Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Would Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read Historical Fiction

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.   This meme features a different top 10 list every week.

This week's list: Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read XX (for example, if you are a YA blogger you might pick 10 YA books for people who don't read YA or if you read classics maybe 10 classics that those who don't typically read classics might read! Or you could get more specific).

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read Historical Fiction

(1) The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman.   Penman is a master of the historical fiction genre and this is, in my opinion, her finest work. 

(2) The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.   This is one of the books that got me interested in the historical fiction genre. 

(3) The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick.  Chadwick's novels are full of vivid historical detail.  This one brings to life William Marshall, a man considered to be the greatest knight of the medieval era. 

(4) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  A charming novel set in Guernsey in the years immediately following WWII. 

(5) Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden.  This power novel brings to life the horrors of WWI and its aftermath for those who survived the trenches. 

(6) Katherine by Anya Seton.  One of my all-time favourites, this novel tells of the real-life 14th century love story of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. 

(7) Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn.  The first in Raybourn's Lady Julia mystery series, this novel is not to be missed. 

(8) Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.  Beautifully written novel of two young girls selected to be sworn sisters in 19th century China.

(9) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.   Narrated by Death, this novel follows the life of a young girl in Nazi Germany. 

(10) Atonement by Ian McEwan.  This beautifully written novel is set in England during 1930s and 1940s.