List your favorite Top 10 Historical Fiction Reads

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 4:30 pm

I searched for this thread starter and couldn't find one, I appologize if this is a repeat! Thought this might be a good list for people who are newly interrested in the HF gendre and don't know where to start.

Here is my list to date, and not in any particular order...

1. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
2. Katherine - Anya Seton
3. TOBG - Philippa Gregory
4. Forever Amber - Kathleen Winsor
5. Alinor - Roberta Gellis
6. The Greatest Knight - Elizabeth Chadwick
7. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
8. Abundance - Sena Jeter Naslund
9. Follow the River - James Alexander Thom
10. Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 5:22 pm

I'm sure I'll miss something but here goes and in no particular order,

Gone With The Wind
The Far Pavilions
Katherine
Here be Dragons
Devil's Brood
Outlander
Sunne in Splendour
The Lymond Chronicles
Legacy by Susan Kay
Chadwick I can't decide which so A Place Beyond Courage, Shadows & Strongholds, The Greatest Knight & The Scarlet Lion

donroc · Post by **donroc** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 5:27 pm

1. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
2. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
3. The Black Rose by Thomas Costain
4. The Moneyman by Thomas Costain
5. Captain From Castile by Samuel Shellabarger
6. The Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger
8. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
9. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
10. Three Musketeers, Man in the Iron Mask, Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas

They are oldies, but they are the HF novels that added both to my love of History and desire one day to write a worthy HF novel.

LCW · Post by **LCW** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 5:39 pm

Not really in any particular order of favorites:

1. Katherine by Anya Seton
2. Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
3. Nectar From A Stone by Jane Guill
4. The Heaven's Tree Trilogy by Edith Pargeter
5. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon (sorry, can't pick just one!)
6. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
7. Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman
8. Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman
9. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
10. The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baronness Emmuska Orczy

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 5:48 pm

10. Three Musketeers, Man in the Iron Mask, Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas

Shame on me, I forgot Dumas

donroc · Post by **donroc** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 8:18 pm

And I should have included Dunnett's Lymond and Niccolo series, but I wanted to cite those that influenced me when I was a lad.

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Fri October 24th, 2008, 10:30 pm

I forgot Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, I know I will remember others later!

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Sat October 25th, 2008, 3:01 am

Are books like Jane Eyre considered historic fiction if the writers are contemporary with their subjects?

Boy this is hard, but I picked books that started me off looking for more about a specific era or place:

Here be Dragons Sharon Kay Penman
Queen of Swords Judith Tarr
Far Pavillions MM Kaye
House of Spirits Isabel Allende
The Good Earth Pearl S Buck
Bless this House Norah Lofts
The Journeyer Gary Jennings
City of Dreams Beverly Swerling
Sinai Tapestry Edward Whittmore
Fingersmith Sarah Waters

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Sat October 25th, 2008, 3:36 am

[quote=""Ash""]Are books like Jane Eyre considered historic fiction if the writers are contemporary with their subjects?
[/quote]

No I never thought so. I would catalog those as classic books.
I'll have to ponder my list...

Mr. Emerson's Wife
A Northern Light

annis · Post by **annis** » Sat October 25th, 2008, 7:08 am

This is cheating because I'm sneaking in some extras along the way

In no particular order:

1 .Dorothy Dunnett “King Hereafter” (+ Lymond & Niccolo series)
2. Rosemary Sutcliff “Sword at Sunset” (+ "Flowers of Adonis")
3. Frans G Bengtsson “The Long Ships”
4. Steven Pressfield “Gates of Fire” (+ “Tides of War&#8221

5. Pauline Gedge “Child of the Morning” (+ “The Eagle and the Raven&#8221

6. Diana Norman “Daughter of Lir” ( + pretty much anything else by this author)
7. Mary Renault “The King Must Die” (+ “The Bull from the Sea&#8221

8. Wallace Breem "Eagle in the Snow"
9. Ellis Peters “Heaven Tree” trilogy (“Heaven Tree”, Green Branch” & “Scarlet Seed&#8221

10. Kathleen Herbert “Northumbria” trilogy (“Bride of the Spear” ,”Queen of the Lightning” & “Ghost in the Sunlight&#8221

And that doesn't give me room for MM Kaye, John Masters, Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, or the classics like "War and Peace", "Vanity Fair", Tale of Two Cities", "Pride and Prejudice", "Wuthering Heights" etc (if we're allowed those)
Help- I may need a Top 50!

Darn! I left out Ivo Andric's "Bridge on the Drina"