My Favourite Historical Fiction

Ken folletts Kingsbridge trilogy is my all time favourite. Ive found it hard to get into other authors since i read his books

Booth was so fantastic. I knew nothing about the assassination so this was really informative and interesting.

My Goodness!!! WHAT AN EXCEPTIONAL explanation of why historical fiction is such an important genre!!! I haven't even watched your summary of favorites, just HAD to stop the video and clap my hands at such a wonderful introduction! I spent some time as a volunteer in re-enactments of the French and Indian conflicts at Fort William Henry in Maine, and as a same time period re-enactor at Fort Ticondera.... (and the now retired Ft #4 in NH) It is in similar fashion...acting stories out for people to understand the emotion of the events. (But, for the general population, reading about it in comfort, when you feel like it, and with no schedule is so much easier!) Thank you for such a wonderful explanation of why historical fiction is important. So many voices and points of view that are lost to the past....that historians bring to life through a fictional account. THANK YOU!!

Wow, so many incredible recommendations! Thank you! I'll keep an eye out for them when book shopping.

Recommending favourite historical fiction
- 📚 Historical fiction can emotionally enter into the past and add voices of those who weren't recorded in history
- 🌿 "The Luminaries" by Eleanor Catton is a thrilling novel set in mid-1800s New Zealand
- 🛳 "The Lonely Sea and Sky" by Dermot Bolger follows the story of sailors in Ireland during WWII
- 🇧🇷 "Palmares" by Gail Jones is set in 17th century Brazil and follows the story of an enslaved African girl
- 💡 Reading historical fiction can lead to further research on events and figures from the past

What a gorgeous copy of'Half A Yellow Sun'! (Which I read in paperback and thought was excellent but wasn't anywhere near as pretty!)
Is 'Cathedral' anything like 'Pillars of the Earth' (Ken Follett)? It seems similar is some respects.

The yellow wife written by Sadeqa Johnson Is an excellent emotional questioning life book

I completely agree with you as a writer finishing my first novel, which is historical fiction. We can learn about the past through textbooks but it's been scientifically proven that when we learn about it through story we remember more. We must remember so as not to repeat the past. Not to mention that with story we feel empathy deeper for the people who really suffered the things we write about.

I just love your channel!

i Haven’t read The Cathedral that you mentioned here, but there’s a book in a similar vein that i think you would love called The Spire by William Golding. The dean of Salisbury ( i think) cathedral wants to add a soaring spire to his cathedral but he’s starting to lose his faith…it’s a moving and dramatic tale that really drew me in when i read it many years ago.

My favourite historical finction is also the best book I´ve ever read and it it The cook of Castamar. I went through all emotions, it left me weeping because it was so beautiful and it made me want to visit the places in Spain that are mentioned and I needed a week to get over the book. I have never ever had that before. Not sure if it is translated in English yet.

One of my favorite genres 💚

Colleen McCullough Masters of Rome series is worth while, Hilary Mantel Thomas Cromwell trilogy, glorious.

Amaricanuh is a favourite for me by Adichie.

I haven’t read all the comments, but if you haven’t read Cold Mountain and The English Patient, I highly recommend them both.

I recently read Sebastian Barry's Days Without End and loved it. The Luminaries has been my favorite read so far this year. Palmares is on my list to get to at some point. Of course, Wolf Hall was amazing.

Listening to you speaking about the "Cathedral", I think you may like the Portuguese "Memorial do convento" (which is misleadingly translated as "Baltasar and Blimunda" in English), by Nobel winner José Saramago.
It's one of those books that are worth learning Portuguese to read (there's only a handful that merit that distinction for me!).

Thanks for your video, Eric! I love historical fiction as well, and it's always nice to get some recommendations or reminders. I would be very interested in reading The Revolution of the Moon, and I have had The Illumination of Ursula Flight in my TBR lists for a while - this autumn might be the time to finally get it!
I got very lucky this year and read three historical novels that I found great: A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago, The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini (translated from the Italian, and also set in Sicily :)) and the last David Diop novel, which should come out in English next year and might be my favourite book of 2022. One of my all-time favourite novels is A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot. It's not exactly new, but I think it aged quite well. It's gripping.

I recommend any of the historical novels by Elizabeth Chadwick. Amazing author!

Ken Follett's Pillars Of The Earth is the novel that got me back in to reading in 1995, and I've not stopped since. historical fiction is a great genre.

Read a lot of real history too, bit of a modern history fan for sure.

Watching your videos is brilliant, but my reading list gets so long!! Love your enthusiasm for the subject. Thank you so much for posting. 🙂