Here are 100 books that Alastair-Audley fans have personally recommended once you finish the Alastair-Audley series.
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Ever since my younger years, Iâve spent many hours dwelling within the realms of my imagination, daydreaming myself into whirlwind romances from slow-burn to forbidden and everything in between. Why? The best answer I can give right now is my love of love, my innate understanding that the invisible string that pulls two people so fiercely together at the right time and place ultimately are the connections and relationships that propel us into up-leveling ourselves, evolving into our next best versions. So when I read, watch, or write romance, itâs beyond the physicalâitâs emotional, mental, and truly spiritual.
This book gave me a reminder of faith that neither time nor distance can ever impede upon two individuals destined for each other. Sometimes, what is saidâor rather not said at allâdoesnât exactly portray the truth of someone's intentions or feelings.
Even though I know the ending, Iâll pick this book up every year or so and still find myself wondering how Anne and Wentworth will ever reconcile. But alas, Austen knocks it out of the park once more.
'In Persuasion, Jane Austen is beginning to discover that the world is larger, more mysterious, and more romantic than she had supposed' Virginia Woolf
Jane Austen's moving late novel of missed opportunities and second chances centres on Anne Elliot, no longer young and with few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she was persuaded by others to break off her engagement to poor, handsome naval captain Frederick Wentworth. What happens when they meet again is movingly told in Austen's last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension,âŠ
I grew up without a TV (well, we had a monitor for movies), so we spent a lot of time as a family reading. And the novels that I gravitated more and more towards were ones with psychological themes. It didnât matter if they were modern or ancient; if they got at something unexplainable (or even explainable) about the human psyche, about what motivates us to behave in the ways that we doâespecially if those behaviors are self-destructiveâI wanted to read them. And I still do.
Not only does Janeâs voice sweep me off my feet every time I reopen the novel, but the novel itself always gets me thinking. Itâs one of those rare books that somehow contains every genre, and does it well.
I get sucked into the mystery of the noises in Rochesterâs house. My heart breaks when Janeâs only friend, Helen, dies. But most of all, I feel the romance, the chemistry between Mr. Rochester and Jane. All of it keeps me coming back for more.
Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Canterbury Christ Church University College.
Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage.
She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester.
Iâve loved history and historical fiction since childhood and have been writing historical fiction/historical romance for about ten years. To give readers a sense of what life was really like almost three hundred years ago, I do extensive research: the weight of a 1717 French musket, the terrain where my story is set, and guardianship law, among other details. Titled men, gentlemen smugglers, and ballrooms are mostly absent because although theyâre the stuff of daydreams, our most common problems center around family relationships. Making ends meet, difficult relatives, loyalty to family versus honor, or oneâs own best interests or duty offer plenty of scope for conflict (and excitement and romance, too).
I hated having to put this book down to sleep, go to work, go back to work, eat, or whatever. I love Heyer's humor. After reading the book many, many times for its warm, feel-good story, I still laugh at some of the predicaments Frederica's adventurous young siblings fall into. And Endymion Dauntry, her silly sisterâs cork-brained beau!Â
Her writing style is polished and the dialogue is witty. The love interest is believable as is not always the case with romance novels. Accuracy in detail and depiction of the period is important to me, too, and Heyer delivers it. The story is engaging and fun without being silly, and as itâs an older book, itâs free of tedious sex scenes. Itâs a feel-good story.
New York Times bestselling author Georgette Heyer's beloved tale of an entertaining heroine stumbling on happiness when her marital machinations for her sister go awry.
Determined to secure a brilliant marriage for her beautiful sister, Frederica seeks out their distant cousin the Marquis of Alverstoke. Lovely, competent, and refreshingly straightforward, Frederica makes such a strong impression on him that to his own amazement, the Marquis agrees to help launch them all into society.
Normally Lord Alverstoke keeps his distance from his family, which includes two overbearing sisters and innumerable favor-seekers. But with his enterprisingâand altogether entertainingâcountry cousins chasing wishes andâŠ
I am a writer who will never give you a sad ending! I love books that reflect on life (the good and the bad) but that look for the positive in people. My experience has taught me that there is so much good to findâand as I explore in my debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, everyone has a story to tell. My first novel was published when I was 60, so I am also a believer that you should never underestimate anyone. And I love to see that reflected in books.
My mother had every one of Georgette Heyerâs regency novels, and I inherited them. They are witty, romantic, and satisfying. When I feel sad I dive beneath their covers and lose myself in them. I also remember my mum. The Grand Sophy was her favourite, it is the story of an extraordinary young woman who has a gift for sorting out other peopleâs problems â whether they want her to or not!
If you love Bridgerton, you'll love Georgette Heyer!
'The greatest writer who ever lived' ANTONIA FRASER 'One of my perennial comfort authors. Heyer's books are as incisively witty and quietly subversive as any of Jane Austen's' JOANNE HARRIS 'Absolutely delicious tales of Regency heroes. . . Utter, immersive escapism' SOPHIE KINSELLA __________________
The charming Sophia Stanton-Lacy is a force to be reckoned with.
When Sophy is sent to stay with her London relatives, she finds her cousins in quite the tangle.
Cecilia is besotted with an attractive but feather-brained poet, Hubert has fallen foul of a money-lender, and the ruthlesslyâŠ
Over a long lifetime, Iâve been intrigued to observe many variations on the themes of marriage, widowhood, divorce, and adultery among my friends, patients, and clients. The majority of marriages are probably happy, but these are not usually very interesting to write about, so marriages in fiction often involve some kind of conflict which leads to a more or less satisfactory resolution. I am a retired doctor, originally from England, and now living in New Zealand with my second husband, to whom I have been married for over 40 years.
This book, published in the 1870s, is sometimes considered the best English novel ever written.
It is a monumental work, and while I found it very impressive, I have to admit that reading the long and detailed text felt heavy going at times.
Set in a provincial town with a large cast of characters, it depicts a middle-class way of life very different from that of today, and addresses various social and political questions of the time. One major theme is the psychology of marriage as analysed through the relationships between two ill-matched couples.
Introduction and Notes by Doreen Roberts, Rutherford College, University of Kent at Canterbury.
Middlemarch is a complex tale of idealism, disillusion, profligacy, loyalty and frustrated love. This penetrating analysis of the life of an English provincial town during the time of social unrest prior to the Reform Bill of 1832 is told through the lives of Dorothea Brooke and Dr Tertius Lydgate and includes a host of other paradigm characters who illuminate the condition of English life in the mid-nineteenth century.
Henry James described Middlemarch as a 'treasurehouse of detail' while Virginia Woolf famously endorsed George Eliot's masterpiece as 'oneâŠ
I have been fascinated by Napoleon and the French Revolution since I was a teenager. Novels that capture the essence of the struggles of the French people â and especially those that feature Napoleon as a highly layered character â have always called to me. As a Jewish author, I am particularly drawn to a fair representation of Jewish characters in these tales â which frankly, Georgette Heyer does not, as she adheres to stereotypes in describing any Jewish characters. (I only forgive her because her books are so brilliant.)
A thrilling and fully immersive description of the French Revolution; I loved this book in particular for its moving description of how the Jews of Paris were affected.
I found Madame Tussandâs story to be a wonderful frame for the upheaval in France at the time â especially as a highly layered, wonderful character whose strong personality helped her to survive troubling times.
Itâs definitely my favorite Michelle Moran book â and thatâs tough, considering how many amazing historical novels sheâs written.
I always wanted to be an archaeologist and literally dig up the past, touching objects telling me about people I could never know. Why did Shetland Celts make spherical stone balls? Whose hand held that bone needle? Was that a natural or a sacrificial death? In a different way, using the great gifts of words and imagination, reading historical fiction satisfies the same desire. Yes, that was what it felt like to work for William I, known in his time as William the Bastard; yes, that was how it felt to fear for your partnerâs life every time he went to sea or into battle. Please, let these books open your eyes, your mind, too.
Edward Marston is a really prolific writer â heâs written seven or eight series of historical novels.
My personal favourite is the Domesday series, which follows the adventures of a group of men ordered to put right any mistakes in the Domesday Book, which William the Conqueror used to tax his English subjects. En route, Ralph Delchard and his colleagues also find time to solve a brand new crime â proto-private detectives, I suppose. The book roisters along with some strong female characters to lighten the masculine darkness.
The main reason I chose this is because when I read it I contacted the author to say how impressed I was. And then â Reader, I married him!
Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, is enraged when his hawk is killed by an arrow in the Forest of Delamere. When two poachers are caught, he orders their execution yet neither of them fired the arrow. As Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret come to Cheshire to settle a series of disputes between Church and State, they are guests of the Earl. But when they explore the castle and discover that the Prince of Gwynedd is being held there as a hostage, a number of questions arise. Who is trying to rescue him? Why is Idwal, the over-zealous Welsh priest, lurkingâŠ
I have been fascinated by Napoleon and the French Revolution since I was a teenager. Novels that capture the essence of the struggles of the French people â and especially those that feature Napoleon as a highly layered character â have always called to me. As a Jewish author, I am particularly drawn to a fair representation of Jewish characters in these tales â which frankly, Georgette Heyer does not, as she adheres to stereotypes in describing any Jewish characters. (I only forgive her because her books are so brilliant.)
A sweeping novel about the extraordinary woman who captured Napoleonâs heart, created a dynasty, and changed the course of historyâfrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Traitor's Wife, The Accidental Empress, and Sisi
âI absolutely loved The Queenâs Fortune, the fascinating, little-known story of Desiree Claryâthe woman Napoleon left for Josephineâwho ultimately triumphed and became queen of Sweden.ââMartha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls
As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and itâs fallen on herâŠ
I have been fascinated by Napoleon and the French Revolution since I was a teenager. Novels that capture the essence of the struggles of the French people â and especially those that feature Napoleon as a highly layered character â have always called to me. As a Jewish author, I am particularly drawn to a fair representation of Jewish characters in these tales â which frankly, Georgette Heyer does not, as she adheres to stereotypes in describing any Jewish characters. (I only forgive her because her books are so brilliant.)
I especially treasured how the author used Napoleonâs own young writing to tell the story of his life â as well as the disappointments at the end of his life, including his defeat, imprisonment on Saint Helena, and his separation from his young son.
Margaret Rodenberg made me appreciate Napoleonâs indomitable spirit â the man refused to give up despite daunting odds!
âRodenberg inventively uses Bonaparteâs own unfinished novel to tell the story of the despotâs rise to power, which she juxtaposes against the story of his last love affair. Told creatively and with excellent research!â âStephanie Dray, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of America's First Daughter and The Women of Chateau Lafayette
âBeautiful and poignant.â âAllison Pataki, New York Times best-selling author of The Queenâs Fortune
With its delightful adaptation of Napoleon Bonaparteâs real attempt to write romantic fiction, Finding Napoleon: A Novel offers a fresh take on Europeâs most powerful man after heâs lost everythingâexcept his lastâŠ
Ever since I can remember I had a special love for western romance books. My mom has written several books set in 1800s America and that probably stirred me in that direction as well since I love her books (they're in German, which is why I couldnât recommend them). Regency has become my second historical fiction genre, which is probably why I write and read both time periods. I'm a German-born US-Indie author and total romance fanatic. I write Christian Romance set mostly in the above time periods. I'm a massive Harry Potter fan, have been married to my husband for nearly 18 years and we have two teenage sons.
What a delightful read. Lady Patience Kendrick disguises herself as a maid to prove to her elder brother that she can work just as hard as servants, and gets hired by the staff or her brotherâs former general. What could go wrong? Unfortunately for her, it isnât the general she works for, but the generalâs handsome and charming son who does not have the same standing as her and is desperately trying to impress a young woman to become his bride. As if pretending to be a maid isnât hard enough, the young man comes up with the idea of having Patience act like a lady to convince the other young womanâs parents he is a good match. Enjoyable, humorous, and lots of romantic moments.
Does love have a chance if she doesnât play by the rules?
Lady Patience Kendrick was born to a life of privilege, and with the London Season looming, she finds herself facing unprecedented pressure to adhere to the rules of society. Unfortunately, the free-spirited young woman is anything but proper. Patienceâs elder brother, a former military man, bemoans his sisterâs anticsâbut when he accuses her of incurable frivolity, it is simply more than she can bear. Determined to prove her brother wrong, Patience undertakes a drastic experiment: she will disguise herself as a maid and demonstrate her ability to workâŠ
