This summer is going to find me reading quite a bit of historical fiction. Prompted by the genre study I participate in for work, I need to read an elective title alongside William Martin’s Back Bay. It can be from any time period, set anywhere in the world, and can even roam into fantasy or romance so long as it’s based in an actual historical setting or around actual events. So I bought Martin’s book and immediately began to look into what I might read for my secondary title; the list I’ve started to compile seems never-ending. Which means, whim allowing, I’ll likely end up reading several rather than just the one. Here are a few that’ve caught my eye.
The Sixth Surrender by Hana Samek Norton
“In the last years of her eventful life, queen-duchess Aliénor of Aquitaine launches a deadly dynastic chess game to safeguard the crowns of Normandy and England for John Plantagenet, her last surviving son.
To that end, Aliénor coerces into matrimony two pawns-Juliana de Charnais, a plain and pious novice determined to regain her inheritance, and Guérin de lasalle, a cynical, war-worn mercenary equally resolved to renounce his.
The womanizing Lasalle and the proud Juliana are perfectly matched for battle not love-until spies and assassins conspire to reverse their romantic fortunes.
Populated by spirited and intelligent women and executed in flawless period detail, The Sixth Surrender is a compelling love story that heralds the arrival of a major new talent in historical fiction.”
Poison: A Novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole
“In the simmering hot summer of 1492, a monstrous evil is stirring within the Eternal City of Rome. The brutal murder of an alchemist sets off a desperate race to uncover the plot that threatens to extinguish the light of the Renaissance and plunge Europe back into medieval darkness.
Determined to avenge the killing of her father, Francesca Giordano defies all convention to claim for herself the position of poisoner serving Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, head of the most notorious and dangerous family in Italy. She becomes the confidante of Lucrezia Borgia and the lover of Cesare Borgia. At the same time, she is drawn to the young renegade monk who yearns to save her life and her soul.
Navigating a web of treachery and deceit, Francesca pursues her father’s killer from the depths of Rome’s Jewish ghetto to the heights of the Vatican itself. In so doing, she sets the stage for the ultimate confrontation with ancient forces that will seek to use her darkest desires to achieve their own catastrophic ends.”
For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick
“A captivating story of a mother’s love stretched to breaking and a knight determined to rebuild his life with the royal mistress, For the King’s Favor is Elizabeth Chadwick at her best.
Based on a true story never before told and impeccably researched, this is a testament to the power of sacrifice and the strength of love. When Roger Bigod, heir to the powerful earldom of Norfolk, arrives at court to settle an inheritance, he meets Ida de Tosney, young mistress to King Henry II. In Roger, Ida sees a chance for lasting love, but their decision to marry carries an agonizing price. It’s a breathtaking novel of making choices, not giving up, and coping with the terrible shifting whims of the king.”
I’m also thinking of perhaps straying into YA and reading one that I currently have and am looking forward to getting to:
The Queen’s Daughter by Susan Coventry
“Joan’s mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her father is Henry II, the king of England and a renowned military leader. She loves them both—so what is she to do when she’s forced to choose between them? As her parents’ arguments grow ever more vicious, Joan begins to feel like a political pawn.
When her parents marry her off to the king of Sicily, Joan finds herself stuck with a man ten years her senior. She doesn’t love her husband, and she can’t quite forget her childhood crush, the handsome Lord Raymond.
As Joan grows up, she begins to understand that her parents’ worldview is warped by their political ambitions, and hers, in turn, has been warped by theirs. Is it too late to figure out whom to trust? And, more importantly, whom to love?”
Or I could perhaps go for a mystery. This one is calling my name:
The Montmartre Investigation by Claude Izner
“Paris, November 1891: The body of a barefoot young woman dressed in red is discovered on Boulevard Montmartre. She has been strangled and her face horribly disfigured. That same day a single red shoe is delivered to Victor Legris’s Parisian bookshop by a goatherd. Suspecting more than just coincidence, the charming bookseller sleuth and his assistant Jojo are soon searching for the identity of both victim and murderer. Then, a body is discovered in a wine barrel at the same time as a famous performer from the legendary Moulin Rouge is strangled in her apartment. Victor’s investigation takes him and Jojo into the dark alleyways and bustling cafes of the hills of Montmartre, on a trail of evidence that seems to point to a case that shocked the population of Lyons years ago”
And that’s not even considering all of the romance novels and historical fantasy titles on my radar. I think it really is going to be a summer of historical fiction.
They all look so intriguing! I’d love to see what you think of these if/when you end up reading them.
You’d never know from the covers that fashions ever changed, though, would you?
Chachic – Will post reviews! I’m hoping to read at least two so ….*fingers crossed*
Katherine – No, you wouldn’t! And here I hadn’t even thought of that until you pointed it out. Now I’m going to be keeping a close eye on the dresses!
None of these books were on my list! Poison looks great even if it does remind me a little of Poison Study. The others, look good too. You picked some beautiful covers.
Elizabeth Chadwick is one of my favourite HF authors! Enjoy.