Favorite Historical Novels

I've always been fascinated with history. Mostly early American history, but I spread out to other eras and countries from time to time. Thanks to blogging, I have the chance to learn about many historical novels. Here are some of my favorites.

Loss of Innocence by Anne Newton Walther was one of the first books I read when I began reviewing. I didn't even have this blog yet, so I was reviewing for a book review site. Set during the French Revolution, it is a sequel to Walther's A Time for Treason. You can read my review here.

Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich is the first book in the author's Honor trilogy. Colonial America is one of my favorite settings for stories, and this eloquently written book captured the fashion, the language, and tense situation of Colonial Boston . You can read my review here.

I was introduced to the work of C.W. Gortner through Pump Up Your Book. I've reviewed his books and helped him promote two of them. It's hard for me to say one of his books is a favorite over the other, because his eloquent writing style and his attention to detail fill every one I've read. The Tudor Secret, however, appeals to my love of mysteries too.


Set during the summer of 1553, foundling Brendan Prescott's chance meeting with Princess Elizabeth pulls him into a world of danger and intrigue. The style of this one is a bit more casual than Gortner's usual fair, but it is a superbly told story that will captivate readers. My review can be found here.

Lovers of Tudor England will most likely know the work of Margaret George. C.W. Gortner turned me onto her work, and I helped the author promote her novel, Elizabeth I.  George set this novel thirty years into the queen's reign. This allowed me to rediscover a piece of history I am familiar with from my travels to North Carolina each summer, because in this novel, Sir Walter Raleigh visits Queen Elizabeth to announce the colony on Roanoke Island has disappeared. Recently, a new clue surfaced regarding the disappearance of this colony. You can read my review of Elizabeth I here. The giveaway, however, is over.

Blogging has also allowed me to find some great World War II and post-World War II novels.

A Despicable Profession by John Knoerle is set in 1946, when America is celebrating its victory over the Germans. This outstanding historical spy novel--while not my typical historical read--blew me away. I loved it beginning to end. I shared it with my father-in-law, who also enjoyed it. He liked it so much, I bought the first book in this series for him as a birthday gift. I'm trying to make room in my schedule to read that one too.


I believe Copper Fire by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the first World War II era novel I read for this blog. It is the second in her Copper Star Series, and the book that made me a fan of her work.

After Louisa Gordon receives a telegram from the International Red Cross Training Service that her young cousin, Elizabeth has been released from a German concentration camp, she decides to go to Germany to collect her cousin and bring her back to the States. She is also eager to discover the whereabouts of Nazi sympathizer, Friedrich Mueller, who fled Copper Springs, AZ. If you love strong heroines, this is a great book. You can read my review here.

There are many other historical novels I've enjoyed through the years, but to share all of them here would make this a novel in and of itself. I didn't include any of my favorite Civil War novels because there are so many the list needs a post all its own.

What are your top three favorite historical novels?  

Robin Maderich brings Colonial Boston Alive with Faith and Honor

Today's guest blogger is historical fiction author Robin Maderich. I recently finished reading the first book in Robin's Honor Trilogy, Faith and Honor.

Whenever I read a piece of historical fiction, I wonder why the writer chose a particular period in history as the backdrop for her story. My interest was further piqued with Faith and Honor because I've lived in Massachusetts my entire life, and I currently live only ten minutes away from Longmeadow--which is where the female lead, Faith Ashley's grew up.

With all that in mind, I asked Robin to discuss her interest in the Colonial period and how she made the places and characters real for her readers.

Robin's turn:

I have been asked how my interest in the Colonial period emerged as such a favorite of mine, because even though I am a history buff in general, the period leading up to and including the war of the colonies to achieve independence from British rule has always imparted a special energy to who and what I am as a person. I feel an affinity for that period as if, perhaps, I once lived through those times. From my very first trip to Williamsburg (quite a few years ago, the roads not yet fully paved and crowds at a minimum) I felt a pull to the Colonial era. This trip was followed by many others to a variety of historical sites. By the time I read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, I was hooked in a fashion that bordered on the abnormal for a child of my age. I watched the short-lived television series, “Young Rebels”, with rabid intensity, pointing out the inaccuracies with annoying frequency to my parents. Throughout my childhood I expended a great deal of time reading all I could on the subject, whether fiction, biographical or historical treatise.

For the writing of Faith and Honor, I took my interest even further, researching everything from how shoes were made to the types of meals cooked to the particulars of hygiene, although not every single aspect of what I uncovered appears in the book. I was just generating the “feel” of the times to enhance my ability to write about them. I knew no one reading historical romance would be foaming at the mouth over a description of chamber pot usage and disposal of its contents. Not everyone possesses my fanatical fascination for all things Colonial.

However, what fascinated me above all else---and still does to this day---was the wickedly empowering division of sentiment that I discovered as I grew older had nothing to do with absolute rights and absolute wrongs. People of honor made their stands on both sides of the conflict. In Faith and Honor I brought that struggle for balance down to a very personal level, with Faith Ashley, the heroine, a fiery, stubborn patriot, and the man she loves against all odds a British officer in the military occupying Boston. When war erupts with the fateful shots fired on the green at Lexington and, later, at Concord, Fletcher Irons remains as true to his uniform as Faith does to the cause of independence. The decisions they make, the compromises or lack thereof, are difficult to overcome. As Thomas Paine described so eloquently, these were the times that tried men’s souls. Faith Ashley’s and Fletcher Irons’ are no exception.

I sometimes believe it may be hard for those who have no interest in the history of our Nation’s beginning to fully understand how these events shaped us, how they elevated ordinary men and women to excel in extraordinary situations. My hope is, and has always been, for Faith and Honor to not only touch a person’s heart because of its searing love story, but to further understanding of the honorable sacrifices by both sides.



To find out more about Robin and the Honor Trilogy, please visit www.robinmaderich.com

Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich--Book Review

Forbidden love during the battle for independence is what historical fiction fans will find in Faith and Honor, Book 1 of the Honor Trilogy by Robin Maderich.

On the ride home to Boston, beautiful, red-headed widow Faith Ashley is assisted by a strong and elegant man in a dusty tricorne hat. Little does this dedicated patriot know, Mr. Irons is an officer in the British Army.

By rights they should be enemies; but their hearts are drawn to each other. As the battle for independence looms on the horizon, Faith and Fletcher Irons struggle to make sense of their feelings while still holding fast to their beliefs. What does loving the enemy cost? And can their love survive the rebellion?

Author Robin Maderich brings Colonial Boston alive for readers in this moving, romantic story of forbidden love. Maderich's attention to detail, knowledge of the era, and her ability to develop complex and fascinating characters, are woven together to create a poignant tale of a man and woman who stand on opposite sides of a conflict.

This eloquently written story that captures the fashion, the language, and tense situation of Colonial Boston is sure to be a hit with historical fiction fans.

Faith is a strong, determined patriot, and Fletcher, believing that the British must squash the rebellion, continues to perform his duty despite his feelings for Faith. He is certainly an honorable hero. Other memorable characters are Ezra Briggs, a lawyer and loyalist who has known Faith for many years, and British Lieutenant Brian Upton, a fellow officer and good friend of Fletcher's. John Colton, Faith's father who lives in Longmeadow, will certainly leave an impression on readers, as will Elizabeth, Faith's servant and fellow patriot.

This reader was totally captivated by Faith and Honor. The mingling of fictional characters with historical figures and events is so well done that I wanted immediately to dive back into the book as soon as I finished.

Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich is one book you won't want to miss!


Title: Faith and Honor
Author: Robin Maderich
Publisher: Blue Shutter Books (reprint of original book released in 1989 by Time Warner Books)
SRP: $12.95