Im from the US but I love everything about the UK. I especially like learning about small town life in lesser known areas and really enjoy the different accents/dialects. Usually like a more dark story and not really into anything too cozy or cute. Very open to historical fiction too! Any one have suggestions to help me explore this?!
by Sessiejannino
5 Comments
I suggest looking at books by Nicola Barker. If you want something a bit lighter, try Jonathan Coe.
Some of my favourite historical fiction set in the UK (mostly England) and they’re all quite dark:
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Babel is really good and more or less entirely set in Oxford. Dark Academia with a bit of magic.
You could also try The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, which is a series about how Alfred the Great (and then his son, Edward) unified the various kingdoms into “England”.
The Pillars of the Earth is also an excellent historical fiction book about the building of a cathedral, its sounds boring but I promise it’s likely to be one of the best books you ever read.
You could also try some Urban Fantasy, the one that sticks out is Rivers of London. Policeman comes to a murder scene and sees a ghost, he gets apprenticed to London’s magical police task force.
I just finished This is Memorial Device by David Keenan. It’s a fake oral history of an 80s punk band from a small town in Scotland. It’s filled with oddball characters and their experiences with the band. It’s got some dark humor and feels dreamlike at times. Definitely worth a read.
You might enjoy [Scratch by Sue Millard](https://scarletferret.com/books/scratch).
It’s set in Cumbria in the north of England. You really sink into it and the setting. Bit of drama.