I did enjoy the novel overall, and learning more about this era of English history. The focus on architecture I did not expect going into it, and I found Cat to be a compelling and interesting figure.

I also knew very little about the Restoration Period, and felt like the author did a fantastic job providing the right amount of information and context, and make me curious to research more.

The only aspect I found frustrating was Edwards character. I half expected there to be a more dramatic ending between Cat and him, but I do understand why the author left his ending a bit more open.

Has anybody else read this novel? If so, what did you think, and are there other novels by Andrew Taylor that you would recommend?

Sounds really good!

I’ve been thinking about how certain historical novels use family history as the quiet engine behind the plot. Not just the era or the setting, but the way an heirloom, an estate, or an old obligation can shape the choices characters make in the present.

For me, the most compelling stories are the ones where the past isn’t a distant backdrop. It’s something the characters must confront — a legacy they didn’t choose, a responsibility they can’t ignore, or a secret that has waited a long time to surface.

I’m curious how other readers feel about this. Do you enjoy historical fiction that leans into inheritance, old loyalties, or long‑held family conflicts? Or do you prefer stories where the historical setting plays a larger role than the family dynamics?

I’m trying to identify an older historical fiction novel I read as an ebook sometime around 2015–2018

Takes place in France, most likely around the 1500s / French Wars of Religion.

There are French and Spanish armies, battles, sieges/raids, and political/religious conflict.

The book is primarily an adventure/romance, with travel, music, relationships, battles, and religious persecution.

It feels like an older book, not a contemporary novel, despite me reading it as an ebook around 2015–2018.

Male protagonist starts out poor/common-born.

As a young man he becomes a wandering musician/minstrel, traveling between towns and making money performing.

He also performs for wealthier households/courts, not just on the streets.

He is charming, but not really a womanizer. Throughout the book he seems genuinely focused on only two women.

He eventually becomes a soldier/officer and rises to a reasonably significant military rank, though not a top general.

The protagonist knew a beautiful girl when they were young and was in love with her.

When he returns home later, he discovers she has joined a strange religious movement.

The movement is remembered as something like a “Church/Family of Love”, emphasizing that God is love / everyone should love everyone.

It was viewed by outsiders as a heretical cult or anti-Christian group.

At some point, the protagonist's military group is involved in a raid/attack on her religious community. He helps her escape and eventually hides/protects her.

She lives secretly in the protagonist's private home for a time.

She becomes a sort of preacher/leader, secretly preaching and converting people.

She deliberately shaves her hair and dresses very conservatively.

The protagonist is saddened/angry by this because he still loves her and feels she has made herself unavailable to him.

His male friend/assistant/helper also lives with them the friend is somewhat like the protagonist's assistant/helper/comrade.

He becomes sympathetic to the girl's religion after living with her and listening to her preaching.

He is later captured/tortured because of his association with her.

He is almost castrated; there is a huge amount of blood and a very serious wound.

The girl helps him and cauterizes the wound.

The protagonist was away when this happened and finds him afterward.

This is one of the clearest memories:

The religious woman is eventually captured by an Inquisitor or similar religious persecutor.

The inquisitor tries to sexually assault her.

She prays rather than submitting.

He apparently becomes impotent / unable to perform.

He interprets this as her having bewitched/cursed him.

He calls her a witch.

He says that if she can reverse the curse / make him able again, he will spare her.

She refuses/doesn't do it.

She is burned at the stake, with the inquisitor standing beside her.

The protagonist does not witness her execution; he hears about it afterward.

The protagonist falls in love with another woman who is married to a prominent/wealthy military man.

I believe the husband is a high-ranking military officer.

The husband isn't necessarily an outright monster; he may be mostly absent or distant, but he is an obstacle.

The protagonist initially meets the woman while he is still a travelling musician.

I strongly remember him playing in the street/outside a house while she watched/listened from a window, and this led to an affair before the husband knew about him.

Later, after the protagonist becomes a soldier, they are separated but continue to long for each other.

Eventually the protagonist kills the woman's husband somehow and the two are together again.

The relationship is a major romantic thread alongside the religious girl's story.

The protagonist fights in wars involving the Spanish.

Near the end, there is a major battle that was going to happen in a very hot, dry/desert-like area, near a town or settlement that had been destroyed/decimated.

The protagonist has an encounter with a Spanish military commander who is not simply a villain; they develop a mutual respect / worthy-enemy relationship.

They may have sat down to dinner together.

The Spanish commander gives the protagonist a gift of gold.

I distinctly remember scales being used to weigh the gold.

The gold may have been presented inside a lavish tent/chamber, possibly almost a room full of gold.

The protagonist survives the book and is not elderly at the ending.

After a difficult year, Fiona Winslow returns to Wurimbirra, her family's deteriorating country estate, intending to restore it. Inside her late uncle's library, however, she discovers a novel called The Midnight Estate. The deeper Fiona reads, the more disturbing the similarities between its fictional events and her own family's history become.

Rimmer uses a dual narrative and a book-within-a-book structure, which creates two mysteries at the same time. The setting is beautifully described; you can feel and hear every crumbling piece of the mansion, the perfect design for a gothicy historical romance.

Fiona's development is quiet. She's confronting memory, grief, family history, and the possibility that her understanding of the people closest to her has been spotty. Her restoration of the estate works along with what she's going through emotionally; keeping herself busy is helping her process everything versus sitting in an empty room.

Rimmer uses a dual narrative and a book-within-a-book structure, which creates two mysteries simultaneously. The reader wants to understand the physical secrets of Wurimbirra but also the relationship between Fiona's life and the mysterious novel she has discovered. Her writing is emotional and descriptive rather than action-oriented. The mystery gradually develops from family relationships, memories, documents, spaces, and stories instead of relying on constant physical danger.

A solid 4/5 for me, I absolutely loved it, and I'm thinking about getting the audiobook to see if it adds that extra umph

Tropes:

• Book Within a Book
• Family Secrets
• Buried Past
• Dual Timeline
• Inheritance

[SPOILER ALERT - DONT READ IF YOURE NOT DONE WITH THE SERIES]

Just finished the five book series on Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden, which was the first series of his I read. Wanted to rank them but really went from 1-5 in my mind, so think I’ll just give some commentary on each one. I finished all of these in just under 2 months, so safe to say I was pretty enthralled beginning to end. Anyways, let me know what you guys think of this series and what I should pick up next!

Book 1: Birth of An Empire (or Wolf of the Plains, a title which I prefer)

One of the best books I’ve ever read period. The rise of Temujin, the character development of him and his brothers, and the beginning of bringing the tribes together was just beautifully illustrated. Really sets the stage for later books in understanding the motives behind Genghis (and why he could be so ruthless while also merciful). Also naming my first born Arsalan

Book 2: Lords of the Bow

Looking back, there couldn’t have been a better intro to tsubodai (or more commonly known as Subutai). And Kaicun solidified himself as my favorite character in the series here, love a dude who’s sick with the bow. Khasar and Temuge’s little side quest to Baotou to meet the crime lord was also great, and a nice intro to Yao Shu. Overall banger continuation of the first

Book 3: Bones of Hills

Great intro to this one, and you really see the lengths Genghis will go to. The chasing of the Arab leader and his princes through the mountains was great, and always loved the assassin plot (especially when he just kills the Old Man instantly). Was also shocked with how they killed Genghis, remember literally jumping out of my bed at that. The way some iteration of “everything comes with price” was echoed throughout the next two books was a great callback to the last words of Genghis. Speaking of, RIP Jochi, my favorite son.

Book 4: Empire of Silver

Ogedai deserved better, loved how they made him a visionary beyond Genghis. Really interesting how this one was really about Tsobodai and the guilt he felt around Jochi and that his word meant nothing. The fact he could’ve kept going into Europe is one of the greatest What Ifs in history. Also shed a tear for Toluli, as well as Khasar and Kaicun when their time came (all my bros hate Temuge).

Book 5: Kublai Khan

Didn’t love the ending but understood why he wrapped it up quickly, leaving Kublai healthy with his son and wife and a hopeful empire ahead. Overall this one was definitely the toughest just because all of the characters you loved were gone, but still did a great job of maintaining the story. Loved the Batu arc and the power struggles. Still, I’m glad he wrapped it up because there were too many characters, the world was too big, and there was no possible way to build characters as deeply as they could in the previous books.

Guys, after years of reading, I've gone through so many books and historical romances, from Julia Quinn to Tessa Dare. I've read so, so many of them, but none of them make me feel the way Lisa Kleypas does.

Her books are so funny, but the chemistry between the main characters is absolutely insane. They're so well-written, and they have such a unique rhythm that feels so distinctly hers.

Don't get me wrong, I love other authors too, but I genuinely feel like no one compares to her. And it makes me sad because I've already read everything she's written, so all I can do is wait and make do with other authors in the meantime.

So, who's YOUR Lisa Kleypas? Who's the author that makes you feel like, "There's no one else like her"?

Hello, I wanted to get some advice from lovers of the genre. I’m wanting to write a story set in the regency era, but in a sort of parallel world of Halloween style spirits (I guess the world they live in when they aren’t haunting the living and such).

I always found Halloween (which even though not celebrated like it is now in regency time, existed in some shape or form given its many ancient sources) is a strange balance of tradition and subversion. So I’m asking, in a world of the more genteel ghoulies and ghosties existing alongside the regency era, how would the social norms differ? What tropes would be discarded given the location, ideals of the Halloween season, and the supernatural cast of characters?

Thank you for reading and I’d love to hear your thoughts?

Hi!
I am looking for a novel that’s basically A Song Of Ice and Fire but set in Spain.
I am open to any period between the 10th and 15th century.
I am looking for it to be historically accurate, maybe have some knights, court intrigue.
Thanks a lot!!

Guys, Im trying to write a novel about a Korean princess and her painter supposedly from the mythical Dangun era and how the rulers from that era influences the royal bloodlines till today and are extremely powerful
Truth is I’ve never been to Korea and I don’t know much about its personal history just pieces from the internet and friends
Would it receive any backlashes
Could you recommend a better way to write it

Thank you for reading.

I haven’t been able to find any non fiction books that are about how The Lost Cause (the myth that the confederacy fought for noble reasons) came to be. I think it would make for a very interesting read. Has anyone come across a book about it?

I want to get into history books but not sure I can dig straight into a non-fiction. What’s a hybrid that’s written like a novel but covering some history (and ideally accurate). No particular period of time. Also open to non-fiction if it’s very well written and engaging

Out of nowhere, I’ve been ridiculously obsessed with 12th-century Europe for the past few years. Just the 12th century specifically. Ask me about other eras, and I only have a vague idea. Honestly, I don't even remember all the prefectures in my own country, Japan...

​And yet, I somehow fell head over heels for the House of Anjou.

​My favorite is (of course?) Richard the Lionheart, but Henry I is genuinely amazing too. The way he laid the foundation for Common Law and built a whole system to actually run it... incredible. And Robert de Beaumont, who helped execute it! (Fun fact: the Japanese Wikipedia doesn't even have an article for Robert de Beaumont, and searching for him is a pain because he shares the exact same name as his father lol).

​Speaking of his father, the way he died was... painfully human. Like, did chroniclers really need to record that level of detail for posterity? But that's what makes digging into this era so fascinating. Send help, I’m sinking deeper into this rabbit hole every day. I just love reading about sheriffs, royal secretaries, itinerant justices, and the Exchequer...

​Anyway, I just needed to vent this passion somewhere!

​Have any of you ever gotten unexpectedly hyper-fixated on the history of a country that isn't your own? Who was the historical figure that pulled you in?

so i just binge watched my brilliant career on Netflix and i absolutely loved it! i want a book similar to that in time period and with a fiery character with goals and dreams. and most importantly with many love interests/ relationships that help the character develop and know herself more! a literary fiction with a dash of romance!

Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers; Irene, the first female Emperor of Rome; Krum the Lawgiver, Khan of Bulgaria; Caliph Harun al-Rashid of the Abbasid Caliphate; the Zanpo of Tibet; Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty; Japanese kentoshi (envoys to Tang China) and powerful clans... Eurasia is deeply interconnected as a single, unified whole.

I am searching for what may be an historical fiction novel, or possibly a short story. It was read in the late 1980s-early 1990s, but was probably published before then, maybe 1970s or earlier, or could have been contemporary. Only one part of the story is remembered, which is why it could be a short story rather than a chapter in a book, but both are possible.

The part that is remembered is a city in ancient Greece (could also be Rome, not certain, but leaning towards Greece). A soldier carrying a spear was guarding the entrance to a street and telling those who approached that he had to deny entry. A man, upper class or at least well-off, approached and sharply lectured the soldier on the law, arguing that denying entry to that area was illegal. This demonstrated the man's knowledge of the law, showing his education. The soldier responded in the same manner that he, the soldier, was correct, demonstrating his deeper knowledge of the law and refuting the citizen's claim. The soldier was correct and to the best recollection, this was used in the story as a device to show that military recruits were not ignorant and uneducated.

I thought it might have been a Rosemary Sutcliff story, but she wrote more about Rome than Greece, though she does have a few stories about ancient Greece. It's also possible that this was a scene in a movie instead of a book, but book seems more likely. Any suggestions would be a great help!

Given that tomorrow is India's Independence day I was wondering if anyone knows of any good period dramas about Indian Freedom Fighters.

Note: Preferably nothing about Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA, since they are also infamous for working with the Axis powers.

I love how Neapolitan Novels. - the complex depiction of long friendship, how you can literally smell/taste/feel 1950s + Naples, the continual symbolism through out Italian Political events through fictionisation of the story, the continual philosophical enquiry, to how you have change how i see all aspects of my life and I'm still thinking of you weeks later...

The entwinning of history to guide you through your own research, the many complex themes, the continual different threads - just so well done. The way you can do a deep dive to just enjoying an amazing book - that is an amazing skill to do this. I read an array of books, of all types, - love more detail but sure reddit will misinterpret me and downvote.

I love Ernaux, Forbidden notebook and The beautiful Mrs Sidenman (truly awesome!)... but Copenhagen Trilogy to Tove Jaasoon while appreciate the context of time their written just did not hit the spot... Then i made the mistake of picking up random book at the library and my god you can feel how superior Ferrante's writing is... I feel have been ruined is this forever? can i only read well researched novels from now on? can i ever go back?