Favorite Historical Fiction Authors

[Makena Mugendi]

Have you tried Lisa Kleypas? She's more of historical Romance set in old Britain. Try the wallflower series by her.

[Tbunde5]

If you’re interested in sweeping epic stories, try Ken Follett. The Century Trilogy follows five families through several generations, starting with World War One, and crosses continents. The Kingsbridge Series starts in 1100 AD. Beginning with Pillars of the Earth it weaves a series of characters into the history of England from the Dark Ages through the Age of Enlightenment, with the action swirling around the town of Kingsbridge and it’s cathedral. Be prepared to invest some time, since the books average over 1000 pages, but the time will be well-spent!

[Jeyasivananth]

I love Scot, Alex Rutherford, and Nora Loft.

[lbhatters]

I also have historical novels on my favorite books to read. My favorite historical novel is "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. This has to be one of the best I have ever read. The second is "Into Thin Air", about climbing Mt. Everest. If you get the chance to read either of these I can guarantee you will love them both.

[Sketches_by_Shell]

Historical Fiction is a quick and easy way to get some history into one's head! I like Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, and Bodie and Brock Theone have a really good series on Ireland.

[Sheenah684]

Jean Plaidy is a great writer focusing on the British monarchy. She was quite prolific and I've enjoyed any book of hers that I picked up. Deanna Raybourn has the Veronica Speedwell series that I absolutely love right now.

[Crazybud]

I love Markus Zusak and especially his phenomenal book The Book Thief. You also need to try Ruta Sepetys. She is like, an expert in the genre!

[Lil Reads]

Jean Plaidy is a great writer focusing on the British monarchy. She was quite prolific and I've enjoyed any book of hers that I picked up.

I second this. Unfortunately, some of her works (especially under her other pseudonyms) are out of print and when they show up online they are really expensive, to the tune of several hundred dollars at least!

I really recommend reading Plaidy in chronological order, even if some of the books show their age more than others, e.g. how William Rufus is portrayed versus how Edward II is portrayed.

Some of her work is even more interesting if you know the history of the topic and the historiography a bit.

For example, she wrote The Reluctant Queen about Anne Neville and Richard III where Richard had a raised shoulder, not a hunchback. The idea of Richard as a hunchback still showed up in history books for years. The discovery and analysis of his skeleton in 2012 revealed he had scoliosis, which would have made his shoulders uneven, especially as he got older.

An example of the opposite circumstance - where her writing doesn't reflect more recent research - is in my personal favorite of her works, The Prince and the Quakeress about George III and Hannah Lightfoot. There was a story/legend about his treatment of Quakers that ended up resulting in a story he was married to a female Quaker named Hannah Lightfoot when he was Prince of Wales. She's not really present in the historical record and his own behavior until he was ill seems to make a relationship like that unlikely, but the sources she used did discuss the possibility.

[jesscat304]

I love Julie Garwood’s historical fiction romance novels, as they explore issues and morality in a time period that is completely different from my own. I particularly enjoy her series that explores the Scottish highlands in the 1700s and what it’s like to be an outsider in the clan that highlights modern issues in a different context that is still relevant, such as emphasising the importance of feminism in having an equal partnership between a husband and wife.