Medieval novels

[jobycom]

Not novels written in the Middle Ages, but novels set in the Middle Ages.

A beginning list (Some good, some average):

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (best)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
The Jester by James Patterson
Timeline by Michael Crichton (part medieval, part modern)
The Walking Drum by Louis Lamour (better than you'd think, not great)

[luxpara]

1. Does "The Mists of Avalon" count?

Great book...

[jobycom]

2. That's a good question-- kind of fantasy, but so well researched

Sure, throw it in.

I'm ashamed I didn't think of that. I named my daughter after a character in that book.

[shimmergal]

17. Wow, how neat!

I'm a big MZB fan; loved the Mists of Avalon as well as her Darkover series, but my only carryover of a name was that I once named a dog I had Shaya, for a minor Darkover character.

What's your daughter's name, by the way? (if you don't mind telling)

[mzteris]

38. if you like MoA

then you'll like Stephen Lawhead's books - his historical fiction -

The Celtic Crusades: The Black Rood, The Iron Cross, The Mystic Rose (which I haven't read yet);

Patrick: son of Ireland;

Byzantium;

...... are well researched.

And if you're into Arthurian legend - his series is one of the best - except for the last one (AVALON - don't bother with that one.)

[RevolutionaryActs]

9. I was just going to post that!

I love that book so much! :7

[yellowdogintexas]

3. The Plantaganet Saga by Thomas Costain

Not really a novel, but reads like one!

I have read several novels about the Wars of the Roses and the Hundred Years War , so many that I can't remember the names of the authors and the books. That is my favorite period of European History.

[JerseygirlCT]

12. I swiped them all from my dad when I was still a kid!

they're great! I love them!

[cyberswede]

4. An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears

It's a long book, but very good. Actually, it's set in Oxford in the 1660s - that's probably later than the middle ages, though the setting feels very medieval. :)

[DemBones DemBones]

13. I loved "An Incident of the Fingerpost" and

was inspired to check out his other books. His series about an Italian woman who is an art detective, i.e., a police officer who tracks down stolen art, and in Italy, where there is so much available to steal, is enjoyable. Not "wow" like "Fingerpost" but enjoyable. I was excited when "Dream of Scipio" came out, looking forward to another "Fingerpost." Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it and ended up having to return it to the library without finishing it. I should try it again, in all fairness, since I was sick at the time I tried to read it. But "Fingerpost" is probably still his best so far.

Not medieval, but very good.

[pitohui]

37. try "Dream of Scipio" again

it would be hard to top "Fingerpost" but "Scipio" is a damn good read, check it out again when you're feeling better

[Village Idiot]

5. Read Cecilia Holland -

Hammers for Princes
The AntiChrist
The Firedrake
The Death of Attila
The Belt of Gold


etc...

She is one of the BEST writers of historical fiction EVER! Unfortunately, she is also very OUT OF PRINT in most cases...

The best place to find these gems?

http://www.abebooks.com/

[jobycom]

6. I love abebooks.com

Great tool.

[madinmaryland]

7. Sharon Kay Penman has written

several novels that I have read that are set in 11th - 14th century England.

http://www.sharonkaypenman.com/

[chyjo]

31. Amazing books

"Here Be Dragons", "Falls the Shadow" and "The Reckoning", her trilogy about the last of the independent Welsh Kings are some of my favorite books of all time(of the three "Falls the Shadow" is the best, Simon DeMontfort is a very inspiring character).

[raccoon]

36. Yes, Sharon Kay Penman's novels kick butt.

They're realistic and hold your interest.

[damntexdem]

8. Baudolino, by Eco

I like it much better than The Name of the Rose.

[catbert836]

35. Me too!

Baudolino is an AMAZING book. I found "Name of the Rose" a little hard to get through, and I didn't get a lot of the plot. The thing with Baudolino is that it's set in the Middle Ages partly, and partly just a made-up fantasyland. For me, it wasn't easy to separate one from the other. I love those kind of books, though.

[Bridget Burke]

10. "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis

It's actually a science fiction novel of near-future time-traveling historians based in Oxford. One goes back to the Middle Ages & witnesses the effects of the Black Death on a small English town.

The part of the novel set in the past is quite powerful. (Actually, all of it's good--but you're only asking about the ME.)

Let us not forget Brother Cadfael. And the "Sister Fidelma" mysteries by Peter Tremayne are set in the early Middle Ages, partly in Ireland; I've only read the first one, so far. In fact, there's a whole genre of Medieval Mystery.

[Mistwell]

30. I second that

Doomsday Book is extremely good. So is "To Say Nothing of the Dog", by the same author and with the same time travelling organization, but taken from a comedy perspective rather than the dark drama of Doomsday Book.

[CornField]

11. Mother of Kings by Poul Anderson

I've yet to finish it, but I'm loving each moment I spend with it.

[LWolf]

14. Some that I've read include:

"Katherine" and "Green Darkness" by Anya Seton

Some by Morgan Llewelyn:

Lion of Ireland, Red Branch, Druids, maybe more.

Ellis Peters; a whole long series of books about "Brother Cadfael." Mysteries; I've read a couple.

Lots of Arthurian stuff; too much too list.

Probably more, but this is what popped into my head first.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. I forgot all about Anya Seton!!!!!!Love her stuff

[Mist]

15. Pamela Kaufman

Wrote "Shield of Three Lions" and a sequel, "Banners of Gold." 12th Century/Richard the Lionhearted/Eleanor of Aquataine. Judith Merkle Riley writes historical fiction, seemingly very well researched. The ones set in the High Middle Ages are A Vision of Light and its sequel In Pursuit of the Green Lion. Tho' not strictly medieval, The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George is good. Since Mists of Avalon was mentioned, I'll mention Stephen Grundy's Rhinegold, said to be a "Teutonic Mists of Avalon."

[shimmergal]

18. The Catherine le Vendeur mystery series

by Sharan Newman, a mystery series centered in medieval France. The sleuth is a former novice & student of Abbess Heloise. Excellent series! Newman also wrote a trilogy about Guinevere.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. Not medieval, but

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is a highly original novel that takes place in the 17th century. As in the Japanese film Rashomon, the same story is told by several characters, and each one adds a dimension. In the end, you still aren't quite sure what actually happened, but it's a great ride for people who like English history, history of religion, history of science, women's studies, social anthropology, or mysteries.

The basic plot is that an Oxford don has died mysteriously, and his maid is tried and convicted of murdering him.

Those are the only points that everyone agrees on.

[Bridget Burke]

20. "The Once & Future King" by T H White

The first quarter of the book, the story of Merlin's education of the young Arthur, has been published separately as The Sword In the Stone; it contains many elements of fantasy & (almost) allegory. The remainder is in many ways a more adult novelization of the story as told by Malory. With just a touch of Freud.

The entire work is suffused with T H White's love for the Middle Ages. His Arthur is not "a distressed 5th Century Briton hopping about in a suit of woad" but the troubled ruler of the Camelot of legend. Knights in shining armor ride off in search of the Grail & doomed love affairs abound. Many details of Medieval life (including the "legendary" kings that we consider historical) ornament the work.

[okasha]

21. Favorites

The White Boar, by Marian Palmer (Any other Yorkists/Ricardians here?)

The Dragon Waiting, by John Ford (Alternate/magical universe)

The Lymond Chronicles, 6 vols., by Dorothy Dunnett(misses medieval by 75 years, but too good to leave out)

King Hereafter, also DD (The historical Macbeth; bears no resemblance to Billy Shakes' version)

Sherwood and Robin and the King, by Parke Godwin

Okasha

[Nikepallas]

22. Anyone ever hear of Kristin Lavransdatter? Writter by Sigrid Undset 1920s

[marigold20]

23. Yes, I tried to read it once

and I always meant to try again!

[marigold20]

24. Zoe Oldenburg

I read everything by her that our library had. I was in jr high or high school and at the time, I though they were wonderful. The novel about the Children's Crusade was heartbreaking.

[flordehinojos]

25. The HollowHills by Mary Stewart.

It is the second in a trilogy of Merlin/Arthurian novels. (some of the criticisms I've read about the book really put it down.) For myself, I picked up the book and couldn't put it down.

[hickman1937]

28. I loved it too.

And the Crystal Cave.
Also The Other Bolyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory.

[Richardo]

26. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"

and "The Prince and the Pauper" by my favorite:

[Justitia]

27. The Master of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley -eom

[politicat]

29. Morality Play by Unworth; not quite medieval, but close: GG Kay

I'm quite fascinated by Guy Gavriel Kay's half-step over from reality historio-fantasies. The Lions of Al-Rassan is Medieval Spain, but not quite (imagine several planes of existance; Lions is on the next plane over from this one); Sailing to Saramentium is Byzantium the same way.

I liked Judith Tarr's Queen of Swords, about Crusades era Palestine and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Morality Play is a mystery set in the Plantagent era about a troupe of players who get caught up in a murder. It was recently turned into one of the best films I've ever seen, The Reckoning (Willem DaFoe) and makes most Hollywood stuff look like bad cut and paste.

Pcat

[ExclamationPoint]

32. The Mists of Avalon

The story of King Arthur told through the perspective of women, particularly Morgan le Fey (who is called Morgaine in the story.) I actually enjoyed it more than The Once and Future King.

[Bonobo]

33. The Camulod series by Jack Whyte

Realistic Arthurian. Great Post-Roman Britain atosphere.

Looking for suggestions of similar setting. Any ideas anyone?

[Orrex]

34. Baudolino, also by Eco, also very good (plus, a comment)

Until I read Ted Bell's Hawke, Crichton's Timeline was far and away the worst screenplay--I mean book--I had read during my adult life. Everything, from the premise to the execution to the resolution (not to mention the writing itself) was like a half-assed novelization of a half-assed film based on a half-assed novel.

If you haven't read it yet, don't.

If you've read it already, try to forget it.

If you own a copy of the book, bury it in the forest.

If you've seen the film, well, best of luck to you.

[Caoimhe]

39. I love Mary Stewart

I grew up reading and re-reading her Merlin books, they absolutely sucked me in.

I also loved Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. Haven't found any of his other books to be nearly as good.