Who are some good historical fiction writers?

Question

Who are some good historical fiction writers?

Answer 1

I love Mary Renault's books about ancient Greece. My favorites are her trilogy about Alexander the Great, the Alexandriad- the second once, The Persian Boy, is her best work and can be read by itself.

Tom Robb Smith's Child 44 is a great look at Stalinist Russia.

C.J. Sansom does a series of great murder mysteries set in Henry VIII's England. Start with 'Dissolution'.

Answer 2

Robert Graves--I, Claudius; Claudius the God

Gary Jennings--Aztec

Mary Renault--The Last of the Wine; The King Must Die; The Bull from the Sea; The Mask of Apollo; Fire from Heaven; The Persian Boy; The Praise Singer; Funeral Games

Henryk Sienkiewicz--Quo Vadis?

Leo Tolstoy--War and Peace

Michael Shaara--The Killer Angels

Victor Hugo--Les Miserables

Patrick O'Brien--Master and Commander

Answer 3

Philippa Gregory is probably the most popular historical fiction writer at this time. I personally love her books. I particularly recommend:

The Wideacre Trilogy (Wideacre, The Favored Child, Meridon)

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Boleyn Inheritance

I'm also a big fan of Jean Plaidy; she was very prolific author who wrote scores of British historical fiction. Her books were out of print for years, but Three Rivers Press has brought them back lately.

If you like historical mysteries, I've been reading Karen Harper's Elizabeth I mystery series, which features the queen herself as the chief sleuth. I'm on the fourth, and still enjoying the series.