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Original poster

Is there such thing as 16th century historical fiction not fictionalising the kings and queens?

34 replies

TakesTheCake · 27/08/2017 08:39

We attended a Tudor day the other day, which really interested me in the way they lived. I am due a new book so I thought I would look around for one set in that time period (with authentic dialogue would be good!).

However, everything I find is based on the lives of the kings and queens of the period - fictionalising the life of Anne Boleyn, for example. Or William Shakespeare. CJ Sansom, Phillippa Gregory... all based on the lives of real people.

This doesn't interest me. I am just looking for a story about invented characters in that time period. Like Ken Follett but set in Tudor times. (I have read Pillars of the Earth already).

Does it exist?!

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tutorwho · 06/09/2017 22:30

This is for the Plantagenet era but I love Katherine by Anya Seton.

scaryteacher · 05/09/2017 07:17

Dorothy Dunnett, the Lymond books. Dense, satisfying, challenging, and available on Kindle. I got these in the 80s in my late teens, and still read them at 51. They are a tour de force.

elkiedee · 04/09/2017 00:16

I loved A Traveller in Time. From Amazon, it's available new or on Kindle, or quite easily available secondhand.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 31/08/2017 21:51

Hurrah! So glad
I don't think anyone does actually authentic dialogue. The Victorians liked to do pseudo medieval with lots of thees and thous and fair maidens but it wasn't really authentic. The trouble is not only that some of the words have changed completely but also many look the same but have changed meaning so it would be pretty confusing.

lucydogz · 31/08/2017 18:48

glad you're enjoying it - which one is it? On another note, do you think we'd understand authentic dialogue? Perhaps we'd find it tedious to read? I think Hilary Mantel has talked about this.

Original poster
TakesTheCake · 31/08/2017 18:44

I am buried deep in a Norah Lofts book as we speak, and wanted to put my thanks for the recommendation. Hitting the spot, with my only gripe the lack of authentic dialogue. Will peel through the suggestions anew when I have finished it, and find the book I will read after this.

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NotCitrus · 29/08/2017 17:56

Plenty of fiction about Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, and other playwrights and actors. Death in Deptford, Cue for Treason, The Players' Boy, Morality Play...

OCSockOrphanage · 29/08/2017 17:26

Another Traveller in Time fan.... It's been a favourite since I was about nine, and it was one my mum loved too. Is it still in print?

elkiedee · 28/08/2017 04:11

Barbara Willard's Mantlemass series - the first book is about a young girl who is sent off to the countryside and they were published as children's books.

cdtaylornats · 27/08/2017 23:34

Bernard Cornwell Grail Quest series 15th century
Edward Marston Bracewell series Elizabethan
Simon Hawke Shakespeare and Smythe series Elizabethan

lucydogz · 27/08/2017 23:21

Darn, I was going to recommend Norah Lofts but countess got in before me. As well as the House at Old Vine Trilogy, there are several others, all excellent. The Devil at Clevely is an excellent background to the Enclosures, but she wrote many more, as well as several based on queens. The other great thing is that characters in the House trilogy appear in other books. For me she is the best historical novelist.

fatowl · 27/08/2017 13:21

Another vote for Shardlake, historical tudor backdrop but fictional normal people are the main focus (they are basically historical detective stories)
Currently rattling through #4 at quite a rate.

I asked about historical fiction on this thread a while back, got some good recommendations I'd not heard of before

historical fiction

GinIsIn · 27/08/2017 10:45

Oh I've been to that Tudor day. The house is amazing but everyone insisting on making conversation with you saying 'ye gads, yay verily foresooth' did my head in!

thebookeatinggirl · 27/08/2017 10:22

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is great (story set in a plague village). It's 1666, as is Restoration by Rose Tremain, although both Stuart rather than Tudor, but close-ish. Love Shardlake series too.

Trills · 27/08/2017 10:19

I am usually a fan of Philippa Gregory but found the Virgin Earth ones a bit creepy - the bits in America anyway.

Original poster
TakesTheCake · 27/08/2017 10:04

Wow, Countess! That is what I am going to do - sounds amazing! Will check out Lofts too.

Love love Kentwell Hall!

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Original poster
TakesTheCake · 27/08/2017 10:03

Natalia, last day today I think :-(

Thanks for all suggestions. Shall spend a happy couple of hours looking at them all. Love shopping for a new book!

And yes, fictional protagonist, I should have said. Happy for the backdrop of kings, queens and court to be factual and authentic, but don't enjoy focus on their lives.

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InfiniteCurve · 27/08/2017 09:59

Dorothy Dunnett.
The Lymond series are in that time period,the main characters are fictional (Sad!) but historical characters also appear - they are fantastic,well written,involved books.
She also wrote a series set earlier,a book about Macbeth and some light mystery books - all good!

OublietteBravo · 27/08/2017 09:46

Oh - I was going to recommend Five Wounds too, but I see that Xenophile has beaten me to it. I'm from the North, so it was interesting to see that area depicted. I have to confess I knew nothing at all about the pilgrimage of grace before I read it.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 27/08/2017 09:46

Takes, I used to take part in Kentwell as a Tudor back in the 1980s back when there was a big recreation that lasted 3 weeks, and that's how I discovered Norah Lofts - the owner recommended her not only for the historical detail but also for the local atmosphere - she lived in Bury St Edmunds - and because one of her books, Bless This House, is supposedly inspired by Kentwell.

Jedbartletforpresident · 27/08/2017 09:37

Check out "Turn of the Tide" by Margaret Skea - and the sequel "A House Divided". Set in 16thC Scotland - it features real characters (inc King James) and real clan members, but the main protagonist is a fictional creation. The books are excellently written and even with no prior knowledge of Scottish history they are easy to read and understand. The first book can take a while to get into because there are A LOT of characters and it can be confusing when they switch between their clan names and Christian names, but if you keep an eye on the character list at the start of the book and get through the first few chapters you'll race through to the end and be desperate to read the sequel to find out what happens next.

NataliaOsipova · 27/08/2017 09:34

Ooh - thank you, Takes. I will look into that.

PreppedForDiagrams · 27/08/2017 09:34

Have you tried the Moorland (Morland?) saga? Not read them since my teens but they start off in the 1400s or 1500s about a horse breeding family that eventually became aristocracy. Completely made up Smile

Original poster
TakesTheCake · 27/08/2017 09:31

near Sudbury.

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Original poster
TakesTheCake · 27/08/2017 09:31

Natalia, it was at Kentwell Hall, beR Sudbury. It was the best history thing we have ever done! I am applying to join the Tudor music players too!

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