5 awesome historical fiction books!
Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre after fantasy, so I thought I'd share a few that I've really enjoyed. These are older books, so don't expect to see any recent bestsellers on here.
The Amelia Peabody series is set mostly in the late 1800's/early 1900's Egypt. Written by Elizabeth Peters, who was an Egyptologist in real life, it blends mystery, humor, and a small dose of the supernatural. (Very small dose.) I've read seven so far and enjoyed them immensely. There are nineteen books in the series, with another one due out this July. I'm assuming this is the last one as sadly Peters passed away in 2013. If you'd like to read them the first book in the series is Crocodile on the Sandbank.
A Journey to Matecumbe starts out in Kentucky after the Civil War has ended. The main character is Davie Burney and he tells the tale of how he and his uncle got on the wrong side of the KKK after preventing them from hanging a black man. So they decide to flee to Florida and meet some strange and interesting people on the way. I really can't do the book justice; it's very humorous and sometimes tragic and has a lot of adventure packed into it. And there's pirate treasure! I especially enjoyed the picture he painted of late 1800's Florida (being from Florida myself.) It's no longer in print, but you can get a used copy fairly cheap. (I've kindly provided you a link. You're welcome!) The author has also written The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, which I haven't read but I plan to someday. It sounds very similar to Matecumbe, except this time it's a boy and his father traveling from Kentucky to California during the Gold Rush. If it's as good as Matecumbe it might actually be worth the steep price of $17.99 on the Kindle. Yikes. I'll be checking out the library for that book!
Sepulchre is actually set in two different time periods, late 1800's France and modern day France, with the two stories being interconnected. The book is set in Rennes le Bains; the author did such a good job portraying the town I seriously had a sudden urge to hop on a plane for France. (Yes it's a real town.) I've put it on my bucket list. Despite that, I wrestled with whether I should include this book or not. I personally enjoyed it, but I know a lot of people didn't. It's slow to get into but I think the story is well written. It's the second of a trilogy, but you don't have to read the first or the third book to enjoy this one. In fact, I strongly recommend you don't read Citadel; it's the last book in the series and not very good. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know how Citadel ends. The author substituted a ghost army for the Ark, but the end results were the same (melting eyeballs and all.) I was not impressed.
The Cove is set in Appalachia during WW1 and centers on a mute woman the townsfolk are convinced is a witch. She lives with her brother in a cove that's rumored to be haunted; one day she stumbles on a wounded German who escaped from an internment camp. Of course, she nurses him back to health and the novel goes from there. It's a little slow to start out but well written and the ending is very good.
The Amelia Peabody series is set mostly in the late 1800's/early 1900's Egypt. Written by Elizabeth Peters, who was an Egyptologist in real life, it blends mystery, humor, and a small dose of the supernatural. (Very small dose.) I've read seven so far and enjoyed them immensely. There are nineteen books in the series, with another one due out this July. I'm assuming this is the last one as sadly Peters passed away in 2013. If you'd like to read them the first book in the series is Crocodile on the Sandbank.
A Journey to Matecumbe starts out in Kentucky after the Civil War has ended. The main character is Davie Burney and he tells the tale of how he and his uncle got on the wrong side of the KKK after preventing them from hanging a black man. So they decide to flee to Florida and meet some strange and interesting people on the way. I really can't do the book justice; it's very humorous and sometimes tragic and has a lot of adventure packed into it. And there's pirate treasure! I especially enjoyed the picture he painted of late 1800's Florida (being from Florida myself.) It's no longer in print, but you can get a used copy fairly cheap. (I've kindly provided you a link. You're welcome!) The author has also written The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, which I haven't read but I plan to someday. It sounds very similar to Matecumbe, except this time it's a boy and his father traveling from Kentucky to California during the Gold Rush. If it's as good as Matecumbe it might actually be worth the steep price of $17.99 on the Kindle. Yikes. I'll be checking out the library for that book!
Sepulchre is actually set in two different time periods, late 1800's France and modern day France, with the two stories being interconnected. The book is set in Rennes le Bains; the author did such a good job portraying the town I seriously had a sudden urge to hop on a plane for France. (Yes it's a real town.) I've put it on my bucket list. Despite that, I wrestled with whether I should include this book or not. I personally enjoyed it, but I know a lot of people didn't. It's slow to get into but I think the story is well written. It's the second of a trilogy, but you don't have to read the first or the third book to enjoy this one. In fact, I strongly recommend you don't read Citadel; it's the last book in the series and not very good. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know how Citadel ends. The author substituted a ghost army for the Ark, but the end results were the same (melting eyeballs and all.) I was not impressed.
The Cove is set in Appalachia during WW1 and centers on a mute woman the townsfolk are convinced is a witch. She lives with her brother in a cove that's rumored to be haunted; one day she stumbles on a wounded German who escaped from an internment camp. Of course, she nurses him back to health and the novel goes from there. It's a little slow to start out but well written and the ending is very good.
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