For romance novel readers (historical mostly)...?

Question

...I really want to read some historical romance novels that focus more on scandal than action (aside from the romance and relationship). Can anyone suggest some novels and possibly some authors, as well? ***Doesn't matter how old the novels are***

Answer 1

I have a book titled "A Treasury of royal scandals" by Michael Farquhar. I've probably read it ten times over. First page says"The shocking true stories of history's wickedest, weirdest, most wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors".......Delicious!!!

Answer 2

The Luxe  

Answer 3

Have you read "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory?

Her stuff is so good and this is my favorite!  It's so much better than the movie I can't even begin to tell you...

It's not exactly all scandal, but the story is so awesome, I couldn't put it down.  I had it done in a day!

Answer 4

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor would be a perfect fit, I believe. It was a really great story; quite full of scandal. It is set during the reign of Charles II whose court was truly decadent. For a review of the book, check http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Amber-Kath...

Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber is another one I'd highly recommend. This one is about a rather notorious woman who returns to the place she was born: New Orleans. It's been a long time since I read it, but I believe it was set in the late 1800s. Edna Ferber wrote some other good ones like Giant and So Big and Cimarron.

You may also enjoy some of Jean Plaidy's historical novels. For instance, she wrote a book called Murder Most Royal which is set during the time of Anne Boleyn and shows how easy it was for a carelessly spoken word to send a person to his death.

There isn't necessarily tons of scandal, but Georgette Heyer has written some great historical novels. There is some scandal in her books like My Lord John, Simon the Coldheart, Royal Escape and The Conqueror (some are Medieval, some a bit later). I really enjoy her Regencies like The Nonesuch, Regency Buck and The Corinthian.

There is definitely scandal running throughout Winston Graham's Poldark series, which starts with Ross Poldark and is set in Cornwall just after the American Revolutionary War. It's a great series.

It's not precisely scandal, but if you like stories with mystery and intrigue and conspiracy, you may enjoy Patricia Veryan's Tales of the Jewelled Men which starts with Time's Fool and is set in England during the Georgian period. It was definitely a great series.

If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. It's very long, but excellent. It also has everything in it from romance to scandal to war to temptation to murder and more.

I hope this helps.