Historical Fiction
Reading Group Home | Books Home | Book Lists Home
If you've enjoyed 'The White Queen' on television, why not try some or our great range of historical fiction?
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the tumult and intrigue of the Wars of the Roses to vivid life through the women of the House of Lancaster and the House of York, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. A woman who won the love of a king and ascended to royalty by virtue of her beauty, Elizabeth fought tenaciously for the success of her family, her daughter who would one day unite the warring dynasties, and her two sons whose eventual fate has confounded historians for centuries, the Princes in the Tower. An active player in the power struggles that surrounded her, she made hard and courageous choices, always trying to protect those whom she loved. Informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills, Philippa Gregory gives an unforgettable voice to an extraordinary woman at the heart of a devastating conflict.
Click here to find and request copies of "The White Queen"
Wolf
Hall By Hilary Mantel
'Lock Cromwell in a deep dungeon in the morning,' says Thomas More, 'and when you come back that night he'll be sitting on a plush cushion eating larks' tongues, and all the gaolers will owe him money.' England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man, the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself.
Click here to find and request copies of "Wolf Hall"
Clash
of Empires, the Great Siege by William Napier
1565. A small island in the middle of the Mediterranean stands gatekeeper between East and West, about to become the scene for one of the most amazing stories of bravery, battle and bloodlust, the siege of Malta. Formed in the Holy Land in the 11th century, a small band of knights had long sought a home. Driven from their lands by Ottoman might, they came to rest in Malta. As word came from Constantinople that Malta was in the sights of the Ottoman Empire, all of Europe watched as a force of over 30,000 men besieged the island, itself only peopled by only 500 knights and a few thousand local soldiers. On that small rock an epic struggle will be played out, the story of individual men, warriors and slaves, but also the story of two worlds colliding.
Click here to find and request copies of "Clash of Empires, the Great Siege"
Merivel
by Rose Tremain
The gaudy years of the Restoration are long gone. Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to Charles II, loved for his ability to turn sorrow into laughter, now faces the agitations and anxieties of middle age. Questions crowd his mind. Has he been a good father? Is he a fair master? Is he the King's friend or the King's slave? In search of answers, Merivel sets off for the French court. But Versailles, all glitter in front and squalor behind, leaves Merivel in despair, until a chance encounter with the seductive Madame de Flamanville, allows him to dream of a different future. But will that future ever be his? Summoned home urgently to attend to the ailing King, Merivel finds his loyalty and skill tested to their limits.
Click here to find and request copies of "Merivel"
The
Ruby in her Navel by Barry Unsworth
The Court of King Roger in Twelfth century Sicily simmers with the volatile passions of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Latins and Greeks. Among them, a young Norman called Thurstan Beauchamp finds employment under Yusuf, a Muslim who holds the Christian kings purse strings. But while Thurstan wishes to be made a Knight, he has little taste for courtly intrigues and instead divides his time between the divine, in the shape of childhood sweetheart Lady Alicia, and the delightful: the sensuous and exotic dancer Nesrin. However, in his pursuit of love and knighthood, Thurstan has yet to appreciate that he may also be a pawn in a far more deadly game
Click here to find and request copies of "The Ruby in her Navel"
A
Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir
Two women separated by time are linked by the most famous murder mystery in history, the Princes in the Tower. Lady Katherine Grey has already suffered more than her fair share of tragedy. Newly pregnant, she has incurred the wrath of her formidable cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who sees her as a rival to her insecure throne. Alone in her chamber in the Tower, she finds old papers belonging to a kinswoman of hers, Kate Plantagenet, who forty years previously had embarked on a dangerous quest to find what really happened to her cousins, the two young Princes who had last been seen as captives in the Tower. But time is not on Kates side or on Katherine's either...
Click here to find and request copies of "A Dangerous Inheritance"
1356
by Bernard Cornwell
The remarkable new novel by Britains master storyteller, which culminates at the Battle of Poitiers. 1356. France stands alert to danger. The English army, victorious at the battle of Crcy and led by the Black Prince, is invading and the French are hunting them down. The bloodiest battles of the Hundred Years War are yet to be fought. Thomas of Hookton, a veteran of Crecy and many other battles, is the leader of a mercenary company of bowmen and men-at-arms who ravage the countryside east of Gascony. The Black Prince is assembling an army to fight the French once more, but before Thomas can join, he must fulfil an urgent task.
Click here to find and request copies of "1356"
Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant
By the end of the fifteenth century, the beauty and creativity of Italy is matched by its brutality and corruption, nowhere more than in Rome and in the Church. When Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia buys his way into the papacy as Alexander VI, he is defined not just by his wealth or his passionate love for his illegitimate children, but by his blood. He is a Spanish Pope in a city run by Italians. If the Borgias are to triumph, this charismatic, consummate politician with a huge appetite for life, women and power must use papacy and family to succeed. His eldest son Cesare, a dazzlingly cold intelligence and an even colder soul, is his greatest weapon. His daughter Lucrezia is the prime dynastic tool. Stripping away the myths around the Borgias, Blood and Beauty is a majestic novel that breathes life into this astonishing family.
Click here to find and request copies of "Blood and Beauty"
The
Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick
Based on the most up-to-date research, award-winning novelist Elizabeth Chadwick brings Eleanor of Aquitaine's magnificent story to life, as never before, unveiling the real Eleanor. Young, golden-haired and blue-eyed Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father dies suddenly in the summer of 1137, her childhood is over. Forced to marry the young prince Louis of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to being crowned King and Queen of France. Leaving everything behind, Eleanor must face the complex and vivacious French court. She is only 13. Barely out of childhood, and forced to deal with great scandals, fraught relationships and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor finally sees what her future could hold if she could just seize the moment.
Click here to find and request copies of "The Summer Queen"
Page last updated: 24th February 2014