recommendations for gritty historical fiction please.

[MegGriffin]

I enjoy books where there is triumph over adversity,but also sad endings are fine too. Any era before 1960s. I have just finished A thousand splendid suns which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed Attonement, the boy in stripped pyjamas and the Crimson petal and the white. I don't mind if they are less known authors as some of the best books I have read have been ones I have found in charity shops or ones left by previous holiday makers.

Gone with the Wind, the Prince of Tides, The Glass Palace, The Help, Memoirs of a Geisha, Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet…...

Thank you Burmama will check those out.

Ken follet-world without end
Pillars of the earth

Second pillars of the earth, great read

Also, anything by Hilary Mantel

If you fancy a bit of a topical WW1 fest, then there's Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy and also Life Class and Toby's Room which are all about WW1 as is My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young.

I have read Pillars of the earth as well and loved it. Thanks for all the suggestions I will check them all out.

Oh - I forgot Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Affinity, The Little Stranger.

Maria McCann does fantastic gritty histfic... As meat loves salt, the wildling and her new one, ace king knave. All brilliant.

if you fancy WWI add "The Absolutist" by John Boyne to your list - brilliant :)

Thanks again all.

Hilary Mantel, Dorothy Dunnett and Sharon Penman.

Carol Birch's historical novels are well-written and gripping..The Naming Of Eliza Quinn, Scapegallows, Jamrach's Menagerie.

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon K Penman is one of my favourite books. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory is also good (probably her best one - I wouldn't bother with any of her others).

Still with the Tudor period the Shardlake series is excellent.

Also as pps have mentioned, all of Sarah Waters novels and I would also recommend Slammerkin by Emma Donoghoe.

Winter In Madrid by CJ Sansom. The Siege by Helen Dunmore.

Also The Madonnas of Leningrad (by Debra Dean??) is great although more sort of romantic fiction in a war setting than gritty historical.

Another one I forgot - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Very gritty.

Lumpy very correctly suggests Dorothy Dunnett. You aren't going to get better if you like extremely literary, very clever, meticulous Medieval and Tudor period history. She is like no one else for plot, scope and characters. Sadly (and disgracefully) all her books are out of print though so you have to get them on Kindle or find them in second hand shops.

Have you read the Leon Uris ones ? They are pretty gritty.

For medieval stuff - try Sharon Penman.

Which period in history particularly interests you?
I'm watching this thread with great interest. My DH only reads non fiction historical books so I like to balance my reading out with a touch of frivolity.

The Soldiers Wife by Margeret Leroy ( not to be confused by that awful book written by Joanna Trollope) was an interesting read about the occupation of Guernsey during WW2.

Really glad I found this thread, as I'm trying to WRITE gritty historical crime fiction and am struggling to find good authors to emulate. My faves are Sarah Waters, Mantel and Carol Birch. I also really enjoyed Burial Rites and would recommend Jill Dawson, particularly Fred and Edie.

Can anyone recommend others writing dark, high quality fiction, ideally set in the early 20th century (but not during WW1 or WW2)?

By the way, Sarah Waters' latest, The Paying Guests, comes out on 28 August.

Thanks.

This Thing Of Darkness - Harry Thompson

Measuring The World - Daniel Kehlmann

Both are absolutely brilliant.

You need Remus to come on this thread & give some more recommendations.

Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert about 19th century botany, slavery, evolution, trade routes and more. An epic, completely immersive historical novel (more history of a period of time than of real people really). Highly recommended, even if, like me, you dislike Gilbert's previous books.

Another recommendation for Dorothy Dunnett.

Also Hilary Mantel, Diana Gabaldon, and Edith Pargeter

It's kind of time travel fiction, but Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. About the Black Death - definitely gritty (but strangely funny too).

Agree The Signature of All Things is outstanding. I sped through it in a week, couldn't put it down.

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall is a complex, involving, and intelligent read. I found it a little challenging at times (you need to keep track of who's who and remember nearly everyone is called Thomas :o) but it is a wonderful novel.

A lighter, but no less interesting, read is The Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle about the life of Katherine Parr. I enjoyed it very much.

YYY to Dorothy Dunnett - she had a cracking series set in Renaissance Europe, the first is Niccolo Rising I think. You have to have a bit of knowledge about the era (the Borgias get involved) and it's fantastic.

Leon Uris - Trinity and Exodus are great (if quite partisan, and be prepared to sob)

Elisabeth Kostova is worth checking out - she has a couple of books around historical and artistic events, The Historian and The Swan Thieves are excellent.

I liked Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor too. Couldn't put it down at all.