Thursday, May 10, 2012

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?  

1 comment:

Malcolm R. Campbell said...

You have a nice selection of books here for folks who like a little (or a lot) of history mixed with a good story.

My favorite in recent years is "Wolf Hall," set in the court of Henry VIII of England.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for Diana Gabaldon to finish the next novel in her Outlander series.

Malcolm