Who are some of your favorite Historical Fiction Authors? Who are some of your favorite authors of h/f sub-genres (historical mystery, historical romance, etc.)?

Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, which is about the fall of the Roman Republic. Starts with "The First Man in Rome." Excellent throughout.

C.J. Sansom's marvelous Tudor historical mystery series, the Shardlake novels, which are about a hunchbacked lawyer working at the court of Henry VIII. The first one is "Dissolution," and is set in 1537.

Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God, which I read as a child and adored after seeing the BBC series at 11-12.

I'm a sucker for the old, out-of-print historical romances of Elswyth Thane, the Williamsburg novels. They are a family saga running from 1773-1941. The first one is "Dawn's Early Light."

Ruth Downey's Roman Empire series is one I enjoy.

I like Philippa Gregory; I have a few of Allison Weir's historical fiction novels, and I'm excited to read historical fiction written by a renowned historian.

Seconding Susanna's CJ Samson. Wilbur Smith's generational series, and Follet's Empire Trilogy (when is the last one coming out!)

I feel a bit like a child born on the wrong side of the blanket, because my favorites are Regency romance authors. I love Mary Balogh, Madeline Hunter, Barbara Metzger and on and on. I've loved learning more about the Regency era, but I'm not so much a history buff as a lover of the romantic possibilities that the Regency period affords.

Thirding C.J. Sansom (hello there, ladies :) ).

Seconding Robert Graves (* waves to Susanna*).

While we're speaking of characters played by Derek Jacobi (one of my favorite actors): Ellis Peters's Cadfael mysteries and the books on the history of England and Wales that she wrote under her real name, Edith Pargeter.

Along the same lines, Sharon Kay Penman.

Iain Pears -- especially his stand-alones (his art crimes series is set in present times, though with an art history background).

Hilary Mantel's Cromwell series (have her French Revolution book, "A Place of Greater Safety," on my TBR and am eagerly awaiting Cromwell #3 ... am I actually even going to mourn C's passing at the end? I'm afraid I might!)

And of course the granddaddy of them all, Ken Follett (* waves to Betty*).

Sharon Kay Penman is my favorite - seriously coveting a copy of the new UK edition of Sunne in Splendour! Also loved Mantel's Cromwell series so far. I have enjoyed Follett's epics - Pillars of the Earth and Century Trilogy - but not so much some of his shorter novels.

Reply to post #6 (show post):
I rotate back and forth between historical fiction and historical romance, but I generally prefer the HRs to be solidly grounded in historical detail, as opposed to made up wall paper settings. Favorite HF authors, Sharon Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick, MM Kaye and Anya Seton. I like Susanna Kearsley and Elizabeth Loupas (she writes more mystery themed books) a lot. I'm in the minority with Follett. Loathed Pillars of the Earth.

Reply to post #6 (show post):
My favorite historical romances are Georgette Heyer's, and Anya Seton's Katherine.

Favorites include Leon Uris, Ken Follett, and Edward Rutherfurd.

I tend toward more obscure authors who are dealing with unusual periods, characters or situations. I also absolutely love warrior women. So my absolute favorite historical fiction is the Boudica novel Dreaming The Serpent Spear by Manda Scott. I also love books about Biblical figures that have a strong female perspective. So another favorite is Wisdom's Daughter by India Edghill. It's more speculative than historical, but it's such a great story. It's about the Queen of Sheba.

Shomeret