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Old 07-19-2020, 11:19 PM   #1
MorganM
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Big Historical Sagas Wanted

Hi,

I'm wanting to read some big historical sagas. I have read Ken Follett, Michener, Rutherfurd, Simons, Outlander, Poldark, McCullough, Penman, Gone With The Wind, Donati.

Hidden gems welcome!
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Old 07-20-2020, 02:47 AM   #2
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Not exactly a hidden gem, but A Suitable Boy, is a BIG historical epic that is well worth the read, imo.
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Old 07-20-2020, 04:12 AM   #3
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You probably know this site http://www.historicalnovels.info/ . Here are lots of historical novels organised after period and geographical location.
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Old 07-20-2020, 04:45 AM   #4
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The Asian series by James Clavell starting with Shogun is on my TBR list.

Historical series I've read and enjoyed:
The Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell.
The Last Kingdom novels by Bernard Cornwell
The Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters
The Hornblower novels by C S Forester
The King's Hounds series by Martin Jensen
All Georgette Heyer's Regency Romances
The Gil Cunningham series by Pat McIntosh
The Falco series by Lindsey Davis
The Fifth Knight trilogy by E.M.Powell

The Shardlake novels by C J Sansom
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Old 07-20-2020, 06:31 AM   #5
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You probably know this site http://www.historicalnovels.info/ . Here are lots of historical novels organised after period and geographical location.
Excellent link. This is my favorite genre of books. Don't limit yourself to 'epic' books, or you'll miss out on a lot of good historical fiction.

in the epic category, read The Physician by Noah Gordon, and the sequel Shamam. You've read Follet, but I'll just mention he has a prequel to the kingsbridge series coming out this fall. The trilogy by Sebag Montefiore passes for epic Shashenka, Red Sky at Noon and One night in Winter. Takes place in revolutionary Russia through WWII. I've enjoyed Jean Auel's Books in the prehistoric era, I still have 3 to go. In the biblical era, I like Quo Vadis, The Robe, Geraldine Brooks' The Golden Chord, and Decker's AD 30 and AD 33, although not really epic. I haven't tackled them yet, but Bernard Cromwell's books on Medieval England are on my list. When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman was good, there are others I haven't delved into yet.

In the non-epic category, The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiesman (any of her books really, this one was the best), All the Light We cannot See by Doerr, The Nightingale by Hannah, Beneath the Scarlet Sky by Sullivan, The Tattoois of Auschwitz by Morris and the sequel Cilka's Journey, Armageddon and Mila 18 by Uris, Year of Wonders by Brooks. A lot of my historical fiction centers around WWII and Medieval periods.

The provided website is great, I just sifted through it, wonderful selection of books to choose from.
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Old 07-20-2020, 09:41 AM   #6
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A House Divided by Ben Ames Williams.

I've still not read this book, but it was a favorite of my dad, and all 4 of my mom's brothers read and loved it. I bought a paperback version of it years ago, and at 1,500 pages, it was huge and unwieldy. It came out on Kindle in 2010 or so. (I'm 61, so these men are all gone now and my mom never read it, so there is no one to talk to about it)

https://www.amazon.com/House-Divided...al-text&sr=1-4

It was first published in the late 1940's, and I know from some reviews that it is from a southern perspective and contains words & views not accepted now. I bought it on Kindle, and have been waiting to start reading it. It's length and scope have been too much for me to tackle right now. But I will read it.

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Old 07-20-2020, 02:38 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by pdurrant View Post
The Asian series by James Clavell starting with Shogun is on my TBR list.
I've read Shogun and liked it, although I read a long time ago, so I don't remember much details.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MorganM View Post
I'm wanting to read some big historical sagas. I have read Ken Follett, Michener, Rutherfurd, Simons, Outlander, Poldark, McCullough, Penman, Gone With The Wind, Donati.
Of those, I've read and liked Follett and McCullough, read and have very mixed feelings about Gone With the Wind, and liked the first Outlander book well enough to finish it, but abandoned the second one (to give you an idea of how similar/different my taste is to yours).

Some suggestions:
  • Jane Austen. Strictly speaking those are contemporary novels, not historicals, but they were contemporary two hundred years ago English upper class.
  • Pauline Gedge's books on ancient Egypt
  • Alex Haley: "Roots" (a family saga of enslaved people in the US)
  • Barbara Hambly: "A Free Man of Color" (crime series in New Orleans in the 1830s)
  • Courtney Milan has several series of historical romances. The Brothers Sinister series, starting with "A Governess Affair" takes place in England in the 1830s onwards (a smidgen of alternative history in some of the later books, where some scientific discoveries are made by a protagonist instead of whoever made them in our history). The Worth Saga will go all over the world, with the prequel "The Pursuit of..." in a rebellious British colony in 1781, and most of the books taking place a generation later.
  • K.J.Charles has several series of historical romance. I'm hard pressed to pick my favourite, but maaaybe the duology "Proper English" / "Think of England" (early 1900s)

Since you mentioned Outlander you might be OK with some supernatural elements in your history?
  • Mary Robinette Kowal: Glamourist histories, described as Jane Austen with magic. Starts with "Shades of Milk and Honey".
  • K.J.Charles also has some series with magic, I like the the Magpie Lord series best.
  • Justina Ireland, starting with "Dread Nation". US after the Civil War, with zombies.
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Old 07-20-2020, 03:01 PM   #8
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Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes. Follows bastard son of a peer to the colonies. I read 1st 4 books, but there are a total of 8 books.

Morland Dynasty - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Follows the Morland Dynasty from middle ages to the 1930s. 35 books in this completed series.

The Australians - William Stuart Long. Follows family from first member arrested and transported to Australia and through early Australia. Contact me on this one if it interests you. 12 books. FWIW, I do think author intended at least 1-2 more books, but passed away. Still, each book 'completes' the current plot within the book.

Last edited by Tarana; 07-20-2020 at 03:05 PM.
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Old 07-20-2020, 03:28 PM   #9
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These books are by Edward Rutherfurd and are pretty large. I know you've read Ruthrfurd, but I'm posting this here for anyone else interest such large tomes.

Series
Dublin Saga
1. The Princes of Ireland (2004) <- 800 pages
2. The Rebels of Ireland (2006) <- 944 pages

Novels
Sarum (1987) <- 1344 Pages
Russka (1991) <- 1024 pages
London (1997) < - 1328 pages
The Forest (2000) <- 912 pages
New York (2009) <- 1040 pages
Paris (2013) <- 848 pages
China (2020) <- due out May 13, 2021

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Old 07-20-2020, 03:40 PM   #10
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I can highly recommend the books of Bernard Cornwell. He does mostly series that work out to be quite large.

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/bernard-cornwell

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Old 07-20-2020, 08:42 PM   #11
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Thanks for all the suggestions!
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Old 07-20-2020, 08:45 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Tarana View Post
Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes. Follows bastard son of a peer to the colonies. I read 1st 4 books, but there are a total of 8 books.

Morland Dynasty - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Follows the Morland Dynasty from middle ages to the 1930s. 35 books in this completed series.

The Australians - William Stuart Long. Follows family from first member arrested and transported to Australia and through early Australia. Contact me on this one if it interests you. 12 books. FWIW, I do think author intended at least 1-2 more books, but passed away. Still, each book 'completes' the current plot within the book.
I have read the first 2 books from The Australians series. I'm Aussie myself and thought the first 2 were good. But omg the font is so small! They don't seem to be on ebooks, which is how I have read 99.9% of the time for a decade.
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Old 07-23-2020, 09:52 PM   #13
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How about Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle

Quicksilver
The Confusion
The System of the World
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Old 07-24-2020, 12:28 PM   #14
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[*]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.
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Old 07-26-2020, 03:22 AM   #15
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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.
I guess either is good.
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