Renaissance from both christian and muslim point of view, without falling in the 'They were more bad than us' kind of thing.
Oddly, I didn't like other novels by Amin Maalouf, cause they seemed quite more biased toward one 'side'.
If you want summaries, google or wikipedia is for you. Basically, Leo the African depicts the life of a Muslim traveller born in Granada in the end of the 15th century, who visited a lot of places in Africa (Fez, Cairo, the Songhai Empire) and later converted to Christianism and served a few popes in Roma. It's based on a real character, although little is known about his real life. Dunno how much was made up by Maalouf, but the book is great anyway.
Samarkand is, if my memory isn't fooling me, composed of 2 different stories taking place in the great city of Samarkand, the first one during the growth of the Turkish power in the Middle East, and the second one during the colonial era.
I'd rate Leo the African 8/10 and Samarkand 7/10

I also enjoyed the Children of the Grail serie (I only read the first 2 books), by Peter Berling, although I don't think it's great litterature (rather an historical novel with the cheap stuffs that increase solds : sex, violence, weird things a la japanese porn there and there). I liked it cause it reminded me of MTW and because it has everything I like about the Middle Age : Knight Orders, Great Kings, Battles, Mongols, Cathars, a Roman Emperor struggling with different Popes, a Grail theory, Arab characters a la Arabian Nights, Gay Greeks (joking :surrender:) etc. etc.

The Accursed Kings serie is great too. Quite a shame both TV series were totally crappy (What was Philippe Torreton doing here anyway ? :dizzy2: )

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Originally Posted by gunslinger

I enjoyed another series of books, but unfortunately I can't remember the exact title. The title is simply a year, i.e. 1985. I believe it is actually set in the 1300's. The sequels to the book are titled with the next successive years. The original premise of these books is a bit, well okay VERY, science-fictionish.

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Those would be 1632, 1633, and 1634 (so far), by Eric Flint, with David Weber collaborating on the 2nd volume. Also related is The Grantville Gazette, a collection of shorter stories placed in the same alternate history setting. All very good reads, if not total pageburners. Recommended.

A good series I've read has been the "Camulod Chronicles" by Jack Whyte. It is set in Britain at the end of Roman occupation in the 5th century. It is suposed to be a realistic/historical story cronicleing the beginings of Camalote (Camulod) and the early life of Aurthur told from the perspective of Caius Merlyn Britannicus (Merlyn). The series has about 7 books and is fairly well written. It makes a good attempt at turing the legand into somthing that is realistic and belivable.

I vote for The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco andShogun by Clavel. I like I, Claudius by Robert Graves , too.
There is a good story in the Mead hall about princess Eleanor written by Frogbeastegg ( I am reading it from time to time :book: )

My favourites is books by Mika Waltari - The Dark Angel (Johannes Angelos, 1952),The Etruscan (Turms kuolematon, 1955),The Egyptian (Sinuhe egyptiläinen, 1945). Deep historical context makes you believe, that everything was like Waltari writes. And of course Eco's -"the name of the rose".

"The Bastard King" i dont remember by who but its about William the Conquerer and its really good

I hope you don't mind a little fantasy too (demons and magic), but I really really liked The Shadow of Ararat by Harlan. The series was quite absorbing, but boy, I think that sucker blundered to a halt. I would advise just reading the first (as it is standalone) but the next three run into each other. It was tough to get into (I wasn't used to his style) but once I was in, I was hooked.

It is set during Heraclius' reign.

Azi

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Originally Posted by monkian

Also the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden brilliantly interweaves history and adventure to recreate the astonishing life of Julius Caesar - an epic tale of ambition and rivalry, bravery and betrayal, from an outstanding new voice in historical fiction.

Set from the start of Ceaser's lifr to the bloody end. Great characters and very enjoyable.

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Absolutely - loved the Emperor series, especially the way it describes Caesars childhood and youth, something not often touched upon in mainstream literature.

I would like to point out one not that well known author but a great one.Mika Waltari.His best known novel is the Sinuhet Egyptian,but he has lots of other good historical novels ranging from rise of Rome to the Fall of Constantinopole and 30 years war.I recommended his novels whole heartedly.:bow:

anyone heard of jack whytes arthur series? i like it at any rate,a more believable than cromwell,cornwell whatever his name is.

love the sharpe series.
:book:

I'm suprised no one has mentioned Robert Harris. Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel and Pompeii are all good books, particullary the first three. Yeah, technically Fatherland and Archangel are alternate history, but they are far superior to most literature that falls into those catagories. Pompeii is entertaining too, though not as good as his previous three.

Summary:

Fatherland - German police detective in an alternate version of the 1960s where Germany won WW2. He begins to investigate the disappearance of various Jewish families, something that the Germans have been taught not to ask about. Trouble finds him and his discoveries have global political implications.

Enigma - An eccentric, genius codebreaker at Bletchley Park assigned to decoding Enigma transmissions uncovers a horrible secret.

Archangel - A historian in the 1990s uncovers the ultimate riddle of the Stalinist era and the immense implications this has for the modern world.

Pompeii - A novel following an aqueduct engineer as he investigates mysterious occurances in the area around Mount Vesuvius. This turns into a murder mystery set to the backdrop of the doomed city.

Can someone just verify something for me..? Manda Scott, in her Boudica books, claims that the rulers of "Celtic" tribes in Britain were women, and that inheritance passed through the female line. She also claims that sexual contact between women was common and perfectly acceptable, while sexual contact between men was frowned upon. Another of her claims is that Romans introduced currency to Britain. Is there any truth in those beliefs? And how can I point out to my mother that it's simply fiction written by an extremist feminist?

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Originally Posted by Justiciar

Can someone just verify something for me..? Manda Scott, in her Boudica books, claims that the rulers of "Celtic" tribes in Britain were women, and that inheritance passed through the female line. She also claims that sexual contact between women was common and perfectly acceptable, while sexual contact between men was frowned upon. Another of her claims is that Romans introduced currency to Britain. Is there any truth in those beliefs? And how can I point out to my mother that it's simply fiction written by an extremist feminist?

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I'm reading those books, I found that a bit strange too.

Not all the tribe leaders are women in the book, but most are.

The books listed below are mentioned numerous times in this thread - and for good reason.

I'd recommend them all.

In no particular order :

Bernard Cornwell - The Archers Tale ( book #1 in the Grale Quest series )

Colleen McCullough - Caesar ( really do need to read her other books, in the serie )

Conn Iggulden - Emperor ( all the books are good, although I still need to get my hands on the last book.. )

:balloon2:

Lest Darkness Fall is quite good. The story is about an Archaeologist who finds himself transported to Gothic italy were he tries to stop the dark ages. 8/10

For alternate history there are some good short stories in The Best Alternate History of the 20th century 8/10

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Originally Posted by Justiciar

Can someone just verify something for me..? Manda Scott, in her Boudica books, claims that the rulers of "Celtic" tribes in Britain were women, and that inheritance passed through the female line. She also claims that sexual contact between women was common and perfectly acceptable, while sexual contact between men was frowned upon. Another of her claims is that Romans introduced currency to Britain. Is there any truth in those beliefs? And how can I point out to my mother that it's simply fiction written by an extremist feminist?

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The British isles of this time were indeed inhabited by Celts, most of Gaulic and Belgic descent, but IIRC the highland "Caledonii" were of older Celtic stock. The Celts were not particularly patriachal and women were held in high esteem. It was not unknown for women to fight in battle, even though this was far from common. Exotic tales of Amazons aside, no warlike culture ever relied exclusively, or even for the main part, on women. Given that Celts were a warlike people and the British were continually fighting and raiding each other, positions of leadership would most often be given to men, based on their military prowress. I don't buy that warlike, aggresive people like the Celts would have most of their leadership done by women.

I can't comment on the sexual mores of the Celts but perhaps Ranika knows more. He is Europa Barbarorum's Celtic expert, and often willing to share his knowlegde.

Thanks. When I said "Celtic" I wasn't being sarcastic btw.. its just such a loose term that I don't like using it that much.

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Originally Posted by AdrianII

If you ever happen upon one or more books of Maurice Druon's seven-part series The Accursed Kings, don't hesisate.

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Agree, it represents magnificiently France (and England) before the 100-year war. Fair Philip IV's splendid reign, the wise Pope John XXII's incredible carrier and the atmosphere of the medieval life. My favourite was undoubtedly Robert d'Artois, who was a quite extreme character with his huge stature, sense of humour, sexual dissipations, alcoholism....~:thumb: Otherwise he was a pair of the French kingdom, and was buried in the St Paul's Cathedral in 1343.

Undoubtedly "The Sword and the Scimitar", also published as "Ironfire", by David Ball.

From Publishers's Weekly: "The Ottoman Empire's vicious 1565 assault on the island fortresses of Malta, and the vigorous defense of the island by the Knights of St. John, a military religious order dedicated to preserving Christendom from the Muslims, serves as the backdrop for Ball's second historical epic. Amid bloody land and sea battles, four protagonists struggle to survive in a world of disease, brutality and religious persecution. Nico, a young Maltese boy, is captured by Algerian corsairs in a pirate raid and taken to North Africa, where he serves as a slave to a shipbuilder. To save his life, he converts to Islam and becomes captain of one of the sultan's war galleys. Maria, Nico's sister, vows to find and rescue her brother, but priests, knights and her own desire for revenge thwart her plans. Christien Luc de Vries is an unwilling Knight of St. John who prefers studying medicine and surgery to butchering Muslims. Father Giulio Salvago is an Inquisitor determined to stamp out heresy through torture and fear, but whose own guilt over past sins torments him. All four characters confront lies, broken vows and unexpected twists in their efforts to vanquish their enemies and save themselves during the massive Turkish siege of Malta. Ball's bold, gruesome descriptions convincingly evoke the savagery of this 16th-century religious war and the treachery and zealotry of Muslim and Christian authorities alike."

It's one of the finest novels I've read, and it's definetely not just for the historically inclined, this is a must for all who appreciate the written word.

I think I'm going to add a couple of... let us just call them interesting, writers.~;)

Sven Hazel's books. Historical? Hardly, but they have an interesting setting and they can be pretty nasty.

Even 'worse' are the books of Leo Kessler. They are enjoyable to a great extent, if you can ignore his obsession with women, and the male interaction they sometimes have.

I guess both could be called good books for 13-14 year olds, but I found them quite enjoyable even now. I guess I'm trying to be more of a devil's advocate here.

Dorothy Dunnet's Lymond series is a lot of fun.
It takes place in the 1500s and follows her character Francis Crawford through Scotland, France (court of Henry II?), Malta, Istanbul, Moscow and a few points in between.

It starts with "The Game of Kings"

Oh my mum is a huge fan of the Lymond saga. She tried to make me read it once, but I found it very heavy going and I switched off after page 20.

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Oh my mum is a huge fan of the Lymond saga. She tried to make me read it once, but I found it very heavy going and I switched off after page 20.

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Yeah, that first book is hard to get into.
It starts in medias res and you really don't know what's going on until near the end of the book. The payoff is nice, and once you've read the first book, the others are a breeze.

In my opinion, you probably won't find a better historical fiction writer for medieval England than Sharon Kay Penman. Her Sunne in Splendour, about the later War of the Roses and a unique take on Richard III, is long but a fantastic epic. There's also her trilogy about England and Wales in the 13th Century - Here Be Dragons (mainly about Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, aka Llewelyn the Great), Falls the Shadow (about Simon de Montfort) and The Reckoning (about Llewelyn ap Gryffydd, aka Llewelyn the Last, and Edward I). And she's two books through a trilogy about the start of the Plantagenet dynasty; the first two were While Christ and His Saints Slept (about the civil war between Stephen and Maude) and Time and Chance (about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine). My favorite is probably Sunne in Splendour, followed by Falls the Shadow and Time and Chance.

She also has a mystery series set in the reign of Richard the Lionheart; they're a nice quick read but not as good as her epic novels. She's better as a standard novelist, I think, than a mystery writer. Her mysteries are entertaining but more as historical novels than mysteries; a bit predictable, oftentimes ...

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Originally Posted by eadeater

Absolutely - loved the Emperor series, especially the way it describes Caesars childhood and youth, something not often touched upon in mainstream literature.

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I'd like to add that the Emperor series is extremely innaccurate, historically speaking. I've only read the first book, admittedly, but Iggulden twists the known record so far it's not even recognisable anymore. There really is no excuse to do this when writing about a person so well documented as Ceasar. Background details are also dubious, depictions of politics and military matters are bollocks, characteristation seems anachronistic as well.

I'd furthermore add that the writing is mediocre and the characterisation poor, but I may be prejudiced because the historical innaccuracy ticked me off. Sole redeeming feature would be that the book is fast paced and action packed, though I didn't find the action believable either.

For further details, see my post (well, long rant really) in the stickied literature thread in this forum. Post almost halfway down this page.

Bottom line would be: read if you want a quick action story and don't mind the flaws, but please don't take anything in there as historical fact.

Edit: to add something constructive to my post: I've always liked the little-known historical novels by Alfred Duggan. He wrote a ton of them in the 50s and 60s, and they're being reprinted now. Some are on medieval history, others are about ancient Rome. Favourites would include "The Conscience of the King", which is about the semi-legendary founder of the English royal house, Cerdric of Wessex, plotting, scheming and murdering his way to the throne.

If you like the idea of Cornwell's "historical Arthur", I recommend checking out Rosemary Sutcliff's "Sword at Sunset." This book is the first to look at Arthur this way, and provides a magnificent look at 5th century England, and a truly believable interpretation of Arhur. (or in this case, Artos the Bear.") Bear in mind, though, that this book isn't nearly as heavy on the battles and action scenes as Cornwell's novels.