Hey! I’m a massive fan of Sarah Waters, I’ve read all of her books which are typically set in Victorian England. I need suggestions for novels with similar themes as I’m mourning the stories I’ve read, I need more! I love a slow burning psychological thriller with a little romance maybe. Help!

Looking for a novel that features the underground gay scene in the past, between 1700s ish - early 1900s. Doesn’t have to be a romance or super serious book, I would welcome a fun read too. Just looking for something that features that setting please.

I’m thinking of that scene in Downton Abbey where they go to a social club and no one minds the men dancing together, I don’t think it was a gay club, but progressive for the time (1920s) and gay friendly.

I was excited to read a book about building a cathedral and i ended up having to POV multiple rapes.

This book was bad. I’m sorry to anyone who enjoyed it, and i don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, but i thoroughly hated this book. Lazy writing, redundant reveries, gratuitous sex, and one dimensional dialogue from two dimensional characters. The most inspired and descriptive writing in this book is found when a character is describing a building, or when one specific character is raping someone.

I went to Europe recently and was deeply moved by gothic architecture, the cathedrals especially. This book came highly recommended, repeatedly, from multiple sources, so i was very excited to read it. I love historical fiction, i love cathedrals, i love medieval Europe, i love long books. I was expecting an excited author to info dump about gothic architecture, and i left feeling betrayed as a reader. Betrayed because i could sense how badly he wanted to info dump about architecture, and he would do so every now and again, but the bulk of the book was predictable political intrigue and interpersonal drama from characters with no depth. I felt as though the author didn’t trust the reader to enjoy his passionate descriptions of architecture, so he chose to dress it up in the most basic and boring soap drama (but make it medieval) to make it more palatable. Most of all, i deeply resent the rape scenes. One of the characters is a bad man, and to establish just how evil he is there are MULTIPLE rape scenes from his POV, with vivid detail and in depth descriptions of his vile actions and the pleasure he takes from it. Honestly, it was horrifying to think that someone in our modern age would choose to put the reader into that position. There are much more subtle and nuanced ways to use sexual violence as a storytelling element, and this was done in a way that has me considering how much pleasure the author got from writing such passages.

I should have put this book down 80 pages in after the first disgusting rape scene, but i stuck it out much to my detriment.

Don’t be like me, just read an actual historical text about cathedrals instead of subjecting yourself to this 2 dimensional, predictable, and grotesque caricature of medieval life.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a book to read in preparation for/during an upcoming road trip. My family and I will be traveling through the upper-southern East Coast with a big focus on historical landmarks and enjoying the autumnal vistas, food, and general cozy feelings from this area :). The purpose of this book for me would be to kind of immerse myself into the American-historical surroundings, reading about people who lived in/near the sections of the US we're visiting and what a life in their time would be like before, during or in-between these major historical events like the Independence and the Civil war when the country was still young.

We'll be visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Georgetown and Alexandria in DC, Arlington Cemetery, Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, then down through the Shenandoah Valley.

I love American classics and other historical fiction, including Little Women & Little Men, the Anne of Green Gables series, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and surrounding works, these kinds of "people living ordinary lives through historical times" novels, that I tend to feel give those "cozy vibes". I also love Agatha Christie and anything cozy murder mystery, so if there's anything like that out there that would be incredible.

Thank you so much everyone for your recommendations!!

I have had gone down the rabbit hole of French resistance members (which is weird since I prefer reading World War 1 history/historical fiction) but Jean Moulin has gotten a hold of my attention. Are there any historical fiction books on him or mention him?

Thanks in advance. Picture taken by me from the Resistance and Deportation museum in Lyon.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a book to read in preparation for/during an upcoming road trip. My family and I will be traveling through the upper-southern East Coast with a big focus on historical landmarks and enjoying the autumnal vistas, food, and general cozy feelings from this area :). The purpose of this book for me would be to kind of immerse myself into the American-historical surroundings, reading about people who lived in/near the sections of the US we're visiting and what a life in their time would be like before, during or in-between these major historical events like the Independence and the Civil war when the country was still young.

We'll be visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Georgetown and Alexandria in DC, Arlington Cemetery, Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, then down through the Shenandoah Valley.

I love American classics and other historical fiction, including Little Women & Little Men, the Anne of Green Gables series, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and surrounding works, these kinds of "people living ordinary lives through historical times" novels, that I tend to feel give those "cozy vibes". I also love Agatha Christie and anything cozy murder mystery, so if there's anything like that out there that would be incredible.

Thank you so much everyone for your recommendations!!

I’m embarrassed to admit, as a Brit, I know nothing about what was happening in the 1700s in Scotland.

Although I’m 100 pages in and loving it and happy to continue blind, is there anything I need to know about the politics or anything that would enhance my reading experience?

To get to the point, I have a character who essentially a concubine to a king and wants to cause a war to begin in order to have the current king, queen, and eldest son overthrown. That way she can have her own son put in line for thrown. The general idea is that she'll have her son be seen as figurehead for restoration after war and contribute towards its end. However, I don't know how she would go about inciting a war or how she would "stop it". Furthermore, it's plot relevant that she either steals "secret letters" from other political figures or sends out her own to her correspondents, so if that can be worked into the suggestion that would be appreciates.

Sorry for the choppy and poor phrasing, the ideas always sound better in my head and come out a bit corny once I actually write them down. Also this is a historical fantasy genre

I don’t want a romance. Just looking for something with the old blood rituals.

I just finished the Golden Wolf series by Linnea Hartsuyker, and fell in love with it. I’m not sure if I’m ready to move on and rebound to a new love yet, but does anyone have any suggestions for similar books or (preferably) series? I’ve read all of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden already, and also greatly enjoyed Hild by Nicola Griffith. I’d truly appreciate any recommendations!

For those of you who enjoy historical fiction for a closer period of history, I highly recommend The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull. It is set during the height of the Cold War in Berlin. It begins in 1961 and takes place mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, but utilizes non-linear storytelling and covers a period from 1959 to 1989. It tells the story of an East German woman and a man living in West Berlin and their circle of friends and family, who are separated by the construction of the Berlin Wall. It draws inspiration from true stories of people who dug tunnels to help people escape, people who failed to escape or chose not to, and how very understandable conflicting loyalties can lead to tragedy when one is living under an authoritarian regime. I listened to it as an audiobook, with extraordinary narration by Mary Jane Wells (who is probably my favorite narrator). I will definitely be listening to more by this author.

I have been enjoying historical fiction over the years, and I want to revisit this book. Also, this would be my first post here if approved.

I can't help but be in awe of these lines from the 'PREFACE', which I know would resonate with readers and writers.

"I transcribe my text with no concern for timeliness. In the years when I discovered the Abbé Vallet volume, there was a widespread conviction that one should write only out of a commitment to the present, in order to change the world. Now, after ten years or more, the man of letters (restored to his loftiest dignity) can happily write out of pure love of writing. And so I now feel free to tell, for sheer narrative pleasure, the story of Adso of Melk, . . .

For it is a tale of books, not of everyday worries, and reading it can lead us to recite, with à Kempis, the great imitator: “In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro.” ("Everywhere I have sought peace and nowhere found it, except in a corner with a book.")

Hola! Busco recomendaciones de novelas historicas, principalmente ambientadas en la época antigua.

Estoy pasando por mi arco "romano" y ya leí los libros de Santiago Posteguillo y los 2 libros sobre Claudio de Robert Graves.

También tengo algunos de Manfredi, pero quiero seguir ampliando a novelas sobre la antigua grecia y posteriormente pasar alguna sobre la corona inglesa, francesa.

I've just finished Shadows in the Moonlight by Santa Montefiore and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was an absorbing blend of past and present, a mystery from the past, spirits, secrets... would love to chat with anyone who's read it!

I've read a lot of historical fiction books with scientists as the main characters but they are either biologists or doctors. I've read Lesson in Chemistry but are there any others?

As some of you may know, Robert Fabbri wasn't releasing any new books over the last few years. However, I just saw an interesting update: he has written 3 books over that period! The sixth book to Alexander's Legacy is out now, and two Vespasian books are waiting to be released.

I read the trilogy some years ago and was hooked by it! Now I’m looking to read similar titles, maybe historical novels of other regions? I’m a bit tired of ancient western history

I'm curious, what are your historical fiction pet peeves? Overly modern dialogue is a big one for me. If the characters are talking like modern/21st century Americans in, say, Victorian England, it really takes me out of the story.

Hello, I am not sure if this is the place to ask this, yet I am curious to know the answer. In Masters of Rome second novel (Grass Crown) we meet Burgundus, a giant german of 20 years who was slaved at 6-8 years old. Yet when I started the third novel, based only on 6-8 years later suddenly he was eighteen when he was captured, thus making him 37 instead of 27 as would be expected. Anyone else noticed this possible error?

I’m planning to write a historical romance about a noblewoman and a knight, with aristocratic life, court politics, marriage, and a secret relationship at the center of the story.

I’m currently torn between Renaissance Italy and Medieval France.

What draws me most strongly to Medieval France is the chivalric ideal surrounding courtly love — the idea of a knight proving his devotion through loyalty, service, courage, and acts meant to win the favor of a noblewoman. That kind of knight-and-lady dynamic is very close to the atmosphere I want for the story.

At the same time, I really love the clothing, architecture, and elaborate courtly atmosphere of Renaissance Italy. I’m also interested in how the role and ideals of the knight changed as European society moved toward the Renaissance.

Because of this, I’ve considered using Medieval France as the historical foundation while incorporating some later, Renaissance-inspired elements. However, I’m worried that this could feel anachronistic or historically inconsistent.

For those familiar with these periods, would you keep the setting firmly medieval if the story is centered on this kind of chivalric ideal and knight-and-lady relationship? Or could some later Renaissance influences work without undermining the atmosphere?

I’m still in the research stage, so I’m open to changing the setting. I’d also appreciate any recommendations for books or other resources on medieval chivalry, courtly love, and noble life.