I have a little, obscure, yet amazing title to add here.
"Die Kinder der Finsternis" (eng.: The Badger of Ghissi) by Wolf von Niebelschütz. This is easily one of the best (if not the best IMHO) german historical novels. It takes place in a little (ficticious) county set between Provence and Spain in the 12th century, featuring all you can wish for: Al-Andalus in all it's cultural richness, southern France and its troubadour culture, love, hate, war, peace, faith, despair...
I don't know about the of the english translation, but the german original is of the highest quality, using a very rich, medieval-esque language (that might take some time getting used to but enhances the experience greatly) - whoever is able to should read the original (*pokes Glenn*)

My 2 cents (actually, it's a pearl, but you don't say that, do you?)