I read this for professional reasons, which is not to say that I didn’t get great pleasure from it. Frame is a fine writer, and this isn’t always true of those who are also great scholars. This is a collection of essays, some new but mostly older works, lightly edited in a couple of cases.

Much of Frame’s work deals with that nebulous concept of identity in its various forms. He has explored much of the medieval history of Ireland after the English (or Anglo-Norman) invasion began in 1169. He has done so from perspectives both close and detailed and more broadly comparative. He was one of the most important figures in encouraging us to consider Ireland alongside and as part of a wider collective that includes Wales, Scotland, England, and parts of France.

For a time, I was rather annoyed because it seemed like every good idea I had… show more.

An oldie but goodie! Any aspiring historian will benefit greatly from this four-book series written in the 1960s. This is a popular history and very easy to read. Although I discovered these books years before I started writing, I periodically revisit them purely for enjoyment. Costain covered a lot of information in a way that stayed with me for years. I would even go so far as to say he influenced me to continue my reading on the subject. This particular volume gives us a lot of insight into Richard II. 

English medieval history has always fascinated me, and I can trace my own ancestry back to King Edward III and his ancestors so I loved this book, which focuses on the queens of Kings Edward I, II, and III, most of whom were my ancestors.

This is the third book in Weir’s series about medieval English queens, and I found it the most interesting of them all. I was particularly fascinated by information about Philippa of Hainault that I did not know, but I also loved how she depicted Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II, showing what a strong woman she was and justifying many of her actions in her rebellion against her husband who let his love for other men interfere with his ability to rule.

I seriously enjoy a good “between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place” romance, especially when the female heroine is able to navigate it while staying true to herself. In this one, King John weds his illegitimate but beloved daughter Joanna to his bitter enemy, Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, in an effort to take Wales under his control. But Joanna loves both of them—father and husband—and is forced time and again to prove her loyalty to one side or the other, until neither faction supports her in return. While this definitely portrays the helplessness that many medieval women faced, often experiencing a forced marriage for some political purpose or other, Joanna’s courage, bravery, and sense of self in the face of so much conflict were inspiring and so addicting to read about.

Everybody knows the name of Richard III, the short-lived king of England whose defeat ushered in the Tudor dynasty. But the story everyone knows and argues about is his time as king and the fate of the “princes in the tower.” 

Michael Hicks tells the story of Richard’s life before he became king, his loyal support for his brother Edward IV, the political scheming that made him the ruler of the north of England, and his reforming zeal, which might have transformed the country had he lived. 

Nothing like Shakespeare’s caricature (written to please the Tudors!), Richard emerges as a complex and fundamentally decent man of his time, whose story deserved this telling.

Probably the first “modern” medieval adventure novel, a young Doyle published this in 1891, shortly after he had begun his more famous Sherlock Holmes stories. Also set in the Hundred Years War, it follows a band of mercenaries fighting for the Edward the Black Prince against the French.

It’s mild by today’s standards but a rousing adventure nonetheless, and I first read it at the age of 14. It has all the ingredients of old-fashioned epic adventure: precarious battles, friendship, valiant deeds, humor, and a bit of romance. Check it out and see what your grandfather would have read as a boy on a rainy afternoon.

I will start by admitting that I had ambivalent feelings about this book for some time simply because it takes a different view on certain historical events and people than I do. Still, I cannot not recommend it, because it stunned me over and over with its vivid characters and the slowly unravelling mystery that is at the heart of the story. Above all, I was delighted to find that this novel centres around two young women who have been overshadowed by more prolific historical figures, bringing lesser-told stories to the forefront.

The summer before starting my first year of university, I went in search of historical fiction that was accurate enough to help prepare me for the module I was going to take about medieval Britain. Meticulously researched and packed full of detail that brings historical scenery and relationships to life, Devil’s Brood was the perfect starting point. It is a book that I have read and enjoyed three or four times, and each time, I have discovered new passages that made me put the book down on my pillow and stare blankly at the wall for a few seconds, pondering what I just read. In addition, this thrilling account of the early Plantagenets is the first (albeit independent) part of a series, so if you get as hooked as I did, there’s more to be had!

The Peasants' Revolt was one of the most pivotal events of the fourteenth century, for it turned society upside-down and threatened the powers-that-be in a way they could never have imagined. Poor King Richard was only fourteen years old, and he discovered that he could rely on no one but himself to put a stop to the rampaging. Much of London went up in flames, and fatalities included the Archbishop of Canterbury! What caused this terrible uprising? This book gives us a thorough explanation as to what happened—and why. Dan Jones is at his usual best in making it interesting to the general reader. I was so taken with the whole scenario that it played a major part in the first third of my novel. 

If there is a single book that introduced me to historical fiction, this is it. I bought it at random for 50p at a flea market while on vacation in Scotland. And I read it. And I cried—a lot. It is possible that my young age at the time played a part in the enchantment, but the memory sticks with me. The protagonist Mary Howard was unknown to me before I read this novel, and I believe she has been largely forgotten in history, but that was one of my favourite aspects of the reading experience. Both as a reader and a writer, I believe that a main character who was relatively obscure but nevertheless close to pivotal historical events allows fact to be paired with the author’s creative liberties.