Medieval Fiction
Modern fiction set in the medieval period. Our recommendations for "...novels where historical details are correct enough (that) the inaccuracies don't grate."
- Buckley, Fiona - Ursula Blanchard series
- Davis, Lindsey - The Silver Pigs, first book in Marcus Didius Falco series (Roman)
- Clavell, James - Shogun (set in the 1600s Japan)
- Clavell, James - Tai-Pan (OOP--set in the 1840s China, but an *excellent* read!
- Dunnett, Dorothy - Game of Kings (first book in Lymond series, 16th C Scotland/England)
- Dunnett, Dorothy - Niccolo Rising: The First Book of The House of Niccolo (15th C. Low Countries, series)
- Eco, Umberto - The Name of the Rose
- Emerson, Kathy Lynn - Susanna, Lady Appleton series
- Follet, Ken - The Pillars of the Earth
- Frazer, Margaret - The Novice's Tale
- Gregory, Philippa - The Other Boleyn Girl (Tudor, a retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn)
- Jecks, Michael - The Last Templar
- Knight, Bernard - The Sanctuary Knight (first of series)
- Lofts, Nora - The Concubine (Tudor, Anne Boleyn)
- Lofts, Nora - The Lute Player
- Newman, Sharan - Death Comes as Epiphany
- Oldenbourg, Zoe - Cities of Flesh (Toulouse during the Inquisition against the Cathars, with a Courtly love thread interwoven. "Yummy, though wrenching.")
- Pargeter, Edith - trilogy The Heaven Tree, The Green Branch, and The Scarlet Seed ("exquisite and moving - full of wonderful detail and characters.")
- Penfield, Sharon Kaye - The Sunne in Splendor
- Penman, Sharon Kay - The Queen's Man : A Medieval Mystery
- Peters, Ellis - A Morbid Taste for Bones (1130's England, the first book in the "Brother Cadfael" series)
- Pouillon, Fernand - The Stones of the Abbey ("Hard to find, but a great read about the building of an abbey by monks in 12th century France.")
- Robb, Candace - Margaret Kerr series
- Scott, Sir Walter - most of his works
- Seton, Anya - Katherine ("...a lovely retelling of the relationship between John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford")
- Tremayne, Peter - Sister Fidelma series (Ireland, mid 600's. Mystery solving Irish nun who is also a lawyer under "old" Irish law.)
When in doubt also go back to the source. There are some great short story versions of French Romance/Love tales that are easy to read and are period. Rabelias book "Gargantua and Pantagruel" is good. Boccaccio's bawdy tales collected in "The Decameron". If you take some time, you can find some good translations of period books that are easy to read for a modern person. --Rick LeFaivre