Directory of Book Reviews

Looking for book reviews of historical novels? Here are more than 350, 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.

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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 and India
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 annual lists of Best Historical Novels 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

Ancient History

Achilles by Elizabeth Cook
Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
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
The Conquered by Naomi Mitchison reviewed by Annis
The Corpus Conundrum by Albert A. Bell, Jr.
Empire by Steven Saylor
The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane
Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield
King of Kings by Harry Sidebottom
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

Ancient Britain and Ireland

The Changeling by Rosemary Sutcliff preteens
Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley

Roman Britain

A Bitter Chill by Jane Finnis reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie reviewed by Annis
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff YA
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

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
Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Biblical Times and the Ancient Middle East

Delilah by India Edghill
The Legend of the Wandering King by Laura Gallego García YA
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
How Far to Bethlehem? by Norah Lofts reviewed by Annis
Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Sarah by Marek Halter
Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher YA
The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Medieval Europe

Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Brendan by Morgan Llywelyn
Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King
My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison
Ruan by Bryher

Anglo-Saxon England and Continental Europe, 6th-11th Centuries

Bloodline by Katy Moran YA, reviewed by Annis
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon reviewed by Annis
The Green Man by Henry Treece reviewed by Annis
Hawk Quest by Robert Lyndon 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
Shieldwall by Justin Hill reviewed by Annis

Norman England (1066-1133) and Norman Sicily (11th-12th Centuries) (including novels about the period immediately preceding the Norman Conquest)

Conquest by Stewart Binns reviewed by Annis
The Fourteenth of October by Bryher reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Godiva by Nerys Jones reviewed by Annis
Great Maria by Cecelia Holland
The King's Arrow by Michael Cadnum YA
The Morning Gift by Diana Norman reviewed by Annis
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
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman

The Angevins and 12th-13th Century Europe

Angel Time by Anne Rice
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman YA
Death and the Devil by Frank Schätzing reviewed by Annis
Down the Common by Ann Baer reviewed by Susan Gillmor
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd YA and children
Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin, reviewed by Susan Gillmor
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
Hodd by Adam Thorpe reviewed by Annis
Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
The Lute Player by Norah Lofts
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Myself as Witness by James Goldman reviewed by Annis
The Parisian Prodigal by Alan Gordon
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland
To Be Queen by Christy English
To Defy a King 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
The King's Witch by Cecelia Holland
Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks YA
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Templar Knight by Jan Guillou
The Waste Land by Simon Acland
Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran

The late 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries to the Wars of the Roses

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
Blood Red, Sister Rose by Thomas Keneally
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury by Edith Pargeter
The Book of the Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse YA
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
The Demon's Parchment by Jeri Westerson reviewed by Susan Gillmor
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 Lion Wakes by Robert Low reviewed by Annis
The Lords of Vaumartin by Cecelia Holland
The Master of Verona by David Blixt reviewed by Annis
The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan YA
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson
A Safe Conduct by Peter Vansittart
The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham
The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Vainglory by Geraldine McCaughrean reviewed by Annis
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson
World Without End by Ken Follett

The Wars of the Roses

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
The House of Lanyon by Valerie Anand
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

Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett YA
Dark Angel by Mika Waltari reviewed by Annis
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
The Deepest Sea by Charles Barnitz reviewed by Annis
Legend of the Last Vikings: Taklamakan by John Halsted
The Road to Jerusalem by Jan Guillou
Sons of Thunder by Giles Kristian reviewed by Annis
Varanger by Cecelia Holland
Viking Warrior by Judson Roberts YA, reviewed by Annis

The Renaissance

The Seventeenth Century

The Eighteenth Century

The Napoleonic Era

Nineteenth Century North America and
the Old West

Nineteenth Century Europe and Europeans

The Twentieth Century

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery
The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
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
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas
Private Life by Jane Smiley
Quakertown by Lee Martin
Sloane Hall by Libby Sternberg
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
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen reviewed by Susan Gillmor
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
Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
Relief by L.E. Butler
A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
River of Darkness by Rennie Airth reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn
The True Memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp

The World War I Period:

Across the Blood-Red Skies by Robert Radcliffe
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear
The Cats in the Doll Shop by Yona Zeldis McDonough preteens
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford
The Jewel and the Key by Louise Spiegler YA
My Brother's Shadow by Monika Schröder YA
The Turtle Catcher by Nicole Helget
Underground by June Hutton
Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo preteens

Nazi Germany and the World War II Period:

Annexed by Sharon Dogar YA
Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Blackout by Connie Willis
Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Guernica by Dave Boling reviewed by Susan Gillmor
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows reviewed by Susan Gillmor
Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank
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

Asia and India

Australasia: Australia and New Zealand

Latin America

The Middle East

Received for Review

The Flowers of Evil by Simon Acland

Trades of the Flesh by Faye L. Booth

In Winter's Shadow by Gillian Bradshaw

Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow

The Chamomile by Susan F. Craft

Into Suez by Stevie Davies

Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa by Melanie Dobson

Holy Warrior by Angus Donald

The Swords of Faith by Richard Warren Field

Forgiven by Janet Fox (YA)

Getorix: Games of the Underworld by Judith Geary

A Tapestry of Dreams by Roberta Gellis

Harbour by Paul House

The Glass Harmonica by Dorothee E. Kocks

Reefs and Shoals by Dewey Lambdin

Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts

Roman Games by Bruce Macbain

The Nine Lives of Kit Marlowe by Jay Margrave

Repentances by Annette Meyers

Honored Enemy by Culver Modisette

Queen of Cities by Andrew Novo

Queen Defiant by Anne O'Brien

Nonna's Book of Mysteries by Mary Osborne

The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

Chasing the Nightbird by Krista Russell (YA)

Raiders from the North by Alex Rutherford

Bones Beneath Our Feet by Michael Schein

Rome: The Coming of the King by M.C. Scott

Secret of the Sands by Sara Sheridan

Radium Halos by Shelley Stout

Curiosity by Joan Thomas

Heiress by Susan May Warren

Unrest in Eden by Florence Byham Weinberg

Winnie and Wolf by A.N. Wilson

Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth

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