I'm looking for books written to entertain with a fictional character experiencing historically accurate events. My main example is the swedish series "Det Stora Århundradet" by Jan Guillou, which centers around a fictional family living through the 20th century, experiencing both world wars, the german depression in between, the rise of Hollywood and american consumerism, anti-capitalist movements, the vietnam war, the cold war and so on.
I find myself stopping to google and delve into the history of events that catch my interest and it's nice to feel that my general knowledge is expanded whilst also being entertained by a main story that's not too constricted by facts, since the main character themselves are not a historical figure. I've also read the Ceasar and Gengis Khan books by Conn Iggulden, and although that was many years ago I recall enjoying those aswell, even though the main characters very much existed.
by Btzrn
4 Comments
The Last Kingdom series and Sharpe books both by Bernard Cornwell
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. It definitely made me google event and people and I loved learning more about that period. And the sequel is equally interesting
The Mongoliad. Edited by Neal Stephenson.
King Rat , James Clavell. Prison camp novel written by a prison camp survivor.