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MissLydia | 18:00 Sun 21st Dec 2008 | Books & Authors
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Could anyone recommend a good historical novel?
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A mystery novel set in medieval London... see if you can find Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson... it has all the plot twists and turns that make it a page turner. I certainly enjoyed it...
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'The Other Boelyn Girl' is exceelent.
Agree with andy there, The Other Boleyn (sp) Girl is brilliant.
Try Dorothy Dunnetts' Lymond or Niccolo series. Excellent stories but be sure to check first, they are written as a series and the order they are read in matters
Mme LeMarchand and her daughters are keen on the Philippa Gregory book too (and much of her work), and also recommend Nora Lofts' 'The Lute Player' and Anya Seton's 'Katherine'.

Not strictly "historical", but loosely based on parts of British history, (Plantagenet era? - sorry, I'm not the history buff in the family) I'd recommend the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R, R. Martin. It's ostensibly a fantasy novel, and does feature the odd bit of magic and the occasional dragon, but it's much more concerned with the feuding and courtly intrigues between the characters. It's occasionally described as 'The Tudors' meets 'Lord of the Rings'. Warning - some strong language, sex and violence. Don't get too attached to any of the characters, either.
Ooooo might have to look out for that one LeMarchand!!
George Macdonald Fraser's Flashman books are most enjoyable. They're so historically accurate historians thought the first one was true, even though the lead character is taken from the villain in Tom Brown's Schooldays.
Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine is good.

It's part fiction, part historical fact.

The main fictitious character is dabbling with hypnotic regression and discovers she is Lady of Hay in a past life (Mitilda de Barone), so the parts of the story told wheile she is regressed are as accurate as far as historians are aware - well, not specific conversations, nobody could know that LOL.

It's rather good :o)
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Thank you :o)
For pure fiction, easy to read, based in Roman Britain - the Simon Scarrow novels. He has also written two novels about Wellington and Napoleon. I just cannot put them down.
I really enjoyed The Sword And The Scimitar by David Ball. Set on Malta during the Crusades it interweaves stories from the Ottoman Empire, the Knights Templar, pirates you name it. Great story and great detail.
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I just wanted to reintroduce this thread as there are some good recommendations here. Any more?

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