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Rafael Sabatini.
Historically thorough, well-written, a little old-fashioned now (Sabatini died in about 1950) but still rousing reads, and all the ones I've read include some romance without making it the story, if you know what I mean. Despite the Italian name, he was raised in England, and wrote in English.
Captain Blood: Pirates of the Caribbean theme, in which the various pirate exploits etc of Captain Blood really did happen, though not of course all perpetrated by the same real-life pirates. LOTS of action.
Scaramouche: The earliest days of the French Revolution.
Both made into hugely successful swashbuckler movies. Again, LOTS of action.
Many others, from the Inquisition onwards.
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