Who doesn’t love a good list post? To continue along the historical fiction vein, here are some of my favourite historical fiction books and/or series. Fun!

1. The Century Trilogy – Ken Follett

• Follett writes really, really good historical fiction. His new release, the final instalment of the Century Trilogy, Edge of Eternity, was just released in September and is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read! You can expect a future blog post about it.

2. The Order of Darkness series – Philippa Gregory

• I have read most of Gregory’s books about the Tudors and the War of the Roses. Her new Young Adult series is a fresh departure from her usual style.

3. The Ibis Trilogy – Amitav Ghosh

• So far, only books one and two (Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke, respectively) have been released. I can’t wait for the third. Ghosh is an amazing writer.

4. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

• The film adaptation didn’t make a lot of noise but the book is certainly worth reading.

5. The Help – Kathryn Stockett

• This one’s a winner. If you haven’t read it yet, you should.

6. The Luminaries – Eleanor Catton

• Winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize. Dense but fascinating.

7. Outlander Series – Diana Gabaldon

• See my last post about why Outlander the series and Outlander the TV show get a thumbs up.

8. When The Lion Feeds – Wilbur Smith

• I started reading Smith’s books after traveling to South Africa in 2011 and they helped provide some historical context to the subjects I studied there.

9. A Dangerous Fortune – Ken Follett

• More Ken Follett! This book helped me understand how the economy works way more than my Global Political Economy class ever could.

10. Cathedral of the Sea – Ildefonso Falcones

• This epic is centred around the construction of a cathedral on the coast of Spain and the people who helped build it (reminiscent of Follett’s Pillars of the Earth and World Without End). After reading it, I had to go to Spain (and did, in 2012!).

Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought of them! I’d also love to know which books you’ve enjoyed – I’m always looking for recommendations.

Until next time, happy reading!