Welcome to my not-quite-monthly post on all things historical fiction!

This month, I want to highlight the HWA Crown Award longlists which were announced on X last Wednesday by the Historical Writers Association. There are three separate awards – one for debut novels, one for non-fiction and the other (the Gold Crown) for authors who have previously published. The shortlists are announced in October and the winner in November. I have no plans to try to read all of these books, but thought it would be interesting to look at what I’ve read so far from each list.

Gold Crown Award 2024 longlist

The Glutton by AK Blakemore
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
Clear by Carys Davies
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue, tr Natasha Wimmer
Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle
Loot by Tania James
The Book of Days by Francesca Kay
Quint by Robert Lautner
Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison
A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata, tr Juliet Winters Carpenter
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain

I enjoyed Disobedient, about the painter Artemisia Gentileschi, but I was a bit disappointed by the Yangsze Choo, which I found very slow. Absolutely and Forever (also shortlisted for this year’s Walter Scott Prize) and Cahokia Jazz are already on my TBR, and I’ll consider reading the two translated books as I’m making an effort to read more historical fiction in translation. I’m not familiar with any of the others on the list.

Non-fiction Crown Award 2024 longlist

I Seek a Kind Person by Julian Borger
Final Verdict by Tobias Buck
Messalina by Honor Cargill-Martin
Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans by Daniel Cowling
The Shoulders We Stand On by Preeti Dhillon
Survivors by Hannah Durkin
The Exiled by Lucy Fulford
Four Shots In the Night by Henry Hemming
Agincourt by Michael Livingston
The Picnic by Matthew Longo
A Dirty, Filthy Book by Michael Meyer
Impossible Monsters by Michael Taylor

I haven’t read any of these, but as I don’t read a lot of non-fiction in general, that’s not really surprising. I’ve investigated the titles on this list and I feel that there’s not a lot of variety this year, with most of the books dealing with either war or race and immigration. Still, I’m sure they are all interesting reads and if you’ve read any of them, I would like to hear your recommendations.

Debut Crown Award 2024 longlist

The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker
The Golden Gate by Amy Chua
Leeward by Katie Daysh
Colours of Siena by Judith May Evans
The Maiden by Kate Foster
The Painter’s Daughters by Emily Howes
All Us Sinners by Katy Massey
The Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
The Beholders by Hester Musson
The Revels by Stacey Thomas
The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh

I loved the Lucy Barker; the other two books I’ve read from this list were enjoyable enough but not necessarily books I would have expected to see nominated for awards. I was already interested in reading The Maiden after enjoying Kate Foster’s new book, The King’s Witches, earlier this year and The Tumbling Girl sounds fun, but I’m not sure if I’ll look for any of the others.

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What do you think of these longlists? Have you read any of these books or are there any you would like to read?

Welcome to this month’s post on all things historical fiction!

First of all, congratulations to Kevin Jared Hosein, the winner of this year’s Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, announced at the Borders Book Festival last week. His winning novel, Hungry Ghosts, is the story of a Hindu community in 1940s Trinidad and is one of three books I had managed to read from this year’s shortlist. It’s not a book that I particularly liked as I found it too bleak and miserable, but the writing is beautiful and the setting is fascinating, so I can see why it impressed the judges. I’ll find time to read the other three books on the shortlist eventually!

Moving on, last December I posted a list of upcoming historical fiction being published in 2024. Now that we’re halfway through the year, more titles have been announced so I thought I would post an updated list below for July to December. This is a selection of books that have caught my attention for one reason or another – some are review copies I’ve received, some are new books by authors I’ve previously enjoyed and others just sounded interesting. I hope there’s something here that appeals to you. A lot of the July and August ones are already on my 20 Books of Summer list, so you should be hearing more about them here soon!

Dates provided are for the UK and were correct at the time of posting.

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JULY

Babylonia by Costanza Casati (4th July 2024)

A Woman of Opinion by Sean Lusk (4th July 2024)

The King’s Mother by Annie Garthwaite (11th July 2024)

The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden (18th July 2024)

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith (18th July 2024)

The Lost Queen by Carol McGrath (18th July 2024)

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (18th July 2024)

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson (18th July 2024)

Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran (30th July 2024)

AUGUST

Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead (1st August 2024)

The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley (1st August 2024)

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid (13th August 2024)

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker (22nd August 2024)

Precipice by Robert Harris (29th August 2024)

SEPTEMBER

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley (3rd September 2024)

Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd (5th September 2024)

The Royal Rebel by Elizabeth Chadwick (5th September 2024)

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier (12th September 2024)

The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker (12th September 2024)

OCTOBER

The Bells of Westminster by Leonora Nattrass (17th October 2024)

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Are you interested in reading any of these? Which other historical novels should I be looking out for before the year of the year? And what do you think of Hungry Ghosts winning the Walter Scott Prize?

It’s been a few months since my last Historical Musings post, so I thought I’d start by taking a look at what’s going on in the world of historical fiction and then give an update on my own current reading.

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First, like many readers, I was very sorry to hear the news of CJ Sansom’s death at the end of April. Sansom’s Shardlake series set in Tudor England is one of my favourite historical mystery series and I would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet discovered it (try to start with the first book, Dissolution, if you can). Sansom recreates the feel and atmosphere of the period better than almost any author I can think of. It’s particularly sad that his death came just days before the new TV adaptation of Shardlake was shown on Disney+. I still haven’t got round to reading Tombland, the final book in the series, but I’m pleased that I still have it to look forward to now that I know there won’t be another one.

FictionFan has posted a lovely tribute to Sansom on her blog here.

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You may have already seen my post on the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction shortlist, which was announced on 1st May, but if you missed it here are the six shortlisted titles:

The New Life by Tom Crewe
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas
Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

I’ve now read three of these books, My Father’s House, Hungry Ghosts and The House of Doors, although I haven’t had time to review the last two yet. So far my favourite is My Father’s House but I’m hoping to read at least one more before the prize is announced in June.

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Apart from my Walter Scott Prize reading, my most recent historical fiction reads include The Household by Stacey Halls, a book about Urania Cottage, a home for fallen women founded by Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts, and A Court of Betrayal by Anne O’Brien, the story of Johane de Geneville, the wife of Roger Mortimer. I’ve also just finished a fascinating work of historical non-fiction – The Black Count by Tom Reiss, a biography of the father of one of my favourite classic authors, Alexandre Dumas. Again, I’m behind with my reviews but will be posting my thoughts on all of these as soon as I can!

I haven’t forgotten that one of my reading resolutions for 2024 was to read more historical fiction in translation. I got off to a good start, reading Shūsaku Endō’s Silence (translated from Japanese by William Johnston) in January and then Angharad Price’s The Life of Rebecca Jones (translated from Welsh by Lloyd Jones) in March, but sadly I haven’t read any more since then and I’m in need of inspiration! Book Riot’s new list of 8 of the Best Translated Historical Fiction Novels looks worth exploring, but I would love to hear your recommendations as well.

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Have you read any good historical fiction recently?

Welcome to my monthly post on all things historical fiction. For my first Musings post of the year, I am looking back at the historical fiction I read in 2023 and have put together my usual selection of charts and lists! I have kept most of the same categories I’ve used for the previous seven years so that it should be easy to make comparisons and to see if there have been any interesting changes in my reading patterns and choices (here are my posts for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016).

Before I begin, just a reminder that I do actually read other genres but for the purposes of this post I haven’t included those books in these stats!

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Time periods read about in 2023:

No surprises here. Since I started recording these statistics, the 19th and 20th centuries have come out on top nearly every year, apart from in 2020 when the 17th century edged into first place. I tend to read very few books set earlier than the 11th century and that was the case again this time.

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31% of the historical fiction authors I read in 2023 were new to me.

This is slightly down on the last few years and nowhere near the high point of 54% in 2019! However, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sticking mainly to favourite authors you know you’re going to enjoy.

Here are three historical novels I read by new-to-me authors in 2023:

Savage Beasts by Rani Selvarajah
These Days by Lucy Caldwell
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane

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I read 0 historical novels in translation in 2023

Although I did read a few books from other genres in translation (including some Japanese crime and a Jostein Gaarder novel), I didn’t read any translated historical fiction. This is something I’m planning to work on in 2024 and have already made a good start with Silence by Shūsaku Endō.

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Publication dates of historical fiction read in 2023:

This is always a disappointing statistic for me to look at. Every December when I compile my list of favourite books of the year, it’s older books that dominate – so why am I not reading more older books? I think it’s mainly due to the temptations of all the new books available on NetGalley, so in 2024 I’m determined to pick up more of the books from my own shelves.

The oldest historical fiction novel I read in 2023 was The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer (published in 1940).

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11% of my historical reads in 2023 were historical mysteries.

This is about the same as in previous years. Here are three I enjoyed reading in 2023:

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead
Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry
Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie

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I read historical fiction set in 17 different countries in 2023:

As usual, almost half of the historical novels I read were set in England. Although I did read books set in other countries as well, I think I need to be more active in looking for books with different settings, particularly countries I haven’t read about before. Reading more translated fiction should help with that.

In addition to these books, I also read two books set either mainly or partly at sea:
The Ionian Mission by Patrick O’Brian and The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor.

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Four historical men I read about in 2023:

Charles Byrne (The Giant, O’Brien by Hilary Mantel)
Hugh O’Flaherty (My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor)
Henry VIII (Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown by Alison Weir)
Harry Smith (The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer)

Four historical women I read about in 2023:

Empress Maud (The Stolen Crown by Carol McGrath)
Anne Lister (Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue)
Artemisia Gentileschi (Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle)
Princess Nadezhda (The Witch’s Daughter by Imogen Edwards-Jones)

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What about you? Did you read any good historical fiction last year? Have you read any of the books or authors I’ve mentioned here and have you noticed any patterns or trends in your own reading?

Now that 2023 is almost over, it’s time to look ahead to the historical fiction being published in 2024. I’ve listed below a selection of books that have caught my attention for one reason or another – some are review copies I’ve received, some are new books by authors I’ve previously enjoyed and others just sound interesting. 2024 looks like being a great year for historical fiction and I hope there’s something here that appeals to you.

Dates provided are for the UK and were correct at the time of posting.

January

The Beholders by Hester Musson (18th January 2024) – A debut Gothic thriller about secrets within the household of a politician and his wife, set in the 1870s and written from the perspective of their maid.

February

The Bone Hunters by Joanne Burn (8th February 2024) – I haven’t read either of Joanne Burn’s previous two novels but this new one, about the discovery of fossils in the cliffs of Lyme Regis, sounds appealing to me. I’ll be interested to see how it compares with Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures, on the same subject.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (13th February 2024) – Choo’s novels usually combine history with elements of fantasy or magical realism and her new book, in which rumours of ‘fox gods’ surround the death of a young woman in 1908 Manchuria, sounds like it will do the same.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang (15th February 2024) – I don’t often read novels that are collaborations between two authors, but I’ve enjoyed other books by Kate Quinn, although I haven’t read anything by Janie Chang yet. This one is about two women who are drawn into a mystery when a dealer in Chinese antiques disappears after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Clairmont by Lesley McDowell (29th February 2024) – I’ve read other books about Lord Byron and Percy and Mary Shelley, but this one is written from the perspective of Claire Clairmont, Mary’s stepsister, which should be interesting.

A Court of Betrayal by Anne O’Brien (29th February 2024) – Moving on from her last two novels which were a fictional account of the Paston family based on the letters they left behind, O’Brien’s new novel has a completely different setting and tells the story of Johane de Geneville, an heiress of the Welsh Marches in the 14th century.

March

The Tower by Flora Carr (7th March 2024) – This is a novel about the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots at Lochleven Castle, told from the point of view of Mary and her maids. It’s Flora Carr’s debut novel, so I’ll be interested to see what I think.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (7th March 2024) – I loved Arden’s Winternight historical fantasy series set in medieval Russia, but this book, about a nurse investigating the disappearance of her brother in the trenches of the First World War, sounds very different.

The Other Gwyn Girl by Nicola Cornick (7th March 2024) – A dual timeline novel with the historical storyline set in 1671 and telling the story of Rose Gwyn, sister of the more famous Nell Gwyn, Charles II’s mistress.

The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola (21st March 2024) – I didn’t read Mazzola’s last book, but enjoyed her earlier ones. This new book is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.

April

The Household by Stacey Halls (11th April 2024) – A book inspired by the true story of Urania Cottage, a house for ‘fallen women’ co-founded by Charles Dickens. I enjoyed all of Stacey Halls’ previous three books so will definitely be reading this one.

A Plague of Serpents by KJ Maitland (25th April 2024) – This is going to be the last in the series of Daniel Pursglove mysteries set in Jacobean England. I’m hoping all my questions will be answered!

May

The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton (2nd May 2024) – This novel about the infamous Countess Erzsébet Báthory, an alleged 16th century serial killer, sounds fascinating and has a beautiful cover!

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson (7th May 2024) – It feels like a very long time since Helen Simonson’s last book – in fact, it has been eight years! Her new one is going to be about a woman who joins a ladies’ motorcycle club in post-WWI England.

The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews (9th May 2024) – I had mixed feelings about Rosie Andrews’ first book, The Leviathan, but I like the sound of this one, in which a woman takes up a position as governess in disguise so she can investigate the death of her sister.

Mary I: Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir (9th May 2024) – The final book in Weir’s Tudor Rose trilogy, following her novels on Elizabeth of York and Henry VIII. I haven’t read as much about Mary I as I have about Elizabeth I, so it should be interesting.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín (23rd May 2024) – The long-awaited sequel to Tóibín’s 2009 novel Brooklyn will pick up the story of Eilis Lacey twenty years after the previous book ended.

June

The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal (6th June 2024) – Described as a thriller set in Victorian London, this is Macneal’s third novel and having enjoyed her previous two, I’m already looking forward to it.

July

A Woman of Opinion by Sean Lusk (4th July 2024) – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the 18th century writer, poet and medical pioneer, is the subject of Sean Lusk’s new novel, which sounds entirely different from last year’s The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley!

The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden (18th July 2024) – Lumsden’s first book, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, was a Gothic novel inspired by the Brontës, so her new book, in which a rich gentleman marries an impoverished widow, again sounds very different!

August

The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley (1st August 2024) – Set in 1613, this book follows the story of Andrew Logan, messenger to King James I of England and VI of Scotland, who becomes caught up in rumours of poisoning following the death of the king’s eldest son.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (15th August 2024) – Kate Quinn’s second book of the year is a solo effort this time, about a group of women who hold weekly meetings in the attic of a Washington DC boarding house in the 1950s.

Unsinkable by Frances Quinn (15th August 2024) – I loved Frances Quinn’s last book, That Bonesetter Woman, so I’ll be looking out for Unsinkable which, as the title suggests, is going to be about the Titanic.

Precipice by Robert Harris (29th August 2024) – A new Robert Harris book is always something to look forward to. This one is set at the beginning of World War I and involves Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, his affair with Venetia Stanley, and some leaked secret documents.

September

The Royal Rebel by Elizabeth Chadwick (5th September 2024) – The first of two books telling the story of Jeanette of Kent (usually known as Joan of Kent), wife of Edward, the Black Prince and mother of Richard II. I have read about Joan before but I’m sure Chadwick’s version will add something new.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier (12th September 2024) – Chevalier’s first new novel in five years will begin in 15th century Venice and will follow a family of glassblowers down through the generations to the present day.

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Are you interested in reading any of these books? What else have I missed?

Welcome to my not-quite-monthly post on all things historical fiction! This month, I want to highlight the HWA Crown Award longlists which were announced last Wednesday by the Historical Writers Association. There are three separate awards – one for debut novels, one for non-fiction and the other (the Gold Crown) for authors who have previously published. The shortlists are announced in October and the winner in November. I have no plans to try to read all of these books, but thought it would be interesting to look at what I’ve read so far from each list.

Gold Crown Award 2023 longlist

River Spirit by Leila Aboulela
Bad Relations by Cressida Connolly
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Colour Storm by Damien Dibben
The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner
Spear by Nicola Griffith
The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy
The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
The Chosen by Elizabeth Lowry
A Wild & True Relation by Kim Sherwood
Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott

I’ve only read two of these – The Colour Storm and The Dance Tree – and although I liked them both, neither of them are favourites. Of the others, The Chosen is already on my TBR after it appeared on the Walter Scott Prize shortlist earlier this year, but the rest don’t really appeal.

Non-fiction Crown Award 2023 longlist

The Treasuries: Poetry Anthologies and the Making of British Culture by Clare Bucknell
The Siege of Loyalty House by Jessie Childs
Woman’s Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi by Sarah Clegg
Courting India by Nandini Das
The Captain’s Apprentice by Caroline Davison
China After Mao by Frank Dikötter
Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine by Lawrence Freedman
The Age of Uncertainty by Tobias Hürter, translated by David Shaw
After the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport
Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell
The Holocaust: An Unfinished History by Dan Stone
The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin

I haven’t read any of these – in fact, apart from the Helen Rappaport, I haven’t even heard of them. However, I’ve investigated some of the titles and I like the sound of The Siege of Loyalty House, about a siege during the English Civil War, and The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes, which traces the life of a Victorian woman through her textile scrapbook.

Debut Crown Award 2023 longlist

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
The New Life by Tom Crewe
Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Weyward by Emilia Hart
The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys by Jack Jewers
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead
The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Bonny & Read by Julie Walker

I’ve read five of these and particularly enjoyed Clytemnestra and Death and the Conjuror (I’m hoping to read the sequel to that one soon). Again, the Paterson Joseph came to my attention through the Walter Scott Prize and I’m interested in reading The Circus Train and Bonny & Read.

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Have you read any of these? If not, are there any you would like to read?