Slough Borough Council

Historical fiction - alternative reads

Do you normally only read, romance or thrillers or fantasy novels? Have a look at our list of historical fiction alternative reads and take a risk.

For fantasy readers:

Rosalind Miles - Guenevere Trilogy: (‘a truly epic narrative’)
Queen of the Summer Country (1999)
The Knight of the Sacred Lake (2000)
The Child of the Holy Grail (2000)

Bernard Cornwell - Warlord Chronicles: (‘a story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal’)
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur (1995)
Enemy of God (1996)
Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (1997)

David Gemmell – Trojan War Trilogy: (‘packed with high adventure, vivid characters and fascinating historical detail’)
Lord Of The Silver Bow (2005)
The Shield of Thunder (2006)
Fall Of Kings (2007)

For love story readers:

The Art of Falling by Deborah Lawrenson (‘moving, elegiac and lyrical’)

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres (‘sentimental, fragile, tragic and beautiful’)

Cross Stitch Series by Diana Gabaldon (‘a wonderful adventure story interspersed with actual historical events and authentic period detail’)
Cross Stitch (1991) aka Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber (1991)
Voyager (1993)
The Drums of Autumn (1996)
The Fiery Cross (2001)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)

For horror readers:

Witching Hour by Anne Rice (‘complex and full of historical substance’)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (‘one of the greatest gothic novels ever written’)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (‘exciting, very sexy, exotic and scary’)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (‘interesting, fun, and romantic’)

Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe (‘gruesome and imaginative’)

Short stories by Shelley Jackson

For crime readers:

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (‘intellectually stimulating, yet entertaining’)

The Burgundian's Tale by Kate Sedley

The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr (‘a taut, page-turning thriller’)

Alternate histories:

Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde (‘brilliantly conceived and cleverly written’)
The Eyre Affair (2001)
Lost in a Good Book (2002)
The Well of Lost Plots (2003)
Something Rotten (2004)

American Empire series by Harry Turtledove (‘alternative history at its very very best’)
Blood and Iron (2001)
The Center Cannot Hold (2002)
Victorious Opposition (2003)

The Foresight War by Anthony G Williams (‘a jolly romp through WWII’)

Imaginative histories:

Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon ( if you enjoyed Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time you will also enjoy this).

Eve Dallas “In Death” series by JD Robb (‘a richly imagined futuristic world’)
Naked in Death (1995)
Glory in Death (1995)
Immortal in Death (1996)
Rapture in Death (1995)
Vengeance in Death (1997)
Ceremony In Death (1997)
Holiday in Death (1998)
Midnight in Death (1998)
Conspiracy in Death (1999)
Loyalty in Death (1999)
Judgment in Death (2000)
Witness in Death (2000)
Betrayal in Death (2001)
Seduction in Death (2001)
Reunion In Death (2002)
Purity in Death (2002)
J.D. Robb Collection 1: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death (omnibus) (2003)
Portrait in Death (2003)
Imitation in Death (2003)
Divided in Death (2004)
J.D. Robb Collection 2: Rapture in Death, Ceremony in Death, and Vengeance in Death (omnibus) (2004)
J.D. Robb Collection 3 (omnibus) (2004)
Visions in Death (2004)
Survivor in Death (2005)
Origins in Death (2005)
Memory in Death (2006)
Born in Death (2006)
Innocent in Death (2007)
Creation in Death (2007)

Untold History “filling in the gaps”:

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory (‘epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal’)

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir (‘a fascinating, sad, tragic tale’)

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (‘a compelling and fantastic read’)

A Hollow Crown: The story of Emma, Queen of Saxon England by Helen Hollick (‘a well-written, detailed book’)

The Boudica series by Manda Scott (‘gloriously imagined series’)
Dreaming the Eagle (2003)
Dreaming the Bull (2004)
Dreaming the Hound (2005)
Dreaming the Serpent Spear (2006)

Sequels - what happened next?:

Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill (‘a worthy sequel’)

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (‘very moving, readable and beautifully written’)

March by Geraldine Brooks (‘make[s] clever use of Little Women without suffocating beneath it.’)

Mrs Darcy’s Daughters by Elizabeth Aston (‘an amusing and enjoyable read’)

The Way of the World by Elizabeth Aston

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

The True Darcy Spirit by Elizabeth Aston

The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" by Alexandra Ripley (‘spell binding’)

Parallels - reinterpreting existing stories:

The Songs of the Kings by Barry Unsworth (The Trojan War with a modern twist).

The Mistress of Lilliput by Alison Fell (‘dazzling, witty, bawdy and outrageous’)

Shadow Dance by Angela Carter (‘An exiting often shocking story’)

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein (‘the Frankenstein story is updated to the 21st century’)
Prodigal Son (2005) (with Kevin J Anderson)
City of Night (2005) (with Ed Gorman)
Dead And Alive (2007) (with Ed Gorman)