MUST Reads

tsjmom · Post by **tsjmom** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 1:29 am

Ok, so we have different lists, but let's just list our absolute "you HAVE to read these books" of all time.

I'll start:

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Katherine
The Glass Castle
The Book Thief

Now it's your turn

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 1:40 am

Oh gawd, don't get me started I'll be here all night

Katherine
Penman's Welsh Trilogy, H&E trilogy and Here be Dragons
The Far Pavilions MM Kaye

I'm sure there's more but I'll come back later.

wendy · Post by **wendy** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 2:52 am

Lord of the Flies
The Other Boleyn Girl
Gone With the Wind
Jane Eyre
Their Eyes Were Watching God
A Farewell to Arms
The Bluest Eye
My Antonia
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Madame Bovary
The Da Vinci Code
The Hot Zone

An odd-ball selection . . . but that reflects me!

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 3:40 am

The Book of James. And it's only 23K words.

emr · Post by **emr** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 7:39 am

Eagle in the Snow

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 9:58 am

Forever Amber
Katherine
Wolf Hall
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Pillars of the Earth
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Red Tent

To be honest, I hated TOBG but it's so famous I think everyone should read it and make up their own minds. I also haven't yet read Katherine, Wolf Hall or Pillars of the Earth but they are on my to-read list. Likewise, I think they are just such big titles in HF, everyone should give them a go.

Does The Da Vinci Code count as historical fiction since it's set in modern day times? I read a lot of this sub-genre... historical/archaeological mystery thrillers set in modern day time. Or at least mostly set in modern times, some of them have a historical side-plot. But even so, I'm not sure I would consider them historical fiction.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 11:09 am

The Game of Kings - Dorothy Dunnett
Hanta Yo - Ruth Beebee Hill
Lord of the Rings - Tolkien (okay fantasy, but with strong historical motifs).

Edited to say I have many, many favourite historical novels that I would happily award top marks, but then some go beyond that and have become woven into my life path, whereas the others are just beloved companions. The above 3 for me are part of my heart and soul.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 11:28 am

The Lord of the Rings - to me it has a very strong historical feel, somewhere between the Dark and Middle Ages, but that's just my impression.
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird (not HF I know but still a relevant book for any time)
Far from the Madding Crowd
Wuthering Heights
Into the Wilderness
The Other Boleyn Girl (I loved it, and whatever anyone else thinks I think it's an excellent intro to HF)
The Mallen Trilogy (not great lit, but my first HF-type read and a good story!)
Any of C J Sansom's Matthew Shardlake books
The American Boy

I shall leave it there for now before I get carried away completely!

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 2:53 pm

All of Sharon Kay Penman's books
Elizabeth Chadwicks Marshell "trilogy"
Legacy by Susan Kay
Within the Fetterlock-Brian Wainwright
Camulod Series-Jack Whyte

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 3:23 pm

Didn't we do this a while back? I need to go look so I can see if my list is still the same.

Ah, here we go:

http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... ic+fiction