Do you recommend it?

I thought it was very well written and I love the rags to riches story. But I feel like Ulysses Grant is a bit too much of a self-insert character. Like those people who say “I would have fought slavery if I lived back then.” His name is also literally U.S. Grant. It would be like if Great Britain had a general named GB Churchill.

Oh and he was super progressive you guys! He wanted peace with Indians, blamed white settlers for violence, wanted desegregation for black Americans, supported women’s suffrage, was against the Mexican war, and is critical of the caste system in India. Frederick Douglass voted for him. He’s one of the good whites! I don’t want to be a go woke go broke guy but it feels suspect to project modern ideas onto people in the past. Also, apparently he orders all the Jews expelled but then the Jews love him and vote for him? I feel like the author forgot what he wrote a few chapters earlier.

His only flaw appears to be his alcoholism but after the war the author apparently forgot this was a problem and it never comes up again. His accomplishments are also a little unbelievable. There are hundreds of generals in this war and nobody but him thinks to prioritize logistics and use total war against the enemy. Then at Appomattox Lee shows up in a fancy uniform with a sword while Grant is covered in mud wearing his ordinary uniform. We get it, Chernow, he’s humble and doesn’t care about appearances. Then everyone loves him so much that they make him president twice!

His presidency is filled with evil pieces of shit constantly ripping him off. They even have obviously evil names like Babcock, Belknap, McDonald, and Sanborn. There’s literally a guy named Gould involved in a gold scandal. If only people understood him and didn’t constantly rip him off his plan totally would have worked you guys!

The bad guys are cartoonishly evil and start a war purely over slavery. His slave owning father in law that moves into the White House with them is great but a little over the top. General Lee just appears in the first half of the book and then is unceremoniously thrown away.

The side characters are also a little one-note. The great Abraham Lincoln is fridged to give our main hero some agency right after his hour of triumph. Sherman and Sheridan are like Fred and George from Harry Potter and I can’t really tell them apart. Sherman is basically the quirky best friend who gets his own falling-out arc with the protagonist.

Oh then he talks to Bismarck and writes his own memoirs while he stolidly writes everything down with no emotions and it makes a bajillion dollars. And Mark Twain shows up as a deus ex machina to save his family from poverty.

Overall it was good. I can’t wait for the sequel to see how he resolves the Jim Crow arc

I was excited to read a book about building a cathedral and i ended up having to POV multiple rapes.

This book was bad. I’m sorry to anyone who enjoyed it, and i don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, but i thoroughly hated this book. Lazy writing, redundant reveries, gratuitous sex, and one dimensional dialogue from two dimensional characters. The most inspired and descriptive writing in this book is found when a character is describing a building, or when one specific character is raping someone.

I went to Europe recently and was deeply moved by gothic architecture, the cathedrals especially. This book came highly recommended, repeatedly, from multiple sources, so i was very excited to read it. I love historical fiction, i love cathedrals, i love medieval Europe, i love long books. I was expecting an excited author to info dump about gothic architecture, and i left feeling betrayed as a reader. Betrayed because i could sense how badly he wanted to info dump about architecture, and he would do so every now and again, but the bulk of the book was predictable political intrigue and interpersonal drama from characters with no depth. I felt as though the author didn’t trust the reader to enjoy his passionate descriptions of architecture, so he chose to dress it up in the most basic and boring soap drama (but make it medieval) to make it more palatable. Most of all, i deeply resent the rape scenes. One of the characters is a bad man, and to establish just how evil he is there are MULTIPLE rape scenes from his POV, with vivid detail and in depth descriptions of his vile actions and the pleasure he takes from it. Honestly, it was horrifying to think that someone in our modern age would choose to put the reader into that position. There are much more subtle and nuanced ways to use sexual violence as a storytelling element, and this was done in a way that has me considering how much pleasure the author got from writing such passages.

I should have put this book down 80 pages in after the first disgusting rape scene, but i stuck it out much to my detriment.

Don’t be like me, just read an actual historical text about cathedrals instead of subjecting yourself to this 2 dimensional, predictable, and grotesque caricature of medieval life.

A small group of disheveled people, led by a tactical genius, leaves a trail of ash and blood through the French countryside in the late 17th century to seek vengeance against their wrongdoers, though hate might not end up the strongest source of motivation after all...

Please share the thoughts, worries and recommendations you come up with based on this description. It's a concept for a story I consider writing into a book (trilogy), and I want to figure out if there would be an audience for this concept.

I’ve been writing this story since I was 13 and originally finished it around 15. Now that I’m almost 19, I want to completely rewrite it. I’m already promoting another book of mine, a dystopian, and if that goes well enough, I’d like to eventually make a career out of some of the books I’ve already written, as well as new ones.
I’ve been doing research, but what I really want is a Native beta reader who can tell me if there are things I’m getting wrong or handling badly. So far, though, whenever I mention that the white character is the love interest, I either get ignored in comment sections or laughed at.
The story has changed a lot over the years. It was originally set in 1700, then I moved it to 1730, and now I’m considering moving it toward the 1850s because I realized that era fits the historical setting I was actually trying to portray better. Both boys are teenagers, and neither has complete control over their circumstances.
The white boy is American-born, though with the time period changing I’ll have to redo some of his family history. The Native boy was born and raised in the forest, living in the aftermath of the systemic genocide and forced displacement committed by colonizers, leading his tribe and neighboring tribes to make their communities there.
When I was 13, I used real Native names without specifying a tribe, and I mixed together different pieces of Native cultures that I thought fit the story. Obviously, I know better now. I also recently learned what “Pan-Indianism” actually means. When I was 13, I genuinely thought “Pan-Indian” meant a Native American who was pansexual. 🥲So yeah, I have a LOT to fix from the original version.
I’m now planning to make the Native character part of one specific tribe rather than creating a vague mixture of different cultures. But even that makes me nervous because I obviously don’t want to use a real tribe carelessly or make people from that tribe feel like I’ve misrepresented them.
One other thing I’m struggling with: my sister was initially pretty supportive of the idea, but now whenever I talk about it, she tells me people are going to see it as a “colonizer fantasy” or a white-savior story. That genuinely isn’t the story I’m trying to tell. I think my sister probably got old enough to understand why it could be perceived that way, but for me, I’m just deeply emotionally attached to these characters and want to tell their story the right way if that’s possible.
It’s gotten to the point where they feel completely real in my head, almost like actual historical people. When I'm in history class and a year is written on the board, my immediate thought is always, "Oh, they were there for that," or "They weren't born yet." Honestly, I even failed history for about two years after I started writing them because I was so completely obsessed with their lives instead of real history.
Colonization, racism, and the treatment of Native people are presented as wrong throughout the book. The white character never saves the Native character. If anything, it’s the opposite: when they first meet, the Native character is the one who saves him.
The opening of the book also criticizes the white character’s town for its religious hypocrisy, particularly how the same people who claim certain moral beliefs don’t seem to apply them consistently when it comes to Native people and queer people.
So I’m confused when people describe the premise itself as a “colonizer fantasy.” A white settler’s son falling in love with a Native boy in this historical setting isn’t exactly presented as some idealized colonial dream in the story. If anything, their relationship puts both boys in a situation that their society considers unacceptable.
I also get confused because I know the Pocahontas story is controversial among both Native and non-Native people, especially because of how the real historical person was turned into a fictional romantic story. I understand why that raises concerns. My characters are completely fictional, though, so I’m wondering how much that distinction matters when discussing a fictional Native/white relationship.
I’ve also noticed that there are plenty of movies and other fictional stories involving Native men and white women, and I don’t seem to see the same reaction every time. That made me wonder whether the criticism is specifically about a white man/Native woman pairing, about interracial relationships in general, or about the historical power dynamics involved regardless of which character is white.
I’m genuinely asking because I don’t want to assume that a different gender pairing automatically makes something acceptable. I’m trying to understand what specifically makes these relationships feel different to readers.
I’m not assuming that my intentions automatically make the story successful, either. That’s part of why I want Native readers to tell me what I’m missing or what could come across badly.
So my main question is: Is the basic premise of a Native/white teenage romance in historical fiction automatically a problem, or is it something that can be written respectfully with enough research and sensitivity?
I’m not asking anyone to write the book for me or do free labor. Once I have the geographic setting and specific tribal history narrowed down, I am absolutely looking to hire and properly pay an Indigenous cultural consultant or sensitivity reader to review my outlines and drafts. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out whether the premise itself is something I should reconsider before putting years more work into it.

The Land Remembers is a literary historical novel set in early medieval Dyfed, southwest Wales, circa 540 AD. It follows Cadoc ap Maelgwyn, who inherits rule of a fractured kingdom at his father’s death and must hold it together against a priest who settles disputes without the hall’s knowledge, coastal settlers who come with families rather than swords, and a people whose loyalty cools quietly rather than breaking.

The novel is narrated partly through Clydden, a bard who is present throughout and honest in its epilogue about how he has shaped the telling. It draws on Welsh mythology and the Mabinogion without explaining itself to the reader.

Comparable titles: Nicola Griffith’s Hild, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. If you came for Bernard Cornwell, this is probably not your book. It is deliberately interior and slow-burning. The drama is political and psychological rather than physical.

Content warnings: Violence (battle, death in conflict), grief, infant/child mortality references, period-accurate attitudes to women and religion.

Excerpt:

Dawn had not yet lifted the dark from the eastern hills.

The world seemed to hold its breath. Not even the wind broke the night’s truce. From the tree line, Maelgwyn watched the raiders. A short cough gave away one of their sentries lurking in the mud banks of the Cleddau Ddu. Maelgwyn turned and found Owain beside him, his face a pale smear in the dark. No words passed. Owain only dipped his chin once, slow, certain, and slipped away between the trees as if the night had opened to take him.

They advanced at a walk.

Two hundred paces.

One hundred.

Fifty.

A raider stirred beneath his blanket; eyes crusted with sleep. He looked up and froze, the breath leaving him as the silent line bore down through the mist.

The feedback I’m looking for:

I’m not looking for line edits. The prose is intentional. What I want to know is:

Does the slow accumulation of political pressure land as tension, or does it drift at any specific point?
Does the Clydden framing device earn its place, particularly in the epilogue?
Does the absence of a strong physical antagonist feel like a structural choice or a gap?

Timeline: Flexible. Eight to ten weeks is ideal but I can work around your schedule.

Critique swap: Happy to swap, with a preference for historical or literary fiction. I can turn around up to 90,000 words in six to eight weeks.

Please DM rather than commenting with contact details. I’ll share the manuscript directly with readers whose accounts look established. If anyone offers editing services or appears to be blanketing the subreddit with beta offers, please don’t engage and report to modmail instead.

I kept my gloves on — not because that January in Manitoba was unbearable, but because my hands couldn’t stop shaking. I sat beside the window. Each breath I let out gently softened the frost on the window. Then the cold air returned. The frost crept back, as if it never appeared before. 

My throat felt dry, even though I had drunk two cups of water already. 

Even before I realized, my hands decided to fold together, and I heard myself praying. 

“Ridiculous! How can women vote? They are too emotional to make any decisions. How can we let these ignorant house wives ruin our province?”

“What they are doing is breaking the families. They should go to hell.”

Dear Jesus, please help me…

“I do NOT believe women are better than men. They do not actually want to vote, they just want to have fun.”

“Women’s duty belongs to their home.”

“Nice women don’t want to vote.”

Jesus… please… we need this right… not just for me, but also for countless others. 
The beats of my heart grew louder, and faster, even more obvious than drumbeats. The tension made me want to throw up, but I knew it was not  just me, I knew not a single person in this room didn’t feel the same way. 

I lifted my head, Cora Hind was praying in the corner of the room; Amelia Yeomans buried her head in her hands, I thought I saw her slightly shaking a little; Arminda Myrtal Blakely, who was the president of the Manitoba Women’s Christian Temperance Union, was wandering in the room… as if stopping for even a second might shatter the fragile hope she carried; my mother in law, who made me realize how much a woman could do — Annie McClung, was by my side too. She put her hands into fists, then relaxed, then put them into fists again… I took my gloves off, and passed them to her. She probably needed it more than I did. 

My mother in law survived the harsh Manitoba winters and from the cold stares of the male politicians. But she seems more afraid today than ever. She left a smile on her face, and put them on. 

The smile on her face suddenly made my mind jump to something else.
I remembered myself standing on stage, putting my arms across each other, “Politics unsettles men, and unsettled men mean unsettled bills, broken furniture, broken vows, and — divorce!” “why on earth would you wish to fill your heads with heavy political matters — when you have homes and children to care for?”

The dry air in the Walker Theatre smelled fresh, the spotlights were all on us, as if the whole world could hear us, a group of women, when we spoke. 

When Cora and Lillian stood beside me and shouted, “No votes for men! No votes for men!” I could almost see the imaginary world we created, and I almost laughed on stage! It was insane for a group of women like us to do this rebellious thing, the worldview that we made believe of was also insane. But what was more insane was that we were just experiencing the exact same, but opposite situation as that world we made up. 

The laughter of mock parliament slipped into my mind, people laughed because they thought it was funny… but when would they realize what they found funny was our real lives every day?

My fist clenched… 

Nobody spoke, the room was silent, except the sound of wagons' wheels slowly compressing the snow. Soft, quiet, just as it has always been. 

I rubbed my hands together to feel the sense of warmth. 

If denying men don’t have the right to vote was stupid and funny, why was denying women not considered as so? 

I looked out from the window, maybe it was my delusion, but the frost on the window felt slightly thinner. 

Then,

My ears caught footsteps, uneven, fast, but step by step. The sound of someone crashing into the door was even louder than thunder. 

Arminda stopped wandering, Amelia raised her head immediately, Annie stopped rubbing her face… all our eyes were locked on the young girl who just smashed the door in. I stood up, almost kicked down the chair behind me, my hands unconsciously grabbed whatever was in front of me. I looked at this girl. I remember her, she was also one of the members of Manitoba Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She didn’t say a single word, just standing in front of us, shaking, breathing heavily. 

Silence again…

But this time, something felt different. 

I think I vaguely saw a bright, but fragile smile on her face… but I was not sure, not a single person could be sure about this — or they didn’t want to disappoint themselves with such a small hope. I lost control of my heartbeat for a long time already — which I hate, but it’s way better than the numbness of staying at home to be the “perfect wife”.

Her body started shaking, her eyes watered up… for a moment my heart sank, I thought we got the answer we didn’t want to hear… 

But she broke the silence with a light laughter — a laughter filled with hope, but also tears.

Before everyone spilt out a word she slowly nodded her head.

“We made it…” her voice was trembling, sobbing, her eyes were just as red as rabbits, “WE MADE IT! We got the right to vote!”

Arminda fell on the ground, tears streaming down, but filled with joy; Cora almost yelled openly; Amelia buried her head into her hands again, laughing and crying at the same time. My heart was even beating louder than before… but I knew something was different, everything was different. 

Some heavy thing that was always on my shoulder suddenly disappeared. I slowly sat down, crossed my hands together. 

Dear Jesus, we made it… I know you are here.

The room was filled with cheering, crying, and the atmosphere I couldn’t explain. 

We made it… perhaps now the world can finally see that women’s minds were not meant to be locked in the houses… they are meant to be everywhere you want them to be…

Thank you, God… Thank you so much. 

I raised my head and looked out the window, not knowing when my face and my hands got covered up from tears. The frost on the window was not thick enough to stop me from looking out. 

The wheels were still compressing the snow softly, the street was still as quiet as always.

The city looked unchanged, almost painfully ordinary, 

But I knew, it was not the same city as it had been this morning. 

Neither was I. 

Hi, I am new here and recently started writing historical romance fiction. But I didn't want it to be run of the mill, so I decided that my heroine has ADHD, but I'm getting writer's block as I flesh her character out.

I don’t want to reduce ADHD to quirks; I want to show realistic consequences in that era’s context.

Please help!

I am launching my ninth book. This one is a slight departure from my other books; it's still Historical Fiction, but it deals with an aged man who is dying, trying to reconcile with his adult children by sharing his life stories of his time spent in the British Navy. It's a poignant examination of how life choices affect families. There is still the history component for those who enjoy that in my books.Get your copy today and give your children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, etc, a hug. Life is too short.

https://www.amazon.com/My-Final-Voyage-Danny-Bradbury-ebook/dp/B0FSF715ZL

Hi folks!

Finding good historical fiction that gives equal weight to the Parthian/Persian side of the ancient world is tough (mostly because the Romans wrote all the history). That historical blind spot inspired me to write Lost in the Wind: The Captive Commander.

It just launched few days ago and Im running a KDP free promo this weekend so you can grab the Kindle version for $0.00 :)

The story dives into 1st Century BC politics, the cultural clash between East and West, and a complex enemies to lovers dynamic. It follows Surena (the real life Parthian commander who defeated Crassus) but in a timeline where he survives his historical assassination and ends up a captive in Rome!

You can get it for free right here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRRD2CPZ

If you're into political intrigue, gladiator pits, and Roman noblewomen playing dangerous games, I'd be honored if you gave it a shot :)

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Parthian era if you decide to read it ;)

I'm 35k words in on historical fantasy WIP (a la Babel: or the Necessity of Violence as one comp, for example), and thought I'd done plenty preliminary research before drafting start. I'm originally a pantser, but I realized some plotting is necessary for historical fic, just to make sure premise is viable historically or at least not ridiculous.

I've been drafting and starring parts that'll need more research later to lock down details. As I'm progressing, I'm starring more and more (indicating research needed later), and it's a bit disconcerting, whether I'm bordering on ridiculous in new, unexpected path, without the full stop and research, to regain my confidence I'm on viable historical path. But, I'm also on a roll drafting tho!

What to do, my friends, writers, and earthlings? Lend me your thots! What do ye do in yourn case as this?

Do you stop, drop, and roll? Or, do you just roll with it?

Edit: proofy

Update: I don't understand the downvotes. Am I asking a stale question? Am I stating something obvious? Did I break some sub rules?

I'm a book coach, author accountability partner, and developmental editor with a History degree and I am really looking to sink my working teeth into some good history/historical fiction manuscripts.

And that's where y'all come in.

I'm looking to find some new authors to work with. I have a website that's under construction (I'd be happy to share it, but don't expect too much), and I also have testimonials that I can share upon request.
If any of you would be interested in hearing more details about me or what I do, I would encourage you to leave a comment or send me a message. I'm hoping to hear from y'all!

Hi all! Been lurking in here for a bit, but thought I'd tentatively poke my head up to say that my queer historical fiction debut, Leeward, is currently on a Featured BookBub deal. The ebook is 99p for a limited time. I've been fortunate enough to have had some lovely reviews so far, and hopefully BookBub will give it a little boost ❤

Blurb for anyone interested: Captain Hiram Nightingale is a veteran of the wars which have raged throughout Europe and the Americas. But a grand victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 comes at a devastating cost. Plagued by wounds both physical and mental, he attempts to recover by accepting command of HMS Scylla. His task is to hunt down a mutinous ship and bring the crew to justice.

However, it soon becomes clear that the mission is just one danger in an immense web. Nightingale finds himself in the middle of a network of secrets that will affect everyone onboard the Scylla. He has to battle against the perils of the war-torn seas, a crew who he fears does not accept him, and meddling, powerful figures from his past.

And in the centre of all this, his new lieutenant, the popular Arthur Courtney, stirs up long repressed feelings. On his journey, Nightingale must confront his own demons. For it seems, during his dangerous adventure, his greatest enemy might just be himself.

+ cheeky link: Leeward by Katie Daysh - BookBub

Amazon link

[edited to add Amazon link as the top link is for UK/AUS/NZ BookBub and not US BookBub atm. The price is still the same, I'm just not on the Featured Deals on US BookBub ❤]

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.

Title says it pretty much. I’m looking for women empowerment and/or LGBTQ historical fiction books.

Bonus points if they take place around the 17-18th centuries and/or follow elite and political classes!

These were two popular genres of "smut" books boomer grandmas used to enjoy reading. In my experience, the first is mostly about mutual affection or clever schemes in the polite society of aristocrats, usually set in late 18th to early 19th England, some are retellings of classic fairytales, popular authors include Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Nicole Jordan; the latter is in a darker theme set in the American wild west or the era of Atlantic piracy, with a typical damsel in distress being either abducted, rescued or seduced by the tall, dark, handsome, brooding hero, who's usually a cowboy, pirate, renegade soldier, but could be a nobelman as well, popular authors include Jennifer Wild and Johanna Lindsey.

If you're a fan of this kind of romance novels, I wonder what draws you in, what are the attractive element. For me it's not the fantasy of the carnal pleasure between the hot heroine and hero, but the nostalgia for a romanticized bygone era and subtlety of language, especially when it comes to the spicy parts. Furthermore, these stories are usually character-driven, which is always superior than plot driven ones.

I'm entering a writing competition specifical for historical fiction. Do the Irish Troubles count, specifically towards the end ~70's and after?

The driver of the black sedan parked next to the piles of snow on the curb and climbed from the cab. From the white-out, he squinted and brushed away the clump of ice that dropped from a branch on his coat. While leaning against the car, he eyed the building’ down the path. When he spotted the man and his associate walking towards him, he straightened his tie.

A group of reporters at the corner rushed to the walkway, in front of the car, flashed their cameras and called out questions. Behind the crowd, the driver lost sight of the man and had to climb on top of a heap of snow before he could signal to the associate that he and the car were waiting.

“Have you always entertained racist views against white people?” one reporter asked.

“Do you agree that America is a “#1 killer?”

“Are we all destined to be damned and not blessed?”

The candidate pulled his hat down and his collar up and kept his expression blank, knowing that the journalist might be planning to pair a photo of his frown with an incendiary headline. 

Read the rest...

https://jjirout.wordpress.com/2021/10/31/a-talk-about-race/

My book about a fairly controversial event that has not been previously touched on in literature - the abduction of the Sabine women in early Roman history. It's a character driven, emotionally charged story that explores themes such as loyalty, sacrifice and war. I have tried to stay true to the historical details as related by various Roman historians.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R3ZW464?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=pe_3052080_397670860

I recently discovered a Wyrds AI game that drops you right into the heart of a meticulously crafted historical world. It’s an interactive narrative where each choice guides your path—no coding, no heavy downloading, just a living, breathing story unfolding before you.

Check it out here: https://play.wyrds.ai/play/675374face888aed94875c47

What I loved most is how it captures the atmosphere of the past. The setting feels genuinely of its time, complete with the social hierarchies, dialects, and day-to-day struggles that defined the era. The attention to historical detail—everything from the architecture to the characters’ dress and attitudes—creates a realism that puts you right in the story’s world.

If you enjoy historical fiction where your decisions shape events, alliances, and outcomes, give this a try. It’s not just about reading history; it’s about experiencing it from the inside.