I love historical fiction. My favorite book is Wolf Hall. I'll be interested in hearing how you like The Sunne in Splendor. It seems I once checked it out of the library, but I don't think I got around to reading it.

I do like historical fiction, and just posted this morning on Annie's thread about a series I have been reading called House of Niccoló. I also read the first book of The Lymond Chronicles, but haven't gotten back to that yet. The author, Dorothy Dunnett, was a Scottish historical author. I really like these books.

I feel like I have read The Sunne in Splendor but I'm not sure. To help with my poor documentation (and memory) of books I have read, and to also just help my aging self in general, I coincidently started to memorize Richard's soliloquy at the beginning of Shakespeare's Richard lll.

DH read both Truman by David McCullough and Grant by Ron Chernow. I'm not a big biography buff, so I didn't read those, but he said that he enjoyed Truman more because the writing was better, but that Grant was "educational." Then he said, "Well, both were educational."

You should post on Annie's threads, oakley. It's good to see a broad range of books mentioned there. You never know when someone will recommend one that is not on your radar. Actually that's the best part. Historical fiction is a rather broad category. Sure I read some. I don't expect to really learn much from them - they are fiction after all.

I also read historical fiction, biographies, memoirs and books based on actual events. I find the living conditions of the past including cultural differences of the times quite interesting and I do think I learn something. Some of the authors do a lot of research to be create a chronologically accurate story. I have a hard time getting into regular fiction - sometimes too deep to get interested or too dumb to spend my time on it. I’m a bit like you Oak in that I have rarely read anything mentioned in Annie’s threads. I have looked into some but if it doesn’t grab me in the first few pages I’m done. I’m sure I’m missing out on a lot of good books.

I guess you would consider A Tale of Two Cities to be historical fiction. I also read The Laughing Man by Victor Hugo when I was in the eighth grade, and I think that could be considered historical fiction. More recently I've read some books on Texas history from the 19th Century, and they read like at least partial fiction to me. It's difficult to prevent Texans from exaggerating and telling tall tales. Fortunately, I don't consider myself Texan and never did, even when I lived there - it always felt like an alien place to me.

I've been reading the biography of Marlene Dietrich, as told by her daughter, and some consider that to be fiction.

I enjoy historical fiction. I have enjoyed Philippa Gregory's books, especially The Other Boleyn Girl.

The Weight of Ink has been mentioned on the reading thread. I really enjoyed it.

Bunny, I liked Wolf Hall and the follow-up, Bring Up the Bodies. However, I don't understand why Wolf Hall won an award. lol.

Leela, that's a great idea! I've watched the soliloquy on Youtube and I'd love to memorize the translation. And I'd love to see Shakespeare's Richard III but I'm afraid I'd get too angry.

Roses, I asked for and received two books for Christmas that were recommended on on of Annie's threads. "Killers of the Flower Moon" & the book of pictures by Obama's photographer, which I forget the name. Killer's was historical though and I guess the photo book will be also. ;) So I'm there lurking then go back to my historical fiction.

3katz, yep, that's me! I remember when "Crazy Rich Asians" was all the rage so I read it and it was okay, but I couldn't wait to get back my regular reading.

Also 3katz, you mentioned "learning" from the books. I learned something last night I never knew before. I was stunned reading about it in the Sunne book so I looked it up and it was TRUE.

Below is a link to the picture that I saw and I swear I almost cried. I knew Richard III's father (Duke of York who had claim to the throne) and his older brother Edmond died in battle, but I didn't know anything about Edmond or how he died. He was a teenager, old enough for battle, and the Lancasters had him cornered on a bridge. A soldier wanted to stab him and his fellow soldiers begged him not to, he was just a kid and they said take him for ransom. Poor Edmond was stabbed in the heart.

This is what I saw when I looked up the story.

Picture of Richard III's brother

Lars, I would love to read about Marlene Dietrich! I'll make note of it.

I thought Wolf Hall was brilliant, but I know a lot of people who didn't care for it.

Annie's threads discuss all genres of books. I have gotten so many good recommendations from them. I always do a little independent search to see if I want to read something.

I enjoy historical fiction very much. Started with Michener's books when I was I teen. Edward Rutherfurd's books are along the same line. Ken Follet's series, "Pillars of the Earth" and his Century series were favorites of mine. Ariana Franklin has some great books of historical crime fiction. And my very favorite series of all, Outlander, is a historical romance.

Okay, I'll mention a few books I liked that are categorized as historical fiction:

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Mary Coin by Marisa Silver

And some biographies/memoirs:

When I Left Home: My Story by Buddy Guy

Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant

In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War by Tobias Wolff

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

Tomorrow to be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers

Pentimento by Lillian Hellman This, perhaps like the Marlene Dietrich book that Lars mentioned (which is on my to be read list), is considered to be more fiction than fact. It was great fun, true or not.

Most, if not all, of these I've mentioned in Annie's threads. I'm sure there are more books that I'm not recalling at the moment in the threads Do you like non-fiction? I have another list of those. Many types of books come up in the threads. You just have to sift through them to find the ones that interest you.

Yes, historical fiction is my abs fave. Off the top of my head, Middlesex and Cutting for Stone are great examples.

Lars, I read a memoir by Wallis Simpson while my husband read a biography of her, and we checked in with each other along the way...the memoir verged on being historical fiction ;) It certainly was jollier than the biography.

BTW, i do not read many biographies, but this one was excellent. I notice it won a Pulitzer.

https://www.amazon.com/Personal-History-Katharine-Graham-ebook/dp/B004FYZ3P4

Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I'm currently rereading/reading Charles Dickens who is one of my favorite authors. Am currently listening The Weight of Ink on Audible. My bookclub helps me read some books that I wouldn't necessarily pick for myself!

Ded, have you read Phillippa's The Kingmaker's Daughter? I think it's one of her best. I think I've read all of her books, I've been on this before and after the middle ages binge for 14 years.

Mtn., thanks for the reminder! I've been wanting to read that book for a long time now.

Grapefruit, in my 20's I read three Pearl Buck's books and I forgot how good they were.

Czar, DH and both DS's read Pillars of the Earth, so I may have to hunt it down.

Keep the book suggestions coming, even if I don't read them. I love this thread if I may say so myself! :)

We do a mix of books for our book club so there has been some historical fiction mixed in. I find my enjoyment of it is based on the myriad of factors involved in my liking any book, but not necessarily that genre. Our library also runs a book group that reads nothing but historical fiction, so it is very popular.

On our list for this year is Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Alice Network.

The other book group's list includes: The Great Alone, Varina and Bachelor Girl.

Do feel free to post on the monthly reading thread...all book recommendations of whatever genre are welcome.

I do of course

I read much more when I was younger, now it's less. So I'll tell whatever comes to my mind regardless the age I read it-some are great whenever you take them, some are better for younger people, I suppose..some, you can re-read and find new things each time

Hugo of course. I was crazy about Hugo. did I tell you how I stole a bun from a store when I was eight, just to be like Jean Valjean? lol. I never stole anything since (or before for that matter). Stealing proved to be too hard to bear. especially as unlike him I did have what to eat..

Yes to "The Laughing Man"

Mark Twain-well Mark Twain is genius..here I probably mean "The Prince and the Pauper" as an example..

"The Accursed Kings" by Maurice Dryon was my favorite book(rather books as it's sequence of novels, of which I read six) when I was a teen, and it's still enjoyable. Also, it helped me a lot to later understand the context where more complicated "The Name of The Rose" by Umberto Eco takes place. Also another book of Eco, "Foucalt's Pendulum"-it's much bigger than historical fiction, yet so much of it is mentioned and has to be understood, every previous knowledge helps.

Dumas is historical fiction. Of course.

Walter Scott. I read only "Ivanhoe" and "Quentin Dorward". Loved them both. "Ivanhoe" leaves a deeper impression. As we also had a movie made based on
"Ivanhoe"-the movie was not so special. but all the songs were written by Vysotsky which made it unforgettable

Isaak Bashevis Singer..again, it's bigger than just being defined as historical fiction, because he's such a great author, but yes, also invaluable as that. If one's trying to understand last century. (and he has some novels that describe much, much earlier times too )His style is totally different-no romanticizm, no over dramatization..seemingly simple, it'll give you chills you won't be able to forget. my favorite book by his is "Shosha" but I also loved others including "The Slave"(probably as it goes so much further in time has more of a flavor of historical fiction to it) and most recently read, "The Family Moskat"

There are many Russian authors whose books I enjoyed, and that can be defined as historical fiction I guess..I wonder if they were translated. Say, "Prince Serebrenni" by Tolstoy(the other Tolstoy, not Leo. We had three.) gives you a pretty good glimpse of times of Ivan the Terrible's rule. You read and really understand the concept "one doesn't choose his times" better. It does remind Walter Scott's writing style.

Pushkin of course. "The Little Tragedies" as an example. (it's genius. as everything he created. highly recommended. The action takes place in Europe btw-different places. His version on what happened with Don Juan. Between Mozart and Salieri. One evening gathering in an English town hit with plague. Etc. I just looked up-seems there are pretty good translations. Original for sure leaves you breathless) Russian history-read his"Boris Godunov"

tell me if you're interested in reading about Middle Asia..I've several to recommend:)

okay, if I go to contemporary authors I read here..

I liked "The Girl with A Pearl Earring" Surprizingly nicely written. I re-read it three times. The film captures mood and colors perfectly yet there's more to the book.

i liked " "Wicked Girls" -it's another take on understanding the Salem witch trials, where the story is being told from the point of view of the accusing girls. I loved that it's written as poetry(white one)..and in the language that was spoken back then. It's by Stephanie Hemphill

I really really was impressed by "Alias Grace" by Margaret Atwood. The series are good -the book is even better

Books by Amy Tan.

Okay I'm cutting myself short here because the post gets being too long

Years ago I was at a Dr. appointment and was reading "Pillars of the Earth", which I loved. The doc recommended I read "The Sunne in Splendor" next, but I never got around to it. Good reminder to put it back on my list. I love the monthly book thread and have gotten lots of good ideas there. Unfortunately, many are not available on my library's e-book list...where I get most of my reading material. I may have to make the occasional trip to the actual library.

Annie, I've posted a few times but the majority of posters don't list the type of historical fiction I typically read. But I do read the topic regularly just to see what's out there.

April, I'm going to have to tell DH about your bun story! In college he read a very old two volume Les Mis book. I'll never forget him having the dictionary right next to him while reading the book. This was before the internet. I need to find those books and see when they were published. It's one of his favorite books and he refuses to see the play when it comes to town. Nope, he doesn't want it "ruined." lol

Jmc, that makes me feel good knowing a doctor recommended my book. I love the cover on the book. My used copy from Amazon which is in great condition was $4.95.

Here's the link for the used books for Sunne.

Sunne in Splendour used paperbacks

Bookmarking this thread, and following closely.

I like historical fiction that avoids a very common trap: inserting modern attitudes, philosophies and moral standards into past eras. So for example books set in the antebellum South in which heroes/heroines are deeply aware of and disturbed by slavery and the cruel lives of those serving them, or novels set in medieval times during which characters wax eloquently about the rights of women....I'm done. I want to read a book that builds a real world with details about the past and stays within the framework of how people lived and thought, while building a bridge to my world with vivid characters and interesting situations. It's exceedingly difficult to get that balance right. Obviously there were people who were upset about slavery, and people who railed against misogynistic life in the 14th century but overall one cannot overlay our modern sensibilities onto the past, and that is what all too often happens. I also have no interest whatsoever in historical romance which is another genre creep that seems to be way too common.

When done well though, historical fiction is absorbing. I don't think it's in print but copies are easily obtained of one of my favorite books of all time, not just the genre. Great Maria is a masterpiece about a woman's life in late 11th century-early 12th century Europe. It's realistic and the plot is absorbing. Actually, I'm due to read it again which will be my 4th or 5th time, it's that good. And per my previous comments, here is a reviewer's note about the protagonist that captures exactly what I tried to say:

Maria grows and survives in this milieu, but she doesn't transcend the culture. She's of the place and time, not a modern female shoehorned into the past.

Other historical fiction I've enjoyed includes the Matthew Shardlake historical suspense series, set in Tudor England during and immediately after the reign of Henry VIII. Another excellent set of books is the Brother Cadfael series featuring a British Benedictine monk in 12th century England which also delves into a lot of how daily life was conducted, as well as the political situation at the time, excellent books IMO.

April, you did NOT read Hugo when you were eight, did you? If so, I bow down to you. I told DH your bun story, he got kick out of it.

Jmck, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this. Friday morning I had my checkup and the doc and I discussed the frigid air coming in that day. I said I planned on staying in and reading my book about The War of the Roses. Know what he said? "I loved that movie." He was talking about the movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, who were the Rose's getting a divorce.

Insert huge laughing smiley here. lol.

I recommend 2 books by Amor Towles--Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow.

I also loved the Brother Cadfael series!

Like others above, rather than modern fiction based on history, I love to read actual fiction from the past - 'historic' fiction as opposed to 'historical', perhaps? Since many of those books are out of print - and copyright - I download them from Gutenberg.org and read them using the Overdrive app.

I just concluded reading Theodore Dreiser's 'The Financier', which was published in 1912, but takes place in 1870s Philadelphia - would that count? And funnily enough, it seemed relevant to today in many ways. Before that, I read his scandalous (at the time) novel 'Sister Carrie', which is wonderful and takes place in Chicago and New York City around the end of the 19th century.

And I love that in 'The Financier', he references some popular novels of that era, so I could look for them on Gutenberg.

I've become way too critical of 21st century fiction, after becoming accustomed to such eloquent, elaborate writing from the past.

Oakley, yes I read it when I was eight(which kinda excuses me for stealing that bun lol)..didn't understand half of it properly, all these chapters on monasteries, and sewage system, and Battle of Waterloo, and whatnot. It just somehow didn't bother me-if I didn't understand sometthing back then I'd just read around and through. Didn't prevent me from becoming crazy about the book. I read many books in this manner when I was little. I do remember trying to understand why Milady was half-naked in the scene where D'Artagnan discovers she has this fleur-de-lis..okay, they kiss, okay, he sees her shoulder..still, why half-naked? I was six. Well "Three Muskeeteers" is really, really easier to understand nevertheless. Than "Les Miserables". Even though I didn't quite get all the theological disputes Aramis would get into..))

I re-read a lot. Each time you understand some more.

oh. to add to that list. Entertaining, more like Dumas style. "Captain Fracasse".

"Captain Blood: His Odyssey"

(hmm. Lots of captains. lol)

Carol, I was very happy to see your definition because I thought about it myself and wasn't sure I'm on the same page as others?..

I've become way too critical of 21st century fiction, after becoming accustomed to such eloquent, elaborate writing from the past.

Likewise!

Also check out openlibrary.org, which channels books from archive.org. Lots of stuff there that Gutenberg doesn't have.

I read Gone With The Wind when I was ten because my grandmother (who was a teacher) had inherited a book collection from another teacher, and that was in the collection. I did not like most of the characters in the book (especially Scarlett), but I did like Mammy, and I guess that was enough to keep my interest in the book. I've always had a very long attention span and would often read a novel in one day when I was a child. I read Johnny Tremain when I was eight (at most), but it's a children's book. I regretted reading it because it was so tragic and made me very sad.

I also read Balzac's Father Goriot, which might be considered a historical novel. I actually liked Balzac better than I liked Dickens, although I liked him also.

Slight veer in topic, but I also inhaled books as a child that were WAAAAY past my real comprehensive level. I especially recall reading Of Human Bondage when I was 7-8. My mom had one of those Great Books collections and I found it on the shelf and somehow dug in. I still remember not really getting what was happening but I was determined to finish that darn doorstop size edition ;).

Looking back I'm eternally grateful to my mother who put absolutely no restrictions on my reading whatsoever. If I could open it, I could read it. What a blessing to have a parent with such a laissez-faire attitude. Then again the woman had six kids so she probably had no clue what, when or how I was reading, she was no doubt happy I wasn't getting dirty or bothering a sibling!

Thanks for the rec., writersblock! I just bookmarked it.

BTW, it's openlibrary.org, not .com. The link above took me to an open domain page.

For any of you who are gardeners, you might enjoy a book that I learned about on the Antique Rose forum. It is called The Garden of a Commuter's Wife by Mable Osgood published in 1901. It is available on google. The story is the autobiographical description of the author's garden at the her home in suburban Connecticut from which her husband commutes to his job in New York. I enjoyed it very much.

Oops, thanks, carolb. Didn't notice that. Fixed now.

A very interesting look at gardening in Europe at the same time as the Osgood book is Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim (best known these days for Enchanted April.) Very interesting to read how she used to sneak out and dig at night because her husband and the gardeners considered it most inappropriate for the graafinen to do manual labor.