Best novels to learn about history, travel etc.

[spearly]

I was recently reading some reviews of Ken Follett's, 'The Pillars of the Earth' in which quite a few reviewers commented that they learnt so much about the history of that period and also understanding architecture just from reading the book. I wondered what other novels were good for an understanding of history, geography, languages, any areas really that we might not normally think about that could be recommended?

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy is great. I thought Sarah Waters 'The Night Watch' was great but that's partly because my grandmother was an ambulance driver in the war and I didn't really appreciate what that involved until I read The Night Watch. Atonement by Ian Banks is also good for descriptions of life in the war. Although TBH some of the WW1 autobiographies are so readable I'd recommend them above any novel e.g. Testament of Youth or Goodbye to All That.

Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond and Niccolo series are both great for that. They're in 14th and 15th Century Europe and North Africa, with all the complicated monarchies and other agencies that involves, as well as my big fictional crush Francis Crawford.

I have enjoyed The Siege (the siege of Leningrad), The Scarlet Pimpernel (the French revolution) and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Chechen war). All fictional books set during the different parts of history.

Any Alison weir are good.
I loved Katherine by Anya Seton too & it helps me remember more than I otherwise would about that part of English history.

CJ Sansom's Shardlake series
Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series
All Quiet on the Western Front

Yes, I came on to say Shardlake - Dissolution etc
Also:

Philippa Gregory is good
The Hornblower series
Louis de Bernieres - such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Birds Without Wings
Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy

Wild Swans by Jung Chang is one of the best books I've read and it does exactly what you ask, OP. It's a story of three women (a mix of biography and autobiography) - the author's grandmother who was a concubine, her mum who was in Mao's Red Army and Jung Chang, who was a teenager in China's Cultural Revolution and joined the Red Guards. She came over to England to study English in London - I think she says she was the first person (or maybe the first woman) from China to study abroad - I might have remembered that wrongly (I read it when it came out in 1991) but she certainly came over at a time when very few Chinese people knew anything about the outside world.

It's absolutely fascinating.

Erebus by Michael Palin is a good read.

Yes to Erebus

The Worst Journey in the World - Antarctic and wonderful

This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Morland Dynasty series follows the fortunes of one family from the Wars of the Roses to the 1930s. It's an easy way to absorb British history, as the family interacts with the good and the great quite a lot!

Of Sand snd Ash By Amy Hamon tells the story of a Jewish girl and Catholic boy growing up in German occupied Italy during WW2. Its fiction, but set against a very detailed factual background, which I found very educational and interesting, particularly the interaction between the Jewish and Catholic populations.

I learned a huge amount reading the Aubrey & Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brien - not just about the navy in the napoleonic wars but about music, politics, science, dressmaking, all the places they travel... they're absolutely brilliant.

The OP asked about novels - some of the ones mentioned here are non-fiction (eg Wild Swans and Erebus).

Oh yes, definitely the Aubrey & Maturin novels.

And another vote for Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy.

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks - First World War

Also loved Alison weir - did not enjoy history at school but these books have been great!

Girl with a pearl earring by Tracy Chevalier is great for learning about the Dutch Golden Age and Vermeer

The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd. A young Scottish woman goes to China at the end of the Boxer rebellion, then goes on to Japan. Love, adventure, heartbreak, just wonderful.

The Physician by Noah Gorgon, best historical medical novel ever
has travel in across Europe into Persia 1000 years ago, I’ve
loved this novel and pillars of the earth for the last 30 years, now I’m showing my age.

Geraldine Brook's Year of Wonders - Eyam and the plague
Suzannah Dunn's The Queen of Subtleties - Anne Boleyn and Lucy Cornwallis
Sally Magnusson's The Sealwoman's Gift - Icelandic history
Kate Mosse's Labyrinth

all excellent reads. Pillars of the Earth is a favourite of mine. Also the Edward Rutherfurd books.

Fabulous set of books I’ve been hooked on them for years.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Both jump about throughout history & locations, but I think they both have beautiful depth

Bill Bryson is good for travel.

The Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser, especially if you’re partial to cads.

Jodi Taylor - chronicles of Mary’s, time travel and visiting lots of historical events. Fantastic books, really well written, great characters - and I’ve learnt a lot incidentally!