Any good epic historical fiction recommendations?

Question

I'm open to anything.

Answer 1

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is the first book that comes to mind.

There is also a series of books that concern America's Civil War: The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara with a prequel by his son Jeff Shaara called Gods and Generals and followed by The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara.

Another historical fiction series set during the Napoleonic Wars is The Hornblower series by C.S. Forester (in chronological order-not as written): Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, Hornblower and the Hotspur, Hornblower and the Atropos, Beat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, Flying Colours, Commodore Hornblower, Lord Hornblower, and Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.

Patrick O'Brian has another series set in the time of the Napoleonic Wars, too (as I believe has already been mentioned). His books are: Master and Commander, Post Captain, HMS Surprise, The Mauritius Command, Desolation Island, The Fortune of War, The Surgeon's Mate, The Ionian Mission, Treason's Harbour, The Far Side of the World, The Reverse of the Medal, The Letter of Marque, The Thirteen-Gun Salute, The Nutmeg of Consolation, The Truelove, The Wine-Dark Sea, The Commodore, The Yellow Admiral, The Hundred Days, and Blue at the Mizzen.

I would also consider Les Miserables by Victor Hugo to be an epic historical fiction classic.

Alexandre Dumas is another writer whose classic historical fiction is really good: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne. There's also The Man in the Iron Mask and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Then there is Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel series set during the French Revolution: The Laughing Cavalier, The First Sir Percy, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Leads the Band, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, I Will Repay!, The Elusive Pimpernel, Eldorado, Mam'zelle Guillotine, Lord Tony's Wife, The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Hits Back, Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, A Child of the Revolution, The Pimpernel and Rosemary, The Life & Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World.

Obviously, there are LOTS more! Happy reading.

Answer 2

If you're willing to try anything, there's a series that I would recommend.

It follows the fictional Steed family through the beginnings of the LDS church and the westward movement of the Mormon pioneers, including much of the persecution of the early church members. I found it particularly interesting as I had ancestors on both sides of the conflicts. The writing is a little slow (lots of detail), but, by the second book, most people are so engrossed that they have to read the series through to the end.

The series is titled: The Work and the Glory, by Gerald N. Lund. The first book is called "Pillar of Light. "

Another interesting note is that, I believe beginning in the second book, the author includes notes about what events in the story are based on actual events and what is fictional. I was very surprised to find out that a few that I thought were fictional were not!

Answer 3

Try Michael Shaara and his son Jeff Shaara. The elder Shaara wrote the book "The Killer Angels," published in '74, that ended up being turned into the '93 movie "Gettysburg." Since his father died in '88, Jeff Shaara was convinced after the movies release to turn his father's work into a trilogy and wrote "Gods and Generals" which preceeds "The Killer Angels" and "The Last Full Measure" which ends the Shaaras' Civil War trilogy. Since then he's gone on to write "Gone for Soldiers" (Mexican-American War), "The Glorious Cause" and "Rise to Rebellion" (his Revolutionary War duology), "To the Last Man" (WWI), and the first book of his WWII trilogy, "The Rising Tide."

Answer 4

Read Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series. There is 5 or 6 books out now and she's still writing.

If you don't mind religious fiction, read Gilbert Morris's 'Winslow Family Chronicles'.


You can check both series out of the library, that way if you didn't care for them, you're just out the time.

Enjoy

Answer 5

Forever Amber. Mention this book to anyone between 60-75 and they will tell you where they read it after they sneaked it out of the house, or away from their parents. My mother read it standing by a window in the attic, and my friends mother brought it to the beach and she and her girlfriends read passages aloud to each other. WOW!

Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge. The Hearth and Eagle by Anya Seton. You will have to look for these books, but they are worth it.

Answer 6

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It's amazing! It's like 800 pages and you won't be able to put it down and you'll be sad when it's over. It's about a prostitute in late Victorian England.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

The best ever are the novels of Patrick O'Brien. There are 20 in the series, beginning with "Master and Commander."

Answer 9

"Katherine" via Anya Seton is probable the time-honored for historic novels. It happens in 14th century England & France and centers on John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine. large e book that particularly has drama, romance and scandal! and because you have began Phillippa Gregory, save on with different novels alongside with "The Virgin's Lover". "long previous With the Wind" is yet another large historic novel. and "while Christ and His Saints Slept" via Sharon Kay Penman is stable too.

Answer 10

I love Mary Renault, who wrote about ancient Greece. I highly recommend her Alexandriad (about Alexander the Great, of course), consisting of Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy (one of my favorite novels) and Funeral Games.