Book recommendations?

[Puddingmama2017]

I love historical books, either fictional or based in real life. A series would be great too or some stand alone stories. Can anyone recommend any tutles to look for?

I would highly recommend anything by Katharine McMahon.

I’ve read a The Rose Of Sebastopol (Crimean war), The Crimson Rooms (post First World War), and am currently reading Season Of Light, about revolutionary France.

From what I can see, most of her novels are set in Victorian times or earlier, and feature strong female characters trying to find their way and make their mark in a male dominated world.

Her writing is terribly evocative and reflects the time perfectly, and I find myself fully immersed in the story.

Thank you, I’ll look out for those!

My favourite historical series ever is Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. It starts with The Game of Kings.

Francis Spufford's Golden Hill is an excellent standalone.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls is good. About witch trials in Lancashire.

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore also good. Shes written quite a few historical books in general v good.

Have you read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies? Quite the best thing that I have ever read (twice to date.) They are based upon the life of Thomas Cromwell and his work for Henry VIII.

Oooh, I’m looking forward to a real sit down and read fest. These look great, thank you!

Jennifer Egan Manhatten Beach set in America spanning the depression and WWII.

Judith Merkle Riley’s books are terrific. Her trilogy, which starts with A Vision of Light, is very loosely based on the life of Margery Kempe.

Christie Dickason writes excellent historical novels, I like The Lady Tree best I think.

Diana Norman is hard to come by now, but keep an eye out for her if you like second-hand bookshops. In particular I recommend The Pirate Queen, but all her books are good.

If you like a bit of mystery with your history, Ellis Peter’s Cadfael novels are enjoyable, and under her real name, Edith Pargeter she writes more straightforward historical fiction.

There are a lot of writers doing historical mystery, if that’s a genre you enjoy I can suggest a list for you.

Robert Neill is a really old fashioned writer now, but his book about the Pendle witches, Mist Over Pendle is a favourite of mine.

I enjoyed the first book of Sara Donati’s American history books - she writes door stoppers, so I kind of ran out of steam, but don’t let my short attention span put you off.

I absolutely second the wonderful Dorothy Dunnett, she’s a genius of a writer.

Lots of people enjoy Phillipa Gregory, so she’s worth a try. Victoria Holt wrote in the same vein some forty years ago, only shorter.

Laurie Graham? eg the Grand Duchess of Nowhere,.maybe The Liars Daughter. Most of her books are in the past thouh some more recent.

Manda Scott's Boudica series is a great read. The first one is called Dreaming the Eagle.