recommend me good historical novels

[parietal]

I love historical novels - the feeling of being in a different place and time. So why are 50% of the modern ones full of anachronisms, especially in people's attitudes and interpretations. I'm currently reading one with an 11 year old black boy in 18th century London who is worrying about structural racism rather than just trying to survive. Yes, obviously there is lots of racism around in that era, but I don't believe that a kid would be theorizing about it, he'd just be living it. And it would be so much more powerful if the author just showed his experience. Similarly, I hate it when novels make their characters into modern feminists in a way that is completely out of place.

what authors / novels can you recommend that depict strong interesting characters that will not jar in this way?

@CantDealwithChristmas another ‘feels like you are there’ is Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. Most beautiful book I read that year.

A L Berridge - Honour and the Sword/In The Name of the King and Into the Valley of Death
Beryl Bainbridge - Master Georgie
Eleanor Catton - The Luminaries
Katherine McMahon - The Rose of Sebastopol

And a bit of seconding:
Dorothy Dunnett
Sharon Penman
Hilary Mantel - not just the Wolf Hall series but also A Place of Greater Safety
Rose Tremain - as well as the Restoration books there are the wonderful Music & Silence and The Colour

Also - Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy and Levant Trilogy.

The Manningtree Witches. A.K.Blakemore

Maggie O'Farrell is wonderful - seconding Hamnet, and also The Marriage Portrait. Both feel like you are right there with the characters.

Mine was Sprig Muslim too. Then Arabella. And was hooked

Don’t read Hamnet if anachronisms bother you. Her research is patchy.

There's a trilogy set in Alaska that were excellent, I'll look them up. One was called song of ... it's at home so this will place mark for me to find it later

Mine was Sprig Muslim too. Then Arabella. And was hooked

Mine was The Talisman Ring. As a teenager, I was all for Eustacie and Ludovic. It was only when I was older that I realised Miss Sarah Thane is the real heroine.

Heyer had two basic types of heroine - the ingenue and the slightly older, witty, independent woman.

I like the ones that have a mystery along with the romance - The Talisman Ring, The Reluctant Widow, The Tollgate.

Anyone else invested in @mitogoshi updating us?

Yep, my recommendation too. Also Steven Pressfield

Second a previous poster's recommendation of The World is Not Enough by Zoe Oldenbourg. One of the best things I've ever read. Not for the squeamish though.

Suite Francais.

Pillars of the earth. Absolutely amazing book. Anything by Ken follet is good.

I love last kingdom by Bernard Cornwall too.

Also like phillipa Gregory. Although she's inserted a lot of feminism into the characters. I think it's done well and likely how the women in the books felt but maybe not your cup of tea.

Almost embarrassed to admit I enjoy a Jean plady book. Very easy reading and not challenging.

Harold the king. By Hellen something. Holleric? Maybe. I got it at battle when I visited the gift shop learning about the Norman invasion 1066 years and years ago and absolutely love the book. It kicked off my love of historical fiction. Got an A on that exam after being predicted a D as it asked how the people of the time may have felt 😆

Edith Wharton - everything I've read by her has me hooked
Fanny Burney - amazing that she managed to write and be published end of 18th century. Love her stuff

Don't know if she's been mentioned yet but Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary is one I have just finished on audiobook via the Libby app.

Really brilliant historical fiction.

I read two of Tracy Chevalier's novels last year - A single thread and The girl with the pearl earring. Fantastic author.

I am just about to start reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier...not read any of hers before and very much looking forward to it!

Got Elizabeth Lee's book Cunning Women on my to read list on Libby app. It's based in Pendle about the trials. Hopefully a good read...

Thank you for the recommendation 🙂, will add to my list.

You would probably enjoy the two I read too. Enjoy!

I love CJ Sansom. I think he's pretty historically accurate. There's lots of them-which I love.

Maggie O’Farrell is my favourite. Loved Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait.

And they’ve been mentioned already but I’ll add another vote for Wolf Hall Trilogy and Song of Achilles.

Poldark by Winston Graham is a series of 12 books. These are my favourite historical novels and they teach you a lot about the late 18th/early 19th century.

Edward Rutherford and James A Michener both wrote long novels based on the history of a particular place, a bit like Ken Follett, who I enjoyed.

Elizabeth Chadwick writes novels set in medieaval times and is careful with historical accuracy.

I agree on Hilary Mantel and Norah Lofts.

Val Wood. She's from Hull which I know well, and all her books are set in the area in the 18th /19th centuries. I love them for the location and historical accuracies.

I like your premise and I agree with it. We are so self referential today. It’s as if we can only relate if people are reassuringly reflecting out present values back at us.
Anyway, I liked Act of Oblivion. Probably are some anachronisms but I knew very little about he English civil war and feel I have at least a sketch of an idea now, and it’s a good read.