I always enjoy putting together my list of favourites at the end of the year and reminding myself of all the great books I’ve read during the previous twelve months. Of course there have also been some that weren’t so great, but I prefer not to focus on those and concentrate instead on the books that I loved or that I found special or memorable in some way.
And here they are, my favourite books of 2014, in the order I read them. I apologise in advance for the length of this list!
Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada
From my review: “I’ll be very surprised if this one is not on my list in December! I loved every minute of this funny and charming yet dark and poignant German novel from 1932.”
Falls the Shadow by Sharon Penman
From my review: “Long, complex and emotionally intense…this is the story of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, the French nobleman who ruled England for more than a year. I didn’t realise quite how much Penman had made me love Simon until I reached the end of his story.”
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
From my review: “As usual with a Trollope novel, I was completely drawn into the lives of the characters and enjoyed all 690 pages! This is definitely one of my favourite Trollope novels so far and I’m now looking forward to reading the rest of the Pallisers.”
The Convictions of John Delahunt by Andrew Hughes
From my review: “A wonderfully moody and sinister historical crime novel…I loved this dark and atmospheric book and was completely gripped by John Delahunt’s fascinating story.”
The Moon in the Water by Pamela Belle
From my review: “The Moon in the Water follows the story of Thomazine Heron and her family, and is set during the English Civil War. I loved it from the first page to the last…it was a joy to discover this one and to know that I have many more Pamela Belle books still to look forward to.”
Insurrection by Robyn Young
From my review: “Insurrection is exactly the sort of historical fiction I love…I found it to be a fascinating, atmospheric tale of kings and knights, witches and soldiers, treachery, murder and war.”
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
From my review: “I loved this book as much as I expected to and enjoyed being back in Hardy’s Wessex. The plot is a great one, with lots of twists and turns and plenty of drama; I was never bored once.”
The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas
From my review: “A fascinating historical novel set in Renaissance Italy and narrated by Barbara of Austria. Although the back cover of this book promised “conspiracy, intrigue and murder”, I was still surprised that the story had such a strong mystery element.”
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
From my review: “I found The Devil in the Marshalsea very entertaining and fun to read. As a mystery novel, it kept me guessing right until the end..as a work of historical fiction it’s equally impressive.”
The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters by Michelle Lovric
From my review: “I loved this book, the first I’ve read by Michelle Lovric, and I would agree that it really is a ‘splendid history’. One of my favourite books of the year so far.”
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
From my review: “This is the first book I’ve read by Robert Harris…and guess what? I loved it! An Officer and a Spy really is a fascinating novel and took me through a range of emotions from shock to frustration to absolute outrage!”
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
From my review: “Yet again I have book blogging to thank for helping me to discover an author who I think is going to become a favourite…Assassin’s Apprentice, the first book of The Farseer Trilogy seemed the logical place to start, and what a great book it turned out to be!”
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
From my review: “The Crystal Cave introduces us to Myrddin Emrys, better known as Merlin…A great book and now one of my absolute favourites by Mary Stewart.”
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
From my review: “It’s a gentle, slow-paced novel but completely compelling and, despite the lack of drama, I found it difficult to put down…The ending is perfect too.”
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
From my review: “There’s just so much packed into this novel: the scandals and intrigues of the 17th century French court, a version of Rapunzel much darker and more compelling than the one I remember from my childhood, a vivid depiction of Renaissance Italy, magic and witchcraft, religious persecution, stories within stories, and much more.”
A History of Loneliness by John Boyne
From my review: “A very insightful and thought-provoking novel and my favourite John Boyne book so far. I loved this book and am so glad I still have so many of his earlier novels left to explore!”
Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald
From my review: “What a great book! A wonderful setting, a beautiful romance, characters I really cared about, an exciting story and lots of fascinating historical detail…definitely one of my favourite books of the year.”
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
From my review: ” It’s fun and imaginative and entertaining – and I loved it… I’m going to miss Don Quixote and Sancho after spending so much time with them this year!”
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What about you? What are the best books you’ve read this year? Have you read any of the books on my list?
She Reads Novels 
I sadly haven’t read any of the books on your list but I would love to read The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart and I have Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb on my kindle to read. I’ve done a post for my top 10 reads which will be up soon.
The Crystal Cave and Assassin’s Apprentice are both great books! I’ll look forward to your top 10 post.
Remains of the Day is the only one I’ve read on your list and I adored it. You’ve inspired me to read some Trollope this year – I’ve never read any but I think I should judging from your reviews!
Trollope is one of my favourite Victorian authors. His Barsetshire series is wonderful, but I’m enjoying his Palliser novels too – I hope you find you love him as much as I do!
What a great list, Helen, it looks like historical fiction ruled this year. I liked your review for The Convictions of John Delahunt, that goes to my TBR.
I want to read Assassin’s Apprentice next year, I hear it’s really good and I’m getting into fantasy more and more.
I’ve read a book by John Boyne this year, This House is Haunted, you might like it.
Yes, this has been a good year for historical fiction! The Convictions of John Delahunt was a great book…very original and unusual.
I hope you enjoy Assassin’s Apprentice. I loved it, and the other two books in the Farseer Trilogy too.
Oh my, these look wonderful! I read The Crystal Cave this year too, after somehow managing to avoid it for many years.
Since you are obviously well versed in historical novels and mysteries, I’m going to ask if you might be aware of a book that has been eluding me for a long time. About ten (?) years ago I read a fairly new book, followed by at least one sequel, that had a heroine in Renaissance Europe leaving her home and traveling about, with some mystery or danger going on…she had an older male companion I believe. I’m sorry this is so vague, but although I remember liking the book I cannot for the life of me call up any more details! Do you have any idea what it might be? The book also had a lovely cover of a young woman, possibly based on an actual painting.
At any rate, thanks for this list which is going to provide temptation for some months to come.
That book doesn’t sound familiar to me, but I’ll let you know if I think of anything. I know how frustrating it is when you can’t remember the title of a book you enjoyed!
Thanks — I will keep looking!
Among the books on your list, I’ve only read Don Quixote but not this year. This summer I read Cranford by Elizabeth Gatskell, one of my favourite books.
I read Cranford this summer too and enjoyed it. I haven’t included it on my list of favourites, but I did like it.
I have a copy of Little Man What Now that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, so I think that might be my next book – your review is very encouraging! I also very much want to read Bitter Greens having just read and enjoyed The Wild Girl. Great post!
Oh, I hope you enjoy Little Man, What Now. I love Hans Fallada – Alone in Berlin is one of my favourite books.
I love books of the year list and this is such an interesting list! You remind me most of all to reread Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy (or were there four in the end?). I read it years and years ago and loved it and I imagine I’d love it still. I’m also hoping to read the Michelle Lovric too, before the end of 2015.
I think it was originally a trilogy, with two more books published later. I’m looking forward to reading them all after enjoying The Crystal Cave so much.
What a wonderful list! The Trollope and the Lovric are on my list too and I see a few authors I love so I shall definitely be looking up the books I haven’t read.
Thank you. I’m looking forward to reading more books by both Trollope and Lovric next year.
I love these lists – yours is wonderfully diverse. You have some wonderful books ahead of you, with the Pallisers. I hope 2015 brings you even more great books. I am mulling over my own list, and meanwhile adding books to my “to read” list! I
Thanks! I’ve loved the first two Palliser novels so I have high hopes for the rest of the series.
Ooh, the cover of that Lovric book is gorgeous! I would stop at the shelf for that one.
I loved Stewart’s entire Merlin series when I read it – I hope you enjoy the other books in the series, too.
I love that cover too, and I’m pleased to say that the rest of the book lived up to it!
This is a lovely list. I’m glad you loved The Mayor of Casterbridge, it’s one of my favourite books. Some here on my tbr pile which I’m really looking forward to, such as the Lovric. I’d love to read more by Hans Fallada, so will look out for this one. Lindsay
Thanks Lindsay. I really loved the Hans Fallada book, although it was quite different from the other books of his that I’ve read. And I hope you enjoy the Harristown Sisters!
A lovely list! If you enjoyed Bitter Greens, you should try The Wild Girl too, it is just as good (perhaps even more so).
And the only Lovric I’ve read is The Book of Human Skin, which I loved, so I’m going to try out the one you mentioned. Happy reading in 2015!
Thanks, Sam! The Harristown Sisters is the only Michelle Lovric book I’ve read – I’ll have to put The Book of Human Skin on my list to read in 2015.
Fantastic list! Devil in the Marshalsea is on my agenda for 2015. Looks like you had a good year!
The Devil in the Marshalsea was a great book and now I’m looking forward to the sequel which is due out in 2015!
A very different list and not one of them I have read. However many books from your blog are on my wishlist! Happy New Year. Here is to some great books new and old in 2015.
Happy New Year, Jo! You’ve added lots of books to my wishlist too.
Wonderful list! I’ve only read Bitter Greens, which made my top ten for 2013. so many here I want to read, esp the Hardy — four years ago I read Far From the Madding Crowd and it was uh-mah-zing.