The best historical fiction novels with a twist of myth and magic

In a magisterial book that set the bar for historical fantasy, Susanna Clarke’s reimagining of the Napoleonic wars is seamlessly suffused with the rediscovery of working magic in England by an odd couple of gentlemen magicians. The tone, the prose, and the dialogue are pitch-perfect for the early nineteenth century. There are high stakes and wild faeries and plenty of class-bound foibles and intrigues. But what makes this story shine is the whole new stratum of British lore Ms. Clarke slowly builds (much of it through footnotes, of all things). By the end, Clarke’s mythical Raven King felt every bit as real—and familiar—as King Arthur. 

A traveling physician, Sinuhe, bears witness to a time of religious turmoil in ancient Egypt. The clash between the “mad” Pharaoh Akhenaten’s new monotheistic faith and the traditional pantheon of Egypt’s deities sweeps Sinuhe into the throes of war and politics. An epic in the truest sense, yet this sweeping story never spares on the granular details of everyday life under the pharaohs; one can almost feel the hot sun and smell the fertile banks of the Nile through the pages. The Egyptian might very well be the perfect historical fiction novel (one that was later turned into an academy award nominated movie). Though it is no longer in print, this book is well worth the effort to track down a copy.

No one pens a historical fiction saga as boldly, or as adroitly, as Edward Rutherfurd. Sarum is a multi-millennium epic of the lands around Salisbury Plain and the peoples who settled there, as told through the twining branches of five family trees. The stories (for that is what this book really is, a collection of tales woven around this ancient plateau) are chocked full of drama, tragedy, love, and pathos. But the strand running through the novel that I found most intriguing was the theme that new gods—whether they’re the sun god, the gods of the Celts, the pantheon of Rome, or Jesus of Nazareth—are constantly striving to replace the old… but never fully succeeding.

Another take on the Napoleonic wars, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series (named for the dragon first hatched in His Majesty’s Dragon) imagines how history might have unfolded if the fabled, talking creatures known as dragons had been real—and enlisted to fight for the nations at war. While Clarke’s fantastic insertion of magic into this period of history is perhaps more subtle, Ms. Novik’s is more thought through. The reader becomes familiar with a whole new department of the English armed forces, complete with its own uniforms, culture, and mores. I found that the level of detail Ms. Novik invested—coupled with a fun, action-filled adventure—made the twist of magic in this novel as believable as it was delightful.

I don’t know if I’ve ever run across a more endearing scamp than Baudolino, Italian peasant cum companion to the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I. Professor Eco weaves a richly imagined tale where a group of young men finds themselves on a preposterous journey to find Prester John and far-off mythical lands. Told with erudition, peopled with dynamic characters (and more than a few mythical ones), and seasoned with an obvious relish for medieval trivialities, some will complain that the last quarter of the book has the feel of a story that got lost at sea. But in my opinion, the journey’s well worth the ending.