Historical Fictionistas discussion

To compliment the Historical Fiction 1-1500 A.D. list.

Prehistory:
Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel
Reindeer Moon by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Mother Earth Father Sky by Sue Harrison
The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace -prehistoric Britain
Lady of Horses by Judith Tarr - ancient steppes

Sumer/Mesopotamia:
Gilgamesh the King by Robert Silverberg
Gilgamesh by Derrek Hines
She Wrote on Clay by Shirley Graetz - ancient Sippar
Dawn Of Empire and sequels by Sam Barone -ancient Uruk
Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee


18th century B.C.
The Sea Kings: The Prophecy by Les Cole
Knossos by Laura Gill - Minoan Crete

17th century B.C.
The Year-God's Daughter and The Thinara King by Rebecca Lochlann -Minoan Crete
Cavanila's Choices: A Novel of the Minoan Cataclysm by Jesse Sisken -Minoan Crete

16th century B.C.
River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Wilbur Smith
The Red Tent by Anita Diarmant - Jacob/Bible

15th century B.C.
The King Must Die/The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault -Theseus
The Lords of the Two Lands series by Pauline Gedge -ancient Egypt
The Sekhmet Bed and sequels by L.M. Ironside - Egypt/Hatshepsut
Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton -Hatshepsut

14th century B.C.

Ariadne: A Novel of Ancient Crete and Phaedra: A Novel of Ancient Athens by June Rachuy Brindel -Crete/Athens
House of Rejoicing: Part 1 of The Book of Coming Forth by Day and sequels by Libbie Hawker- the Amarna Period
The King's Man trilogy and The Twelfth Transforming by Pauline Gedge - Egypt/18th Dynasty
Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton -Hatshepsut
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
Children of Tantalus, The Road to Thebes: Niobe and Amphion, Arrows of Artemis: Niobe and Chloris, Antigone and Creon: Guardians of Thebes, and Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus by Victoria Grossack and Alice Underwood - Mycenaean Greece
Jason and The Eagle King by Henry Treece
Last of the Amazons by Steven Pressfield -Mycenaean Greece
The Lost Queen of Egypt by Lucille Morrison -Ankhesenamun
Danae by Laura Gill

13th century B.C.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - Nefertari, wife of Ramesses the Great
Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves -the Argonauts
Helen of Troy by Margaret George
The Memoirs of Helen of Troy: A Novel by Amanda Elyot
Warrior in Bronze and King in Splendour by George Shipway - Agamemnon
The Songs of the Kings by Barry Unsworth -Iphigenia at Aulis
The Song of Troy by Colleen McCollough
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller -Patroclus
Achilles: A Novel by Elizabeth Cook
The War At Troy and The Return from Troy by Lindsay Clarke -Odysseus
Black Ships by Jo Graham -Aeneas/post Trojan War
Helen's Daughter and The Young Lion and sequels by Laura Gill -Hermione and Orestes
Helen of Sparta and By Helen's Hand by Amalia Carosella -Helen and Theseus
Hand of Fire by Judith Starkson -Briseis and Achilles
The Lost Books of The Odyssey: A Novel by Zachary Mason -Odysseus
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood -Penelope
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow and sequels by David Gemmell - Aeneas
Penelope's Daughter by Laurel Corona -Penelope - Ithaca
The Shattered Horse by S.P. Somtow - Astyanax (alternate history)
Troy by Adele Geras
For The Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser -the women of the Trojan War
Ransom by David Malouf -Achilles and Priam
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

12th century B.C.
Year of the Hyenas: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Egypt and Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon by Brad Geagley -mystery
Lady of the Reeds by Pauline Gedge -ancient Egypt/Harem Conspiracy

11th century B.C.
Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer -Egypt/20th Dynasty
Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor -(from 1000-33 B.C.)
Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llewellyn -ancient Celts/Amergin

10th century B.C.
Delilah, Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen, and Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba by India Edghill -ancient Israel
Tamar by Ann Chamberlin -ancient Israel
The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen and Ismeni: Prelude to The Legend of Sheba by Tosca Lee

9th century B.C.
Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin

8th century B.C.
Homer's Daughter by Robert Graves
The Horse Goddess by Morgan Llewellyn - Celts/Hallstatt/Scythians

7th century B.C.
The Assyrian and The Blood Star by Nicholas Guild

6th century B.C.
The Laughter of Aphrodite: A Novel about Sappho of Lesbos by Peter Green
Men of Bronze by Scott Oden -Egypt/Carthage
Game of Queens: A Novel of Vashti and Esther by India Edghill

5th century B.C.
The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby -ancient Athens
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield - The Battle of Thermopylae
The Praise Singer by Mary Renault - Greece
The Serpent's Tooth by Diana Paxson -Celtic Britain/King Lear
The Wedding Shroud and The Golden Dice - A Tale of Ancient Rome by Elisabeth Storrs -Etruscans

4th century B.C.
The Ten Thousand: A Novel of Ancient Greece by Michael Curtis Ford -Xenophon
The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault -Greece
Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy, and Funeral Games by Mary Renault - Alexander the Great
The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Steven Pressfield
Over the Wine-Dark Sea by H.N. Turteltaub - Greece
Tides of War by Steven Pressfield - Peloponnesian War.
The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault - Peloponnesian War
God of War by Christian Cameron - Alexander the Great
Lord Of The Two Lands by Judith Tarr - Alexander the Great in Egypt
The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Stephane Thornton -the women surrounding Alexander


2nd century B.C.
Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham
Horses of Heaven by Gillian Bradshaw -Saka/Scythian tribes

1st century B.C.
The Memoirs Of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Roma Sub Rosa (Gordianus the Finder) series by Steven Saylor
Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCollough
Imperium and Lustrum by Robert Harris - Cicero
SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts
Druids and The Greener Shore: A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia by Morgan Llewellyn -ancient Celts/Vercingetorix]
I, Claudius by Robert Graves

You can't beat Mary Renault when it comes to ancient Greece. There's also the Claudius books by Robert Graves. You might also try the Delphic Women series by Kerry Greenwood MedeaCassandraElectraI, ClaudiusClaudius the God and His Wife Messalina, or if you love a good historical mystery there's the Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis beginning with The Silver Pigs

Wow, fantastic list there. I know Steven Pressfield does several novels in B.C. or C.E. This one is set in Greece during the Peloponnesian War Tides of War 4th century BC
Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae
The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great
The Afghan Campaign 330BC
Last of the Amazons

I didn't read it myself yet, but heard many warm recommendations for:

2th century BC:
Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham

(which reminds me to push it up my TBR :))

Pauline wrote: "You can't beat Mary Renault when it comes to ancient Greece. There's also the Claudius books by Robert Graves. You might also try the Delphic Women series by Kerry Greenwood MedeaCassandraElectraI,..."

The Claudius books are set in the 1st century AD. Likewise with the Falco series, I believe.

Alexander the Great - Mary Renault-Greece/Middle East/India- 3rd c. BC was put on the AD List and Alexander was here before the Romans =D so here you go.

The Lost Queen of Egypt, by Lucille Morrison. About Tutankhamen's wife.
Homer's Daughter, by Robert Graves. Set in the Greek colonies in southern Italy. Probably 8th or 7th century.

I would recommend the SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts (1st century BC) which inserts a fictional hero into the very real historical events leading to the Civil War and the Fall of the Roman Republic.

I'm fairly new here. Where can I find the Historical Fiction 1-1500 A.D. list mentioned in the first comment?

Specifically, I'm looking for HF set in early Sumer. That setting seems to be a bit far back for most authors to grasp.

Suzanne wrote: "I'm fairly new here. Where can I find the Historical Fiction 1-1500 A.D. list mentioned in the first comment?

Specifically, I'm looking for HF set in early Sumer. That setting seems to be a bit fa..."

Here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...

Suzanne wrote: "I'm fairly new here. Where can I find the Historical Fiction 1-1500 A.D. list mentioned in the first comment?

Specifically, I'm looking for HF set in early Sumer. That setting seems to be a bit fa..."

Any Sumerian fiction would be in this thread.

River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt is 16th century BC. While its not the best written book of all time, it is very immersive and one of my fav HF fiction works set in Egypt. Unfortunately the subsequent books in the series are not nearly as good.

Thanks! I don't see anything about Sumer yet, so I'll check back.

Oooh, thanks for this list. I love it, and added a couple books from it to my to-be-read list.

Suzanne wrote: "Thanks! I don't see anything about Sumer yet, so I'll check back."

I need titles for Sumer in order to add them.

If I knew of one I'd mention it... I'd like to read one with that setting myself, actually.

Susanna wrote: "If I knew of one I'd mention it... I'd like to read one with that setting myself, actually."

I like Sumer and Mesopotamia, too, so if anyone out there can help, it would be much appreciated.

In the shadow of Babylon by John Schwartz
Eden. Not sure on this one if it is HF or sci fi. Matthew pluorde
By the rivers of Babylon Nelson Demille
Lions of Babylon by T. David Bunn
The witch of Babylon by DJ McIntosh
I tried searching Sumerians and mesopotamia and got little so I tried Babylon in amazon and got more

Gabriel wrote: "In the shadow of Babylon by John Schwartz
Eden. Not sure on this one if it is HF or sci fi. Matthew pluorde
By the rivers of Babylon Nelson Demille
Lions of Babylon by T. David Bunn
The witch of ..."

Gabriel, did you read any of the book descriptions before posting these? None of these books are set in the ancient past.

My fault I did but not in detail. Mesopotamia era books not the easiest books to locate

You can find a few novels that go back as far as Babylon, but the Sumerians go even farther back. I don't remember hearing about them until college history classes -- and I'm not that old :-). Researchers certainly knew about the Sumerians when I was a kid. But I think history has to be in general knowledge among researchers for a number of decades before it finds its way into high school history books. This may be why we're having trouble finding fiction about Sumer.

I've read a novel that takes place in ancient Sumer, but I don't personally recommend it. Maybe you would like it better than I did.


The Last Warrior Queenby Mary Mackey
Let's just say it's not what I would call historical. I read it many years ago.

There are also novels that I haven't read that are re-tellings of the Epic of Gilgamesh. These might be worth reading:

Gilgamesh the Kingby Robert Silverberg

and Gilgameshby Stephan Grundy

I've read other books by these authors that I thought were excellent.

Thanks, Shomeret. Silverberg has written some interesting stuff. I'll see if I can find that one first.

Thanks so much for this list. So many I want to read immediately!

I highly recommend Elizabeth Storrs' "The Wedding Shroud" set in the 5th century B.C., when the young Roman Republic was challenging the Etruscans for dominance in Italy. I read and reviewed it recently. I think it will definitely appeal to fans of Mary Renault's novels about ancient Greece,those who enjoyed Robert Graves' I Claudius novels, or anyone who enjoys a good read set in the ancient world.The Wedding Shroud

Still looking for the Gilgamesh books by Silverberg and Grundy. My library doesn't have them, and Amazon doesn't sell them. Maybe I can get them via ILL.

I also recommend The Wedding Shroud. Elisabeth Storrs was a guest on my blog earlier this year, where she explained what triggered her interest in writing about the Etruscans. I'd post a link to her fascinating essay, but I think that's frowned upon in this group.

Sounds fascinating!
Added "The Wedding Shroud" to my TBR.
Thank you for the recommendation :)

Zoe wrote: "Sounds fascinating!
Added "The Wedding Shroud" to my TBR.
Thank you for the recommendation :)"

You're welcome.

May I add my HF book?
Set in northern Britain 499BC
Year of the Celt: Imbolc
Reading previous posts here there's a lot I haven't even heard of (Laura's list is a treasure trove).

It might be nice to have a Pre-Roman Britain thread somewhere?

I added a few titles.

184BC - about a young Iberian-Celtic she-warrior who stands against the invading Roman Army.

I just had to revisit The Red Tent for an interview and would definitely recommend that. Of course, it's very much late B.C. -- but still fits into the category I believe!

I loved The Red Tent. It is not late B.C., though (if by that you mean close to the birth of Jesus). On the contrary, it is very early in the Bible—pre-Joseph—hence well within the period covered by this thread.

C.P. wrote: "I loved The Red Tent. It is not late B.C., though (if by that you mean close to the birth of Jesus). On the contrary, it is very early in the Bible—pre-Joseph—hence well within the period covered b..."

What century B.C. would you say it is, so I can put it in its proper place?

Well, it's based on a story in the book of Genesis, so back in the earlier centuries of this list, certainly.

Oops! Clearly I need to get my Biblical dates straight. Glad to hear it fits--it's such an interesting way to give life to the original text (though I understand there were some readers who considered it blasphemous as well)...

Laura wrote: "What century B.C. would you say it is, so I can put it in its proper place?"

It's a long time since I read biblical history, and I know other Historical Fictionistas are more up on this subject than I am, but I think portions of Genesis go back to 1500 BCE. The goddess references in The Red Tent also suggest a very early, pre-patriarchal time—although those come from the novelist rather the recorded story.

That sounds like a reasonable guess to me, if one assumes (as many in the business seem to think), that Ramesses the Great was the pharoah of the Exodus.

There is also the Alexander the Great trilogy by Valerio Massimo Manfredi wjich contains Alexander, Vol 1: Child of a Dream, The Sands of Ammon, and The Ends of the Earth.

take a look at The Palace of Illusions. Great book!

Do we have Creation, Gore Vidal? Forgive me if I've failed to see it. Fifth century BC. I intend to read...

Reflections in the Nile is set during the time of Hatshepsut in 1452 B.C.E.

It may start in the present, but the majority of the book is spent in Ancient Egypt.

I'm listening to "The Murder of King Tut"-James Patterson. U love this plot.

I'm loving Shiri! It's captivating. Takes place around 1460 BCE, if I'm remembering my history correctly. If you're looking for a moving and action-packed historical novel set in the Middle East and Egypt, this is the one!

L.M. wrote: "I'm loving Shiri! It's captivating. Takes place around 1460 BCE, if I'm remembering my history correctly. If you're looking for a moving and action-packed historical novel set in..."

Curse you, adding to my TBR list!!!

Tee hee.

It's a good one!

5th century BC: The Pericles Commission, by Gary Corby. Athens.

I'd like to recommend Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein. It has a plot in the present at an archeological dig in Israel, and a plot in the past involving the prophet Jeremiah. Great stories both! Also, may I add my own novel, Penelope's Daughter, which resells the story of the Odyssey from the point of view of Penelope and the daughter she was pregnant with when Odysseus left for Troy.

I will add to this list AsuraASURA: Tale Of The Vanquished, which takes place in India circa 2000 BC

You won't get much better than

The Sekhmet Bed
The Crook and Flail
Sovereign of Stars

All set in Egypt in the 15th Century BC. They tell the story of Hatshepsut, who was a fascinating character.