General Novels
Set in the Middle Ages: From Literary to Cheesy and in Between
Peter Ackroyd, The Clerkenwell Tales (2003)
A medieval mystery narrated by characters from Chaucer, written by one of England’s leading authors
Vanessa Alexander, The Love Knot (1999)
In 1297, the daughter of the king falls in love with a lowly knight despite her father's increasingly determined attempts to keep the two apart.
Ann Baer, Down the Common: A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman: A Novel (1996)
The life of Marion, wife of a medieval English carpenter.
Rexanne Becnel, The Bride of Rosecliffe (1998)
Set in medieval Wales.
Frans Gunnar Bengtsson,
The Long Ships: A Saga of the Viking Age (1984)
Vikings
on the rampage.
Geraldine Brooks,
Years of Wonders.
An
outbreak of plague in a small English village.
Sarah Brophy, Midnight
Eyes (2007)
A historical
romance in which the passionate Robert Beaufort goes on a quest for a
notorious damsel
Sigmund Brouwer,
Wings of An Angel (1992)
Set
in 14th-century England. Published by a small press.
---, Dance of Darkness (1997)
Set
in 14th-century Rome
Winifred Bryher,
Ruan
6th
century Britain
The Fourteenth of October
1066.
Laurence J. Brown, HousecarlI (2002)
The Norman Conquest from the point of view of a housecarl, Ranulf.
—, Cold Heart, Cruel Hand: A Novel of Hereward the Wake and the Fen Rebellion of 1070-1071 (2004)
The continuing story of Ranulf.
Marsha Canham, Through a Dark Mist
---, In the Shadow of Midnight (1994)
A series about political and romantic dealings around 1200 in the English court.
Elizabeth Chadwick, The Conquest (1997)
Anglo-Saxon woman meets Norman man in 1066, by the author of First Knight.
---, The Champion (1998)
A 12th-century Norman adventure.
---, The Love Knot
---, The Wild Heart
—. The Winter Mantle (2003)
Events following the Norman Conquest.
—, Lords of the White Castle (2002)
—, Shadows and Strongholds (2005)
A novel of 12th-century England
Ann Chamberlin, The Joan of Arc Tapestries
a series of novels on Joan of Arc, including Gloria: The Merlin and the Saint (2005)
Brian Cherry, 985: The Discovery of America (1999)
Jocular account of the Viking discovery of America as recounted by a 12-year-old cabinboy. Published by a small press.
Bernard Cornwell, The “Grail Quest” Series:
The Archer's Tale
Vagabond
Heretic (2003)
Set during the Hundred Years’ War. “Graphic battlefield action, strong characters and sharp plotting are Cornwell's trademarks.” — Publisher's Weekly
The Last Kingdom (2005)
Uhtred, an Anglo-Saxon warrior-in-training, comes under the power of the Viking Ragnar the Fearless. “A solid adventure by a crackling good storyteller.” — Publisher's Weekly
Michael Crichton, Eaters of the Dead
Vikings. The basis of the movie “The Thirteenth Warrior.”
---, Timeline (1999)
A Yale medievalist and three graduate students become trapped in April 1357 and have only 36 hours to find an escape. Immense period detail.
Denee Cody, Court of Love (1996)
Romantic dealings at the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Thomas B. Costain, The Black Rose
---, Below the Salt
A novel of the events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
A four-book series on the Plantagenet kings:
---, The Three Edwards
---, The Magnificent Century
---, The Last Plantagenets
---, The Conquering Family
Catherine Coulter, Rosehaven (1997)
Heaving-bosom romance set in thirteenth-century England.
James Cowan, A Troubadour's Testament: A Novel (1998)
Tanya Anne Crosby, Viking's Prize
Lusty tale of Viking and Norman characters with unlikely names, desiring each other.
L. Sprague De Camp, Lest Darkness Fall (1941).
Science fiction novel in which a man goes back to the sixth century to head off the Dark Ages.
Frank Delaney, Ireland (2004).
A fictionalized history of Ireland, set in the framework of a modern storyteller’s tales; many of the stories are medieval. “They’ll draw readers in...with their warriors and kings, drinkers and devils, and rendered cleanly and without undue sentimentality ... rich and satisfying.” — Publishers Weekly
Christina Dodd, Once a Knight (1996)
In 1252, the Lady Alisoun hires a knight to protect her, with predictable results.
Sara Douglass, Gods' Concubine (Book Two of the Troy Game) (2004)
A sequel to Hades' Daughter, which was set in ancient Greece. This volume is set in a fantasy eleventh-century England, and Harold Godwineson and William the Conqueror are scrapping over the labyrinthine game that Brutus established there one thousand years before.
—, The Wounded Hawk (Book Two of The Crucible) (2004)
A sequel to The Nameless Day. A fantasy novel set in 14th-century Europe, revolving around Thomas Neville, a former priest and favorite of the Archangel Michael, and his quest for relics to defeat the forces of evil.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The White Company
Set during the Hundred Years' War, by the author better known for Sherlock Holmes.
Dorothy Dunnett, The House of Niccolo:
I: Niccolo Rising II: The Spring of the Ram III: Race of Scorpions IV: Scales of Gold V: The Unicorn Hunt VI: To Lie with Lions VII: Caprice and Rondo VIII: Gemini
Fifteenth-century swashbuckling by the popular historical novelist.
Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
The famous novel of a mysterious library and a lost manuscript, inspired by Borges and full of allusion.
Ellen Ekstrom, The Legacy (2005)
Intrigue in 15th-century Italy.
Alan Fisk, The Summer Stars (1992)
Ken Follett, The
Pillars of the Earth
The
building of a cathedral in the 12th century and the personalities involved.
Ariana Franklin,
Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
A killer
is loose in 12th-century England. “A skillful blend of historical
fact and gruesome fiction” — Publishers Weekly
John Fuller, Flying to Nowhere
An island monastery where an abbot dissects bodies to find the seat of the soul and sinister carnival abounds. Described by reviewers as "short and strange" but "beguilingly written."
Nicole Galland, The Fool’s Tale (2004)
Set in 1198, ths is “a steamy historical romance about a medieval Welsh queen’s love affair with the king’s best friend — his profane, hyperactive royal fool .... A promising debut.” — Publishers Weekly
Haley Elizabeth Garwood, the Warrior Queen series:
The Forgotten Queen
Queen Matilda of England
Swords Across the Thames
The Anglo-Saxon queen Aethelflaed.
Haley Elizabeth Gellis, the Roselynde Chronicles:
Gilliane
Joanna
Rhiannon
Sybelle
Alison
---, Bond of Blood
---, Knight's Honor
Mary Gentle, Ash: A Secret History.
First of aseries chronicling the adventures of a female mercenary captain in 15th-century Europe. It combines SF and an intense attention to historical detail with string theory to present a convincing fantasy of the collision of an alternate timeline with the present. It won the 2000 British Science Fiction Award.
Parke Godwin, Lord of Sunset (1999)
A love story between King Harold and the Lady Edith.
---, Robin and the King (1993)
Posie Graeme-Evans,
The Exiled (2005)
Anne
de Bohun has an affair with King Edward IV in the “lusty fifteenth
century”
—, The Innocent (2005)
Another
lusty volume on Anne and Edward IV
—, The Uncrowned Queen (2006)
Third
in the trilogy about Anne de Bohun and the War of the Roses
Andrew M. Greeley,
ed., Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy (2004)
Fifteen
retellings and recastings of medieval Irish myths and legends, by authors
such as Diane Duane, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, and Charles de Lint.
Jane Guill, Nectar from a Stone (2005).
A Welsh widow on the run in 1351, by the author of several works nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Hella S. Haasse,
In a Dark Wood Wandering (1949)
A massive
novel of the Hundred Years’ War, first published in Dutch.
Tom Harper, The Mosaic of Shadows (A Byzantine Mystery)
“British author Harper effortlessly draws the reader into the court intrigues and conspiracies of 11th-century Byzantium in his outstanding debut.” — Publishers Weekly
Cecelia Holland,
The Kings in Winter (2000)
Ireland
in the 11th century.
---, Great Maria (1993)
Jerusalem
the
final days of the reign of Baldwin IV, the king of Latin Jerusalem
Kate Horsely, The Changeling of Finnestuath (2004)
The story of Grey, a 14th-century peasant girl raised as a boy, who later becomes a warrior. “Told with rich detail, warmth and wry wit, this is a full and well-researched tale with a compelling protagonist.” — Publishers Weekly
Jennifer Horsman, Forever and a Lifetime (1990)
Jonpaul the Terrible steals away the Lady Nichole in 15th-century Switzerland in this breathless romance.
Grace Ingram, Red Adam’s Lady
Jeff Janoda, Saga: A Novel of Medieval Iceland (2005)
A retelling of a 13th-century Icelandic saga.
Ellen Joans, Beloved Enemy: The Passions of Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Novel
Brenda Joyce, The Conqueror( 1990)
Rolfe the Relentless is determined to have Ceidre, the noblewoman disguised as a peasant, and lusty dealings ensue.
Stephen Lawhead,
Hood
On Robin Hood
--, The Celtic Crusades
A family of Scottish nobles and the early Crusades)
-- Byzantium
A Celtic monk, Aidan, goes on a pilgrimage to Constantinople
Arnette Lamb, Chieftain
(1994)
Genre
romance about romance with a Scottish chieftain in 1301.
Ann Lawrence, Lord of the Keep
Romance between Gilles d'Argent and Emma, a weaver. The kind of book that has a muscled semi-clothed man on the cover.
Emma Leslie, Leofwine the Saxon: A Story of Hopes and Struggles (1875)
—, Elfreda: A Sequel to Leofwine (1875)
Morgan Llywelyn, Lion of Ireland
About Brian Boru, High King of Ireland.
---, Red Branch
A retelling of the Ulster Cycle and the story of Cuchulain.
---, Druids
An orphan, Ainvar, in pre-Christian Gaul, becomes a druid and seeks to rally the Celts against the Romans.
Johanna Lindsey, Surrender My Love (1994)
Norah Lofts, Madselin (1968)
Set in Norman England.
Kinley MacGregory, Dark Champion
—, Return of the Warrior (2005)
Avon Historical Romances: “they must never surrender to the passionate yearnings of their noble hearts...”
Susan Mayse, Awen (1997)
The story of Brys, a disgraced court poet in eighth-century Wales, and historical and political intrigues.
Mary Reed McCall, Secret Vows (2001)
Romance set in 13th-century England
—, The Maiden Warrior
—, Beyond Temptation: The Templar Knights (2005)
—, The Sweetest Sin
—, The Crimson Lady
Courtesans and intrigue in 13th-century England
Elizabeth Ann Michaels, Til There Was You (1998)
Genre romance set in the Middle Ages.
Linda Lael Miller, Knights (1996)
Anita Mills, Lady of Fire
—, Fire & Steel
—, Hearts of Fire
—, Fire & Fury
—, Winter Roses
Romance novels set during the period of Henry I and Stephen and Matilda
Stuart W. Mirsky, The King of Vinland's Saga (1998)
On Leif Ericsson.
Margaret Moore, Warrior's Way
---, The Welshman's Way (1995)
Two Harlequin romances about Dafydd ap Iolo and his action-packed life.
Philippa Morgan, Chaucer and the House of Fame (2004)
“Drawing on official records, Morgan skilfully interweaves Chaucer’s actual experiences as an English diplomat into a gripping tale of murder and intrigue...outstanding.” — Publisher's Weekly
Geoffrey Moorhouse, Sun Dancing: A Vision of Medieval Ireland (1997)
William Morris, A Dream of John Ball
On the English insurrection of 1381, by an eminent Victorian.
Kate Mosse, Labyrinth (2005)
“Set both in the present and at the beginning of the 13th century, the book has two heroines: modern-day Alice, who begins the novel helping out on an archaeological dog, and Alaïs, a teenage girl in Carcassonne at the time of the Fourth Crusade” — The Observer. A book about the holy grail, and a popular successor to The Da Vinci Code.
Hope Muntz, The Golden Warrior (1949).
“Powerful, unsentimental account of the Norman Conquest.”
Alan Mussell, The
Last Crusade
The experiences of Jean of Beziers from France to the Holy Land. Published
by iUniverse.
Zoe Oldenbourg, Cities
of the Flesh
Set
in thirteenth-century Toulouse, this involves a count, the Cathars and
tragic love
—, The World Is Not Enough
Medieval
France, with detailed historical accuracy. The sequel is:
---, The Cornerstone
---, Destiny of Fire
The
Cathar heresy. A more wooden novel than her others.
Kate Osborne-Knight,
Daughter of Ireland (2002). A retelling of Celtic legend.
Bright Sword of Ireland (2004).
Finnabair, daughter of Queen Medb, narrates the story of the Táin.
Mirella Patzer, Heinrich the Fowler: Father of the Ottoman Empire.
Intrigue and love in tenth-century Germany. Published by PublishAmerica.
Edith Pargeter, The
Heaven Tree Trilogy
— The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet
—, A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury
—, The Marriage of Meggotta.
Well-researched novels by the author who also writes as Ellis Peters.
Jacqueline Park,
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi (1998)
The
turbulent life of a woman in 16th-century Florence, inspired by the letters
of a real woman of the period.
Susan Paul, The
Bride's Portion
---, The Heiress Bride (1996)
The
beautiful Rosaleen meets her match in this category romance set in 15th-century
England.
Diana Paxson, Master of Earth and Water (1993)
A fantasy retelling of the Irish legend of Finn MacCool.
---, The Shield Between the Worlds
---, Sword of Fire and Shadow
Sharon Kay Penman,
Cruel as the Grave (1998)
—, Dragon’s Lair: A Medieval Mystery (2003).
It’s
1193, and Justin de Quincy ventures into Wales in his quest to help Eleanor
of Aquitaine ransom her son, Richard Lionheart, from the Holy Roman Emperor.
— Here Be Dragons
—, Falls the Shadow
Simon
de Montfort and the rising of the barons against Henry III.
—, The Queen's Man (1996)
—, Prince of Darkness
—, The Reckoning
(A trilogy set in medieval Wales)
—, The Sunne in Splendor
Richard
III's role in the end of the War of the Roses and his brief reign.
—, Time and Chance
The
early years of the reign of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
—, When Christ and His Saints Slept
The
chaos that ensued after the death of Henry I when his daughter Maude and
nephew Stephen fought over the kingdom of England.
Jean Plaidy, The Heart of the Lion (1997)
---, The Queen's Secret (1990)
The story of Katherine of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI of France, who marries Henry V of England and then falls treacherously in love with Owen Tudor.
Octavia Randolph, The Circle of Ceridwen
The story of an early medieval woman, available free on the author’s website, www.octavia.net
Julian Rathbone, The Last English King (1997)
From the point of view of Walt, the only retainer of King Harold to survive the Battle of Hastings, as he wanders to the Holy Land.
---, Kings of Albion (2000)
"A wonderfully offbeat tale of medieval England at its most brutal and savage," says the jacket.
Piers Paul Read, The Templars (2000).
The story of the military order of monks from their beginnings under Richard the Lionhearted to their end, charged with witchcraft and burned at the stake. Told in three parts, of which the first is clogged with history but the second and third are fascinating.
Charles Reade, The Cloister and the Hearth: A Tale of the Middle Ages
A favorite among the Victorians.
Bernard F. Reilly, Secret of Santiago: A Novel of Medieval Spain (1997)
Judith Merkle Riley, A Vision of Light
A novel about 14th-century England, by a historian.
Stephen J. Rivele, A Booke of Days: A Journal of the Crusades (1996)
Fay Sampson, The Flight of the Sparrow (1999)
Hild of Whitby in seventh-century England.
Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
William Scott, The Bannockburn Years (1997)
On the Scottish Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Anya Seton, Catherine
Chaucer's wife's sister, Catherine, becomes the mistress of John of Gaunt.
Tim Severin, Viking: Odinn and Child (2005)
—, Viking: King’s Man (2005)
Bertrice Small, The Spitfire (1990)
Genre romance in 15th-century England.
Flora Speer, Castle of Dreams (1990)
The three women of a Welsh castle and their tempestuous romances.
Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company (1990)
About the warriors in the early Celtic elegy The Gododdin.
Judith Tarr, Hound and Falcon trilogy:
The Isle of Glass
The Golden Horn
Hounds of God
Anne Thackeray, Ragnarok (1989)
Francis Thomas, The Blindfold Track (1980)
---, A Knot of Spells (1983)
---, The Region of the Summer Stars (1985)
Gunnar Thompson, Lions in the New Land: The Epic Adventures of Friar Nicholas in the Enchanted Isles (1998)
Nigel Tranter, Lord of the Isles
the “Bruce” trilogy
Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter:
The Bridal Wreath
The Mistress of Husaby
The Cross
Trilogy of novels about the life of a 14th-century Norwegian noblewoman, by the winner of the Novel Prize for 1928. Some now find the books slow going; others adore them.
Barry Unsworth, Morality Play
A troop of medieval English players run into trouble in this very literary novel. Nominated for the Booker Prize, but can be slow going. Also a film.
Brenda Rickman Vantrease, The Illuminator (2005)
A widow takes in a master illuminator as a lodger in 14th-century England; love. murder, and duty make their appearance. “This is an absorbing, expertly told tale” — Publishers Weekly
Anne Lee Waldo, Circle of Stones (1999)
Romantic saga set in the 12th century, about Brenda, who becomes a druid healer, and her relationship with Prince Owain.
Jill Paton Walsh, Knowledge of Angels (1994)
A medieval fable set on a Mediterranean island around 1450. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Jess Wells, The
Mandrake Broom (2006)
One
woman's fight to save medical knowledge during the European witch-burnings,
featuring Luccia Alimenti, daughter of a medical professor at the University
of Salerno, destined to carry ancient texts and herbal lore into the dangerous
and ground-breaking future.
Connie Willis, The
Doomsday Book
A lively,
vivid and hilarious medieval time-travel narrative.
Tim Willocks, The
Religion: A Novel (2007)
A French
countess and a Saxon adventurer get caught up in an attack by Suleiman
the Magnificent. First book in the Tannhauser Trilogy.
Linda Windsor, The
Knight and the Raven (1994)
Welsh
maidens, disguises and intrigue in this Zebra Lovegram Historical Romance.
Peter Vansittart, The Death of Robin Hood
The second and longest of four sections in this stylized literary novel is a highly evocative account of a mysterious and mythical medieval Robin Hood. Superbly done, but not to everyone's taste.
Joan Wolf, The Fatal Crown
A love affair between the 12th-century English princess Maud and her cousin and rival to the throne Stephen of Blois.
The Edge of Light
“At the outset of this powerfully wrought historical romance set in ninth-century Britain, Wolf lists the Anglo-Saxon characters, at least half of whose names begin with ‘Ethel.’” — Amazon. The story of Alfred the Great.
The Road to Avalon
Born of the Sun
Sequel to The Road to Avalon: the love story of Niniane, a Celtic princess, and Cealwin, bastard son of the King of the West Saxons, after the death of King Arthur.
To the Castle (2005)
Plenty of passion in this romance set in England in the time of King Stephen.
Chelsea Quinn Yabro, A Mortal Glamour (2007)
Lusty
doings in a 14th-century French convent, by an author more famous for
her young adult fiction.
A. B. Yehoshua, The
End of the Millennium
The
world of North Africa and European Jews at the turn of the first millennium,
painting a wonderful picture of 10th-century Paris in the process.
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