Quote:
Originally Posted by hildea
[*]Jane Austen. Strictly speaking those are contemporary novels, not historicals, but they were contemporary two hundred years ago  English upper class. |
That's an interesting point. Does the OP want modern books written about the past in modern style, or are books written in the past acceptable?
The Forsyte Saga written by John Galsworthy (d. 1933) would be in the public domain in Australia. It was written about 100 years ago, so it definitely has a historical feel to it. The style is very good, but of its time.