Historical Fiction by Century, Part III

As the old year ends and the new year begins, many take the opportunity to use that time for serious reflection. I have chosen to reflect on my favorite historical fiction books. It is my favorite genre to read--which doubtless explains why I also love to write it--but I have never tried to list out all of my top picks before now. This post concludes my list of favorites ordered by the century in which they are set. In Part I, I shared my favorites from BC through the eighth century AD. In Part II, I continued with the ninth century through the fourteenth. Today I am pleased to begin with the fifteenth century.

Fifteenth Century

Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle

For several years during my later childhood, Howard Pyle took first prize in my favorite author category. I loved his retellings of the King Arthur stories accompanied by his beautiful pen and ink illustrations. But the story that most captured my imagination was Men of Iron. Myles Falworth, the son of an English lord wrongfully attainted with treason, learns the trade of arms so that one day he can challenge his lifelong enemy and clear his father's name.

Fifteenth Century Runners-Up: The Black Arrow, by Robert Louis Stevenson; A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury, by Edith Pargeter

Sixteenth Century

Prince of Foxes
by Samuel Shellabarger

When the story begins our dashing hero, Andrea Orsini, is a captain/spy in the employ of the notorious Cesare Borgia. The illegitimate son of the pope, Cesare's plan is to conquer all of Italy and bring the independent cities under his control. At first Andrea is a willing tool in Cesare's hands, but when he falls in love with Camilla, the lady of Citta del Monte, he begins to sympathize with those who stand for freedom against the Borgia tyranny.

Sixteenth Century Runner-Up: Captain from Castile, by Samuel Shellabarger

Seventeenth Century

Captain Blood
by Rafael Sabatini

When doctor Peter Blood provides aid to the men from Monmouth's rebellion, he is condemned to a life of slavery in the colonies. Using his wits and skills as a physician, he finds a way to freedom and becomes the captain of a pirate vessel, the terror of Spanish galleons up and down the Caribbean.

Seventeenth Century Runners-Up: The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas

Eighteenth Century

Scaramouche
by Rafael Sabatini

When an arrogant marquis murders Andre-Louis' best friend, the clever and spirited Andre-Louis goes on a path of vengeance that carries him through the theater, fencing school, and into the very heart of the French Revolution.

Eighteenth Century Runners-Up: Lord Vanity, by Samuel Shellabarger; The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper

Nineteenth Century

Master and Commander (series)
by Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O'Brian's superb naval books are set during the Napoleonic Era and star two of the most lifelike characters ever penned. Big, bluff, impulsive Jack Aubrey is a natural on the sea commanding a ship in the English navy, but he is a little less than competent when it comes to dealing with women and money. His close friend and foil is Stephen Maturin, a broody and sensitive doctor who moonlights as a naturalist and a spy.

Twentieth Century

Every once in a while you will run into a nearly empty page in a book with a few words printed in the center: "This page purposely left blank." That message might just as well be applied to this section. I've only read two or three books set during the twentieth century, and none of them jump out at me as being particularly excellent. If you know any must-reads that would fit here, please tell me about them!

Historical Fiction by Century, Part II

Last week I began to share my list of favorite historical fiction by century. Today I'm pleased to pick up where I left off, beginning with the ninth century. Feel free to comment and share your favorite historical reads from these centuries.

Ninth Century

Byzantium
by Stephen Lawhead

Although this is not my favorite of Lawhead's books (that honor goes to The Song of Albion trilogy), it is probably my favorite of his historical fiction. A group of Irish monks from Kells are tasked with bringing an illuminated manuscript to the Byzantine emperor, but their mission goes terribly awry when they are captured by Viking raiders. 

Tenth Century

Eaters of the Dead
by Michael Crichton


It has been quite a few years since I read this book, but I remember being struck by what an interesting take it was on the epic poem Beowulf. Told through the eyes of the cultured Arab Ibn Fadlan, the story follows a group of barbaric Viking warriors traveling to the North to combat something even more barbaric than themselves--a mysterious terror that strikes the mead hall by night leaving a trail of bloody corpses.

Eleventh Century

The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
by Allen French

Sometimes the best historical fiction is in the "juvenile" section. Allen French was a professor who wrote historical fiction for young adults to illustrate how different kinds of government functioned throughout history. The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow does show how the Icelandic Althing governed society in the tenth century, but it is also one of the most exciting stories I have ever read. Rolf's father Hiarandi the Unlucky tries to stop his neighbor Einar from taking over his land; he foolishly strikes out at Einar's servants and, as punishment, is forbidden to go beyond a bowshot from his home. When Einar lures Hiarandi away from the house and kills him, it becomes Rolf's goal to prove that his father was unlawfully slain. In order to clear Hiarandi's name and get back the family land, Rolf must find a bow capable of shooting farther than the tree where his father was killed.

Twelfth Century

One Corpse Too Many
by Ellis Peters

What happens when a hundred traitors are hanged by the king and a murderer takes advantage of the opportunity to throw an extra corpse in the ditch? While the English civil war rages between Stephen and Maud, one clever herbalist from the Shrewsbury monastery uses his powers of detection to make sure that the murderer is brought to justice. This is the second book in the Brother Cadfael mystery series, and in my opinion, the best of the lot.

Twelfth Century Runner-Up: The Heaven Tree Trilogy, by Edith Pargeter (who also uses the pen name Ellis Peters)

Thirteenth Century

Ivanhoe 
by Sir Walter Scott

In Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, the heroine's grandmother is not allowed to die until she has read the ten most boring books in the world, and strangely enough, the author puts Ivanhoe on that list. This is a gross slander. While the prose may be a bit more flowery than today's writing (and the plot somewhat predictable because of all the subsequent books and movies that stole from it), Ivanhoe is a great story and a seminal work in the historical fiction genre. Sir Wilfrid of Ivanhoe is a Saxon knight who served with King Richard on the Third Crusade. When he returns home, he must stop the Norman plot to put Prince John on the throne and save a fair Jewess from a Templar knight.

Thirteenth Century Runner-Up: The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet, by Edith Pargeter

Fourteenth Century

Katherine
by Anya Seton

As time advances, the quantity of historical fiction available expands, and this makes picking favorites a hard task indeed. Out of my three favorite novels set during this century, I'm choosing the one I've read most recently. Katherine tells the life story of the mistress to John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III. Anya Seton paints a well-rounded picture of a convent-raised girl thrown into the world of kings and courtiers, desperate for escape from an unwanted marriage, blissful in her illicit love affair with the prince, then tormented by stings of conscience. The historical setting is one of the richest I've ever seen in a novel, especially one that focuses on a romance.

Fourteenth Century Runners-Up: The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco; In a Dark Wood Wandering: A Novel of the Middle Ages, by Hella Haasse

Lord willing, I will be posting the third and final installment of historical fiction by century later this week. Stay tuned....

Historical Fiction by Century, Part I

The other day I amused myself by coming up with a list of my favorite historical fiction books set during each century. It was an interesting project. Some centuries were overflowing with books that I loved. Some were completely bare--I couldn't think of any books I had read that were set during that time period. Here is the first installment of that list. Feel free to comment with your favorites and note the time period in which they occur.

Before Christ

The King Must Die 
by Mary Renault 
Retelling of the story of Theseus in ancient Greece and Crete. Very interesting portrayal of fertility cult worship and how the king was expected to give his life to renew the life of the ground and of his people.

Till We Have Faces 
by C. S. Lewis

Retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche in Asia Minor. Also an interesting portrayal of fertility cult worship set in the context of a Christian allegory.

Anno Domini

First Century

Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ
by Lew Wallace
Story of a wealthy, first-century Jewish prince, his persecution at the hands of the Romans, and how his life was changed through interaction with Christ. Even more epic than the epic movie based on it.

Second Century

The Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff
An ex-gladiator masquerades as the king of a Celtic tribe in Roman-occupied Britain, ends up adopting the people as his own, and learns what it really means to be a king.

Second Century Runner-Up: The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff

Third Century

This was one of those empty centuries--I was unable to think of a good book that fit here. Do you have any favorites set during this time period?

Fourth Century

Frontier Wolf, by Rosemary Sutcliff
Another great book by Sutcliff, this one about a Roman centurion who must keep the peace with the British border tribes and keep from making the same shameful mistake that clouded his past.

Fifth Century

The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff
Sutcliff again here--are you noticing a trend? When the legions pull out of Britain, a young Roman stays behind to face the Saxon hordes and his own bitterness. Provides a glimpse of what the real "historical" King Arthur might have been like.

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Centuries

These centuries were very hard for me to fill. Yes, there are more Sutcliff books I could stick here, but to be honest, I can't really consider them my favorites. I have a book on my Amazon Wish List set during this time period--Paths of Exile, by Carla Nayland--but I haven't read it yet, so I can't judge its merits. I googled some historical fiction lists to see if there were some great books out there that I was missing. There weren't. These centuries seem to be a great void for historical fiction, which is sad because someone could take some of the stories from the Venerable Bede and turn them into a top-notch novel. Maybe that should be my next project, once I finish my novels about the First Crusade.

Stay tuned for more posts to finish out this list. Don't forget to comment and share your favorites from Before Christ or from the first through eighth centuries Anno Domini.