Here are 100 books that A Divided Inheritance fans have personally recommended if you like
A Divided Inheritance.
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My idea of âgood fictionâ â and what I try to write myself â involves secret agents and skulduggery, crime, and romance. My own life has involved a good deal of travel. I studied Education and Drama, then Literature, History, and Politics at post-graduate level. All of which help with my research and writing. As a British ex-pat, I have lived in the USA and different parts of Europe. Now, we are finally settled near MĂĄlaga, Spain. âDeep-readingâ fiction set in fascinating places, quality content to indulge in on dark winter nights. I hope you enjoy your time travel as much as I do.
This is the first book in the breathtaking House ofNiccolò series that takes readers across Europe from Flanders to Tuscany, then to Scotland, Cyprus, and Constantinople, among other places, in the mid-fifteenth century. It is the story of a humble but gifted Bruges dye-works apprentice named Claes who turns himself into the wealthy, well-respected, often feared Niccolò, who wreaks havoc on his enemies. Dunnettâs hist-fic is for serious fans of the genre: kings, duchesses, and courtiers, financial machinations with the Medici, international intrigue, and the very best sort of timeless narrative. Not an easy read, but unforgettable, and so worthwhile. Dunnett inspired me to write action-packed but quality historical fiction based on serious research.Â
In this first book of The House of Niccolò series, the author of the Lymond Chronicles introduces a new hero, Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.
With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele ofâŚ
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueâŚ
My idea of âgood fictionâ â and what I try to write myself â involves secret agents and skulduggery, crime, and romance. My own life has involved a good deal of travel. I studied Education and Drama, then Literature, History, and Politics at post-graduate level. All of which help with my research and writing. As a British ex-pat, I have lived in the USA and different parts of Europe. Now, we are finally settled near MĂĄlaga, Spain. âDeep-readingâ fiction set in fascinating places, quality content to indulge in on dark winter nights. I hope you enjoy your time travel as much as I do.
Book 1 in Gillâs Troubadour series opens in Provence, in 1150.A young runaway wakes in a ditch protected by a huge white dog. The girl becomes the celebrated lutist Estela at the court of Alienor of Aquitaine. Her tutor, then lover, is the Queenâs finest troubadour, Dragonetz los Pros. Using Jewish money and Moorish expertise, Dragonetz builds a paper mill, bringing him into desperate conflict with the Christian Church. This is a compelling story woven into real events: the writing is captivating, the history fascinating. Jean Gill is one of those authors who can âtake you thereâ. I was watching what was happening and fearing for the safety of the protagonists to the last page. History, action, and a not-too-treacly romance. A great read all round.
Award-winning historical fiction. Like Game of Thrones with real history. 'Believable, page-turning and memorable.' Lela Michael, S.P. Review 1150: Provence, where making love and making paper are crimes against the Church. Death on her heels, Estela runs towards a new identity. Her life depends on her golden voice and the patronage of Eleanor of Aquitaine but her heart cares more for the judgement of her tutor, Dragonetz, a cynical ex-crusader. He knows he must not love this troublesome student but their duet makes its own demands. Will their secrets kill them both? The troubadours, Dragonetz and Estela, are an explosiveâŚ
My idea of âgood fictionâ â and what I try to write myself â involves secret agents and skulduggery, crime, and romance. My own life has involved a good deal of travel. I studied Education and Drama, then Literature, History, and Politics at post-graduate level. All of which help with my research and writing. As a British ex-pat, I have lived in the USA and different parts of Europe. Now, we are finally settled near MĂĄlaga, Spain. âDeep-readingâ fiction set in fascinating places, quality content to indulge in on dark winter nights. I hope you enjoy your time travel as much as I do.
Technically this is not historical fiction, but if you know anything about Venice and Constantinople, you will recognise our world in the past. Guy Gavriel Kayâs magical writing weaves history into fantasy, where incredible occurrences become perfectly credible. This story is about various individuals caught up in a conflict between those who worship the stars and those who pray to the sun. Each character is very real in their flaws and ambitions and desires. Battles are fought across the fantasy Balkan states and the Adriatic Sea, involving Seressa (Venice) and the Asharites (the âinfidelâ). Kayâs books are quite simply splendid; I love the way they take me on exciting journeys with fascinating characters. Un-put-downable.
Guy Gavriel Kay, bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, once again visits a world that evokes one that existed in our own past, this time the tumultuous period of Renaissance Europe - a world on the verge of war, where ordinary lives play out in the grand scheme of kingdoms colliding.
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates , a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very differentâŚ
Katie's Gamble is an unexpected, unique story about a young woman who's trying to support her younger siblings by keeping her family's confectionery shop open.
In order to do that, she has to take on her older brother, who's a notorious gambler in Louisiana. Additionally, she has to outsmart RowdyâŚ
My idea of âgood fictionâ â and what I try to write myself â involves secret agents and skulduggery, crime, and romance. My own life has involved a good deal of travel. I studied Education and Drama, then Literature, History, and Politics at post-graduate level. All of which help with my research and writing. As a British ex-pat, I have lived in the USA and different parts of Europe. Now, we are finally settled near MĂĄlaga, Spain. âDeep-readingâ fiction set in fascinating places, quality content to indulge in on dark winter nights. I hope you enjoy your time travel as much as I do.
Iâm not a great Wilbur Smith fan, but I read this story because it involves trade with India in the age of sail and the monsoon, and it has stayed with me. There is a sweeping plot taking an 18th Century Englishman on a perilous voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean, memorable characters, victims of greed and perpetrators of evil, and some brilliantly described action scenes. If you want some edge-of-your-seat armchair travel, this novel will take you on a real adventure to far-away places.
BOOK 10 IN THE EPIC HISTORICAL SAGA OF THE COURTNEY FAMILY, FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WILBUR SMITH
'Smith will take you on an exciting, taut and thrilling journey you will never forget' - The Sun
'With Wilbur Smith the action is never further than the turn of a page' - The Independent
'No one does adventure quite like Smith' - Daily Mirror
THEY LEAVE AS BROTHERS. THEY RETURN AS MEN.
The East India Trading Company is under attack from pirates. Under orders from the King himself, famed sailor Hal Courtney makes the dangerous journey to Madagascar with his youngâŚ
I am passionate about the written word and effective communication. My articles and reviews have been published in major newspapers and magazines and for two decades I taught writing on the university level. Travel writing is a subset of my experience as editor of the best-selling In Mind literary anthologies and editor and writer for more than a dozen guidebooks. In addition, I have been âfirst readerâ and editor for prospective authors and shepherded several books to publication, the most recent Red Clay Suzie by first-time novelist Jeffrey Lofton (publication January 2023).Â
A few weeks ago, I got an email from John Julius Reel asking to blurb his new book My Half Orange. I read it and happily endorsed it. Reel moved to Seville from his native New York in his late 30s. Recovering from a broken relationship, he was adrift. Reel met his Andalusian wifeâhis half-orangeâand in short order, they moved in together and had two sons.
Like other ex-pats, Reel bridges two cultures. His parents live in New England, and his wifeâs Spanish family lives closeâ perhaps too closeâto Reel, his wife, and his children. Published this year, My Half Orange is the latest addition to âex-patsâ in Spain. Â
In his late thirties, John Julius Reel left his native New York for Seville, hoping to reinvent himself, find his voice as a writer, and cast off the shadow of his famous father. When his girlfriend dumped him after a month-long visit, the last tie was cut, and he had to face his future from his stark, mosquito-infested rented room. Alone in a foreign land, struggling with the language, and longing to find his place and purpose in the world, he began to rebuild his life.
What follows is a tender, comical, and illuminating story about what it means toâŚ
I love big books with strong thematic cores, sprawling casts, and curious timelines (from books that take place over four seconds to several decades) that explore what it means to be human on the most primal, unfiltered, and unflinching level. These books feature characters who are trying to reconcile the expectations they had for their lives, with their complicated realties. And yet, they simmer with warmth and hope, all of them reminders that thereâs nobility in the struggle, and that thereâs still plenty of room for joy, even when things donât go as planned. Especially if they donât. Ballsy, wise, and funny, these books speak to my existential comedic heart.
Told from the perspective of a goldfish named Ian as he tumbles from his 27th-floor balcony perch, and observes the lives of the Seville on Roxyâs quirky, complicated, and very real residents, Fishbowl is an intricate, surprising, and impeccably woven tale about who we really areâand arenâtâbehind closed doors.
A tale of life, death, and the great in-between with stunning revelation, close calls, and big truths. The perfect read if youâve ever had to take the stairs. Masterful, fun and inventive.
Ian the goldfish has always longed for adventure. So when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the railing of the 27th-floor balcony, and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, he witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents. There's the handsome grad student, his girlfriend, and his mistress the construction worker who feels trapped by a secret the building's super who feels invisible and alone the pregnant woman on bed rest who craves a forbidden ice cream sandwich the shut-in for whom dirty talk and quiche are a way of life and home-schooled Herman,âŚ
Papyrologist Lisa Emmer's world flips when the SĂťretĂŠ detains her at her Metro station with news of the savage murder of the esteemed Paris historian Dr. Raimond Foix, her friend and mentor in the study of ancient documents.
Horrified, Lisa finds clues at the crime scene left behind for herâŚ
Like the characters in this list, I am a stranger living in Spain. Well, not quite a stranger! Although born and raised in Oxford, UK, I shared a childhood with my Spanish grandmother, who couldnât speak English and was almost completely deaf! So, from an early age, I became her translator. Over two decades, I have communed, collaborated, and sometimes collided with all manner of people and places in this country, and my all-consuming love for this nation has led me to investigate its history. The books I recommend here address issues that affect ordinary people in extraordinary times and have brought me great joy. I hope they will for you too.
I love this book. It is dreamy, evocative, and beautifully written: a story of disappointment and broken dreams but also one of hope and endurance, all told with poetic license, where realism gives way to the absurd.
In a quiet corner of a chapel in Seville, there are whispered conversations between the protagonist and a statue of the saint Macarena. She speaks, she advises, and she weeps. Tears fall down her alabaster cheeks whilst out on the wild streets, the brutal Spanish Civil war is raging.
Bit by bit, we are pulled into this semibiographical story that links personal tragedy with the dangers of political extremes. If you read this, your heart might burst, and you will learn a lot.Â
2021 Grand Prize Winner in Winning Writers North Street Book Prize
"Vargas-McPherson is raising up and empowering marginalized voices in remembering and dissecting a moment in history that is often overlooked. While exploring the intersecting experiences over multiple generations, she uncovers familial connections and explores the devastating effects of intergenerational trauma. While many wars have garnered mass amounts of attention from the world, others have not. There have been countless genocides, civil wars, political uprisings, etc. that have caused horrible atrocities in the lives of citizens, and the rest of the world has all but turned a blind eye toâŚ
Iâm fascinated by men, the way they think and behave, the problems they have in their relationships. The very first gay romance I wrote was a cowboy story â Cowboys Down â and who doesnât love cowboys? Theyâre enigmatic, strong, rugged, ultra-masculine. But what if they were also gay? I think itâs that challenge, to show another side of a role that has so predominantly been drawn in one particular way in western books and films. I think gay men must have to work even harder to be accepted as a cowboy than in many other industries and exploring that is enthralling.
I love the start of this. An actor (again!) wakes to find himself naked and bound to a plank in the middle of the Texas range. Fortunately, along comes his saviour in the form of Duke, his knight in shining armour, or in this case, a cowboy. Itâs a debut novel and itâs very good. Romantic and sweet with a bit of a mystery and I loved the touches of humour. Humour always brings a book alive for me. Sadly I think thatâs the only book Thorny has written and itâs shame.Â
Waking up in a strange place isn't a first for model and actor Allan Seville, but discovering himself alone and bound to a rough plank in the middle of an open Texas range certainly is. With no memory of who did this to him or why, panic sets in, until rescue comes riding up on a big, brown horse. There's more to Duke Walters than a handsome face and sexy drawl. In the arms of this rugged cowboy, Al discovers a peace and safety he never knew he needed, and now doesn't want to be without. But someone wants AlâŚ
Beth Haslam grew up on a farm in Wales and was mostly seen messing around with her beloved animals. When she and her husband, Jack, bought a second home in France, their lives changed forever. Computers and mobile phones swapped places with understanding French customs and wrestling with the local dialect. These days, Beth is occupied as never before raising and saving animals, writing, and embracing everything their corner of rural France has to offer. And she loves it!
Besides being delighted by the title, I was keen to read this highly-recommended book about moving to Spain. Victoria and her long-suffering husband really did up sticks and buy a home in a tiny mountain village in AndalucĂa. I was dying to know how they got on.
What a treat. This exquisitely written book is packed with hilarious tales about their property restorations, the local folks, and the battles they have with a psychotic cockerel. Really, itâs true! I learned about the region, loved Victoriaâs character descriptions and finished wanting more. Rumour has it that many folks wanted to dash over to Spain to join them after reading this gem â and Iâm not surprised. Happily, âChickensâ is the first in a best-selling series from this award-winning author. I have read every book so far, and each has been an absolute winner.
If Joe and Vicky had known what relocating to a tiny mountain village in AndalucĂa would REALLY be like, they might have hesitated...Â
They have no idea of the culture shock in store. No idea they'll become reluctant chicken farmers and own the most dangerous cockerel in Spain. No idea they'll help capture a vulture or be rescued by a mule.Â
Will they stay, or return to the relative sanity of England?
Includes Spanish recipes donated by the village ladies and a link to FREEâŚ
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extortsâŚ
Jason Webster is the international best-selling author of fifteen books on Spain, including Duende, Sacred Sierra, The Spy with 29 Names, Violencia: A New History of Spain, and the Max CĂĄmara series of crime novels. He is a publisher, broadcaster, award-winning photographer, a board member of The Scheherazade Foundation, and is married to the Flamenco dancer Salud.
The books in this list are all written by non-Spaniards, for obvious reasons. This one is almost an exception. TomĂĄs Graves is the eighth son of the English poet and novelist Robert Graves. He has lived almost his entire life on the island of Mallorca, and is, effectively, as native as they come. Tuning Up at Dawn is a wonderfully lyrical account of his upbringing, his memories of his father, and his life as a musician. It is deliciously evocative of a slower world which has now all but disappeared.
A loving portrait of the other Majorca, and of a blissful life there revolving around the magic of music - a book to savour, perfect for escaping those crowded beaches.
Tomas Graves was born in and belongs to Majorca. His father, the great love poet Robert Graves, famously ended up on the beautiful Mediterranean island pretty much by accident, but it is the happiest accident of Tomas' life. His love for the special beauties of Majorcan culture shines on every page of this infectiously happy book. This is the real Majorca. 'Tuning Up at Dawn' examines both the suppressionâŚ
