Directory of Book Reviews
Looking for book reviews of historical novels? Here are more than 200, ranging in setting from prehistory and the ancient world to World War II. Novels for young adults are marked YA - full-fledged adults enjoy some of these as much as teens do. Click on the title to link to the review. Jump to:
Review of: Sarah L. Johnson's Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre James Alexander Thom's The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction Prehistoric and Time-Sweep Novels Ancient History Medieval Europe The Renaissance The Seventeenth Century The Eighteenth Century The Napoleonic Era Nineteenth Century North America and the Old West Nineteenth Century Europe The Twentieth Century Africa Asia Australasia: Australia and New Zealand Latin America The Middle East
At the bottom of the page is a list of books received for review but not yet reviewed. Except in very rare cases, I no longer accept self-published novels (novels from POD presses and single-author publishing houses) for review; those I accepted in the past are critiqued separately on the Self-Published Round-Up page, unless they held my interest throughout, thus meriting a full review. For information about submitting a novel for review, see the Contact page. Readers bring their own experiences and beliefs to the reading process, so book reviewers often disagree. This is part of what makes reading and discussing books so rewarding. To learn more about our reviewers' individual tastes, see the lists of Best Historical Novels 2009 and 2008 by Margaret Donsbach and Best Historical Novels Picks by Annis, and the profiles of frequent reviewers Annis and Susan Gillmor. Authors and publishers regularly send me free copies of books for review. To the best of my ability, I use the same standards to review these as I do to review books I have purchased or checked out from the library. I also participate in online book discussion forums and am "Facebook friends" and/or "LibraryThing friends" with a number of authors of historical novels. Again, to the best of my ability, I use the same standards in reviewing books by these authors as I do with any other books. If I feel a close friendship with another author would make it difficult for me to read and review that author's work objectively, I will not accept it for review. I take my responsibility to readers seriously, and no author or publisher should submit a book for review with the expectation that it will not be criticized. No opinion expressed about a book in any review on this website should be interpreted as an opinion about the author. Except in the case of obvious typographical or factual errors, no book review will be altered at the request of an author or publisher.
Prehistoric and Time-Sweep Novels
Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin New York by Edward Rutherfurd
Ancient History
Ancient GreeceAchilles by Elizabeth Cook Alcestis by Katharine Beutner Heather, Oak and Olive by Rosemary Sutcliff YA The King Must Die by Mary Renault Ransom by David Malouf The Sun's Bride by Gillian Bradshaw Tyrant by Christian Cameron
Ancient Rome
Alexandria by Lindsey Davis (a Falco mystery) The Conquered by Naomi Mitchison reviewed by Annis Empire by Steven Saylor The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield Imperium by Robert Harris reviewed by Annis Josephus by Lion Feuchtwanger reviewed by Annis The Key by Benita Kane Jaro The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor
Roman Britain
A Bitter Chill by Jane Finnis reviewed by Susan Gillmor Get Out or Die by Jane Finnis reviewed by Susan Gillmor Imperial Governor by George Shipway reviewed by Annis Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie
Ancient Ireland
Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley
Arthurian Britain
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve YA, reviewed by Annis The Killing Way by Tony Hays The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff reviewed by Annis Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott Ancient Egypt
Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
Biblical Times and the Ancient Middle East
Delilah by India Edghill Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George The Red Tent by Anita Diamant Sarah by Marek Halter The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
Medieval Europe
Medieval Celts, 500-1300 A.D.Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne reviewed by Susan Gillmor Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison Ruan by Bryher
Anglo-Saxon England and Continental Europe, 500-1066 A.D.
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon reviewed by Annis The Green Man by Henry Treece reviewed by Annis The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell reviewed by Annis Paths of Exile by Carla Nayland reviewed by Annis Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross The Proud Villeins by Valerie Anand reviewed by Susan Gillmor Norman England (1066-1133) and Norman Sicily (11th-12th Centuries) (including novels about the period immediately preceding the Norman Conquest)
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman The Fourteenth of October by Bryher reviewed by Susan Gillmor Godiva by Nerys Jones reviewed by Annis Great Maria by Cecelia Holland The Needle in the Blood by Sarah Bower The Rose Rent by Ellis Peters reviewed by Susan Gillmor The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth The Morning Gift by Diana Norman reviewed by Annis
The Angevins and 12th-13th Century Europe
Angel Time by Anne Rice Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman YA Down the Common by Ann Baer reviewed by Susan Gillmor Good Masters! Sweet Ladies by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd YA and children Myself as Witness by James Goldman reviewed by Annis The Parisian Prodigal by Alan Gordon The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys reviewed by Susan Gillmor The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick Hodd by Adam Thorpe reviewed by Annis The Lute Player by Norah Lofts Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (#1 in a series) Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin (#3 in a series), reviewed by Susan Gillmor Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies reviewed by Annis
The Crusades and the Inquisition
Crossed by Nicole Galland Durandal by Harold Lamb reviewed by Annis Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks YA People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran
The late 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries to the Wars of the Roses
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell The Book of the Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse YA By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan Company of Liars by Karen Maitland Flint by Margaret Redfern The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson The Green Popinjays by Eleanor Fairburn reviewed by Annis Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham Kabbalah of Stone by Irene Reti Katherine by Anya Seton reviewed by Susan Gillmor The King's Mistress by Emma Campion The Master of Verona by David Blixt reviewed by Annis Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr reviewed by Susan Gillmor Vainglory by Geraldine McCaughrean reviewed by Annis World Without End by Ken Follett
The Wars of the Roses
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey The King's Grace by Anne Easter Smith The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Medieval Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire
The High City by Cecelia Holland Rogue Sword by Poul Anderson reviewed by Annis
Scandinavia and the Vikings
The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset reviewed by Susan Gillmor Legend of the Last Vikings: Taklamakan by John Halsted Sons of Thunder by Giles Kristian reviewed by Annis
The Renaissance
Amenable Women by Mavis Cheek reviewed by Annis The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato The Concubine by Norah Lofts reviewed by Susan Gillmor The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis Heresy by S.J. Parris The House of Doctor Dee by Peter Ackroyd reviewed by Linda Proud A Famine of Horses by P.F. Chisholm reviewed by Annis The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet by Myrlin A. Hermes Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper reviewed by Susan Gillmor Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett Pallas and the Centaur by Linda Proud The Player's Boy by Bryher Poison by Sara Poole Queen's Cross by Lawrence Schoonover The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogridis The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin Snared Nightingale by Geoffrey Trease reviewed by Annis The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley YA A Tabernacle for the Sun by Linda Proud The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Young Bess by Margaret Irwin
The Seventeenth Century
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann The Best of Men by Claire Letemendia reviewed by Annis Bonnie Dundee by Rosemary Sutcliff YA, reviewed by Annis Conceit by Mary Novik Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt Ex-Libris by Ross King The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis The Winter Prince by Cheryl Sawyer The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton
The Eighteenth Century
An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan reviewed by Annis The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson YA/Adult The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale reviewed by Annis Bound by Sally Gunning The Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson YA Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon reviewed by Susan Gillmor Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware Just Deceits by Michael Schein Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors Outlander by Diana Gabaldon reviewed by Susan Gillmor Ross Poldark by Winston Graham Sally Hemings by Barbara Chase-Riboud Savage Lands by Clare Clark A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss
The Napoleonic Era
Casca: Napoleon's Soldier by Tony Roberts (series originated by Barry Sadler) For the King by Catherine Delors The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland Rapscallion by James McGee reviewed by Annis
Nineteenth Century North America and the Old West
Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart Deep Creek by Dana Hand Devil's Dream by Madison Smartt Bell Hallam's War by Elisabeth Payne Rosen The Open Door by Elizabeth Maguire reviewed by Nancy Klingener The Organ Grinder by Maan Meyers Prairie Avenue by Arthur Meeker Race for the Dying by Steven F. Havill Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros
Nineteenth Century Europe
All This, and Heaven too by Rachel Field Arabella by Georgette Heyer The Black Tower by Louis Bayard reviewed by Susan Gillmor The Bride of Newgate by John Dickson Carr Cézanne's Quarry by Barbara Corrado Pope Charlotte and Emily by Jude Morgan Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell Death at Glamis Castle by Robin Paige (Charles Sheridan mystery #9) The Desert Crop by Catherine Cookson Drood by Dan Simmons Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Immortal Franz by Zsolt Harsanyi The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough The Mulberry Empire by Philip Hensher Murder Most Welcome by Nicola Slade Postscript from Pemberley by Rebecca Ann Collins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier reviewed by Annis Requiem in Vienna by J. Sydney Jones The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë by Laura Joh Rowland Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn reviewed by Susan Gillmor Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn reviewed by Susan Gillmor Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas reviewed by Susan Gillmor Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin reviewed by Susan Gillmor
The Twentieth Century
North Americans Before and Between the Wars:The Edge of Ruin by Irene Fleming The Last Illusion by Rhys Bowen Loving Frank by Nancy Horan reviewed by Mudqueen Percival's Planet by Michael Byers Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas Private Life by Jane Smiley Quakertown by Lee Martin Titanic: The Untold Story by W. Mae Kent
Europeans Before and Between the Wars:
Death on the Ice by Robert Ryan reviewed by Annis The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb YA Heart of Lies by M.L. Malcolm An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King The Last Waltz by G.G. Vandagriff Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis Relief by L.E. Butler A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters, Amelia Peabody mystery #19 Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen reviewed by Susan Gillmor Sheer Folly, a Daisy Dalrymple mystery by Carola Dunn
The World War I Period:
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford The Turtle Catcher by Nicole Helget Underground by June Hutton
The World War II Period:
Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr reviewed by Susan Gillmor Blackout by Connie Willis Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris reviewed by Susan Gillmor The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows reviewed by Susan Gillmor Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield reviewed by Annis The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean reviewed by Susan Gillmor My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young reviewed by Annis Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow reviewed by Susan Gillmor Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum reviewed by Susan Gillmor A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell reviewed by Susan Gillmor Wandering Star by J.M.G. Le Clézio What Is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom
Africa
The Fire of Origins by Emmanuel Dongala
Asia
The Binding Chair by Kathryn Harrison The Convict's Sword by I.J. Parker The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Saigon by Anthony Grey reviewed by Bill Bradley The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra
Australasia: Australia and New Zealand
The Gentleman's Garden by Catherine Jinks reviewed by Annis Rifling Paradise by Jem Poster
Latin America
City of Silver by Annamaria Alfieri Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
The Middle East
Alamut by Vladimir Bartol The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin The Book of Saladin by Tariq Ali The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth reviewed by Annis The Lion of Cairo by Scott Oden reviewed by Annis Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha Shadow of the Swords by Kamran Pasha
Received for Review
In alphabetical order by author's name, these are the books I have received for review but not yet reviewed. If you've sent me a review copy that doesn't appear on this list, please feel free to get in touch with me via the contact form. Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow
What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen Into Suez by Stevie Davies Rival to the Queen by Carolly Erickson The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots by Carolly Erickson Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick Death Comes by Amphora by Roger Hudson The Fairest Portion of the Globe by Frances Hunter Elizabeth, Captive Princess by Margaret Irwin Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts The Nine Lives of Kit Marlowe by Jay Margrave Repentances by Annette Meyers The Harlot's Progress: Yorkshire Molly by Peter Mottley Spirits of the Mothers by Cristi Fernández Narvaiza and Martin Bless A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury by Edith Pargeter The Rebirth of Venus by Linda Proud The Lady in Red by Hallie Rubenhold Raiders from the North by Alex Rutherford Gentle Infidel by Lawrence Schoonover Avalon by Anya Seton Ascent: The Rise of Chinggis Khan by Tom Shanley Dominion: Dawn of the Mongol Empire by Tom Shanley Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story by Mark L. Shurtleff The Knife Sharpener's Bell by Rhea Tregebov Baroque by Richard Vetere Winnie and Wolf by A.N. Wilson
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