[drofgnal]

I love historical fiction. The ultimate was war and peace. There is so much actual data in that book about the period, down to the point of letters between diplomats and generals being the actual historical record. You need to read the latest translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky. It's heavily footnoted about historical accuracy of the events. The central characters are fiction, Natasha, Boris, Pierre, etc., but most of the supporting characters particularly in the military are real as are their actions and the events they take place in. Tolstoy himself didn't describe it as a novel. Great book, the top dog of historical fiction.

I've always enjoyed Edward Rutherford's books as well which follow mythical families throughout the history of a region. (mostly england and UK, but Russka was a great one as well. Liked some of Leon Uris' work as well, Armagedon, Mila 18 to name a couple. Then there's Clavell, Haley, et. al. Follet's Kingbridge series is good as well. Book 3 is coming out in 2017.

A good historical fiction novel will be based on historical fact and follow a set of fictional characters as they interact with history. I DO NOT call alternate history books historical fiction, I leave them with the fantasy/sci-fi genre they are sold with and don't touch them.