Kinda like
Lonesome Dove
Or Between Two Fires
Or Pillars of the Earth
Or Outlander
Circe & Song of Achilles
Something’s that’s unconventional like fantasy but also mostly accurate to the time period?
I’m interested in Russian history & folkloric history im interested in how myth is part of our history I’m interested in pm anything actually lol so I’ll shut up. I’m mostly interested in history outside of where I’m from tho (America) unless it’s Native American history or puritans/witchcraft or something as great as lonesome dove
by Infamous_Wave9878
17 Comments
The Sea Women by Lisa See. About Koreans on Jeju Island and the women’s culture of deep sea diving. Not only about the women but about war and the impacts of colonization
Editing to change “colonization” to “occupation”
Grapes of Wrath is great too as a depiction of the dust bowl I’m tryna think of more I’ve read. The Lover by Marguerite duras paints a very intimate vision of indochina rooted in her memories and the showcase of the intersection between class/race/gender at that time felt so socially accurate bc of that
Pachinko was great
Red Azalea
I’d say memoirs of a geisha but I’ve been disillusioned:/
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro is set in Post-War Japan and was just a phenomenal novel.
The Half-Drowned King series by Linnea Hartsuyker for Viking era Norway and beyond.
The Benjamin Weaver books by David Liss, starting with “A Conspiracy of Paper”.
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden is historical fantasy inspired by Russian history/folklore!
The human comedy by Balzac, multiple novels and stories set in the 1815-1850 restoration period inn France
Mary Renault’s novels of ancient Greece.
If you are interested in the British Indian period and the perspective of a British civil services officer, the best book ever is called Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian by John Beams.
Jin Yong – A Hero Born and Thousands Autumns by Meng Xi Shi – blending real historic figures and based on real historic events – Ancient China with wuxia setting
James Michener’s books are historical epics about different parts of the world but make you feel like you’re reading fiction because of his absorbing writing style. Take your pick of where you want to go – his books cover many parts of the globe.
Colleen McCollough’s Master’s of Rome series is largely praised for being incredibly well researched in terms of what the world was like then.
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry. 1970s India… Went into the book knowing nothing whatsoever about what was going on then. Very interesting, harrowing read, but one of my favorite books.
Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle
a thousand splendid suns
It’s been a while, but check out books by John Jakes. I recall enjoying these historical fiction books but that was 30 years ago.
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series-1930’s-1950’s German cop /soldier/PI, and David Downing’s John Russell ‘stations’ series- 1930’s-1940’s Berlin. Both are historically accurate and excellent.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I owe much of my general knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa to this book. After I read it, I was so intrigued that I did further reading and research. I’m still fascinated by the history of the region, especially in the 1950s and 1960s.