Seeking relatively straightforward writing without too many characters. I enjoy books about women. Just read slammerkin and enjoyed it. Currently reading The Foundling, also enjoying. Prefer shorter books but will stick with longer if they are good.
Thanks for any relevant recs.
by 0ldfart
1 Comment
based on your taste (and love for Slammerkin—great pick), here are some historical fiction recs that are:
* female-led
* immersive but not overwhelming
* relatively easy to follow
* mostly under 400 pages
* The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber okay this one’s long but soooo worth it if you liked Slammerkin smart, gritty, 19th-century London prostitute trying to climb up and out
* The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Amsterdam, 1600s a quiet but eerie mystery through the eyes of a young bride easy prose, strong female voice
* Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Victorian con artists, double-crosses, and sapphic tension dark but very readable
* The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman short, gritty, female POV during a cholera outbreak in 1800s England similar tone to Slammerkin
* Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood based on a real 1840s murder case compelling narrator, sharp writing, not overly dense
* The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave based on a real witch trial in Norway sparse, clean prose and haunting atmosphere