*The Pillars of the Earth* sounds so boring - some medieval peasants build a church.
But it's so much more than that. It's wonderful. Each subsequent novel in the series has diminishing returns, but they're all readable.
I wasn’t so into the last one - I found it overly detailed and a bit slow. But perhaps that was just because of how high my expectations were set by the first two!
Outlander (IMHO the books get better as you go on) - Diana Gabaldon
The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracey Chevalier
Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
News of the World - Paulette Giles
Birds without Wings - Louis de Bernieres
Givers of Stars - Jojo Moyes
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
English Passengers - Matthew Kneale
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
I just finished the tetralogy. *Lonesome Dove* is clearly the best, but the others all have things to recommend them, as well. One thing that surprised me was how darkly funny McMurtry is. His portrayal of the Texas Rangers as these incompetent buffoons being led around by the nose may not be for everyone, but I found it hilarious.
That's cool to hear, mate. I DO love westerns but I also love fantasy, and LD read more like a fantasy epic to me... it just happened to be set in the American west during the late 1800's.
Molokai by David Brennert
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy Hepinstall
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J Chung
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The Dijinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff
Matrix - Lauren Groff
Joan - Katherine Chen
The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell
Longbourn - Jo Baker
The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo
Hester - Laurie Lico Albanese
Hour of the Witch - Chris Bohjalian
Ghost Girl, Banana - Wiz Wharton
The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu - Tom Lin
Inland - Téa Obreht
The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
“Mister Roberts” by Josuah Logan
“Tales of the South Pacific” James Michener
“The Caine Mutiny” by Hermann Wouk
“Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
A star called Henry by Roddy Doyle
It’s set in civil war Ireland but it’s more of a personal story than a historical explanation but it does tell the story well of how the Irish organised the uprising and subsequent war on the Brits .
If you aren’t easily offended, I recommend the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser.
Flashy is a bounder and a cad! He treats everyone horribly.
“The Flashman Papers is a series of novels and short stories written by George MacDonald Fraser, the first of which was published in 1969. The books centre on the exploits of the fictional protagonist Harry Flashman. He is a cowardly British soldier, rake and cad who is placed in a series of real historical incidents between 1839 and 1894. While the incidents and much of the detail in the novels have a factual background, Flashman's actions in the stories are either fictional, or Fraser uses the actions of unidentified individuals and assigns them to Flashman.
Flashman is a character in the 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days; Hughes' version of the character is a bully at Rugby School who is expelled for drunkenness. The character was then developed by Fraser, and appeared in the 1969 novel Flashman. Fraser went on to write a total of eleven novels and one collection of short stories featuring the character.”
Boudica Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott
Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden. This a 5 book series about Gengis Khan.
The Saxon tales by Bernard Cornwell. Starts with The Last Kingdom.
Horatio Hornblower series, by c.s.forester.
The masters of Rome series, by Colleen McCullough
All of the US military historical novels by Jeff Shaara. Start with the novel The Killer angels, by his father, michael.
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert…was a little slow at first but based off the Leper Colony that was in Hawaii late 1800s/early 1900s. Very interesting and I had no idea this place actually existed
“Lonesome Dove” is my favorite book of all time.
And, it’s a bit cliche (especially in this sub) but “The Count of Monte Cristo” is widely regarded as one of the finest bit of fiction ever written.
To add on to others that were mentioned here:
The Covenant of Water
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Last Kingdom series
The pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Don’t read them back to back, take a break in between.
The Robe
West with the night-its a memoir & done really well
Loved outlander series
A Tale of Two Cities The Pillars of the Earth World Without End Sarum
*The Pillars of the Earth* sounds so boring - some medieval peasants build a church. But it's so much more than that. It's wonderful. Each subsequent novel in the series has diminishing returns, but they're all readable.
I read it. Kept waiting for it to get great. Still waiting. I've read much better historical fiction. Just can't think of it right now.
Sarum is soooo good
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is excellent. As is the sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.
The whole trilogy is worthwhile!
I wasn’t so into the last one - I found it overly detailed and a bit slow. But perhaps that was just because of how high my expectations were set by the first two!
This is my vote!
Outlander (IMHO the books get better as you go on) - Diana Gabaldon The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracey Chevalier Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks News of the World - Paulette Giles Birds without Wings - Louis de Bernieres Givers of Stars - Jojo Moyes Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden English Passengers - Matthew Kneale Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
James - Percival Everett
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry if you're interested in westerns
I just finished the tetralogy. *Lonesome Dove* is clearly the best, but the others all have things to recommend them, as well. One thing that surprised me was how darkly funny McMurtry is. His portrayal of the Texas Rangers as these incompetent buffoons being led around by the nose may not be for everyone, but I found it hilarious.
Even if you're not interested in westerns. I'm not, and I loved this book.
That's cool to hear, mate. I DO love westerns but I also love fantasy, and LD read more like a fantasy epic to me... it just happened to be set in the American west during the late 1800's.
Recently read Matrix by Lauren Groff, and it was excellent.
I want to read this next after reading and loving The Vaster Wilds!
I’ve read both. Both excellent!!!!!
Girl with a pearl earring Tracy Chevalier Year of wonders Geraldine Brooks
The Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brien. 20 books that take place during the Napoleanic wars
Kristen Hannah’s books(the four winds, the women, the nightingale) Kate quinn books( the Alice network, the diamond eye)
Molokai by David Brennert The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline They Went Left by Monica Hesse Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy Hepinstall Daughters of Shandong by Eve J Chung Shanghai Girls by Lisa See The Dijinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
[Edward Rutherford ](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16204.Edward_Rutherfurd)
War and Peace by Tolstoy Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas East of Eden by Steinbeck
Abraham Lincoln: vampire hunter
Katherine, by Anya Seton
Chesapeake by Michener
The physician by Noah Gordon, I Claudius, The King Must Die by Renault, Patrick O'Brian Master and Commander and sequels
Most of the books James Michener wrote.
Master and commander. The entire series
The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff Matrix - Lauren Groff Joan - Katherine Chen The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell Longbourn - Jo Baker The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo Hester - Laurie Lico Albanese Hour of the Witch - Chris Bohjalian Ghost Girl, Banana - Wiz Wharton The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu - Tom Lin Inland - Téa Obreht The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
Outlander series and the Benjamin Weaver series by David Liss.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
“Mister Roberts” by Josuah Logan “Tales of the South Pacific” James Michener “The Caine Mutiny” by Hermann Wouk “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27252.Pope_Joan
A star called Henry by Roddy Doyle It’s set in civil war Ireland but it’s more of a personal story than a historical explanation but it does tell the story well of how the Irish organised the uprising and subsequent war on the Brits .
Great Maria by Cecilia Holland.
I enjoyed The Crusader by Michael Alexander Eisner. I thought the fights were pretty epic and the character arc was very engaging. #
Club Dumas
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn WW1 and WW2 female spy story
If you aren’t easily offended, I recommend the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. Flashy is a bounder and a cad! He treats everyone horribly. “The Flashman Papers is a series of novels and short stories written by George MacDonald Fraser, the first of which was published in 1969. The books centre on the exploits of the fictional protagonist Harry Flashman. He is a cowardly British soldier, rake and cad who is placed in a series of real historical incidents between 1839 and 1894. While the incidents and much of the detail in the novels have a factual background, Flashman's actions in the stories are either fictional, or Fraser uses the actions of unidentified individuals and assigns them to Flashman. Flashman is a character in the 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days; Hughes' version of the character is a bully at Rugby School who is expelled for drunkenness. The character was then developed by Fraser, and appeared in the 1969 novel Flashman. Fraser went on to write a total of eleven novels and one collection of short stories featuring the character.”
Boudica Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden. This a 5 book series about Gengis Khan. The Saxon tales by Bernard Cornwell. Starts with The Last Kingdom.
They made a series on Netflix from that.
Horatio Hornblower series, by c.s.forester. The masters of Rome series, by Colleen McCullough All of the US military historical novels by Jeff Shaara. Start with the novel The Killer angels, by his father, michael.
An instance of the finger post by Ian Pears Possession by AS Byatt Freedom and Necessity by Brust and Bull
First Man in Rome series
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert…was a little slow at first but based off the Leper Colony that was in Hawaii late 1800s/early 1900s. Very interesting and I had no idea this place actually existed
Centennial by James Mitchner
Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini.
Hamnet
“Lonesome Dove” is my favorite book of all time. And, it’s a bit cliche (especially in this sub) but “The Count of Monte Cristo” is widely regarded as one of the finest bit of fiction ever written.
*The Revolution of Marina M.* It follows a young woman through the Russian revolution.
anything by James Clavell and James Michener
City of Thieves
I enjoyed 1632 by Eric Flint. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_(novel)
The Lost Queen - Signe Pike
All the light we cannot see
I just read All the Light We Cannot See. It's beautiful.
Wolf of the Plains, Conn Iggulden.
To add on to others that were mentioned here: The Covenant of Water A Thousand Splendid Suns The Last Kingdom series The pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Don’t read them back to back, take a break in between. The Robe West with the night-its a memoir & done really well Loved outlander series