Your 2008 Top Ten

What are the top ten (or top whatever) best historical fiction novels you read this year? Mine were:

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
Conceit by Mary Novik
A Tabernacle for the Sun by Linda Proud
Great Maria by Cecelia Holland
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

I wrote a little more about why I liked these at www.HistoricalNovels.info.

I didn't read a lot of historical fiction in 2008, but of the few I read, I really enjoyed Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood (Victorian era Canada) and The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevaliar (Medieval Flanders).

David Ball The Sword and the Scimitar
Ariana Franklin Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpents Tale
Ken Follett The Pillars of the Earth
Margaret Frazer The Apostate's Tale and A Play of Lords

My top books would be:
Pillars of the Earth by Follett; three by Geraldine Brooks, People of the Book, March, and Year of Wonders; and Bound by Sally Gunning.

Yeah... I didn't read alot of historical fiction this year. I read alot of contemporary fiction that would be "historical" now, I guess. The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood being one such example, which was excellent.
As for actual historical fiction, I'd say my favorites from this year were:

The Ice-Shirt by William T. Vollman
The Translation of Dr. Apelles by David Treuer
Misfortune by Wesley Stace
The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox

A few of the best I read:

Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman
Reflections in the Nile by Suzanne Frank
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I didn't read too many but two I really enjoyed were by Max Allan Collins,
The Titanic Murders and The Hindenburg Murders.
I'm reading the Pearl Harbor murders now and it probably ranks with these two.

In the order I read them:
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
The Dracula Dossier by James Reese
Guernica by Dave Boling
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss
The Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman
The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

I'm currently reading Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper which certainly has a shot at this list too. If it makes it, I'll have to remove When the Emperor Was Divine, since that was a reread. I would join Margad in adding The Gargoyle, but I didn't personally classify it as historical fiction, although I certainly see the argument.

Yay! Another fan of The Bronze Horseman! One of my favorite books ever!

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (a re-read, but well worth it)
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund
Powder Monkey by Paul Dowswell
Primavera by Mary Jane Beaufrand
The Playmaker by J.B. Cheaney
Assassin by Lady Grace Cavendish

I tend to lean toward YA novels, and sadly it was a sparse year in historical fiction for me. Better luck next year!

#9 ktbarnes - I loved it, and I also really liked Tatiana and Alexander, I still have yet to read The Summer Garden, but I plan on it for 2009.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer
The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

Sort of random order there, but I did have to look through the list a few times to get the bottom ones, rather than just remembering which books I loved.

In no particular order:

Piece Of Cake by Derek Robinson
Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
The Religion by Tim Willocks
Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
Dark Hearts of Chicago by William Horwood
Black Ships by Jo Graham
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
The Mutiny by Julian Rathbone
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan by Lisa See
In A Far Country by Linda Holeman

Only a few this year:

Black Ships
Year of Wonders
The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits

Oh, I did love The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits! I read it a few years ago after reading Slammerkin by the same author (Emma Donoghue), which I loved enough to search out all the historical fiction she had (at that time) written. The Sealed Letter, which I read this year, is also good, but didn't quite make my top ten favorites list, probably more because the Victorian setting isn't one that really thrills me than for any other reason.

Favorite historical fiction of 2008 (more or less in order of how wonderful I thought them):

The House of the Spirits, Daughter of Fortune, Portrait in Sepia, and Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

As if that were not enough, I know there were one or two more, but I can't think of their names. I'll be back when I do.

My top eight-in no particular order
Conceit by Mary Novik
The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
The Last Train to Kazan by Stephen Miller
A Journey to the End of the Millennium by Abraham B. Yehoshua
Triangle by Katharine Weber
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
The Giant O'Brien by Hilary Mantel

#11 Kleyed - I loved them, too! I bought Tatiana's Table, but its on my TBR list at the moment.

Stealing Athena by Karen Essex
Another Shore by Nancy Bond

Well that's short, but I haven't read a lot of historical fiction this year.

I happened to read a lot of historical fiction this year since it's the topic of the upcoming Key West Literary Seminar -- (not all these writers will be there but I was in that mode) -- my favorites included:
The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss
Property by Valerie Martin
The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
The Right Hand of Sleep by John Wray
The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett
and The Boleyn Inheritance was one of Philippa Gregory's better books, in my opinion.

I'm currently re-reading Burr since Vidal is appearing at the conference and it is great, too -- makes me want to re-read his whole American history cycle.

We can only pick ten? Let's pretend I can't count, so...

The Meaning of Night
The Sunne in Splendour
The House at Riverton
The Forgotten Garden
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Go-Between
The Sealed Letter
Company of Liars
The Glass of Time
Devil's Brood
The Greatest Knight
Nefertiti

I’m a huge historical fiction fan, but I had trouble this year and slogged through a few that I should’ve given up on (maybe that’s why I only read 40 books this year as opposed to my usual 50). ANYways, the standouts:

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett- Excellent; haven't read World Without End yet, have to get on that...
The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
Outlander/Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon- the third or forth time reading them, but they consistently rank highly on my all time favorites list, so they belong on this list!
And by far, my best HF read this year: The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George- simply fantastic.

My favorite historical fiction for 2008 are (in no particular order):

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell
Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber. both by Diana Gabaldon
The French Executioner and Blood Ties, both by C.C. Humphreys
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon

I didn't read all that much in Historical Fiction this year, and didn't love all that I read.

These are the best in no particular order

Berlin by Pierre Frei
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa (tough read)
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason
Pavilion of Women by Pear S. Buck
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (1976 - Laos, Mystery)

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Bloody Jack by Louis A. Meyer
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
Messenger of Truth and An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

Looking at my list, it seems that most of the historical fiction I read this year was mysteries--I'm beginning to really enjoy the historical mystery genre, which I did not read much until this year. As I write I'm reading And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, which also falls into that subgenre.

SaraHope, have you read the sequel to Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary? I just discovered Raybourn's historical mysteries this year, and really like them.

I really like the Raybourn "Silent" books, too. The next one, Silent on the Moor, is set to come out in March.

I too was one of those people who discovered Deanna Raybourn this year and I was more than thrilled! I'm looking forward to the third book in the series. Has anyone gone to check out her blog?

I've been mixing my historical fiction with a few non-fiction, but here is my list of keepers:

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Ok, not technically 'historical', but it takes place during an unspecified period which could be turn of the century.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. A fascinating book based on a true story.

Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone. A new favorite author!

Conspiracy of Paper and The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Both are wonderfully written but a little esoteric at times.

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. Thoroughly enjoyable although the ending seemed a little slapdash.

I look forward to reading many, many more in 2009!

Hi robbieg, theaelizabet, and Kasthu--I have indeed read both 'Silent' books and am eagerly awaiting the third. I read Raybourn's blog faithfully as well--she seems quite charming!

I've also just finished the first historical mystery by Tasha Alexander, and her books are in the same vein as Raybourn's--historical mystery with a wee bit of romance.

30: If you like books like the Lady Julia Grey series and the Tasha Alexander books, you may enjoy The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte. Laura Joh Rowland takes a break from 17th century Japan to turn Charlotte into a detective. I usually shy away from those books that turn a famous author into a detective, except for the fact that the author really makes her heroine believable.

I saw Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte at my library, but was afraid it wouldn't work. Now I'll give it a look.

>15 margad: Yup, I also bought The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits after reading Slammerkin! Just yesterday I also found a used copy of Life Mask, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

I may try that one Kasthu, though I absolutely draw the line at mysteries solved by Jane Austen or her characters!

SaraHope, I agree with you. I actually saw a series in Borders this week that were mysteries solved by Beatrix Potter!! Can you believe? This should be criminal--I love Beatrix Potter's stories just the way they are--the thought that someone has distorted them into something that she never intended is....well....unthinkable! (I'm sure some may disagree, and I don't mean to offend; this is just my opinion)

Robbieg, I cannot believe! Oh my goodness. In addition to the fact that I'd like to preserve these authors and their characters in my mind as they appeared in the original stories, I don't really read cozies anyway, and I have to imagine that Jane Austen and Beatrix Potter mysteries would lean cozy.

Life Mask is less briskly paced than Slammerkin, and I didn't really get into it until about halfway through (and it's a very long novel). I was glad I persevered, though. Another good Donoghue is her most recent, The Sealed Letter, which I've reviewed at www.HistoricalNovels.info. Of her novels, I'd put Slammerkin at the top, then The Sealed Letter, then Life Mask.

#37 - Glad to hear you ranked Slammerkin first. I have read Life Mask which I enjoyed, but also found it slow to get into as well. Have Slammerkin on my TBR pile, this might have just nudged it up a little closer to the top.

I would have to say The Heretic's Daughter and Year of Wonders.

Other than the Patrick O'Brian series, the most moving hist. fiction that I remember is Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. I still remember the farewell address to Sparta before the 300 marched to Thermopylae: 'For six hundred years, no Spartan woman has seen the smoke of the enemy's campfires. We maintain our freedom by the Rule of Lycurgus, and a stern and difficult Rule it is. There is a price for freedom and it is paid in blood, and we have paid it in full. Those whom we leave behind also suffer, with Grief, Pain beyond bearing, yet it must be borne.' At the pass of Thermopylae are these words; 'Tell them in Sparta, Passerby, that here, obedient to their Laws, we lie'. Would that it were not necessary.

#38 - Do let us know, Delta Queen, what you think when you finish Slammerkin. I was hooked from page 1.

# 41 - I will let you know, I just don't know when, my TBR pile just seems to keep growing and growing!!

I know what you mean. My TBR is totally out of hand!

Margad, I did really enjoy Slammerkin. I posted a thank you to you for giving me the nudge to chose it from my TBR pile, in case you didn't read whatever thread I used (I can't remember myself) I thought I better repeat myself here!

Okay, Slammerkin is now on my TBR pile for 2009. Thanks, margad and DeltaQueen!

Awhile ago, I posted my favorites (at #16) but noted that there were a couple more whose titles I'd not been able to recall at the time. So, I just remembered one of them: a YA novel about Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife ~ The King's Rose by Alisa Libby. Though it is YA, it can be enjoyed by lovers of historical fiction of any age. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, and I've remembered it with pleasure ever since, which to me is one of the best signs of a really good book.

I'm more of a genre reader. Apologies for the slight diversions!

Historical Fiction--
Johnny One-Eye by Jerome Charyn --American Revoluton
The Blooding of Jack Absolute by C. C. Humphreys --18th.C. England
Treason's River by Edwin Thomas --18th. C.

Historical Mysteries:
Why Mermaids Sing by C. S. Harris -- Regency England
Where Serpents Sleep by C. S. Harris --Regency England
The Hellfire Conspiracy by Will Thomas --Victorian England
Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler --Regency England
Poisoner of Ptah by P. C. Doherty --Anciet Egypt
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon --18thC.
Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon -- 18th. C.

Related:
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - bits of 14th.C Germany and even more briefly, medieval Italy, Feudal Japan, Victorian England, Viking Iceland.

I"m a little behind on this -- sorry!

The Red Tent biblical
Pillars of The Earth medieval
Katherine War of the roses
The Book Theif WWII
Night Soldier WWII
The Whiskey Rebels colonial US
Devil In The White City turn of the 20th century Chicago
Conspiracy of Paper 18th century England
Etta turn of the 20th century US
Dreamers of the Day post-WWI

I too really enjoyed Dreamers of the Day, as well as The Book Thief, The Red Tent, and Devil in the White City! I'll have to try some of the others on your list since we seem to have similar taste. Thanks for sharing!

I noticed you like Mary Doria Russell, one of my favorite authors too. Have you read A Thread of Grace? In my opinion -- her absolute BEST. It's not a happy story though. So far, after 3 years, still the #1 book that our book club has read according to all members.

Really! I very much like Mary Doria Russell and started A Thread of Grace when it first came out but just couldn't seem to get into it for some reason. Perhaps just not in the mood at the time? Or perhaps it was because I wanted another novel in the same vein as her first two (The Sparrow (one of my all-time desert-island favorites) and Children of God).

It's been on my TBR list all along, because I mistrusted my disinterest in it and intended to try again sometime, but am now pushing it to the top of the list on your recommendation.

Late to another party, but here's my list, in order:

The March by E. L. Doctorow
Restoration by Rose Tremain
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Sorry by Gail Jones
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
The Lady Elizabeth by Alsion Weir
The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer