Book List - Essential Historical Fiction

1

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus -- three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of... more

Book Votes: 384

2

Holly P. (MichiganderHolly)

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time. Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields... more

Book Votes: 335

3

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women: Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace... more

Book Votes: 329

4

Sarah J. (SASgirl526)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

As a new age dawns in England's twelfth century, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral sets the stage for a story of intrigue and power, passion and romance. It is in this rich tapestry, where kings and queens are corrupt, that the common man shows eternal promise -- and one majestic... more

Book Votes: 318

5

Genie (answerquest)

Outlander (Outlander, Bk 1) by Diana Gabaldon

Unrivaled storytelling... unforgettable characters... rich historical detail... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers. Here is the story that started it all,... more

Book Votes: 310

6

Lynne J. (Doughgirl)

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood... more

Book Votes: 285

7

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Bar...

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written... more

Book Votes: 245

8

Nicole G. (nyteacher)

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon... more

Book Votes: 216

9

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.' Thus memorably begins Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the world's most popular novels. Pride and Prejudice -- Austen's own 'darling child' -- tells the story of... more

Book Votes: 205

10

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Pearl S. Buck's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a China that was -- now in a Contemporary Classics edition. Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. "I... more

Book Votes: 204

11

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Bk 1) by Jean M. Auel

This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age... more

Book Votes: 196

12

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of sixteen-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius... even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.

Book Votes: 182

13

Emily L. (fairfax512) - ,

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

In 1959, Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist, takes his four young daughters, his wife, and his mission to the Belgian Congo -- a place, he is sure, where he can save needy souls. But the seeds they plant bloom in tragic ways within this complex culture. Set against one of the most... more

Book Votes: 182

14

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Jane Eyre (Barnes and Noble Classics) by Charlotte Bronte & Susan Ostrov Weisser ...

Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where... more

Book Votes: 178

15

Sharla U. (sharz96)

Shogun by James Clavell

Shogun is irresistible...I can't remember when a novel has seized my mind like this one. Perhaps it was the author's Hong Kong novel, Tai-Pan, nine years ago. James Clavell breathes narrative. It's almost impossible not to continue to read Shogun once having opened it. Yet it's not only... more

Book Votes: 173

16

Holly P. (MichiganderHolly)

Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, Bk 1) by Larry McMurtry

Bestselling winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize, Lonesome Dove is an American classic. First published in 1985, Larry McMurtry's epic novel combined flawless writing with a storyline and setting that gripped the popular imagination, and ultimately resulted in a series of four novels and an... more

Bestselling winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize, Lonesome Dove is an American classic. First published in 1985, Larry McMurtry's epic novel combined flawless writing with a storyline and setting that gripped the popular imagination, and ultimately resulted in a series of four novels and an Emmy-winning television miniseries. Now, with an introduction by the author, Lonesome Dove is reprinted in an S&S Classic Edition. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry, the author of Terms of Endearment, is his long-awaited masterpiece, the major novel at last of the American West as it really was. A love story, an adventure, an American epic, Lonesome Dove embraces all the West -- legend and fact, heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settiers -- in a novel that recreates the central American experience, the most enduring of our national myths. Set in the late nineteenth century, Lonesome Dove is the story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana -- and much more. It is a drive that represents for everybody involved not only a daring, even a foolhardy, adventure, but a part of the American Dream -- the attempt to carve out of the last remaining wilderness a new life. Augustus McCrae and W. F. Call are former Texas Rangers, partners and friends who have shared hardship and danger together without ever quite understanding (or wanting to understand) each other's deepest emotions. Gus is the romantic, a reluctant rancher who has a way with women and the sense to leave well enough alone. Call is a driven, demanding man, a natural authority figure with no patience for weaknesses, and not many of his own. He is obsessed with the dream of creating his own empire, and with the need to conceal a secret sorrow of his own. The two men could hardly be more different, but both are tough, redoubtable fighters who have learned to count on each other, if nothing else. Call's dream not only drags Gus along in its wake, but draws in a vast cast of characters: -- Lorena, the whore with the proverbial heart of gold, whom Gus (and almost everyone else) loves, and who survives one of the most terrifying experiences any woman could have... -- Elmira, the restless, reluctant wife of a small-time Arkansas sheriff, who runs away from the security of marriage to become part of the great Western adventure... -- Blue Duck, the sinister Indian renegade, one of the most frightening villains in American fiction, whose steely capacity for cruelty affects the lives of everyone in the book... -- Newt, the young cowboy for whom the long and dangerous journey from Texas to Montana is in fact a search for his own identity... -- Jake, the dashing, womanizing exRanger, a comrade-in-arms of Gus and Call, whose weakness leads him to an unexpected fate... -- July Johnson, husband of Elmira, whose love for her draws him out of his secure life into the wilderness, and turns him into a kind of hero... Lonesome Dove sweeps from the Rio Grande (where Gus and Call acquire the cattle for their long drive by raiding the Mexicans) to the Montana highlands (where they find themselves besieged by the last, defiant remnants of an older West). It is an epic of love, heroism, loyalty, honor, and betrayal -- faultlessly written, unfailingly dramatic. Lonesome Dove is the novel about the West that American literature -- and the American reader -- has long been waiting for.

Book Votes: 170

17

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

Roots by Alex Haley

"Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a man-child was born to Omoro and Binta Kinte." So begins "Roots" ... When he was a boy in Henning, Tennessee, Alex Haley's grandmother used to tell... more

"Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a man-child was born to Omoro and Binta Kinte." So begins "Roots" ... When he was a boy in Henning, Tennessee, Alex Haley's grandmother used to tell him stories about their family-stories that went back to her grandparents, and their grandparents, down through the generations all the way to a man she called "the African." She said he had lived across the ocean near what he called the "Kamby Bolongo" and had been out in the forest one day chopping wood to make a drum when he was set upon by four men, beaten, chained and dragged aboard a slave ship bound for Colonial America. Still vividly remembering the stories after he grew up and became a writer, Haley began to search for documentation that might authenticate the narrative. It took ten years and a half a million miles of travel across continents to find it, but finally, in an astonishing feat of genealogical detective work, he discovered not only the name of "the African"-Kunta Kinte-but the precise location of Juffure, the very village in The Gambia, West Africa, from which he was abducted in 1767 at the age of sixteen and taken on the Lord Ligonier to Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter. Haley has talked in Juffure with his own African sixth cousins. On September 29, 1967, he stood on the dock in Annapolis where his great-great-great-great-grandfather was taken ashore on September 29, 1767. Now he has written the monumental two-century drama of Kunta Kinte and the six generations who came after him-slaves and freedmen, farmers and blacksmiths, lumber mill workers and Pullman porters, lawyers and architects-and one author. But Haley has done more than recapture the history of his own family. As the first black American writer to trace his origins back to their roots, he has told the story of 39 million Americans of African descent. He has rediscovered for an entire people a rich cultural heritage that slavery took away from them, along with their names and their identities. Roots speaks, finally, not just to blacks, or to whites, but to all peoples and all races everywhere, for the story it tells is one of the most eloquent testimonials ever written to the indomitability of the human spirit.

Book Votes: 170

18

Donna R. (shastasweetpea)

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed Amer...

The 1893 Chicago World's Fair is the setting for this true account of two very different men: the celebrated architect Daniel H. Burnham who designed and supervised the construction of the "White City" around which the fair was built, and H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett),... more

Book Votes: 165

19

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

This gripping historical novel is based on the true story of Eyam, the "Plague Village," in the rugged mountain spine of England. In 1666, a tainted bolt of cloth from London carries bubonic infection to this isolated settlement of shepherds and lead miners. A visionary young preacher convinces... more

Book Votes: 158

20

Lynne J. (Doughgirl)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness. In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and... more

Book Votes: 154

21

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door to door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard -- their secret hiding place -- and promises... more

Book Votes: 149

22

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Memiors of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

No description available.

Book Votes: 148

23

Donna R. (shastasweetpea)

World Without End (Pillars of the Earth, Bk 2) by Ken Follett

In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed- "it will hold you, fascinate you, surround... more

Book Votes: 131

24

Emily L. (fairfax512) - ,

A Tale of Two Cities (Wordsworth Classics) by Charles Dickens

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All... more

Book Votes: 131

25

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes... more

Book Votes: 126

26

Sharla U. (sharz96)

The Killer Angels (Civil War, Bk 2) by Michael Shaara

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than... more

Book Votes: 117

27

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Bk 2) by Diana Gabaldon

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ...... more

Book Votes: 115

28

Patty P. (Patouie) - ,

Hawaii by James A. Michener

The saga of a land from the time when the volcanic islands rose out of the sea to the decade in which they become the 50th state. Michener uses individuals' experiences to symbolize the struggle of the various races to establish themselves in the islands

Book Votes: 114

29

Hillary G.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

A young girl discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could -- to find history's most legendary fiend: Dracula. When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters,... more

Book Votes: 113

30

Kristin S.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it... more

Book Votes: 111

31

Becki

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Denouncing the institution of slavery in dramatic terms, the incendiary novel quickly draws the reader into the world of slaves and their masters. Stowe's characters are powerfully and humanly realized in Uncle Tom, a majestic and heroic slave whose faith and dignity are never corrupted;... more

Book Votes: 107

32

Cheryl M. (hannamatt52)

Katherine by Anya Seton

This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant 14th century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features... more

Book Votes: 103

33

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough

Multiple reviews of the book

Book Votes: 100

34

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

North and South (North and South, Bk 1) by John Jakes

Part history, part novel, this book chronicles two great American dynasties over three generations. Though brought together in a friendship that neither jealousy nor violence could shatter, the Hazards and the Mains are torn apart by the storm of events that has divided the nation.

Book Votes: 95

35

Marta K. (janeeyre72)

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco & William Weaver (Translator)

There's a murderer loose in the Abbey. Enter the labyrinth. Unravel the mystery. You will never look at death... or life in quite to same way again. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and an English Brother, William of Baskerville, is sent to investigate. His... more

Book Votes: 92

36

Kristin S.

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

In 1874 the great Cheyenne chief, Little Wolf, had an idea to help his people assimilate into the new white culture. He asked President Ulysses S. Grant for "the gift of 1000 white women as wives." Since all children born in the Cheyenne culture become members of their mother's... more

Book Votes: 90

37

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

Book Description: In this massive novel, Pulitzer Prize winner Herman Wouk recreates the most dramatic years of the twentieth century - 1939-1941, when the world's nations decended reluctantly but inexorably into the maelstrom of World War II. The Winds of War pulses with the life of those... more

Book Votes: 88

38

Felicia J. (FeliciaJ)

The Autobiography of Henry VIII : With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret Geo...

Much has been written about the mighty, egotistical Henry VIII: the man who dismantled the Church because it would not grant him the divorce he wanted; who married six women and beheaded two of them; who executed his friend Thomas ore; who sacked the monasteries; who longed for a son and... more

Book Votes: 87

39

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death, Bk 1) by Ariana Franklin

A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction. In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews... more

Book Votes: 87

40

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Daughter of Fortune (Daughter of Fortune, Bk 1) by Isabel Allende & Margaret Saye...

Orphaned at birth, Eliza Sommers is raised in the British colony of Valparaiso, Chile, by the well-intentioned Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as she meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquin Andieta, a lowly clerk who works for Jeremy,... more

Book Votes: 86

41

Lois M. (hilo) - ,

Christy by Catherine Marshall

At nineteen, Christy Huddleston left home to teach school in the Smokies -- coming to know and care for the wild mountain people, with their fierce pride, terrible poverty dark superstitions... and their yearning for beauty and truth. But in these primitive surrounding, Christy's faith would... more

Book Votes: 85

42

Pam C. (PamC)

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Into the racy 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, soon to culminate in... more

Book Votes: 84

43

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

Voyager (Outlander, Bk 3) by Diana Gabaldon

In this rich, vibrant tale, Diana Gabaldon continues the story of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser that began with the now-classic novel Outlander and continued in Dragonfly in Amber. Sweeping us from the battlefields of eighteenth-century Scotland to the exotic West Indies, Diana Gabaldon weaves... more

Book Votes: 84

44

Janelle C. (jscrappy)

The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye

When The Far Pavilions was first published nineteen years ago, it moved the critic Edmund Fuller to write this: "Were Miss Kaye to produce no other book, The Far Pavilions might stand as a lasting accomplishment in a single work comparable to Margaret Mitchell's achievement in Gond With the... more

Book Votes: 81

45

Alice E. (alilovestoread)

Exodus by Leon Uris

Exodus is an international publishing phenomenon--the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event. Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies--the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power. Here is... more

Book Votes: 79

46

Flight -

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

For a thousand years men have denied her existence--Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to rule Christianity for two years. Now this compelling novel animates the legend with a portrait of an unforgettable woman who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot... more

Book Votes: 75

47

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

Drums of Autumn (Outlander, Bk 4) by Diana Gabaldon

It began at an ancient Scottish stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past--or the grave. Dr. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for... more

Book Votes: 74

48

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

March by Geraldine Brooks

As the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats during the dark first year of the war, one man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. Riveting and elegant as it is meticulously... more

Book Votes: 73

49

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

"The reader is left with the haunting sensation that perhaps the good a man does can live after him--especially in the hands of a dedicated historian." SAN DIEGO UNION In this stirring historical novel, Sharon Kay Penman redeems Richard III from his villainous role in history as the hulking,... more

Book Votes: 72

50

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

London : The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

In the tradition of his phenomenal bestseller Sarum, Edward Rutherfurd now gives us a sweeping novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning two thousand years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through the ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of half-a-dozen... more

Book Votes: 72

51

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

History offers few eras richer in drama than the last years of imperial Russia. Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra, presided over a glittering world of huge palaces, lavish balls, and incomparable luxury. Then their cherished son Alexis was born. His hemophilia led to their tragic... more

Book Votes: 71

52

Becki

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

Drawing from decades of work, travel, and research in Russia, Robert Alexander re-creates the tragic, perennially fascinating story of the final days of Nicholas and Alexandra as seen through the eyes of the Romanovs' young kitchen boy, Leonka. Now an ancient Russian immigrant, Leonka claims... more

Book Votes: 70

53

Denise S. (Dargent) -

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque & A. W. Wheen (Translator)

Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a... more

Book Votes: 70

54

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

THREE WOMEN WHO SHARE ONE FATE: THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE ANNE OF CLEVES She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an... more

Book Votes: 69

55

Lynne J. (Doughgirl)

Moloka'i (Moloka'i, Bk 1) by Alan Brennert

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined... more

Book Votes: 66

56

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

When Christ and His Saints Slept (Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, Bk 1) by Sharon Ka...

A.D. 1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and... more

Book Votes: 64

57

Genie (answerquest)

Here Be Dragons (Welsh, Bk 1) by Sharon Kay Penman

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her... more

Book Votes: 64

58

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

Follows the various members of the Henry family as they become involved in the events preceeding America's involvement in World War II and captures all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of the Second World War-and that constitute Wouk's crowning achievement-are available for the first... more

Book Votes: 64

59

Patty P. (Patouie) - ,

Chesapeake by James A. Michener

The central scene of Michener's historical novel is that section of Maryland's Eastern shore, hardly more than 10 miles square. To this point come the founders of families that will dominate the story.

Book Votes: 64

60

Lois M. (hilo) - ,

Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy: The Crystal Cave / The Hollow Hills / The Last Enchant...

The Arthurian legend is one of the most enduring and powerful of myths, and Mary Stewart's classic The Merlin Trilogy is one of its most beloved and acclaimed retellings. In prose that is as vividly, achingly real as it is poetic, New York Times bestselling author Mary Stewart brings to life... more

Book Votes: 64

61

Patty P. (Patouie) - ,

Centennial by James A. Michener

"Michener is America's best writer, and he proves it once again in CENTENNIAL."THE PITTSBURGH PRESSA stunning panorama of the West, CENTENNIAL is an enthralling celebration of our country, brimming with the glory and the greatness of the American past that only bestselling author James Michener... more

Book Votes: 63

62

Jeanne L. (bkydbirder) - ,

War and Peace (Modern Library Classics) by Leo Tolstoy & Constance Garnett (Trans...

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy’s genius is seen clearly in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle—all of them fully realized... more

Book Votes: 62

63

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

In memories that rise like wisps of ghosts, LuLing Young searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the Famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile,... more

In memories that rise like wisps of ghosts, LuLing Young searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the Famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile, her daughter Ruth, a ghostwriter for authors of self-help books, is losing the ability to speak up for herself in front of the man she lives with and his two teenage daughters. None of her professional sound bites and pat homilies work for her personal life; she knows only how to translate what others want to say. Ruth starts suspecting that something is terribly wrong with her mother. As a child, Ruth had been constantly subjected to her mother's disturbing notions about curses and ghosts, and to her repeated threats to kill herself, and was even forced by her mother to try to communicate with ghosts. But now LuLing seems less argumentative, even happy, far from her usual disagreeable and dissatisfied self. While tending to her ailing mother, Ruth discovers the pages LuLing wrote in Chinese, the story of her tumultuous and star-crossed life, and is transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart. There she learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined, some of which may prove to be the teeth of Peking Man; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World, where Precious Auntie's scattered bones lie, and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Like layers of sediment being removed, each page reveals secrets of a larger mystery: What became of Peking Man? What was the name of the Bonesetter's Daughter? And who was Precious Auntie, whose suicide changed the path of LuLing's life? Within LuLing's calligraphed pages awaits the truth about a mother's heart, what she cannot tell her daughter yet hopes she will never forget. Set in contemporary San Francisco and in a Chinese village where Peking Man is being unearthed, The Bonesetter's Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes. The story conjures the pain of broken dreams, the power of myths, and the strength of love that enables us to recover in memory what we have lost in grief. Over the course of one fog-shrouded year, between one season of falling stars and the next, mother and daughter find what they share in their bones through heredity, history, and inexpressible qualities of love.

Book Votes: 61

64

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Pompeii by Robert Harris

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire's richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world's largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae,... more

Book Votes: 57

65

Judy B. (Hoody) -

City of Thieves by David Benioff

Author and screenwriter Benioff follows up The 25th Hour with this hard-to-put-down novel based on his grandfather's stories about surviving WWII in Russia. Having elected to stay in Leningrad during the siege, 17-year-old Lev Beniov is caught looting a German paratrooper's corpse.... more

Book Votes: 56

66

Valli

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

Weaving a vibrant tapestry of fact and fiction, Into the Wilderness sweeps us into another time and place...and into the heart of a forbidden, incandescent affair between a spinster Englishwoman and an American frontiersman. Here is an epic of romance and history that will captivate readers from... more

Weaving a vibrant tapestry of fact and fiction, Into the Wilderness sweeps us into another time and place...and into the heart of a forbidden, incandescent affair between a spinster Englishwoman and an American frontiersman. Here is an epic of romance and history that will captivate readers from the very first page.When Elizabeth Middleton, twenty-nine years old and unmarried, leaves her Aunt Merriweather's comfortable English estate to join her father and brother in the remote mountain village of Paradise on the edge of the New York wilderness, she does so with a strong will and an unwavering purpose: to teach school.It is December of 1792 when she arrives in a cold climate unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man different from any she has ever encountered--a white man dressed like a Native American, tall and lean and unsettling in his blunt honesty. He is Nathaniel Bonner, also known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives.Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village--white, black, and Native American--Elizabeth soon finds herself at odds with local slave owners. Much to her surprise, she clashes with her own father as well. Financially strapped, Judge Middleton has plans for his daughter--betrothal to local doctor Richard Todd. An alliance with Todd could extract her father from ruin but would call into question the ownership of Hidden Wolf, the mountain where Nathaniel, his father, and a small group of Native Americans live and hunt.As Judge Middleton brings pressure to bear against his daughter, she is faced with a choice between compliance and deception, a flight into the forest, and a desire that will bend her hard will to compromise and transformation. Elizabeth's ultimate destiny, here in the heart of the wilderness, lies in the odyssey to come: trials of faith and flesh, and passion born amid Nathaniel's own secrets and divided soul.Interweaving the fate of the remnants of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati's compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portrait of an emerging America.

Book Votes: 55

67

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

River God (Ancient Egyptian, Bk 1) by Wilbur Smith & Robert Powell

Ancient Egypt. Land of the Pharaohs. A kingdom built on gold. A legend shattered by greed... Now the Valley of the Kings lies ravaged by war, drained of its lifeblood, as weak men inherit the cherished crown. City of Thebes. The Festival of Osiris. Loyal subjects of the Pharaoh gather to pay... more

Book Votes: 52

68

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

The Last Kingdom (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 1) by Bernard Cornwell

From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times bestselling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today," comes a saga of blood, rage, fidelity, and betrayal that brings to center stage King Alfred the Great, one of the most crucial... more

Book Votes: 51

69

Janelle C. (jscrappy)

Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund & Herman Melville & Chr...

From the opening line--"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last"--you will know that you are in the hands of a masterful storyteller and in the company of a fascinating woman hero. Inspired by a brief passage in Melville's Moby-Dick, where Captain Ahab speaks... more

Book Votes: 51

70

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will pull her husband back to the very... more

In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will pull her husband back to the very center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be. Amy had hoped that the merciless ambitions of the Dudley family had died on Tower Green when Robert's father was beheaded and his sons shamed; but the peal of bells she hears is his summons once more to power, intrigue, and a passionate love affair with the young queen. Can Amy's steadfast faith in him, her constant love, and the home she wants to make for them in the heart of the English countryside compete with the allure of the new queen? Elizabeth's excited triumph is short-lived. She has inherited a bankrupt country, riven by enmity, where treason is normal and foreign war a certainty. Her faithful advisor William Cecil warns her that she will survive only if she marries a strong prince to govern the rebellious country, but the one man Elizabeth desires is her childhood friend, the irresistible, ambitious Robert Dudley. Robert revels in the opportunities of the new reign. The son of an aristocratic family brought up in palaces as the equal of his royal playmates, Robert knows he can reclaim his destiny at Elizabeth's side. Elizabeth cannot resist his courtship, and as the young couple slowly falls in love, Robert starts to think the impossible: can he set aside his wife and marry the young queen? Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover answers the question about an unsolved crime that has fascinated detectives and historians for centuries. Philippa Gregory uses documents and evidence from the Tudor era and, with almost magical insight into the desires of Robert Dudley and his lovers, paints a picture of a country on the brink of greatness, a young woman grasping at her power, a young man whose ambition is greater than his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them.

Book Votes: 51

71

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her... more

Book Votes: 50

72

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor

Abandoned pregnant and penniless on the teeming streets of London, 16-year-old Amber St. Clare manages, by using her wits, beauty, and courage, to climb to the highest position a woman could achieve in Restoration England—that of favorite mistress of the Merry Monarch, Charles II. From... more

Book Votes: 48

73

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known... and I will be Queen of England. Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Known to history as the Queen who was pushed... more

Book Votes: 48

74

Mar

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery:... more

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Ranier Academy, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship -- and innocent love -- that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel's dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice -- words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Book Votes: 48

75

Kathy F.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her... more

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion. Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story. Advance praise for Loving Frank: “Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.” –Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light “This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.” ——Scott Turow “It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.” ——Jane Hamilton “I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ll ever leave.” –Elizabeth Berg From the Hardcover edition.

Book Votes: 47

76

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

The Serpent's Tale (Mistress of the Art of Death, Bk 2) (aka The Death Maze) by Arian...

When King Henry II’s mistress is found poisoned, suspicion falls on his estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The king orders Adelia Aguilar, expert in the science of death, to investigate—and hopefully stave off civil war. A reluctant Adelia finds herself once again in the company... more

Book Votes: 45

77

Alice E. (alilovestoread)

Trinity by Leon Uris

The "terrible beauty" that is Ireland comes alive in this mighty epic that re-creates that Emerald's Isle's fierce struggle for independence. "Trinity" is a saga of glories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, lived by a young Catholic rebel and the beautiful and... more

Book Votes: 44

78

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

When the world cowered before the legions of Rome, two extraordinary men dreamed of personal glory: the military genius and wealthy rural "upstart" Marius, and Sulla, penniless and debauched but of aristocratic birth. Men of exceptional vision, courage, cunning, and ruthless ambition, separately... more

Book Votes: 43

79

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen

A magnificent tapestry of a grand and glorious era As opulent and passionate as the 18th century it celebrates.Through a Glass Darkly will sweep you away to the splendors of a lost era. Like Gone with the Wind, it is rich with characters so vivid -- from aristocrats toscoundrels--they... more

Book Votes: 42

80

Lois M. (hilo) - ,

Master and Commander (Aubrey / Maturin, Bk 1) by Patrick O'Brian

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's... more

Book Votes: 42

81

Holly P. (MichiganderHolly)

Aztec by Gary Jennings

Aztec is the extraordinary story of the last and greatest native civilization of North America. Told in the words of one of the most robust and memorable characters in modern fiction, Mixtli-Dark Cloud, Aztec reveals the very depths of Aztec civilization from the peak and feather-banner splendor... more

Book Votes: 40

82

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Bastard (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 1) by John Jakes

This is the story of Philip Kent. The illegitimate son of a British nobleman who was denied his heritage, he embraces the ideals of the fledgling nation of America-and takes up arms against his father's homeland.

Book Votes: 40

83

Meg C. (maggiethecat)

Mila 18 by Leon Uris

The blazing story of the uprising that defied Nazi tyranny and Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists -- the most heroic struggle of modern times.

Book Votes: 39

84

Sheila M. (Page5)

The Last Kingdom (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 1) by Bernard Cornwell

From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times bestselling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today," comes a saga of blood, rage, fidelity, and betrayal that brings to center stage King Alfred the Great, one of the most crucial... more

Book Votes: 39

85

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Physician (Cole Trilogy, Bk 1) by Noah Gordon

In the eleventh-century London, Rob Cole left poor, disease-ridden London to make his way across the land, hustling, juggling, peddling cures to the sick--and discovering the mystical ways of healing. It was on his travels that he found his own very real gift for healing--a gift that urged him... more

Book Votes: 39

86

MP G. (philomene) -

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

While in hospital, Inspector Grant’s professional curiosity is soon aroused. In a portrait of Richard III, the hunchbacked monster of nursery stories and history books, he finds a face that refuses to fit its reputation. But how, after four hundred years, can a bedridden policeman uncover... more

Book Votes: 39

87

Ginger C. (1ging) -

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Perhaps the most haunting and tragic love story ever written, Wuthering Heights is the tale of Heathcliff, a brooding, troubled orphan, and his doomed love for Catherine Earnshaw. His desire for her leads him to madness, however, when Catherine is made to marry a wealthy lord, sending Heathcliff... more

Book Votes: 39

88

Felicia J. (FeliciaJ)

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

Bestselling novelist Margaret George brings to life the glittering kingdom of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, in this luch, sweeping, and richly detailed saga. Told in Cleopatra's own voice, this is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayl, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen... more

Book Votes: 38

89

Valli

The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton

First published in 1958 and set in the early 17th century, this bestselling novel?and follow-up to Katherine?follows Elizabeth Winthrop, a courageous Puritan woman who finds herself at odds with her heritage and surroundings. A real historical figure, Elizabeth married into the family of... more

Book Votes: 38

90

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Covenant by James A. Michener

Adventurers, scoundrels and missionaries. The best and worst of two continents carve an empire out of the vast wilderness that is to become South Africa. For hundreds of years, their rivalries and passions spill across the land. From the first Afrikaners to the powerful Zulu nation, and the... more

Book Votes: 38

91

Patty P. (Patouie) - ,

King Rat by James Clavell

Clavell's adventure novel takes place in a World War II prison camp, Changi, where 8,000 English, Australian, and American prisoners of war are incarcerated. Left largely to themselves, the prisoners establish a hierarchy of power in which a brutal American corporal, known as King Rat, rises to... more

Book Votes: 38

92

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, 12-year-old Patty Bergen learns what it means to open her heart. Although she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi--but as a lonely, frightened young man... more

Book Votes: 38

93

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage by Robert Morgan

Julie Harmon works hard, "hard as a man" they say, so hard that at times she's not sure she can stop. People depend on her. She is just a teenager when her brother dies in her arms. The following year, she marries Hank and moves to Gap Creek. Julie and Hank discover that the modern world is... more

Book Votes: 38

94

Sheila M. (Page5)

The Pale Horseman (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 2) by Bernard Cornwell

Uhtred is a Saxon, cheated of his inheritance and adrift in a world of fire, sword, and treachery. He has to make a choice: whether to fight for the Vikings, who raised him, or for King Alfred the Great of Wessex, who dislikes him. In the late ninth century, Wessex is the last English... more

Uhtred is a Saxon, cheated of his inheritance and adrift in a world of fire, sword, and treachery. He has to make a choice: whether to fight for the Vikings, who raised him, or for King Alfred the Great of Wessex, who dislikes him. In the late ninth century, Wessex is the last English kingdom. The rest have fallen to the Danish Vikings, a story told in The Last Kingdom, the New York Times bestselling novel in which Uhtred's tale began. Now the Vikings want to finish England. They assemble the Great Army, whose one ambition is to conquer Wessex. A dispossessed young nobleman, married to a woman who hails from Wessex, Uhtred has little love for either, though for King Alfred he has none at all. Yet fate, as Uhtred learns, has its own imperatives, and when the Vikings attack out of a wintry darkness to shatter the last English kingdom, Uhtred finds himself at Alfred's side. Bernard Cornwell's The Pale Horseman, like The Last Kingdom, is rooted in the real history of Anglo-Saxon England. It tells the astonishing and true story of how Alfred, forced to become a fugitive in a few square miles of swampland, fights his enemies against overwhelming odds. The king is a pious Christian, while Uhtred is a pagan. Alfred is a sickly scholar, while Uhtred is an arrogant warrior. Yet the two forge an uneasy alliance that will lead them out of the marshes to the stark hilltop where the last remaining Saxon army will fight for the very existence of England. Enthralling as both a historical and personal story, The Pale Horseman is a novel of divided loyalties and desperate heroism, featuring a cast of fully realized characters, from a king in despair to a beguiling British sorceress. And always, beyond the spearmen and the swordsmen are the folk who suffer as the tides of war sweep over their farmlands. From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times bestselling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today," The Pale Horseman is yet another masterpiece of historical and battle fiction that gives life to one of the most important and exciting epochs in the history of the English people and culture.

Book Votes: 36

95

Maria M.

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family's Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is... more

Book Votes: 36

96

Mar

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende & Magda Bogin (Translator)

Here, in an astonishing debut by a gifted storyteller, is the magnificent saga of proud and passionate men and women and the turbulent times through which they suffer and triumph. They are the Truebas. And theirs is a world you will not want to leave, and one you will not forget. Esteban --... more

Book Votes: 35

97

Mar

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is... more

Book Votes: 35

98

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

Genghis: Birth of an Empire (Conqueror, Bk 1) by Conn Iggulden

He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin’s young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a neighboring tribe and the abandonment of his entire family, cruelly left to die on the harsh... more

Book Votes: 34

99

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell

This is a great surging novel about the amassing of a colossal fortune , the political power that comes with it, and the operation of a curse laid on an Irish-American dynasty and the ruthless driving man who founded it. Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh was thirteen years old when he first saw... more

Book Votes: 34

100

Pam C. (PamC)

Claudius the God by Robert Graves

With the same brilliance that characterized I, CLAUDIUS, Robert Graves continues the tumultuous life of the Roman who became emperor in spite of himself and his handicaps. CLAUDIUS THE GOD captures the vitality, splendor and decadence of Rome just entering its decline. It is a superb... more

Book Votes: 34

101

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Grave Goods (Mistress of the Art of Death, Bk 3) (aka Relics of the Dead) by Ariana F...

Set in 1176, Franklin's excellent third Mistress of the Art of Death novel (after The Serpent's Tale) finds Adelia Aguilar, a qualified doctor from the School of Medicine in Salerno, in the holy town of Glastonbury, where Henry II has sent her to inspect two sets of bones rumored to be... more

Book Votes: 34

102

MP G. (philomene) -

The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon &...

The international literary sensation-a runaway bestseller in Spain, rights sold in more than 20 countries-about a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget. Barcelona,... more

The international literary sensation-a runaway bestseller in Spain, rights sold in more than 20 countries-about a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget. Barcelona, 1945-just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona's guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Daniel's father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax's work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn't find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly. As with all astounding novels, The Shadow of the Wind sends the mind groping for comparisons-The Crimson Petal and the White? The novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte? Of Victor Hugo? Love in the Time of Cholera?-but in the end, as with all astounding novels, no comparison can suffice. As one leading Spanish reviewer wrote, "The originality of Ruiz Zafón's voice is bombproof and displays a diabolical talent. The Shadow of the Wind announces a phenomenon in Spanish literature." An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art. Translated by Lucia Graves.

Book Votes: 33

103

Cheryl M. (hannamatt52)

The Game of Kings (Lymond Chronicles, Bk 1) by Dorothy Dunnett

The first book in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Game of Kings takes place in 1547. Scotland has been humiliated by an English invasion and is threatened by machinations elsewhere beyond its borders, but it is still free. Paradoxically, her freedom may depend on a man who stands accused of... more

Book Votes: 32

104

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Rebels (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 2) by John Jakes

Philip Kent fights for the future of his adopted country and of his own wife and son, as British oppression leads America further into Revolutionary War...

Book Votes: 32

105

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

The National BestsellerIn the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will draw her... more

Book Votes: 32

106

Sheila M. (Page5)

Lords of the North (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 3) by Bernard Cornwell

The year is 878. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has helped the Saxons of Wessex defeat the invading Danes. Now, finally free of his allegiance to the victorious, ungrateful King Alfred, he is heading home to rescue his stepsister, a prisoner of Kjartan the Cruel in the... more

Book Votes: 31

107

Alice E. (alilovestoread)

Trinity by Leon Uris

The "terrible beauty" that is Ireland comes alive in this mighty epic that re-creates that Emerald's Isle's fierce struggle for independence. Trinity is a saga of glories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, lived by a young Catholic rebel and the beautiful and valiant Protestant girl who defied... more

Book Votes: 31

108

Denise S. (Dargent) -

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of... more

Book Votes: 31

109

Denise S. (Dargent) -

Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall, Bk 1) by Hilary Mantel

In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII?s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political power England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil... more

Book Votes: 31

110

Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - ,

The Josephine Bonaparte Collection: The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B....

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day... more

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true. By way of fictionalized diary entries, we traverse her early years as she marries her one true love, bears his children, and is left betrayed, widowed, and penniless. It is Josephine's extraordinary charm, cunning, and will to survive that catapults her to the heart of society, where she meets Napoleon, whose destiny will prove to be irrevocably intertwined with hers. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe In beautifully imagined diary entries, Sandra Gulland continues the story of Josephine's marriage to "the Corsican, " Napoleon Bonaparte. As Napoleon's march to power erupts in political intrigues and personal betrayals, Josephine witnesses the triumphs, as well as the death and ruin, of those closest to her. The novel is set at the end of the eighteenth century, when Napoleon is General-in-Chief of the Army of Italy, and his impassioned -- and at times disturbing -- love letters provide a fascinating counterpoint to Josephine's own journal. An impressive combination of historical fidelity and fictional artistry, Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe brings the legendary Josephine and the drama of her time to vibrant life. The Last Great Dance on Earth The only novelist invited to appear among a group of noted scholars and experts for a four-hour PBS documentary on Napoleon, Gulland knows her characters so well she inhabits their world, and her novels enable readers to do the same. The Last Great Dance on Earth brings to life Napoleon's grand empire, its rise and fall, and Josephine's greatest tragedy: her divorce from Napoleon and his exile to Elba.Written in a spare but compelling style with finely nuanced characters and vivid setting. The Last Great Dance on Earth is a brilliant feat of historical fiction that is difficult to put down and impossible to forget.

Book Votes: 30

111

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Based on fact, this is the story of William Marshal, the greatest knight of the Middle Ages, unsurpassed in the tourneys, adeptly manoeuvring through the colourful, dangerous world of Angevin politics to become one of the most powerful magnates of the realm and eventually regent of England. From... more

Book Votes: 30

112

Constance E. (constance2u)

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

At the heart of this panoramic, multidimensional narrative is the compelling struggle of a young woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Faber leads us back to 1870s London, where Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for escape to a... more

Book Votes: 30

113

Jennifer S.

Ben-Hur : A Tale of the Christ (Modern Library Classics) by Lew Wallace

One of the most popular American novels of all time, General Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur vividly reimagines the mighty Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The saga of Judah Ben-Hur’s spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption is both a vivid historical adventure and a... more

Book Votes: 30

114

Sarah J. (SASgirl526)

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

Jackdaws is one of the most stirring, successful, and popular thrillers of Ken Follett's career-a patriotic adventure that has won the hearts of readers and critics alike. But perhaps People magazine said it best: "Returning to the World War II setting of his bestselling thrillers Eye of the... more

Book Votes: 29

115

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Seekers (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 3) by John Jakes

The Kent Family Chronicles continue as Abraham Kent seeks to build a new life on the untamed Western frontier...

Book Votes: 29

116

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Furies by John Jakes

Kent family saga traces Amanda Kent as first seen in Texas in the struggle for independence and in her life out West

Book Votes: 29

117

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

It is England, in the fourteenth century, the old feudal order is starting to crack but the whim of a lord or the pleasure of a bishop can still seal nearly anyones fate. For Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, a widow desperately trying to safeguard her holdings, it is a time made both sweeter... more

Book Votes: 28

118

Nancy B. (ruthienan)

Alaska by James A. Michener

Master storyteller James Michener reveals Alaska in all its awesome, sweeping majesty. From the near-forgotten past, to the highly technological present, from self-defense to self-determination, here are the men and women who tried to tame the land, seize its bounty, and lay claim to the elusive... more

Book Votes: 28

119

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

The story deals with the tri-cornered relationship between Charles Smithson, Ernestina, his fianc?e, and Sarah Woodruff, reputed and professing to be a French Lieutenant's discarded woman. Charles is a well-born young man of scientific bent and dilettante pursuits; Ernestina, up from trade, is... more

Book Votes: 28

120

Wendy R. (wendybird)

My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

The Civil War offers a 20-year-old midwife who dreams of becoming a doctor the medical experience she craves, plus hard work and heartbreak, in this rich debut that takes readers from a small upstate New York doctor's office to a Union hospital overflowing with the wounded and... more

Book Votes: 28

121

Christa H. (flchris) - ,

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in... more

Book Votes: 27

122

Denise S. (Dargent) -

Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor

The greatest of our Civil War novels."-The New York Times. The 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the Andersonville Fortress and its use as a concentration camp-like prison by the South during the Civil War.

Book Votes: 27

123

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Princes of Ireland (Dublin Saga, Bk 1) by Edward Rutherfurd

From the bestselling author of LONDON and SARUM - a magnificent epic about love and battle, family life and political intrigue in Ireland over the course of eleven centuries. THE PRINCES OF IRELAND brilliantly weaves impeccable historical research and mesmerizing storytelling in capturing the... more

From the bestselling author of LONDON and SARUM - a magnificent epic about love and battle, family life and political intrigue in Ireland over the course of eleven centuries. THE PRINCES OF IRELAND brilliantly weaves impeccable historical research and mesmerizing storytelling in capturing the essence of a place and its people. Edward Rutherfurd has introduced millions of readers to the human dramas that are the lifeblood of history. From his first bestseller, SARUM, to the international sensation LONDON, he has captivated audiences with gripping narratives that follow the fortunes of several fictional families down through the ages. THE PRINCES OF IRELAND, a sweeping panorama steeped in the tragedy and glory that is Ireland, epitomizes the power and richness of Rutherfurd's storytelling magic. The saga begins in tribal, pre-Christian Ireland during the reign of the fierce and mighty High Kings at Tara, with the tale of two lovers, the princely Conall and the ravishing Deirdre, whose travails cleverly echo the ancient Celtic legend of Cuchulainn. From that stirring beginning, Rutherfurd takes the reader on a powerfully-imagined journey through the centuries. Through the interlocking stories of a memorable cast of characters - druids and chieftains, monks and smugglers, noblewomen and farmwives, merchants and mercenaries, rebels and cowards - we see Ireland through the lens of its greatest city. While vividly and movingly conveying the passions and struggles that shaped the character of Dublin, Rutherfurd portrays the major events in Irish history: The tribal culture of pagan Ireland; the mission of St. Patrick; the coming of the Vikings and the founding of Dublin; the glories of the great nearby monastery of Glendalough and the making of treasures like the Book of Kells; the extraordinary career of Brian Boru; the trickery of Henry II, which gave England its first foothold in Medieval Ireland. The stage is then set for the great conflict between the English kings and the princes of Ireland, and the disastrous Irish invasion of England, which incurred the wrath of Henry VIII and where this book, the first of the two part Dublin Saga, draws to a close, as the path of Irish history takes a dramatic and irrevocable turn. Rich, colorful and impeccably researched, THE PRINCES OF IRELAND is epic entertainment spun by a master.

Book Votes: 26

124

Marta K. (janeeyre72)

The King Must Die by Mary Renault

The story of the mythical hero Theseus, slayer of monsters, abductor of princesses and king of Athens. He emerges from these pages as a clearly defined personality; brave, aggressive and quick. The core of the story is Theseus' Cretan adventure.

Book Votes: 26

125

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Titans by John Jakes

The Kent Family Chronicles continue as abolitionist Jeptha Kent and his sons find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War.

Book Votes: 26

126

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Lawless (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 7) by John Jakes

The Kent Family Chronicles continue as Jeremiah Kent becomes an infamous shootist in the Wild West-bringing him closer to a destiny that will end in bloodshed.

Book Votes: 26

127

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Americans (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 8) by John Jakes

A NATION ADRIFT -- AND THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO GAVE IT HOPE It was the whip-end of an era -- when innocence died and money lust was enthroned. The new generation of Kents was locked in a feverish race for wealth -- even as Europe's millions poured across the seas, to change the face of our... more

Book Votes: 26

128

Ginger C. (1ging) -

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas & Lowell Bair (Translator)

Three great swordsmen, Porthos, Aramis, and Anthos, with their protege, D'Artagnan, match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his own quest for power.

Book Votes: 26

129

Sharla U. (sharz96)

The First Man in Rome by Colleen Mccullough

When the world cowered before the legions of Rome, two extraordinary men dreamed of personal glory: the military genius and wealthy rural "upstart" Marius, and Sulla, penniless and debauched but of aristocratic birth. Men of exceptional vision, courage, cunning, and ruthless ambition, separately... more

Book Votes: 25

130

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

The Grass Crown (Masters of Rome, Bk 2) by Colleen McCullough

Throughout the Western world, great kingdoms have fallen and despots lay crushed beneath the heels of Rome's advancing legions. But in this age of magnificent triumph and barbaric cruelty, internal rebellion threatens the stability and survival of the mighty Republic. And an aging, ailing Gaius... more

Book Votes: 25

131

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Avalon by Anya Seton

This saga of yearning and mystery travels across oceans and continents to Iceland, Greenland, and North America during the time in history when Anglo-Saxons battled Vikings and the Norsemen discovered America. The marked contrasts between powerful royalty, landless peasants, Viking warriors and... more

Book Votes: 25

132

Pam C. (PamC)

Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow

The history of California in the mid-19th century comes alive in this captivating historical novel. Garnet Cameron, a fashionable young lady of New York, is leading a neat, proper life, full of elegant parties and polite young men, yet the prospect of actually marrying any of them appalls her.... more

Book Votes: 25

133

Sheila M. (Page5)

The Burning Land (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 5) by Bernard Cornwell

At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred’s... more

Book Votes: 25

134

Sheila M. (Page5)

Sword Song (Saxon Chronicles, Bk 4) by Bernard Cornwell

The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and Alfred's kingdom of Wessex in the south. But trouble stirs, a dead man has risen and new Vikings have arrived to occupy London. It is a dangerous time, and it falls to Uhtred, half Saxon, half Dane,... more

Book Votes: 25

135

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley

A Vision... of 14th century England - a time of crude country villages, brawling towns, and splendid cities teeming with untold riched and strange wonders. A Vision... of demons and angels, simpletons, holy flagellants, and fools... of traveling players, corrupt priests, and merchant princes,... more

Book Votes: 25

136

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Caesar by Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough's track record in publishing reads like Caesar's triumphs in battlewide-ranging in scope, masterful in style, unequaled in achievement. From her almost twelve-million-copy-selling Thorn Birds through her four novels in the Masters of Rome series, McCullough has never faltered.... more

Book Votes: 24

137

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Portrait in Sepia (Daughter of Fortune, Bk 2) by Isabel Allende & Margaret Sayers...

Recounted in the voice of a young woman in search of her roots, Portrait in Sepia is a novel about memory and family secrets. Aurora del Valle suffers a brutal trauma that shapes her character and erases from her mind all recollection of the first five years of her life. Raised by her ambitious... more

Book Votes: 24

138

Marta K. (janeeyre72)

Peony in Love by Lisa See

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.” For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent... more

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.” For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own. Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion. So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed. Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard. From the Hardcover edition.

Book Votes: 24

139

Judy B. (Hoody) -

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith H. Beer

Edith Hahn was an outspoken young woman in Vienna when the Gastapo forced her into a ghetto and then into a labor camp. When she returned home months later, she knew she would become a hunted woman and went underground. With the help of a Christian friend, she emerged in Munich as Grete Denner.... more

Book Votes: 24

140

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

A Murderous Procession (Mistress of the Art of Death, Bk 4) by Ariana Franklin

In 1176, King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry his cousin, the king of Sicily. Henry chooses Adelia Aguilar, his Mistress of the Art of Death, to travel with the princess and safeguard her health. But when people in the wedding procession are murdered, Adelia and Rowley... more

Book Votes: 23

141

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 1) by C. J. Sansom

The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s... more

Book Votes: 23

142

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

The Warriors (Kent Family Chronicles, Bk 6) by John Jakes

The Kent Family Chronicles continue as Confederate Corporal Jeremiah Kent carries out his commander's dying request -- while the Union Army ravages Georgia.

Book Votes: 23

143

Jennifer S.

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Published in February of 1678, The Pilgrim's Progress has never been out of print (over 300 years!). It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature and has been translated into more than 200 languages. It is referenced in many... more

Book Votes: 23

144

Mel C. (chimchiminee)

Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow

This thrilling story of the California gold rush is not about the forty-niners, the prospectors who came rushing to the San Francisco area in 1849, but about the men and women who were there when it all began with the first discovery of gold in 1848, when San Francisco was a village of 900... more

Book Votes: 22

145

Sharla U. (sharz96)

Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow

Bringing to life the heady days of the American Revolution through the eyes of a heroine who played a brave and dramatic part in the conflict, this novel follows Celia Garth, a Charleston native, as she transforms from a fashionable dressmaker to a patriot spy. When the king's army captures... more

Book Votes: 21

146

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn

Brina Boru was stronger, braver and wiser than all other men - the greatest king Ireland has ever known. Out of the mists of the country's most violent age, he emerged to lead his people to the peak of their golden era. Set against the barbaric splendors of the tenth century, this is a story... more

Book Votes: 21

147

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

The Queen's Man (Medieval Mystery, Bk 1) by Sharon Kay Penman

Justin de Quincy, the bastard son of a bishop in 12th century England, is featured. Epiphany, 1193. Eleanor of Aquitaine sits upon England's throne. Her beloved son Richard Lionheart is missing, presumed dead - and the court whispers that her younger son, John, is plotting to seize the... more

Book Votes: 21

148

Kathy F.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, poor and uneducated Mary Anning learns that she has a unique gift: "the eye" to spot fossils no one else can see. When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious community... more

Book Votes: 21

149

Rebecca M. (midnightreader1)

These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Arizona Territories (P.S...

"A thread of truth can weave a powerful story. Plumb powerful, as Sarah Prine might say....Taking great-grandmother Sarah's diary as an inspiration, Tucson novelist Nancy E. Turner has spun a frontier novel that teeters on the fine edge of truth and fiction...simply place an 1880's map of the... more

Book Votes: 20

150

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Roma (Rome, Bk 1) by Steven Saylor

Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people. Weaving history, legend, and new archaeological discoveries into a spellbinding narrative, critically acclaimed novelist Steven Saylor gives... more

Book Votes: 19

151

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George

Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute, a female divinity figure, a church leader, or all of those? Biblical references to her are tantalizingly brief, but we do know that she was the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared-and the one commissioned to tell others the good news, earning her the... more

Book Votes: 19

152

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Caesar's Women (Masters of Rome, Bk 4) by Colleen McCullough

His victories were legend -- in battle and bedchamber alike. Love was a political weapon he wielded cunningly and ruthlessly in his private war against enemies in the forum. Genius, general, patrician, Gaius Julius Caesar was history. His wives bought him influence. He sacrificed his beloved... more

Book Votes: 18

153

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice

Following the stories of two men castrated to ensure their perfect soprano voices, Cry to Heaven is a historical novel in 18th century Italy. Guido Maffeo is castrated at age six and enters the conservatory. He becomes a star until he loses his voice. When his voice is gone, he becomes a... more

Book Votes: 18

154

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Sovereign (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 3) by C. J. Sansom

Autumn 1541. A plot against the throne has been uncovered, and Henry VIII has set off on a spectacular progress from London to York, along with a thousand soldiers, the cream of the nobility, and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, to quell his rebellious northern subjects. Awaiting his arrival... more

Book Votes: 18

155

Jennifer A. (jenn1a)

New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

The bestselling master of historical fiction weaves a grand, sweeping drama of New York from the city's founding to the present day.Rutherfurd celebrates America's greatest city in a rich, engrossing saga that showcases his extraordinary ability to combine impeccable historical research and... more

Book Votes: 18

156

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

The October Horse : A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough

A SWEEPING EPIC OF ANCIENT ROME FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THORN BIRDSWith her renowned storytelling gifts in full force, Colleen McCullough delivers a breathtaking novel that is both grand in scope and vivid in detail -- and proves once again why she is the top historical... more

Book Votes: 17

157

Ellen L. (starrynight) -

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern... more

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico - from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City -- Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence. Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach -- the lacuna -- between truth and public presumption. With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist -- and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

Book Votes: 17

158

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Dark Fire (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 2) by C. J. Sansom

It is 1540, and Matthew Shardlake, the lawyer renowned as "the sharpest hunchback in the courts of England," is pressed to help a friend’s young niece who is charged with murder. Despite threats of torture and death by the rack, the girl is inexplicably silent. Shardlake is about... more

Book Votes: 17

159

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Revelation (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 4) by C. J. Sansom

The year is 1543 and King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, a woman sympathetic to reform, whom he wants for his sixth wife— much to the dismay of Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court. Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is working to defend a teenage... more

Book Votes: 17

160

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 5) by C .J. Sansom

It was summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the... more

Book Votes: 17

161

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Cruel As the Grave (Medieval Mystery, Bk 2) by Sharon Kay Penman

She was young--barely fifteen. A poor peddler's daughter newly arrived in London, she was loved as much for her good heart as for her good looks. Someone had taken advantage of that sweet nature, leaving her dead in a churchyard, a ripped bodice testimony to her struggle, a bloodstained cross... more

Book Votes: 17

162

Jodie M. (jkmarsha)

Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell

An extraordinary and dramatic depiction of the legendary battle of Agincourt from the number one historical novelist Agincourt, fought on October 25th 1415, on St Crispin's Day, is one of the best known battles, in part through the brilliant depiction of it in Shakespeare's Henry V, in part... more

Book Votes: 17

163

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the Macedon army conquered his homeland. Their relationship sustains... more

Book Votes: 16

164

Denise S. (Dargent) -

To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield

Miner's son David Powlett-Jones returns from the carnage of the Western Front in 1918, shell-shocked and bitterly hardened by the violence of war. He begins life again as a master at a remote Devon school, controlling the destiny of boys barely his junior. As the years pass David... more

Book Votes: 15

165

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd

In The Forest, Edward Rutherfurd, whose greatly admired Sarum and London have captivated millions of readers, now unfolds the saga of nine turbulent centuries in the life of the quintessential English heartland: the New Forest. The New Forest lies in a vast bowl scooped from England's... more

In The Forest, Edward Rutherfurd, whose greatly admired Sarum and London have captivated millions of readers, now unfolds the saga of nine turbulent centuries in the life of the quintessential English heartland: the New Forest. The New Forest lies in a vast bowl scooped from England's southern coast. To its west runs the river Avon, from Sarum to the harbor at Christchurch, and to its east the port of Southampton. In the heart of the New Forest itself, some one hundred thousand acres of forest and heath sweep down to the Solent water and the Isle of Wight and overlook the English Channel just beyond. From the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day, the New Forest has remained a mysterious, powerful, almost mythical place. It is here that Saxon and Norman kings rode forth with their hunting parties, and where William the Conqueror's son Rufus was mysteriously killed. The mighty oaks of the forest were used to build the ships for Admiral Nelson's navy, and the fishermen who lived in Christchurch and Lymington helped Sir Francis Drake fight off the Spanish Armada. The New Forest is the perfect backdrop for the families who people this epic story -- a story that makes clear the connections between the dark, dangerous, sensuous life of the primeval forest and the genteel life of Georgian and Regency society. There are well-born ladies and lowly woodsmen, sailors and smugglers, witches and Cistercian monks, who live in the lovely abbey of Beaulieu. The Forest's Lady Adela is the cousin of Walter Tyrrell, who is blamed for the death of Rufus, son of the Conqueror. There is Brother Adam of Beaulieu, who is content with his service to God until a poaching incident puts him in contact with an intriguing young woman named Mary Furzey. There is the merchant Totton family of the harbor town of Lymington, and the Penruddocks and Lisles of Moyles Court. The feuds, wars, loyalties, and passions of many hundreds of years reach their climax in a crime that shatters the decorous society of Bath in the days of Jane Austen.

Book Votes: 15

166

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley

Seventeenth-century Paris. Geneviève is a skinny, precocious girl with a mind full of philosophy and the remarkable power to read the swirling waters of an oracle glass. Left for dead by her family, she is taken in by the ingenious occultist La Voisin, who rules a secret society of... more

Book Votes: 14

167

Amy B. (BaileysBooks)

Hood (King Raven, Bk 1) by Stephen R. Lawhead

The Legend Begins Anew For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated the imagination. Now the familiar tale takes on new life, fresh meaning, and an unexpected setting. Hunted like an animal by Norman invaders, Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne Elfael,... more

Book Votes: 14

168

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. An elderly Russian woman now living in America, she cannot hold on to fresh memories -- the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild -- yet her distant past is miraculously preserved... more

Book Votes: 14

169

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough

In a novel of sweeping narrative power unequaled since her own beloved worldwide bestseller The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough returns to Australia -- this time with the story of its birth. At the center of her new novel is Richard Morgan, son of a Bristol tavern-keeper, devoted husband and... more

In a novel of sweeping narrative power unequaled since her own beloved worldwide bestseller The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough returns to Australia -- this time with the story of its birth. At the center of her new novel is Richard Morgan, son of a Bristol tavern-keeper, devoted husband and loving father, sober and hardworking craftsman. By the machinations of fate and the vagaries of the 18th-century English judicial system, he is consigned as a convict to the famous "First Fleet," which set sail, bearing, as an experiment in penology, 582 male and 193 female felons sentenced to transportation, in May of 1787 for the continent that Captain Cook had discovered only a few years earlier. The word "epic" is overused, but no other word can do justice to one of the most grueling and significant voyages in human history or to the courage of the convicts whose sufferings were not ended but had only just begun when they set foot on Australian soil at Botany Bay on January 19th, 1788. Of those convicts, Richard Morgan stood out, not only for his strength and his calm determination to let no man bully him, but also for his intelligence, his fair-mindedness, his common sense, and his willingness to help others. To these qualities must be added a certain innate dignity that hinted, even in the most terrible conditions, at a life marked by tragedies that would have broken most men. In Richard Morgan, Colleen McCullough has created one of her most compelling characters. We see through Morgan's eyes the two worlds in which the story takes place: that of 18th-century Bristol, where Morgan was born and expected to live out his life, and that of a convicted felon sent to settle a hostile new world. When the book begins, Richard Morgan is a contented man -- happily married, with a child he adores. Then, piece by piece, his idyll crumbles until he finds himself led into an ambiguous relationship with a beautiful young woman, whose dissolute protector seeks vengeance on Morgan to protect his own skin. He endures the agonies of bereavement and financial loss, incarceration in prison and aboard the notorious "hulks," then the horrors of the journeys to Botany Bay and Norfolk Island, where he finds against all odds a new love and a new life. Richard Morgan's story is true, but in making Morgan the central figure of her novel, Colleen McCullough has created a hero whom no reader will ever forget; she has written not only a great adventure and a powerful love story, but also a book that combines the elements of Tom Jones and Mutiny on the Bounty. Morgan's Run is great fiction, full of drama, passion, history, love, and hatred, full-blooded and totally engrossing, a stunning work that is at once rich entertainment -- and a revelation.

Book Votes: 13

170

ANNA S. (SanJoseCa)

Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley

When we think of the Dark Ages, we often think of a dim, primitive society where people struggled just to stay alive, with no room for spirituality or philosophy. The cool, clear, gemlike precision of Horsley's (Crazy Woman) new novel tells another tale. Gwynneve is born into a world suspended... more

When we think of the Dark Ages, we often think of a dim, primitive society where people struggled just to stay alive, with no room for spirituality or philosophy. The cool, clear, gemlike precision of Horsley's (Crazy Woman) new novel tells another tale. Gwynneve is born into a world suspended between paganism and Christianity: Ireland circa 500 C.E. While the rest of Europe was well on its way toward Christianity, at this time Ireland remained much closer to its pagan traditions. After losing her mother, Gwynneve trains as a druid and practices as one for many years. By the time she sets her story down, though, she has converted to Christianity and become a nun. The book is written as a memoir detailing her journey from her birth into a pagan tribe to her end as a Christian with near-saintly status. Her story is not just that of a strong woman making her way in a hostile world. It is also the story of what happens to a country when a new religion takes the place of the old. A beautifully written and thought-provoking book; recommended for all fiction collections.Wendy Bethel, Southwest P.L., Grove City, OH Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist This brief but vivid novel presents itself as a recently discovered manuscript composed by 1 of the 19 nuns of Saint Bridget in Kildare, at the dawning of Ireland's Christian era. Gwynneve was a druid before the tonsured clerics began to convert her people, offering them new technologies in exchange for conversions. When her druidic teacher and lover, Giannon, is kidnapped, apparently by followers of the new god, Gwynneve falls into despair that is lifted only when she hears of a community that keeps the old Celtic ways under the guise of Christian ritual. In it, she is set to a task that suits her perfectly: copying manuscripts of the church fathers, especially Augustine, with whom she has a running intellectual battle. As she records her life's story, she also relates the melodramatic doings of her convent, which include the abbot's fall from chastity and later self-mutilation. Poetically written and marvelously researched, the novel offers complex theological arguments wrapped in a compelling story about memorable characters.

Book Votes: 13

171

Kathy F.

Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund

Marie Antoinette was a child of fourteen when her mother, the Empress of Austria, arranged for her to leave her family and her country to become the wife of the fifteen-year-old Dauphin, the future King of France. Coming of age in the most public of arenas -- eager to be a good wife and strong... more

Book Votes: 13

172

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Journeyer by Gary Jennings

Marco Polo was nicknamed "Marco of the millions" because his Venetian countrymen took the grandiose stories of his travels to be exaggerated, if not outright lies. As he lay dying, his priest, family, and friends offered him a last chance to confess his mendacity, and Marco, it is said, replied... more

Book Votes: 12

173

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende & Margaret Sayers Peden (Translator)

Born into a poor family in Spain, Ines, a seamstress, finds herself condemned to a life of hard work without reward or hope for the future. It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and when her shiftless husband disappears to the New World, Ines uses... more

Book Votes: 12

174

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Resistance by Anita Shreve

In Resistance, Anita Shreve uses a wartime setting to sharpen the themes she has explored in previous novels--and leads us into a harrowing work where forbidden passions have catastrophic consequences. In a Nazi-occupied Belgian village, Claire Daussois, the wife of a resistance worker, shelters... more

Book Votes: 12

175

ANNA S. (SanJoseCa)

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama. The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate... more

Book Votes: 12

176

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Bridal Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter, Bk 1) by Sigrid Undset

Volume one of the trilogy; Kristin's girlhood. The acknowledged masterpiece of the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian novelist Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter tells the story of the heroine, Kristin -- beautiful, strong-willed, and passionate --and of a woman's life in... more

Book Votes: 12

177

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

Homeland (Crown Family Saga, Bk 1) by John Jakes

In Homeland, internationally acclaimed bestselling author John Jakes brings to life an epic saga of the American immigrant experience in this story of a family dynasty in turmoil at the dawn of a new century. From the uncontrolled chaos of Chicago's infamous Pullman Strike, to the birth of... more

Book Votes: 12

178

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

California Gold by John Jakes

James Macklin Chase was a poor Pennsylvanian who dreamed of making it rich in California. But at the turn of the century, the money to be made was in oil, citrus, water rights, and the railroads. Mack would have it all, if he had his way. And along the way, the men and women he met, the passion... more

Book Votes: 12

179

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

Claudius the God by Robert Graves

With the same brilliance that characterized I, CLAUDIUS, Robert Graves continues the tumultuous life of the Roman who became emperor in spite of himself and his handicaps. CLAUDIUS THE GOD captures the vitality, splendor and decadence of Rome just entering its decline. It is a superb... more

Book Votes: 12

180

Maria M.

Nefertiti (Nefertiti, Bk 1) by Michelle Moran

This fictionalized life of the notorious queen is told from the point of view of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. In 1351 B.C., Prince Amunhotep secretly kills his older brother and becomes next in line to Egypt's throne: he's 17, and the 15-year-old Nefertiti soon becomes his chief... more

Book Votes: 12

181

Cheryl M. (hannamatt52)

Niccolo Rising (The House of Niccolo, 1) by Dorothy Dunnett

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccol series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe.... more

Book Votes: 11

182

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Imperium (Cicero, Bk 1) by Robert Harris

When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a... more

Book Votes: 11

183

Pam C. (PamC)

The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War -- reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the... more

Book Votes: 11

184

Nancy B. (ruthienan)

APRIL MORNING by Howard Fast

When you read this novel about April 19, 1775, you will see the British redcoats marching in a solid column through your town. Your hands will be sweating and you will shake a little as you grip your musket because never have you shot with the aim of killing a man. But you will shoot, and shoot... more

Book Votes: 11

185

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Bk 1) by Naomi Novik

From Publisher's Weekly: In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has... more

Book Votes: 11

186

Linda E. (uncbballfan)

The Given Day (Coughlin, Bk 1) (P.S.) by Dennis Lehane

Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, bestselling author Dennis Lehane's extraordinary eighth novel unflinchingly captures the political and social unrest of a nation caught at the crossroads where past meets future. Filled with a cast of richly drawn, unforgettable characters,... more

Book Votes: 11

187

Valli

City of Light by Lauren Belfer

It is 1901 and Buffalo, New York, stands at the center of the nation's attention as a place of immense wealth and sophistication. The massive hydroelectric power development at nearby Niagara Falls and the grand Pan-American Exposition promise to bring the Great Lakes "city of light" even more... more

Book Votes: 11

188

Genie (answerquest)

Lords of the White Castle by Elizabeth Chadwick

Westminster, 1184-- in the court of King Henry, playful competition is about to turn into something far more serious. Young courtier Fulke FitzWarin would not be an obvious companion for Prince John, but the boy from the Welsh Marches is there as a reward for his family's loyalty to the crown.... more

Book Votes: 10

189

Raydene B. (Knitbooky)

Absolution by Murder (Sister Fidelma, Bk 1) by Peter Tremayne

This immensely appealing launch of a new series is set in seventh-century Ireland, which in Tremayne's rendering is a golden age of enlightenment and of total equality for women. Such narrative stumbling blocks as an abundance of stereotypical characters and much more dynastic trivia,... more

Book Votes: 10

190

Laura O. (bkxchange)

King Hereafter (Vintage) by Dorothy Dunnett

Back in print by popular demand--"A stunning revelation of the historical Macbeth, harsh and brutal and eloquent." --Washington Post Book World.With the same meticulous scholarship and narrative legerdemain she brought to her hugely popular Lymond Chronicles, our foremost historical novelist... more

Book Votes: 10

191

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony's... more

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony's revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two -- the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander -- survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavian's sister, the siblings cling to each other and to the hope that they will return one day to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian's family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings and desires deep within their own hearts. The fateful tale of Selene and Alexander is brought brilliantly to life in Cleopatra's Daughter. Recounted in Selene's youthful and engaging voice, it introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian's kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian's bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian's handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia's sardonic son and Marcellus's great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian's watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals. Selene's narrative is animated by the concerns of a young girl in any time and place -- the possibility of finding love, the pull of friendship and family, and the pursuit of her unique interests and talents. While coping with the loss of both her family and her ancestral kingdom, Selene must find a path around the dangers of a foreign land. Her accounts of life in Rome are filled with historical details that vividly capture both the glories and horrors of the times. She dines with the empire's most illustrious poets and politicians, witnesses the creation of the Pantheon, and navigates the colorful, crowded marketplaces of the city where Roman-style justice is meted out with merciless authority. Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra's Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene, a young woman of irresistible charm and preternatural intelligence, will capture your heart.

Book Votes: 10

192

Maria M.

Sarah (Canaan Trilogy, Bk 1) by Marek Halter

The first novel in a dazzling new trilogy about the women of the Old Testament by internationally bestselling author Marek Halter. The story of Sarah--and of history itself--begins in the cradle of civilization: the Sumerian city-state of Ur, a land of desert heat, towering gardens, and... more

Book Votes: 10

193

Maria M.

The Heretic Queen (Nefertiti, Bk 2) by Michelle Moran

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family's past and remake history. The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty's royal family -- all with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former... more

Book Votes: 10

194

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Antony and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome, Bk 7) by Colleen McCullough

Caesar is dead, and Rome is, again, divided. Lepidus has retreated to Africa, while Antony rules the opulent East, and Octavian claims the West, the heart of Rome, as his domain. Though this tense truce holds civil war at bay, Rome seems ripe for an emperor -- a true Julian heir to lay claim to... more

Book Votes: 9

195

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

The October Horse (Masters of Rome) by Colleen McCullough

A SWEEPING EPIC OF ANCIENT ROME FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THORN BIRDSWith her renowned storytelling gifts in full force, Colleen McCullough delivers a breathtaking novel that is both grand in scope and vivid in detail -- and proves once again why she is the top historical novelist of... more

Book Votes: 9

196

Genie (answerquest)

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

In the seventeenth century, the English Revolution is under way. The nation, seething with religious and political discontent, has erupted into violence and terror. Jacob Cullen and his fellow soldiers dream of rebuilding their lives when the fighting is over. But the shattering events of war... more

Book Votes: 9

197

Linda S. (thk) - ,

The Heaven Tree / The Green Branch / The Scarlet Seed (Heaven Tree Trilogy) by Edith ...

Beloved author Ellis Peters, creator of Benedictine sleuth Brother Cadfael, penned this superb trilogy under her real name nearly 30 years ago. The story spans roughly the first third of the 13th century. Pargeter weaves her tale into the politics of medieval England and Wales, and her knowledge... more

Book Votes: 9

198

Hillary G.

The Bronze Horseman (Tatiana and Alexander, Bk 1) by Paullina Simons

The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their... more

Book Votes: 9

199

Al C. (vavoice) -

The Lantern Bearers (Eagle of the Ninth, Bk 3) by Rosemary Sutcliff

Threatened by a tide of invaders, the last of the Roman Auxiliaries are to leave Britain forever. But Aquila, a young legionnaire, chooses to stay behind, in order to join the fight to save his native land.

Book Votes: 9

200

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

Household Gods by Judith Tarr & Harry Turtledove

Nicole Gunther-Perrin is a modern young professional, proud of her legal skills but weary of the daily grind, of childcare, and of sexist coworkers and her deadbeat ex-husband. Then after one exceptionally awful day, she awakens to find herself in a different life, that of a widowed tavernkeeper... more

Book Votes: 9

201

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

Mary by Janis Cooke Newman

An engrossing novel about Mary Todd Lincoln – one of history’s most misunderstood and enigmatic women.Writing from Bellevue asylum — where the shrieks of the other inmates keep her awake at night — a famous widow can finally share the story of her life in her own words.... more

Book Votes: 9

202

Karen K. (kkowert) - ,

Helen of Troy by Margaret George

Depicts the grand spectacle surrounding Helen of Troy. The author's research into Mycenaean culture, coupled with Trojan War mythology's larger-than-life heroes, enliven a bold story pulsing with romance and sacrifice, omens and battles. Helen's noble Spartan parents try to defy the fates when a... more

Book Votes: 9

203

Kaitlyn P. (kaitlynrouge)

The Disorderly Knights (Lymond Chronicles, 3) by Dorothy Dunnett

The third volume in The Lymond Chronicles, the highly renowned series of historical novels by Dorothy Dunnett, Disorderly Knights takes place in 1551, when Francis Crawford of Lymond is dispatched to embattled Malta, to assist the Knights of Hospitallers in defending the island against the... more

Book Votes: 9

204

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Ireland by Frank Delaney

From a land famous for storytelling comes an "absolute masterpiece"* -- an epic novel of Ireland that captures the intimate, passionate texture of the Irish spirit. One wintry evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller -- a Seanchai, the very last practitioner of a fabled tradition... more

From a land famous for storytelling comes an "absolute masterpiece"* -- an epic novel of Ireland that captures the intimate, passionate texture of the Irish spirit. One wintry evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller -- a Seanchai, the very last practitioner of a fabled tradition extending back hundreds of years -- arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and some of their neighbors to join him by the fireside, and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history. One of his listeners, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the story-telling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again. Ronan's search for the Storyteller becomes both a journey of self-discovery and an immersion into the sometimes-conflicting histories of his native land. As the long-unspoken secrets of his own family begin to reveal themselves, he becomes increasingly single-minded in pursuit of the old man, who he fears may already be dead. But Ronan's personal path also leads him deeper and deeper into the history and mythology of Ireland itself, in all its drama, intrigue, and heroism. Ireland travels through the centuries, interweaving Ronan's quest for the Storyteller with a richly evocative unfolding of the great moments in Irish history, ranging from the savage grip of the Ice Age to the green and troubled land of tourist brochures and political unrest. Along the way, we meet foolish kings and innocent monks, fabled saints and great works of art, shrewd Norman raiders, strong tribal leaders, poets, politicians, and lovers. Each illuminates the magic of Ireland and the eternal connection of its people to the land. A sweeping novel of huge ambition, Ireland is the beautifully told story of a remarkable nation. From the epic sweep of its telling to the precision of its characters -- great and small, tragic and comic -- it rings with the truth of a writer passionate about his country and in full command of his craft.

Book Votes: 9

205

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Queens of England, Vol 5) by J...

Eleanor of Aquitaine was revered for her superior intellect, extraordinary courage, and fierce loyalty. She was equally famous for her turbulent relationships, which included marriages to the kings of both France and England. As a child, Eleanor reveled in her beloved grandfather’s... more

Book Votes: 8

206

Genie (answerquest)

The Religion by Tim Willocks

This is what we dream of: to be so swept away, so poleaxed by a book that the breath is sucked right out of us. Brace yourselves. May 1565. Suleiman the Magnificent, emperor of the Ottomans, has declared a jihad against the Knights of Saint John the Baptist. The largest armada of all time... more

Book Votes: 8

207

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

The Beacon at Alexandria (Hera) by Gillian Bradshaw

When Charis learns that her father has betrothed her to the hated Roman governor Festinus, she enlists the aid of her brother and flees to Alexandria. There, disguised as a eunuch, she begins to study Hippocratic medicine under the tutelage of a patient Jewish physician. The young woman excels... more

Book Votes: 8

208

Barbara B. (barbieofmpls)

Gates of Fire : An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield

The national bestseller!At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.Day after bloody day they withstood the... more

Book Votes: 8

209

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Shinju (Sano Ichiro, Bk 1) by Laura Joh Rowland

When beautiful, wealthy Yukiko and low-born artist Noriyoshi are found drowned together in a shinju, or ritual double suicide, everyone believes the culprit was forbidden love. Everyone but newly appointed yoriki Sano Ichiro. Despite the official verdict and warnings from his superiors, the... more

Book Votes: 8

210

Constance E. (constance2u)

Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy

In a stunning tour-de-force, Marge Piercy has woven a tapestry of World War II, of six women and four men, who fought and died, worked and worried, and moved through the dizzying days of the war. A compelling chronicle of humans in conflict with inhuman events, GONE TO SOLIDERS is an... more

Book Votes: 8

211

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Spies of Warsaw (Night Soldiers, Bk 10) by Alan Furst

War is coming to Europe. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy, the new military attache, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, a decorated hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal,... more

Book Votes: 8

212

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 6) by Jack Whyte

Throughout the widely praised Camulod Chronicles, Merlyn Britannicus has been driven by one sacred dream--to see Britain united under one just, powerful king. In The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis, it is time for the Sorcerer to fulfill his promise--to present the battle-proven Arthur as the Riothamus,... more

Book Votes: 8

213

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Saxon Shore (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 4) by Jack Whyte

Merlyn Britannicus and Uther Pendragon--The Silver Bear and The Red Dragon--are the leaders of the Colony, lifeblood to the community from which will come the fabled Camulod. But soon their tranquility is in ruins, Uther lies dead following treachery...and all that is left of the dream is the... more

Book Votes: 8

214

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Cornwell's Thomas of Hookton Three-Book Set (Heretic, The Archer's Tale, Vagabond) by...

Cornwell's Thomas of Hookton Three-Book For a limited time get three of Bernard Cornwell�s works of historical fiction in one easy-to-order package, including Cornwell�s latest, Heretic.

Book Votes: 8

215

Julien C. (jaimelesmaths)

The Sot-Weed Factor (The Anchor Literary Library) by John Barth

This is Barth's most distinguished masterpiece. This modern classic is a hilarious tribute to all the most insidious human vices, with a hero who is "one of the most diverting...to roam the world since Candide" (Time ).

Book Votes: 7

216

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Dreaming the Eagle (Boudica, Bk 1) by Manda Scott

Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word "boudeg"). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph. It is 33 AD and... more

Book Votes: 7

217

ANNA S. (SanJoseCa)

To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick

A story of huge emotional power set against the road to Magna Carta and the fight to bring a tyrant king to heel. The privileged daughter of one of the most powerful men in England, Mahelt Marshal's life changes dramatically when her father is suspected by King John. Her brothers become hostages... more

Book Votes: 7

218

Vicky T. (VickyJo) -

Faded Coat of Blue (Abel Jones, Bk 1) by Owen Parry

A recent immigrant to this land -- where American has taken up arms against American -- Abel Jones finds himself mysteriously chosen as confidential agent to General George McClellan, the "savior of the Union." No stranger to the cruel paradoxes of war, Jones is asked to investigate the death of... more

Book Votes: 7

219

Alice E. (alilovestoread)

Redemption by Leon Uris

Master storyteller Leon Uris, internationally acclaimed author of such bestsellers as Exodus, Topaz, QBVII, Trinity, the Haj and Mitla Pass, continues the epic story of the Irish struggle for freedom in Redemption. A dramatic saga set against the backdrop of growing unrest in Ireland and a world... more

Book Votes: 7

220

Kathy F.

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial... more

Book Votes: 7

221

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Singing Sword (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 2) by Jack Whyte

A sequel to The Skystone, this rousing tale continues Whyte's nuts-and-bolts, nitty gritty, dirt-beneath-the-nails version of the rise of Arthurian "Camulod" and the beginning of Britain as a distinct entity. In this second installment of the Camulod Chronicles, Whyte focuses even more strongly... more

Book Votes: 7

222

Ginger C. (1ging) -

Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

No description available.

Book Votes: 7

223

Lynne J. (Doughgirl)

Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan, consumed by grief over the death of his empress, Mumtaz Mahal, ordered the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love. Against scenes of unimaginable wealth and power, murderous sibling rivalries, and cruel despotism,... more

Book Votes: 6

224

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

Madonna of the Seven Hills (Lucrezia Borgia, Bk 1) by Jean Plaidy

The legendary Lucrezia Borgia did everything with a passionate intensity. She loved with a burning lust. She hated with a ruthless violence. There wasn't another woman in all of Rome who could rival her exquisite beauty -- or her incredible power. As the only daughter of Pope Alexander... more

Book Votes: 6

225

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

The Flames of Rome by Paul L. Maier

The splendor and pagan excesses of Roman society are confronted by the life-changing faith of Christianity in this historically accurate fiction work. Guaranteed fiction!

Book Votes: 6

226

coffeeqn -

The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman

Rebecca Lopez enjoys a life of privilege in Elizabeth's England -- yet she guards secrets she dares not reveal. The beautiful, tempestuous daughter of the queen's own physician, Rebecca is also a converso -- a Jew who practices her prohibited religion clandestinely -- helping others of her... more

Book Votes: 6

227

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Steeped in the intriguing history of Niagara Falls, this epic love story is as rich, spellbinding, and majestic as the falls themselves. 1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the... more

Book Votes: 6

228

Wendy R. (wendybird)

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sauvigne. As he falls into a complicated relationship with the letter's... more

Book Votes: 6

229

Ralph W.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner

The novel that confirmed Wallace Stegner's position as an important American writer is based on his own family history. Bo and Elsa Mason and their two sons set out to conquer the West, pursuing the American dream of wealth and success -- the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Book Votes: 6

230

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Skystone (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 1) by Jack Whyte

Everyone knows the story-how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and about the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams. But what of the time before Arthur and the forces that created him? How did the legend really come to pass? Before... more

Book Votes: 6

231

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Eagles' Brood (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 3) by Jack Whyte

The Eagles? Brood continues the saga of the Colony known as Camulod, and the tale of the descendants of those brave Romans who forged a new way of life for the Celt and Roman peoples when the Roman legions departed Britain. Most know the new leader of the Colony as Merlyn; all call him... more

Book Votes: 6

232

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Fort at River's Bend (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 5) by Jack Whyte

Merlyn Britannicus, leader of the colony known as Camulod, is faced with the task of educating his young charge, Arthur, future King of the Britons. Fearing for the life of his nephew when an assassination attempt is thwarted, Merlyn takes Arthur and his boyhood companions Gwin, Ghilleadh, and... more

Book Votes: 6

233

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur (Warlord Chronicles, Bk 1) by Bernard Cornwell

This retelling of Arthurian legend returns to Britain in the Dark Ages and the coming of the greatest king of them all. It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord... more

Book Votes: 6

234

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Enemy of God: A Novel of Arthur (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series) by Bernard...

With the Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord

Book Votes: 6

235

Valli

A Hollow Crown: The Story of Emma, Queen of Saxon England by Helen Hollick

Aged only thirteen, Emma, daughter of the Duke of Normandy, is married in a strategic alliance to King Aethelred of England. Inept and arrogant, Aethelred is loathed by his young wife, whom he punishes for his many failings as a ruler. Their first son, Edward, is born through an act of violence... more

Book Votes: 5

236

Valli

Harold the King by Helen Hollick

The story of the men and women involved in the tide of events that led to a battlefield near Hastings, in 1066

Book Votes: 5

237

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War by William Safire

Sweeping across a divided land, FREEDOM, weaves the unforgettable saga of men and women caught up in the maelstrom of war-the generals and the spies, the politicians and the pamphleteers, the lovers and the users and above all, Abraham Lincoln, the president and the man. From the backrooms of... more

Book Votes: 5

238

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -

Circle of Stones (Druid Circle, Bk 1) by Anna Lee Waldo

History would call her Brenda, the mistress of a powerful Welsh prince. But when she arrives at Gwynedd Castle, she is only a naive girl who cannot control her desire for Prince Owain-- until he decides to murder her child. Now, in a court filled with jealousy and betrayal, Brenda will harbor a... more

Book Votes: 5

239

Hillary G.

The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman

Item 1: An alembic is the top part of an apparatus used for distilling. This one is made of sturdy green glass, thirty-six centimeters tall, eighteen centimeters around at the widest point of its base. The top part of the vessel is narrow and fluted and turns sharply to the right; alembics are... more

Item 1: An alembic is the top part of an apparatus used for distilling. This one is made of sturdy green glass, thirty-six centimeters tall, eighteen centimeters around at the widest point of its base. The top part of the vessel is narrow and fluted and turns sharply to the right; alembics are set over a still to collect and carry vapors to another vessel. The vessel's inside bears a crust of gray material that seems to be a mixture of lead, iron, and antimony, as well as some organic matter, canine and human bones. Scorch marks are visible on the outside bottom, extending five centimeters up. No discernible odor. Date of manufacture: unknown. Estimates range from 100 b.c. to a.d. 300 Place of origin: Hellenistic Egypt. "Alembic" comes from the Arabic "al-anbiq," which comes from the Greek "ambix," meaning cup or beaker Last known owner: Woldemar Löwendahl, Danish-Estonian governor general of Tallinn. The alembic was unearthed during the construction of Kassari chapel on Kassari Island in April 1723 and brought to Löwendahl's office that June. The governor general placed it on the top shelf of an unfilled bookcase in the back corner of his office and never noticed when it went missing two years, six months, and seventeen days later... When a twelfth-century Sicilian cat burglar snatches a sack of artifacts from the king's geographer's library, the tools and talismans of transmutation-and eternal life-are soon scattered all over the world. Nine hundred years later, a young Connecticut reporter finds evidence that someone is collecting them again. In the process of investigating the suspicious death of a local professor, Paul Tomm finds the dead man's heavily fortified office stuffed with books on alchemy. The Geographer's Library entwines his contemporary reporting with a chain of ancient stories-within-the-story, tracking the last time each of the geographer's tools changed hands-some bought, some stolen, some killed for. The Geographer's Library is an extraordinary debut, smart, stylishly written, and full of suspense. It tempts with the glitter of antiquities and hooks with a chilling plot. In this brilliant debut, competing visions of an obscure professor's life take a young reporter from a sleepy New England town to the heart of an international smuggling ring that may hold the secret to eternal life.

Book Votes: 5

240

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Dreaming the Serpent Spear (Boudica, Bk 4) by Manda Scott

From Publishers Weekly Scott concludes her popular Boudica series with a haunting tale of healing and war set in the summer of A.D. 60 in Roman-occupied Britannia, where the native tribes have raised a 5,000-strong war party for a "war of liberation." But their leader, Breaca of the Eceni... more

Book Votes: 5

241

siriusgirl

The Uncrowned Queen (War of the Roses, Bk 3) by Posie Graeme-Evans

As England tears itself apart in the War of the Roses, Anne de Bohun lives far from the intrigues of cities and courts. Once King Edward IV's mistress, Anne has found safety with their son in Brugge. But now Edward himself is a hunted fugitive, and Anne's real father, King Henry VI,... more

Book Votes: 5

242

siriusgirl

The Innocent (War of the Roses, Bk 1) by Posie Graeme-Evans

The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at its peak and the legitimacy of the royal family is suspect. Meanwhile, deep in the forests of western England, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her... more

Book Votes: 5

243

DARYL D. (bookworm-51)

Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory

Lily Valance wants to forget the war. She's determined to enjoy the world of the 1920s, with its music, singing, laughter and pleasure. When she meets Captain Stephen Winters, a decorated hero, back from the Front, she's drawn to his wealth and status. In Lily he sees his salvation - from the... more

Book Votes: 5

244

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

Killing Mister Watson (Watson, Bk 1) by Peter Matthiessen

Drawn from fragments of historical fact, Matthiessen's masterpiece brilliantly depicts the fortunes and misfortunes of Edgar J. Watson, a real-life entrepreneur and outlaw who appeared in the lawless Florida Everglades around the turn of the century.

Book Votes: 5

245

Jennifer A. (jenn1a)

The Given Day (Coughlin, Bk 1) by Dennis Lehane

Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane's long-awaited eighth novel unflinchingly captures the political and social unrest of a nation caught at the crossroads between past and future. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters... more

Book Votes: 5

246

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Brothers of Gwynedd: Sunrise in the West / The Dragon at Noonday / The Hounds of ...

The story of Llewelyn, first true Prince of Wales, is the history of medieval Wales in dramatic and epic form. Llewelyn's burning vision is of one Wales, united against the threat of the English. But before he can achieve his dream, he must first tackle enemies nearer home. All three of... more

Book Votes: 5

247

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Lance Thrower (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 8) by Jack Whyte

Jack Whyte has written a lyrical epic, retelling the myths behind the boy who would become the Man Who Would Be King--Arthur Pendragon. He has shown us, as Diana Gabaldon said, "the bone beneath the flesh of legend." In his last book in this series, we witnessed the young king pull the sword... more

Book Votes: 5

248

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Uther (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 7) by Jack Whyte

With Uther, Jack Whyte, author of the richly praised Camulod Chronicles, has given us a portrait of Uther Pendragon, Merlyn's shadow--his boyhood companion and closest friend. And the man who would sire the King of the Britons. From the trials of boyhood to the new cloak of adult... more

Book Votes: 5

249

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

The Eagle (Camulod Chronicles, Bk 9) by Jack Whyte

Whyte concludes his nine-volume retelling of the Arthurian legend with a rousing final chapter in the saga of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. With the threat of a Saxon invasion looming, Arthur attempts to cobble together a united Britain but is thwarted by jealous rivals. Meanwhile, Clothar... more

Book Votes: 5

250

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Excalibur (Warlord Chronicles, Bk 3) by Bernard Cornwell

The third novel in the Warlords Chronicle, Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur immerses the reader in the Britain of the Dark Ages. Merlin, the greatest of the Druids, believes that the ancient gods are deserting Britain, and that the invading Saxons can't be defeated without the gods' help.... more

Book Votes: 5

251

Cameron B. (cameron55) - ,

Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom

Part thriller, part love story, this is a remarkable tale set against the backdrop of Spain's bloody Civil War and war-torn London. Winter in Madrid follows the fortunes of three young men - formerly at public school together, now set on profoundly opposing courses, and navigating the tumultous... more

Book Votes: 4

252

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Dreaming the Bull (Boudica Trilogy (Hardcover)) by Manda Scott

The second part of the stunning fictionalization of the life of Britain’s warrior queen, Boudica, immerses us in a world of druids and dreamers, warriors and lovers, passion and courage. Originally a trilogy, this is now a four-part series.“Boudica” means “Bringer of... more

The second part of the stunning fictionalization of the life of Britain’s warrior queen, Boudica, immerses us in a world of druids and dreamers, warriors and lovers, passion and courage. Originally a trilogy, this is now a four-part series.“Boudica” means “Bringer of Victory” (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She was the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph.Book one, Dreaming the Eagle, took readers from Boudica’s girlhood with the Eceni tribe to the climax of the two-day battle when she and her lover, Caradoc, faced the invading Romans. Believing her dead, Breaca’s beloved brother, Bán, joined the Roman cause.Dreaming the Bull, the second book in this compelling series, continues the intertwined stories of Boudica, and Bán, now an officer in the Roman cavalry. They stand on opposite sides in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each determined to see the other dead. In a country under occupation, Caradoc, lover to Breaca, is caught and faces the ultimate penalty. Only Bán has the power to save him, and Bán has spent the past ten years denying his past. Treachery divides these two; heroism brings them together again, changed out of all recognition -- but it may not be enough to heal the wounds.Dreaming the Bull is a heart-stopping story of war and of peace; of love, passion and betrayal; of druids and warring gods, where each life is sacred and each death even more so; and where Breaca and Bán learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfill their own destinies.Through the summer, Cunomar came to recognize two different kinds of warriors. The smaller group consisted of those few men and women still alive who had known his mother before the two-day battle against the invading legions. These were her friends and they called her Breaca in the way Cunomar’s father and the innermost circle of the honour guard still did. The rest, who had met her only in battle or, worse, knew her only by reputation, gave the warrior’s salute in a way that was subtly different and hailed her as the Boudica, bringer of victory. She didn’t enjoy that, but in the short span of his life, Cunomar had watched his mother become more comfortable with name, so that it settled on her like a worn cloak and she did not stiffen at the sound of it. He had heard her use the word herself for the first time that morning as a cold dawn sharpened the air and Nemain, the moon, lowered into her bed in the mountains. Breaca had stood on the back of her mare and addressed the massed ranks of warriors and dreamers, naming them all Boudegae, bringers of victory, and swearing before them that she would fight for as long as it took to rid the land of the invader. -- from Dreaming the BullFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Book Votes: 4

253

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya

Named Notable Book of 1955 by the American Library Association, this is the very moving story of a peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved.

Book Votes: 4

254

Brittney C. (caudillbear) - ,

American Dreams (Crown Family Saga, Bk 2) by John Jakes

John Jakes continues the fascinating story of the Crown family dynasty in Chicago. Moving from 1906 to 1917, American Dreams brings to life a brash young nation taking its place on an international stage as the children of the German-immigrant Crown family prepare themselves for the excitement... more

Book Votes: 4

255

ANNA S. (SanJoseCa)

Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan, consumed by grief over the death of his empress, Mumtaz Mahal, ordered the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love. Against scenes of unimaginable wealth and power, murderous sibling rivalries, and cruel despotism,... more

Book Votes: 4

256

Christina D. (fireguardian13)

The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper

She Survived Her Own Innocence, and the Treachery of Europe's Royal Courts Greed, lust for power, sex, lies, secret marriages, religious posturing, adultery, beheadings, international intrigue, jealousy, treachery, love, loyalty, and betrayal. The Last Boleyn tells the story of the rise... more

Book Votes: 4

257

siriusgirl

The Exiled (War of the Roses, Bk 2) by Posie Graeme-Evans

In this windswept story set in the lusty fifteenth century, the enchanting Anne faces the challenge of raising her child in exile. Always resourceful, she flourishes as a merchant and is able to support her household. But the local businessmen aren't pleased about competing with a woman and... more

Book Votes: 4

258

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

Julian : A Novel (Vintage International) by Gore Vidal

The remarkable bestseller about the fourth-century Roman emperor who famously tried to halt the spread of Christianity, Julian is widely regarded as one of Gore Vidal’s finest historical novels.Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest... more

Book Votes: 4

259

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker

1) Regeneration In 1917, decorated British officer and poet Siegfried Sassoon wrote a declaration condemning the war. Instead of a court-martial, he was sent to a hospital for other "shell-shocked" officers where he was treated by Dr. William Rivers, noted an thropologist and... more

1) Regeneration In 1917, decorated British officer and poet Siegfried Sassoon wrote a declaration condemning the war. Instead of a court-martial, he was sent to a hospital for other "shell-shocked" officers where he was treated by Dr. William Rivers, noted an thropologist and psychiatrist. Author Barker turns these true occurrences into a compelling and brilliant antiwar novel. Sassoon's complete sanity disturbs Dr. Rivers to such a point that he questions his own role in "curing" his patients only to send them back to the slaughter of the war in France. World War I decimated an entire generation of European men, and the horrifying loss of life and the callousness of the government led to the obliteration of the Victorian ideal. This is an important and impressive novel about war, soldiers, and humanity. 2) The Eye in the Door This quietly powerful story begins in 1917, where Regeneration left off; the epigraph from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde hints at what is to come, referring to "the two natures that contended in . . . my consciousness." Though not as flamboyant as Stevenson's protagonist(s), all the main characters here are leading double lives, some consciously, others as a result of traumatic experiences. Having been released from Craiglockhart War Hospital (where shell-shock victims are sent to convalesce), Lt. Billy Prior is still concealing his working-class origins. Assigned to the Intelligence Unit, he must betray the very people who sheltered him when he was young, and soon his conscious mind succumbs to the pressure. If Prior has "a foot on both sides of the fence," so has patrician Charles Manning, who must conceal his homosexuality. Even the director of Craiglockhart, W.H.R. Rivers (an eminent neurologist and social anthropologist in real life) suffers from a mysterious loss of visual memory, stemming from a buried incident in his youth. And poet Siegfried Sasson again struggles to reconcile his pacifist beliefs with his need to stand by his men in battle. As in the earlier book, Barker uses their interaction to illuminate the terrible effects of conflict, but here she broadens her canvas to include the conscientious objectors, socialists and homosexuals who were accused of treasonous behavior during WW I. The multi-suggestive title applies to the hysterial outcry against "outsiders"; the observation hole in the prison door, behind which pacifists are jailed; the "eye in the door of the mind" that triggers dissociated states; and the particulars of a notorious court case of 1917 in which a demented bigot, supported by a prominent MP, accused 47,000 Englishmen and women of homosexuality, which ostensibly made them vulnerable to German blackmail. Writing with cool understatement, Barker conveys with equal skill the desperation of men suffering from battlefield trauma, the subtle ramifications of class distinctions in a period of rapid social change and the quality of life in Britain's poverty-stricken industrial areas. As haunting as its predecessor, this moving antiwar novel is also a cautionary tale about the price of cultural conformity. 3) The Ghost Road The latest winner of Britain's prestigious Booker Prize, this final volume completes a trilogy that includes Regeneration (1992) and The Eye in the Door (1994). Displaying the remarkable virtuosity that has won her a good deal of praise, Barker further embellishes upon history, shepherding readers even more deeply into the psyches of her vividly rendered characters. Poet Wilfred Owen reappears, as does psychologist William Rivers and his invalid sister, Katherine, who as a child was befriended by Lewis Carroll. Here, Rivers becomes ill and is haunted by memories of the headhunters he lived with and studied in Melanesia. But it is Barker's riveting and complex portrait of Billy Prior that delivers the message of the pathos and horrors of war. When Prior returns to the trenches after recovering from shell shock, he describes in diary form the final battles of World War I. Restrained yet powerfully expressive, Barker writes at full tilt, with compelling humanity.

Book Votes: 4

260

Sharla U. (sharz96)

Eagle In The Snow : A Novel of General Maximus and Rome's Last Stand by Wallace Breem

Banished to the Empire’s farthest outpost, veteran warrior Paulinus Maximus defends The Wall of Britannia from the constant onslaught of belligerent barbarian tribes. Bravery, loyalty, experience, and success lead to Maximus’ appointment as "General of the West" by the Roman emperor,... more

Book Votes: 3

261

Karla B. (gaslight) - ,

An Army of Angels : A Novel of Joan of Arc by Pamela Marcantel

The story is legend: the french peasant maid Joan of Arc successfully leads an army against the English and is burned at the stake before she turns twenty. Many have tried to re-create her life, but none have succeeded more brilliantly than Pamela Marcantel in this, her dazzling debut.Here, in... more

Book Votes: 3

262

Charity S. (charitysheppard)

Boudica: Dreaming the Hound (Boudica Trilogy (Hardcover)) by Manda Scott

In a spellbinding novel of gods and men, myth and brutality, acclaimed author Manda Scott returns to her heralded saga of a world under siege. For here is the epic tale of Boudica, the legendary Celtic queen, and her embattled Eceni tribe–a bold new work of imaginative fiction that takes... more

In a spellbinding novel of gods and men, myth and brutality, acclaimed author Manda Scott returns to her heralded saga of a world under siege. For here is the epic tale of Boudica, the legendary Celtic queen, and her embattled Eceni tribe–a bold new work of imaginative fiction that takes us on a thrilling journey into a clash between magic and mankind.To the Eceni tribe of Britannia, nature is the ultimate god, and warriors are joined in battle by the voices and spirits of their ancestors. But the proud Eceni are running out of time. Nero’s army, long since out of patience with Britannia’s wild tribes, is becoming increasingly oppressive. And Boudica’s family is at the center of a gathering storm: Cunomar, Boudica’s son, who longs for the mettle to kill as fiercely as his mother… Graine, her young daughter, gifted with the power of dreamers, scarred forever by the horrors of war...and Boudica’s brother, born Bán of the Eceni, turned the traitor Valerius –a man caught between worlds: warrior and dreamer, Roman and Eceni.As conflict erupts between the tribes and their brutal invaders, Boudica is forced to make a bold sacrifice. Cloaking her identity, she will travel directly into the stronghold of an enemy who longs for her crucifixion. What happens next–in a brutal drama of betrayal, heroism, and sacrifice–will leave Boudica with no options but one: to raise and arm every warrior, every dreamer, every tribe…and push the invader and its legions back into the sea.From the thundering hooves of the Eceni’s great horses to mystical spirit quests of young warriors, from the politics of an empire to the passions of lovers, Dreaming the Hound takes us on a breathtaking journey of the imagination–at once brutal, fantastical, and utterly unforgettable.MAGNIFICENT PRAISE FOR MANDA SCOTT’S BOUDICA SAGA Dreaming the Hound“Extraordinary.” –Independent (UK)“Brilliantly imaginative.” –Colchester Evening Gazette (UK)“Dramatic…Vivid…Lyrical.” –Yorkshire Evening Post (UK)“One of Britain’s most famous legends…is retold here with extraordinary immediacy.” –Our Time (UK)“Irresistible…an excellent read.” –Diva (UK)Dreaming the Bull“Enthralling…Mesmerising…Creates a living past of battle feats, betrayals, heart-breaking loyalties and cruelties.” –Publishing News (UK)“Thrilling…Readers will be swept away.” –Booklist (starred review)Dreaming the Eagle“A powerful novel about one of the most intriguing and mysterious women in history…Alive with the love, deceit, wisdom and heroics of humanity. Read it and enjoy!” –Jean M. Auel“The new Mary Renault…Intensely exciting, a tale of passion, courage and heroism against huge odds.” –Publishing News (UK)

Book Votes: 3

263

Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,

The Dowry: A Novel of Ireland by Walter Keady

In 1946 rural Ireland, Brideen Conway has her heart set on Kieran McDermot, but one thing stands in the way of their union. The couple can’t afford to marry, and Kieran’s curmudgeonly father won’t pass down the family farm. Kieran faces the unpleasant possibility of leaving... more

Book Votes: 3

264

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

Set in the stunning landscape of North Wales just after D-Day, Peter Ho Davies’s profoundly moving first novel traces a perilous wartime romance. Barmaid Esther Evans has lived all of her seventeen years on a sheep farm in Snowdonia, and she yearns for a taste of the wider world. But in... more

Book Votes: 3

265

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Devoted by Alice Borchardt

Tenth-century France is a land where the Forest People, who worship pagan gods, are disappearing. Christianity is arriving with a new God and new rulers. And brutal Viking Northmen are swarming from their warships to raze villages and loot the land. Elin, a daughter of the Forest People,... more

Book Votes: 3

266

Terry W. (terrylazz2)

Beguiled by Alice Borchardt

A pagan woman and a young Bishop have found their destinies in each other, and their forbidden love has triumphed over brutal Viking onslaughts. But now a new danger looms, as a vicious Norseman threatens their special union...and the future of their unborn child!

Book Votes: 3

267

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Winter Palace (Catherine, Bk 1) by Eva Stachniak

From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that illuminates, as only fiction can, the early life of one of history's boldest women. The Winter Palace tells the epic story of Catherine the Great's improbable rise to power -- as seen through the ever-watchful eyes... more

Book Votes: 3

268

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

All Souls' Rising (Vintage) by Madison Smartt Bell

In this first installment of his epic Haitian trilogy, Madison Smartt Bell brings to life a decisive moment in the history of race, class, and colonialism. The slave uprising in Haiti was a momentous contribution to the tide of revolution that swept over the Western world at the end of the... more

Book Votes: 2

269

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

Master of the Crossroads (Madison Smartt Bell) by Madison Smartt Bell

"Powerful, horrifying, and impressive. . . . No single work published in the last year matches the historical authority and gravitas of Bell's richly rewarding historical novel." (The Boston Globe) When volume one of Madison Smartt Bell's trilogy, All Souls' Rising, was published in 1995, it was... more

Book Votes: 2

270

Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -

The Stone that the Builder Refused (Haitian Revolution, Bk 3) by Madison Smartt Bell

Following the widely acclaimed All Souls’ Rising and Master of the Crossroads, Madison Smartt Bell gives us the climactic final chapter in the life of Toussaint Louverture, the legendary leader of the only successful slave revolution in history. In 1791, what would become known as the... more

Book Votes: 2

271

Viola H. (almankiz)

The Sultan's Seal (Kamil Pasha, Bk 1) by Jenny White

A stunningly lyrical debut novel about faith and desire, set within a gripping tale of murder in nineteenth-century Istanbul. Rich in sensuous detail, this first novel brilliantly captures the political and social upheavals of the waning Ottoman Empire. The naked body of a young... more

Book Votes: 2

272

Denise S. (Dargent) -

The Age of Wonders by Aharon Appelfeld

The secure world of a well-established and apparently perfectly assimilated Jewish writer living in an Austrian town before World War II, disintegrates under the force of political and social realities that daily sanctify the old and endemic Austrian anti-Semitism. We learn what we learn through... more

Book Votes: 2

273

Bernie C.

The Firecracker Boys by Dan O'Neill

In 1958, Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb, unveiled his plan to detonate six nuclear bombs off the Alaskan coast to create a new harbor. However, the plan was blocked by a handful of Eskimos and biologists who succeeded in preventing massive nuclear devastation potentially far greater than... more

Book Votes: 2

274

Jeanne L. (bkydbirder) - ,

With Fire and Sword, Vol. 1 by Henryk Sienkiewicz

The period embraced in this set is "one of the most dramatic and fruitful of results in European Annals - remarkable for work and endeavor, especially in the Slav world," the author writes. Among Western Slavs, the great events were the Hussite Wars and the union of Lithuania and Polant. The... more

Book Votes: 2

275

Jeanne L. (bkydbirder) - ,

Fire in the Steppe by Henryk Sienkiewicz

No description available.

Book Votes: 2

276

ANNA S. (SanJoseCa)

The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow

Raised like sisters, Mariamne and Salome are indulged with riches, position, and learning-a rare thing for females in Jerusalem. But Mariamne has a further gift: an illness has left her with visions; she has the power of prophecy. It is her prophesying that drives the two girls to flee to Egypt,... more

Book Votes: 1

277

Lois M. (hilo) - ,

Song of Years by Bess Streeter Aldrich

The state of Iowa was still young and wild when Wayne Lockwood came to it from New England in 1851. He claimed a quarter-section about a hundred miles west of Dubuque and quickly came to appreciate widely scattered neighbors like Jeremiah Martin, whose seven daughters would have chased the gloom... more

Book Votes: 1

278

Al C. (vavoice) -

The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder

Evyn, a young Welsh serf, has dreamed all his life of becoming a storyteller. But in a cruel twist of fate, Evyn and his father suffer a brutal attack by a group of murderous ruffians. Evyn's tongue is cut off and his father is killed. Orphaned and unable to speak, Evyn assumes he is... more

Book Votes: 1

279

Matthew H. (msh-bookworm)

The Ides of April (Roman Empire Sequence, Bk 2) by Mary Ray

Hylas is young Greek slave in the household of Caius Pomponius, a Roman Senator involved in political schemes. When the senator is found mysteriously murdered, the household slaves (including Hylas and his mother) fall under suspicion. Hylas escapes capture long enough to enlist the aid of a... more

Book Votes: 1

280

Valli

Twilight of Avalon (Trystan & Isolde, Bk 1) by Anna Elliott

She is a healer, a storyteller, a warrior, and a queen without a throne. In the shadow of King Arthur's Britain, one woman knows the truth that could save a kingdom from the hands of a tyrant... Ancient grudges, old wounds, and the quest for power rule in the newly widowed Queen... more

Book Votes: 1

281

Denise S. (Dargent) -

Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor's Son (Penguin Classics) by Sholem Aleichem

For the 150th anniversary of the birth of the ?Jewish Mark Twain,?a new translation of his most famous works Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor?s Son are the most celebrated characters in all of Jewish fiction. Tevye is the lovable, Bible-quoting father of seven daughters, a modern Job whose... more

Book Votes: 1

282

Maria M.

The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones

Aisha bint Abi Bakr is the daughter of a rich merchant from Mecca in the harsh, exotic world of seventh-century Arabia at the time of the foundation of Islam. When she is married to the Prophet Muhammad at the age of nine, she must rely on her wits, her courage, and even her sword in a struggle... more

Book Votes: 1

283

Maria M.

The Song of Hannah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Hannah and Pninah, once close childhood friends, become rivals for the attention of Elkanah, the man who has married them both. Pninah, passionate and independent, easily bears Elkanah many children, but bitter that he has taken her friend as a second wife, seeks fulfillment with her own secret... more

Book Votes: 1

284

Rebecca M. (midnightreader1)

On Folly Beach by Karen White

To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it’s a sanctuary for lost souls... When Emmy Hamilton’s mother encourages her to buy the local book store, Folly’s Finds, she hopes it will distract her daughter... more

Book Votes: 1

285

Jeanne L. (bkydbirder) - ,

The deluge. An historical novel of Poland, Sweden and Russia. A sequel to "With fire ...

This is volume two of a two-volume work, the sequel to "With Fire and Sword," a massive book called one of the greatest in European literature. "The Deluge" continues the sweeping saga of war and rebellion that threatened the kingdom of Poland and changed the face of Eastern Europe in the 17th... more

Book Votes: 1

286

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot

Like most sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor were rivals. They were also queens. Raised at the court of their father, Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, Marguerite and Eleanor are separated by royal marriages--but never truly parted. Patient, perfect, and used to being... more

Book Votes: 1

287

Jeanne L. (bkydbirder) - ,

The Queen's Cross by Lawrence Schoonover

Accident, or Divine Plan? Castillian princess Isabella's unlikely inheritance of Spain's crown and her arranged marriage to a handsome, rash ally opens the door to her greatest dream: a united, powerful and enduring kingdom. This is Lawrence Schoonover's gripping and elegant story of intrigue,... more

Book Votes: 0

288

Alice J. (ASJ) - ,

The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas

In a city-state known for magnificence, where love affairs and conspiracies play out amidst brilliant painters, poets and musicians, the powerful and ambitious Alfonso d'Este, duke of Ferrara, takes a new bride. Half of Europe is certain he murdered his first wife, Lucrezia, the luminous... more

Book Votes: 0

Book List - Essential Historical Fiction

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