Gifts for Historical Fiction Fans

Historical Novels to Delight the Connoisseur

There are as many styles and genres of historical fiction as there are of contemporary fiction. You wouldn't give a copy of Sweet Susannah and the Wounded Jacobite to the reader with a standing order at his favorite bookstore for each new installment in Barry Bravado's "Blood-Soaked Encounters" series.

A reader who knows numerous passages from Jane Austen's novels by heart and loves mysteries, too, is likely to be delighted with P.D. James's Death Comes to Pemberley, an Austen-inspired mystery by a critically acclaimed doyenne of the mystery genre. The same book might not appeal to a reader who gravitates to earthier fare like The Scottish Prisoner, the latest in Diana Gabaldon's "Lord John" series about the toothsome but tortured Jamie Fraser and his vicious enemy.

Of course, any fan of historical fiction will likely be touched by a gift that says the giver noticed this passion, even if the particular book that emerges from the wrapping paper isn't a big winner. It's easiest, though, to evoke that sudden smile that says, "Wow!" if you devote some energy to figuring out what type of historical fiction your giftee most loves to read.

Ask a few questions when you're chatting about books. You might get a roll of the eyes if you ask what a person's favorite book is – most dedicated readers can't tell you, because there are so many wonderful books to choose from - but this question can still get a good discussion going. Other questions might be: What were your favorite books when you were a teenager? How has your taste evolved since then? What book changed your outlook on life? What's the last book you read that you really loved? It can be even more illuminating to follow up the answers by asking "Why?"

Armed with more precise information, you have a better chance of choosing a book your giftee is as thrilled with by page 215 as when it's first unwrapped. Newly published novels make great gifts. But you might also consider sniffing out an obscure, hard-to-find title from a lesser-known author your giftee especially admires, or a rare first-edition copy of an old favorite. U.S. readers who lust after some of the fine historical novels published in the U.K. but not (or not yet) in the U.S. would undoubtedly be thrilled to unwrap one of these; many are available by special-order if you plan ahead and allow some extra time (usually not that much, but this type of gift is not for last-minute shoppers). If your budget is limited, used bookstores are full of inexpensive treasures that will say to your giftee, "You're the kind of special person who knows the time and thought I invested in finding just the right book for you are more important than how much money I spent."

Below are some gift ideas from several important categories of historical fiction. Perhaps among them you will find just the thing for your historical novel fan, or maybe they will spark your imagination and lead you to a gift that, inspired by thoughts of your special someone, only you could have thought of.

Jump to:

Romantic Historical Novels
Novels of Warfare
Historical Fantasy
Period Authenticity
Seasonal Appeal
Historical Mysteries
Teens and Younger

Romantic Historical Novels

Romantic historical novels have more substance to them that the typical "historical romance." These are novels with memorable characters whose stories have depth and originality to them, and which genuinely illuminate a particular period of history.

Jane Austen was a wonderful writer (not a historical novelist, actually, since she wrote about her own time) whose work is still widely read and appreciated. A dedicated Jane Austen fan probably already owns copies of her most admired novels, but if they are tattered paperbacks that have been loved to death, she might be thrilled to receive a beautiful, new hardcover copy of one of her favorites: Pride and Prejudice, the story of Elizabeth Bennett and the insufferable (but oh-so-desirable) Mr. Darcy; Sense and Sensibility, about the romantic difficulties of the two very different Dashwood sisters; Persuasion, the story of Anne Elliot's second chance at happiness, years after she spurned the penniless naval officer she truly loved; or Emma, about a good-hearted but over-enthusiastic matchmaker surprised by her own heart.

Most Austen fans also enjoy the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer, whose work was inspired by Austen's novels and adopts a sparkling, comedy-of-manners approach, but whose stories are built on original characters and original storylines. These are decidedly not "bodice-rippers" and are decorous and reserved enough for readers who prefer not to follow the characters into the bedroom. Like Austen, they use period language which some readers especially relish (but others find difficult). Sourcebooks has new trade paperback editions of many of Heyer's novels with lovely period artwork on the front. Arabella is charming (see review), but there are a myriad of these to choose from. You might like to browse the selection of Heyer's Regencies in Sourcebooks editions at Powell's Books.

More overtly sexy are Diana Gabaldon's tremendously popular "Outlander" novels about a time-traveling twentieth-century woman and her husband, an eighteenth-century Scot involved in the Jacobite Rebellion. Outlander (titled Cross Stitch in the U.K.) is the first book in the series. An Echo in the Bone, the seventh, was published in September 2009, and if your Outlander enthusiast still hasn't read it yet, it's high time. Gabaldon fans who originally read library copies and don't yet own any of the novels would likely be thrilled by a complete set of all seven novels.

Among the novels published in 2011 which include love stories are Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers (see review) about the women of Masada, where hundreds of Jewish rebels and refugees killed themselves in 72 A.D. rather than submit to the Roman army; Cecelia Holland's The King's Witch (see review), about a woman with a secret who goes on Crusade with Richard the Lionheart; and Paula McLain's The Paris Wife about Ernest Hemingway's wife Hadley during their expatriate years in 1920s Paris. Diana Gabaldon's wildly popular bestseller Outlander (see review), first published in 1991, is out in a new 20th Anniversary Edition full of extra features.

Novels of Warfare

Men aren't the only readers who relish a good tale of warfare in centuries past, but many male readers do particularly enjoy these. They range from patriotic tales that celebrate the heroism of a nation's founders or defenders, to grimmer tales emphasizing the fear, mud, pain and horror of battle and the dubious nature of war's benefits. In either category, part of the appeal of these novels is their message that an ordinary human being can face even the toughest life-and-death challenge and not merely survive, but emerge as a wiser and better person.

If your giftee especially appreciates gritty novels of ancient warfare, Harry Sidebottom's well-researched "Warriors of Rome" series is a great choice. The first in the series is Fire in the East, followed by King of Kings and Lion of the Sun. A more adventure-oriented trilogy set in the ancient world imagines what might have happened to the Roman survivors of the disastrous (for Rome) Battle of Carrhae in 55 B.C. Ben Kane's trilogy begins with The Forgotten Legion, followed by The Silver Eagle and The Road to Rome.

Set during the Crusades, Jan Guillou's series about a Swedish Crusader, offers top notch storytelling. The Road to Jerusalem covers the coming-of-age and training of the young knight-to-be, while The Templar Knight and The Birth of the Kingdom cover his experiences in the Crusades and his homecoming to Sweden, where he develops a centralized military force.

Naval warfare during the Napoleonic Wars is well represented in fiction, typically with series novels featuring the rise of a sailor as he aspires to and then achieves a position as captain of his own ship. C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, written from the 1930s through the 1960s, remain popular, and are still being discovered anew by readers who came of age after they were first published. (See the complete series in trade paperback at Powell's Books.) Fans of Patrick O'Brian mourned his death in 2000, realizing it brought an end to his Aubrey/Maturin series, which begins with music-lover Jack Aubrey taking command of his first ship, an old brig that has seen better days, in Master and Commander. If your giftee is missing some of the twenty novels in the series, completing the set might warm his (or her) heart. (See the complete Aubrey/Maturin series in hardcover at Powell's Books.) Perhaps no other novelist of naval warfare has met the standard set by these two, but many have won their own enthusiastic fans. Frequent review contributor Annis likes Julian Stockwin's Kydd, published in 2001 as the first in a new series. See the Napoleonic page for more of these nautical series.

The American Revolution is a popular settings for patriotic novels. Howard Fast's trio of novels, April Morning (about the Battle of Lexington and Concord fought on the eve of the Revolution) Bunker Hill (about the battle of the same name in 1775) and The Crossing (about Washington's crossing of the Delaware River for a surprise attack on a superior force of Hessian mercenaries on Christmas Day 1776) are classics of their kind, easy to read, more viscerally exciting than intellectually challenging, and glowing with American patriotism.

Historical Fantasy

Does your giftee dress up as a witch, wizard or werewolf to answer the doorbell on Halloween? Jeanne Kalogridis's Renaissance-era novels, The Devil's Queen about Catherine de Medici, and The Scarlet Contessa about Caterina Sforza, are not the most historically authentic portrayals of these women, but will please readers who hanker for luridly creepy tales of the occult. Readers who gravitate more to magical realism, the literary end of fantasy, will prefer novels like The Red Garden, Alice Hoffman's lightly mystical novel about the history of a Massachusetts town.

Period Authenticity

The most enthusiastic readers of historical novels usually prefer novels that are well-researched and present a vivid, authentic portrait of the time and place in which they are set, from details of dress, food, manners and technology to the characters' habits of thought. Some of the novels published in 2011 which combine strong research with superb storytelling include Cecelia Holland's The King's Witch about a woman healer who accompanies Richard the Lionheart on Crusade; Elizabeth Chadwick's To Defy a King about a medieval woman who stands up to the brutal King John; and Mary Doria Russell's Doc about Doc Holliday.

Hilary Mantel's complex, thoughtful and psychologically perceptive Wolf Hall, about Henry VIII's enforcer Thomas Cromwell, won the 2009 Booker Prize for good reason. It's a fantastic read for anyone who appreciates literary historical fiction and a fresh, absorbing take on the Tudor period.

Both well-researched and well-written, Linda Proud's A Tabernacle for the Sun is the best novel I know of about the beginnings of the Italian Renaissance. It's not available in the U.S. and has to be ordered directly from Godstow Press in Oxford, England.

Seasonal Appeal

Mackenzie Ford's 2008 novel Gifts of War revolves around the 1914 "Christmas Truce," when German and British soldiers put down their guns and celebrated an unofficial Christmas peace together before resuming the hostilities of World War I. Readers who enjoy a poignantly romantic tale may find this a special treat; the style is reminiscent of some of Catherine Cookson's novels.

From Christian publisher Tyndale House comes Sigmund Brouwer's tale of the Old West, Pony Express Christmas, often described as heartwarming.

Plenty of readers are delighted to find a mystery novel under the Christmas tree, and a number of historical novelists have catered to their taste with mysteries set during the Christmas season. The six most recent installments in Kate Kingsbury's "Pennyfoot Hotel" series about a woman hotelier in Edwardian England, are set in the Christmas season, including the latest, Herald of Death. Anne Perry, author of the popular "William Monk" and "Thomas and Charlotte Pitt" Victorian mystery series has spun off a Christmas-themed series; A Christmas Homecoming, #9 in the series, is fresh off the press in 2011.

Historical Mysteries

Many readers love a good historical mystery, whether it's a standalone or an installment in one of the dozens of extensive historical mystery series. An enticing 2011 mystery is the second in S.J. Parris's superb series featuring astronomer Giordano Bruno, Prophecy.

The newest in a favorite series, or a missing novel for your giftee's almost-complete set, is sure to be a hit. Find out the author of your giftee's favorite series, find out which book is missing, and then look it up in the search box on the home page. Mystery series novels are listed in the appropriate section by time and place, in order of publication. Clicking on the title of any book on this site (provided it's linked – the vast majority are) will take you to its listing at Powell's Books or Amazon.com.

Teens and Younger

The witty heroine of Rebecca Barnhouse's 2009 novel The Book of the Maidservant, about a maidservant whose shrewish, fanatically religious mistress takes her on a pilgrimage to Rome, kept me in stitches. Another delightfully humorous historical novel for teens is Catherine Jinks's Pagan's Crusade, the first in a series about a Jerusalem street kid who becomes squire to a Crusader knight.

For children eight to eleven, the 2011 storybook The Cats in the Doll Shop by Yona Zeldis McDonough has unusual charm. This story about a girl who lives with her immigrant family over their New York doll shop in the early twentieth century is a sequel to The Doll Shop Downstairs but can easily be read on its own - or some lucky little girl may get both for Christmas.

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