Historical Fiction Classics

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets: a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress belonging to Anluan - a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the region in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people, and the woods themselves hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. Then the young scribe Caitrin appears in Anluan's garden, admiring the rare plant known as heart's blood. Retained to sort through entangled family documents, Caitrin brings about unexpected changes.

New hope arrives for the Bennet family when Mr. Bennet discovers a way by which he can end the dreaded entail, leaving him free to leave Longbourn where he wishes. Mr. Bennet seizes the opportunity, ensuring his family's support and providing for their future. When the militia arrives in Meryton, they find a Bennet family much changed from what it had been in the past, for the youngest Bennets are better behaved and not out, and the eldest must deal with new and unwanted attention. For Jane Bennet, the difference is striking.

The pioneer of romantic suspense, Mary Stewart leads her listeners on an unforgettable ride across the Isle of Skye in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. Following a heartbreaking divorce, Gianetta retreats to the Isle of Skye hoping to find tranquillity in the island's savage beauty. But shortly before her arrival a girl's body is found on the craggy slopes of the looming Blue Mountain, and with the murderer still on the loose, there's nothing to stop him from setting his sights on Gianetta next....

The Three Kingdoms is one of the Chinese Noble Classics. The great empire of China is in turmoil. As the government becomes increasingly incompetent, warlords and nobles battle for power. In the north is the Kingdom of Wei, headed by cunning and manipulative Cao Cao. In the southeast is the Kingdom of Wu, ruled by masterful and charismatic Sun Quan. In the west is the Kingdom of Shu, commanded by kindhearted and humble Liu Bei.

It's the time of the English Civil War in 1642. Harry Furness is a Cavalier fighting for the king; his friend, Herbert Rippinghall, sides with the Roundheads in opposition. Oliver Cromwell leads the rebels aligned against the king and his admittedly tyrannical rule, but ends up imposing his own! Most of the story follows Harry Furness and the campaigns which take him all over the British Isles and the high seas, right through his capture at Drogheda and enslavement in Bermuda.

Dedicated to keeping her home immaculate and organized, Evangeline Knapp runs a tight ship, with the Knapp family constantly on edge. Meanwhile, her husband Lester, a dreamer, drifts through his bookkeeping job. Both feel depressed and out of place. Suddenly, after a near-fatal accident, their roles are reversed: Lester is confined to home in a wheelchair and his wife must work to support the family. Evangeline dedicates herself to improvement and customer service, something she learned working in her father’s store as a child.

Pride and patriotism lend fervor to greed and cruelty, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is caught at the centre of a decades-old international feud. Taken far from England, presumed dead by his family, and lost to all he holds dear, only one name remains as his beacon in the darkness: Elizabeth. Georgiana Darcy is now the heartbroken heiress to Pemberley, and Colonel Fitzwilliam her bewildered guardian. Vulnerable and unprepared, Georgiana desperately longs for a friend, while Fitzwilliam seeks to protect her from his own family.

A historical romance set in London, a small English town, and Paris. Remarkably well-crafted, with nuanced male and female characters, this book launched Georgette's 53-book best-selling career.

The year is 1745, and Prince Charlie of the defeated royal house of Stuart, has just returned to Scottish soil. A weighty choice faces every Scottish man. Should he stitch a white cockade to his hat and join the fight to restore James, Prince Charlie's father to the British throne? Or should he stay at home and back George II, the reigning king? One Lowland family, the Duries of Durisdeer and Ballantrae, believe they've found a clever way to sidestep the decision.

The Iron Heel by Jack London is a dystopian novel first published in 1908. The narrative is unusual in being a first-person narrative of a woman protagonist written by a man. Predicting future changes in society and politics, it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. The main narrative covers the years 1912 - 1932, in which the Iron Heel oligarchy arose in the United States. Canada, Mexico, and Cuba formed their own oligarchies and were aligned with the U.S. while in Asia, Japan created an empire in Asia, and Europe became socialist.

Noah and Allie fell in love as teenagers, with the purest sort of love, only to be kept apart by Allie's mother. Their feelings survived in spite of everything - and they recounted their romance in the pages of a notebook. Now, years later, Allie suffers from Alzheimer's, and her memory has been wiped clean. By reading the story of their relationship and the passion they shared, Noah hopes to break through the barrier of his wife's illness. This poignant first novel from Nicholas Sparks rivals any love story ever written.

Rob Roy follows the adventures of Francis, a businessman's son who falls out of favor with his father and is sent to stay in the Scottish Highlands. At the house of his uncle, he meets Rashleigh, the greedy and malicious youngest son, and Diana Vernon, Rashleigh's beautiful young cousin. Seeing that Diana is attracted to Francis, Rashleigh determines to destroy him. But Francis seeks the help of Rob Roy MacGregor, a powerful and enigmatic outlaw.

A Story of God and All of Us is a sweeping narrative that dramatizes some of the most important events and characters in the Bible. The book is narrated like a fine novel, dramatizing the sweep of biblical events, making the men and women of scripture come alive in vivid detail and dialogue. All are historically and theologically accurate. A 10-hour miniseries on the History Channel will be based on the story, and the script has been reviewed by a number of Christian church leaders and seminarians for authenticity.

Almost anyone who has read or written science fiction or fantasy has been inspired by the work of Michael Moorcock. His literary flair and grand sense of adventure have been evident since his controversial first novel Behold the Man, from the stories and novels featuring his most famous character, Elric of Melniboné, to his fantasy masterpiece, Gloriana, winner of both the Campbell Memorial and World Fantasy awards for best novel.

This famous novel deals with the early frontier period of American history and is set in 1757 during the Seven Years War between the French and the British. Intrepid frontiersman and scout Natty "Hawkeye" Bumppo has lived among Indians for most of his life, respecting their customs and acquiring the skills of an experienced woodsman.

For a long, brutal century, the Kingdom of Lower Egypt has been occupied by the "Vile Asiatics", the conquerors called the Shepherd Kings. With their horses and chariots, they overwhelmed the armies of Egypt and swept over the Delta and the sacred cities. Iry, daughter of an old noble house, the Sun Ascendant, has been enslaved by the bearded conquerors. But her new master is born of a different blood, son of the priestess of an ancient rite, the cult of the Horse Goddess and her avatar, the White Mare.

Just as Mr. Darcy finally decides to propose to the enticing Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she is summoned to Falmouth, to meet a relation she never knew she had. Thus, the ill-starred Hunsford proposal is avoided - but before he could even begin to understand his luck, adverse circumstances hasten to conspire against him, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is compelled to follow the woman he loves to the far reaches of Cornwall, into a world of deceit and peril, where few - if any - are what they seem to be...

The story of men who rose to heroism, and then to something greater, HMS Ulysses is the compelling story of Convoy FR77 to Murmansk - a voyage that pushes men to the limits of human endurance as they are crippled by enemy attack and the bitter cold of the Arctic.

One of Thomas Hardy's classic statements about modern love, courtship, and marriage, The Return of the Native is set in the pastoral village of Egdon Heath. The fiery Eustacia Vye, wishing only for passionate love, believes that her escape from Egdon lies in her marriage to Clym Yeobright, the returning "native", home from Paris and discontented with his work there.

This is the charming story of David Langston, a young man in search of the woman of his dreams. She came to him in a vision and he knows he must find her.