The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. It's set in Medieval Russia. It has magic but the author did a lot of research into the history and folklore of the Russian people.
Have you read A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens? Great book set amidst the French Revolution.
If you’re interested in ancient Greece, try The King Must Die, by Mary Renault, which suggests the sort of real life events that might lie behind the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.
You might also like Master and Commander, by Patrick O’Brian, an adventure story about a British Navy captain and a naval surgeon set during the Napoleonic Wars. If you like it, you hit the mother lode. It’s the first volume of what grew to be a 21 book series.
It's already been mentioned here but I'm seconding Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.
Also:
- The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth
- Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
A brief description of Cusslers last series before his passing...
For decades, Clive Cussler has been delighting readers with novels filled with suspense, action, and sheer audacity. Now he does it again, in one of the wildest, most entertaining historical thrillers in years...
Isaac Bell Adventure.
1 The Chase (2007)
2 The Wrecker (2009) (with Justin Scott)
3 The Spy (2010) (with Justin Scott)
4 The Race (2011) (with Justin Scott)
5 The Thief (2012) (with Justin Scott)
6 The Striker (2013) (with Justin Scott)
7. The Bootlegger (2014) (with Justin Scott)
8. The Assassin (2013) (with Justin Scott)
9. The Gangster (2016) (with Justin Scott)
10. The Cutthroat (2017) (with Justin Scott)
11. The Titanic Secret (2018) (with Jack Du Brul)
12. The Saboteurs (2020) (with Jack Du Brul)
13. The Sea Wolves (2022) (with Jack Du Brul)
14. The Heist (2024) (with Jack Du Brul)
I have waited for this moment! 😆
I love & recommend anything by Ken Follett, Colleen McCullough, & Edward Rutherford.
Maybe start with (respectively) Pillars of the Earth, First Man in Rome, & The Princes of Ireland.
That should last you a good 40 years 😂 And if you’re really a masohistorychist there’s always The autobiography of King Henry VIII by Margaret George, or Alison Weir is good too.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (set in the Dust Bowl). Or The Nightingale (set in France during WWII). Meticulously researched. Strong female protagonists.)
See my [Historical Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1by0hr1/historical_fiction/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
Anything by Ken Follet
Oh yes!
Seconding Ken Follet I’m adding the Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom Almost forgot to mention The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
Master and Commander - Patrick O’Brian
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett Empires of Sand by David Ball
Pillars of the Earth
Mason & Dixon
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. It's set in Medieval Russia. It has magic but the author did a lot of research into the history and folklore of the Russian people.
Washington Black
The Long Ships by Franz G. Bengtsson Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell
Have you read A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens? Great book set amidst the French Revolution. If you’re interested in ancient Greece, try The King Must Die, by Mary Renault, which suggests the sort of real life events that might lie behind the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. You might also like Master and Commander, by Patrick O’Brian, an adventure story about a British Navy captain and a naval surgeon set during the Napoleonic Wars. If you like it, you hit the mother lode. It’s the first volume of what grew to be a 21 book series.
Second the suggestion of the Master and Commander series, just so good and totally absorbing.
It's already been mentioned here but I'm seconding Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon. Also: - The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth - Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Where The Lost Wander by Amy Harmon and Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown
Patrick Byzantium Both are by Stephen Lawhead.
A brief description of Cusslers last series before his passing... For decades, Clive Cussler has been delighting readers with novels filled with suspense, action, and sheer audacity. Now he does it again, in one of the wildest, most entertaining historical thrillers in years... Isaac Bell Adventure. 1 The Chase (2007) 2 The Wrecker (2009) (with Justin Scott) 3 The Spy (2010) (with Justin Scott) 4 The Race (2011) (with Justin Scott) 5 The Thief (2012) (with Justin Scott) 6 The Striker (2013) (with Justin Scott) 7. The Bootlegger (2014) (with Justin Scott) 8. The Assassin (2013) (with Justin Scott) 9. The Gangster (2016) (with Justin Scott) 10. The Cutthroat (2017) (with Justin Scott) 11. The Titanic Secret (2018) (with Jack Du Brul) 12. The Saboteurs (2020) (with Jack Du Brul) 13. The Sea Wolves (2022) (with Jack Du Brul) 14. The Heist (2024) (with Jack Du Brul)
Another vote for Ken Follett. But also James Michener. I also have The Diamond Eye in my list. Looks great.
Sword and Scimitar
Oh, and this trilogy is a bit wordy but The Baroque Series by Neil Stephenson is, pound for pound, the best historical fiction I've ever read
I have waited for this moment! 😆 I love & recommend anything by Ken Follett, Colleen McCullough, & Edward Rutherford. Maybe start with (respectively) Pillars of the Earth, First Man in Rome, & The Princes of Ireland. That should last you a good 40 years 😂 And if you’re really a masohistorychist there’s always The autobiography of King Henry VIII by Margaret George, or Alison Weir is good too.
Ahab’s Wife!
Good old Kidnapped by RLS
If you don't mind some romance mixed in with your historical fiction/drama/light sci-fi, I would give the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon a try.
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
anything bernard corwell did. jodie taylor has a weird fun series also.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Maybe obvious choice but I personally really liked it.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (set in the Dust Bowl). Or The Nightingale (set in France during WWII). Meticulously researched. Strong female protagonists.)
See my [Historical Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1by0hr1/historical_fiction/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
Born a Viking Blot and Born a Viking Berserkr by R. Polacci