Recommend Me (sorta) Some Historical Fiction

[Something Amyss]

Hey,

This isn't really about my tastes. I do the downloading for my mother's Audible account, because she can't be arsed to learn how to do it. Problem is, she complains about a lack of books and then never bothers to select any.

I could just let her twist, but I'm not wired that way. She wants historical fiction, and it's a genre I'm not well-versed in. So I'm hoping for some recommendations. Preferably I can find for my Mom on Audible. any help would be appreciated.

 

[Stasisesque]

She's most likely already read them, but C.S Forester's novels are sort of the pinnacle (Horatio Hornblower; The African Queen). Bernard Cornwell is also pretty good (Sharpe). My personal favourite, though they are more fiction than history, are Giles Kristian's books (he did a Viking trilogy and is now working on the English Civil War). The Three Muskateers is historical fiction, but again she's probably read that. The Cadfael books are excellent.

There's loads to choose from, but all the ones that come to mind for me are the huge ones, sorry.

 

[Queen Michael]

Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi is one of, if not the, most beloved historical novels ever written in Japan. I read it four years ago, and it's amazing. Highly recommended, even if she's not specifically a fan of samurai and Japan as it used to be. And just to be clear -- this is not an action novel. It's a drama. And a splendid one.

 

[Lieju]

Mika Waltari has a bunch of historical novels, not sure how available they are in English, but the Egyptian has at least been published in English and it's his best one.

(Don't read the abridged version, though. I was curious of the translation and read the English version I got my hands on and it removed a bunch of stuff)

My mom keeps telling me to read Pompeii by Robert Harris, which I will, but haven't gotten around to yet.

 

[R4ptur3]

Anything by Bernard Cornwell basically. His main novels are about the 100 years war, viking's in Britain, and the Napoleonic wars but there are a few other settings.

Also Simon Scarrow, who does a great series about Rome and it's Empire.

 

[MetalDooley]

Well historical fiction is an incredibly broad genre so it'd help to know which particular periods of history she's interested in.That said I'll just name a few authors I've enjoyed

Bernard Cornwell has been mentioned twice so I'll third that recommendation

Conn Iggulden is quite enjoyable.He has written 2 main series to date -The Emperor series which centers around the life of Julius Ceaser and The Conqueror series which deals with Genghis Khan and his descendants

The Brethren Trilogy by Robyn Young which is set during the crusades is pretty good as well.

 

[mirage202]

As R4ptur3 said, Simon Scarrow's The Eagle series, 12 books to date.

Also as MetalDooley says, Conn Iggulden, the Emperor series in his best imho.

Finally the Marius Mules series.

Yes, I like Rome.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Well, people have already mentioned the Hornblower series and Bernard Cornwell's stuff, but that's all Napoleonic/Revolutionary wars period.

For something a bit older... ehm... I guess, Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series (late Republic, early empire). Comparative to that, I guess would be the Imperator series by EB Hartmann, even though only the first one's been published so far... they're both idiotic as far as appendices and glossaries are concerned. There are mistakes in both, and it's entertaining to find them... then rage because of them... >_>

Tracy Chevalier's written some stuff, though I know of her only because my mom really likes Girl With the Pearl Earring (or rather, Colin Firth in the film adaptation...).

snip

If you could ask her which period/place she's interested in, could be narrowed down a little better...

 

[Liv's Runaway Snail]

I agree with MetalDooley, it would help to know what kind of historical periods she is interested in.

But here are few historical fiction novels I've enjoyed:

Remember Me by Lesley Pearse (Australian convicts)

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by Eva Stachniak (told through the perspective of a female spy who was close to Catherine).

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth (about the wife of Wilhelm Grimm before they got married).

The Queen's Fool by Phillipa Gregory (Tudor period)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (China setting, foot binding, sisterhood).

Sylvia by Bryce Courtenay (Children's Crusade, Europe).

Wild Swans: Three Women of China by Jung Chang (explores three generations living in China 20th century).

The House of Special Purpose by Jon Boyne (explores the life of a man living close to the Romanov family and life after escaping Russia 20th century).

 

[Eleuthera]

Besides the ones already mentioned (Cornwell, Iggulden, Scarrow)

I'd like to add:
Valerio Massimo Manfredi, depending on the novel will switch between straight historical fiction (the Alexander series or Spartan), to more fantastical stories (the Oracle or the Last Legion).
Steven Pressfield, Gates of fire (think "300" but actually good) or Last of the Amazons (where I stole my handle).

There's also the "Earth's Children" series by Jean Auel, but that's prehistorical fiction (and a tad heavier on the fiction)

 

[nariette]

I recently read a novel by a Dutch writer, historical fiction. It's the story of Casanova, seen from the eyes of the girl who was his first lover, and the cause of him being a womanizer. Personally I loved the novel, and there is an English translation: In Lucia's eyes, written by Arthur Japin. I thought it was beautiful, though critics are either giving it four or five stars or one. It's a romantic novel, but the romance isn't even the largest part of the novel.

 

[Nickolai77]

I agree with MetalDooley, it would help to know what kind of historical periods she is interested in.

But here are few historical fiction novels I've enjoyed:

Remember Me by Lesley Pearse (Australian convicts)

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by Eva Stachniak (told through the perspective of a female spy who was close to Catherine).

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth (about the wife of Wilhelm Grimm before they got married).

The Queen's Fool by Phillipa Gregory (Tudor period)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (China setting, foot binding, sisterhood).

Sylvia by Bryce Courtenay (Children's Crusade, Europe).

Wild Swans: Three Women of China by Jung Chang (explores three generations living in China 20th century).

The House of Special Purpose by Jon Boyne (explores the life of a man living close to the Romanov family and life after escaping Russia 20th century).

I'm quoting this person's post because I think they're good recommendations for the OP's mother. Some of the recommendations made on this thread are books targeted at a male audience. Apologies for gender stereotyping, but I can't imagine many mothers would be into Scarrow's and Cornwell's tales of soldiery bravado!

 

[Tiger King]

Conn iggulden wrote a very good series on the life of Genghis khan, the first book is called wolf of the plains.
It's a very interesting story that is also very insightful into mongolian history.

 

[Niflhel]

I think she might enjoy Don Quixote. It cannot really be classified as historical fiction, as it was written in the early 17th century and takes place around that time - but that just make it so much better. Even though it's an old book, it's easy to read. And it's hilarious!

 

[Muspelheim]

Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is a classic one, and with good reason. It's a very good book.

It's a murder mystery plot set in an isolated medieval Benedictine monastery, and it does some rather good work with its setting. It's a great read, and treat the reader better than most crime drama things does.

 

[Vladeon]

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a classic Historical fiction piece that's absolutely amazing to read. SO much better than any of the movies they put out. If she likes that one, there's two other books in the series as that's the first of three. The second one is called Twenty Years After and the third is called The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. This third book is actually where the Man in the Iron Mask storyline comes from. Highly recommend the D'artagnan Romance Trilogy to anyone.

 

[Random berk]

Ship of Rome (followed by Captain of Rome and Master of Rome) by John Stack are pretty decent. He did a book called Armada then which was... passable.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Ken Follet's books are Historical Fiction. The Pillars of the Earth is quite good.

If you want to branch out into other media besides books, watch HBO's Rome for a dramatized version of the rise and fall of Caesar and the ensuing power vacuum. I say it's historical fiction because of the liberties taken with Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo.

 

[Something Amyss]

In general, I see a bunch of books here that I know she hasn't read. And since I'm stuck doing the selection, at least these'll be closer to what she wants than what I know of. I really am more into the science fiction/fantasy spectrum. Thanks for any suggestions, including future ones. I now have a lot of books I can look up and try out on her.

If you could ask her which period/place she's interested in, could be narrowed down a little better...

she's listened to a bunch of stuff from different periods and locales. I know she's read the Conn Iggulden books being mentioned here, as well as the Outlander series by Diana Gibaldon or however it's spelled. There was also some woman who did a bunch of histrorical fiction about various Queens and princesses of Western Europe. I saw Don Quixote here, which she's read. I recently got her Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, too.

I don't think she cares much about the period or locale. I mentioned Taiko and Romance of the Three Kingdoms to her, both books (though RotK is more like a series at its size) I own and was disappointed to find out there was no audio version (which is unsurprising to me, due to the size of both volumes).

If there's any tendency in her books, I think it's more because of what is commonly available and promoted. I think I may have found the Iggulden books for her, actually, because they were promoted on Audible at some point.

(Don't read the abridged version, though. I was curious of the translation and read the English version I got my hands on and it removed a bunch of stuff)

She won't touch abridged versions, thankfully.