Memoirs of Hadrian

As of the moment, the best I've read so far was "This Tender Land" by William Kent Krueger

[sackett62]

Worldwar / Colonization series by Harry Turtledove

Benjamin Franklin Mysteries by Robert Lee Hall ( Wish they were available in e-book format)

Stars and Stripes series by Harry Harrison

[pony123]

Lonesome Dove
Cold Mountain
Pillars of the Earth
All the Light We Cannot See
One Hundred Years of Solitude
My Antonia
Daughter of Fortune
anything by Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, Elmer Kelton, Dee Brown

I, Claudius, Claudius the God, and The Golden Fleece by R Graves
The Aubrey-Maturin series by O'Brian


Without exaggeration, I can say those are some of the finest books ever written.

You might not be able to find retail O'Brian's books. Iirc, the family had no interest in ebooks and never authorized a legit copy. There are ones out there, but they sometimes have problems. Actually, I have no idea if Graves books are in ebook format either, for that matter.

I was suppose to join the conversation just to suggest Patrick O’Brian and the Claudius series only to find out someone had already doe it.

Confederates by Thomas Keneally.

I don't read much historical fiction, but two novels come to mind-- 1632 by Eric C. Flint, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

[writer79]

I've read a Gentleman in Moscow but it's not my favorite. I prefer Herman Wouk's three masterpieces.

The Caine Mutiny
Winds of War
War and Remembrance.

Memoirs of a Geisha, written by Arthur Golden

[sairentohiru]

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann, about two soldiers in Cromwell's army falling in love. My favorite book of all time, not just historical fiction!

I also really enjoyed Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro mysteries.

Hey! I just finished "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys. I am creating a Historical Fiction shelf on Goodreads and I am very curious what would be your favorite Historical Fiction books.

Here's a list of HF books I've read so far:

Salt to the Sea
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Underground Railroad
All the Light We Cannot See (my favorite)
Lincoln in the Bardo (this one's terrible)
The Handmaid's Tale
Lovecraft Country
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

What book would you like to add on this list?

For those who read Forresters Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian, the Bolitho-Saga by Alexander Kent might also be interesting.

I enjoyed the British historicals by Rosemary Sutcliff. Most are juveniles, worth reading still.
Maybe the best is "Sword at Sunset", about a historical (not fantasy) King Arthur, a Romano-Celt fighting the Saxon invasion.
see https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 13006.html

Then the 8 ancient Greek novels by Mary Renault. The climax of those probably the Alexander trilogy:
Fire from Heaven (1969) / The Persian Boy (1972) / Funeral Games (1981)

The Judge Dee novels by Robert van Gulik. Set in 7th C China, he began with a translation of an ancient Chinese story, then continued, setting the books in the life of the real Judge Dee. These were the first of the now very active "historical detective" genre. Very engaging and historically accurate by all accounts.

The Aubrey-Maturin series by O'Brian
You might not be able to find retail O'Brian's books. Iirc, the family had no interest in ebooks and never authorized a legit copy.

The Aubrey series is out in legit ebooks, published by Harper c. 2010.
https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3A ... dblist=638

-- Currently reading book 2.

[eggmany2k]

I thought The Fort by Bernard Cornwell was a great read.

1) My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
2) Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare

Above two are both focused on the Ottoman Empire

Below two are focused on 20th century Chinese history

3) Brothers by Yu Hua
4) The Four Books by Yan Lianke

Wolf Hall (trilogy)

It felt as if I got right into the head of the protagonist, Thomas Cromwell. I found myself cheering him on all the way, almost loyal to him. A fantastic reading experience.