Historical Fiction Recommendations by Era

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Will you try any of these? Or have you already? Hope you enjoyed!

[@wesemory]

Love the Winter King and pretty much everything else by Cornwell!

[@wpsam52]

Boudica is on my TBR. Love your historical fiction reviews!

[@dominicaudy8479]

Yes. Many of these are on my wish list from this or previous videos and a few like Essex Dogs, The Son are already added to my TBR. I still have a few of Cornwell’s Saxon Chronicles to read before I have more time for more historical fiction (I’ll even pick Boudicca, promised!) In the medieval period I’d recommend the Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon, which starts during the reign of Philippe Le Bel in The Iron King and eventually goes into the life of his daughter Isabelle, her husband King Edward and the Hundred Years War. It’s virtually the original for ASOIAF. If you love Shōgun Ed you should track down the biography of the real Englishman who inspired the novel and his relationship with the real daimyio Toranaga is based on, Tokugawa Ieyasu. There’s more about military history in the real tale, as the English pilot was instrumental in spreading the use of gunpowder weapons. It doesn’t have all the great romance and epic Clavell brought to the tale, but it’s fascinating.

[@pippastar1606]

currently reading Shogun based off your recommendation - loving it.

[@Johanna_reads]

I love the historical fiction recommendations you two recommend! I’ve been chanting “Warlord” ever since finishing Excalibur, and it also brought me tears, laughter, shock, love, and adrenaline! Derfel is also now one of my favorite characters. Great description of Slaughter House Five! The absurdity serves a purpose, and it still brings forth great discussion on the topic of PTSD following war.

[@bookschocaholic]

This whole video is Ed being more excited about the props than the books and I'm so here for it!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Typical night in the Gwynne household! Ed

[@mojopie]

I only recently discovered this channel but I've heard Ed mention Boudica approximately one million times, so now it's pretty high on my tbr! I also own the whole Warlord chronicles on kindle and hope to read it before the show is made, and since I liked The Last Kingdom show I want to get to those books at some point too. I got so many great recommendations from this video!

[@TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

Gates of Athens is so high on my list. I love Themistocles and Pericles so much! I have also read Shogun twice!! I'm looking into reading Tai-Pan again because it's so so excellent.

[@moonbot7613]

Loved Gates of Fire, can’t find a copy of Whale Road anywhere in Denver and Wolf of Wessex is being delivered today. Will looking sharp….loving the jacket. Edit: I have Essex Dogs on order but won’t receive it until February

[@laurensbooklife]

Again this is another video that came at perfect timing. I was watching your first historical book recommendation video just yesterday wishing you guys would come out with a new one and you guys did. I am definitely going to make it a priority for me to start reading historical fiction next year. You guys will be my go to for recommendations and are the reason I am going to give this genre a try. I am reading my first historical fiction book today after I finish Empire of the Vampire, which is Essex’s dog because of your review and recommendation. Then after that the next historical fiction book I will have to read is Boudica because of how much Ed talks about it and the fact he compared part of it to Robin Hobb. Also, I love the intros to the new time periods so much. They were so entertaining

[@esmayrosalyne]

What an absolutely terrific recommendations video! I mean, how can I not add ALL of these books to my TBR after hearing you talk about them with so much passion?! Thanks for making this video, I loved it!! 🤩

[@campo870]

Awesome video fellas keep up the good work. I’ve bought a special edition of shogun and can’t wait to get stuck in. Also glad to hear Essex dogs after being a big fan of Dan jones on history hit. You guys clearly like medieval fiction and con Iggulden so I can’t recommend his wars of the roses series highly enough. Absolutely gripping read, with a fantastic sympathetic take on the kingmaker, earl of Warwick.

[@reidcardwell]

Thanks for another spectacular video, I like the recommendations by era like this. My historical fiction list keeps growing, but no complaints for that!

[@safinan8008]

Thank you for the book recommendations!! You both are fantastic on ur channel! Happy reading to both of you!! 👻🕸☠️⚔️

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Thanks so much for watching and for your kind comments😊 Ed

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

goodness so many to add to the tbr! I've never read any dark ages or medieval historical fiction, so I'm particularly excited to try some of those! For some early modern Napoleonic War era stories, you can't go wrong with Cornwell's Sharpe books--they are just fantastic!

[@elaineporter182]

Thanks!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Thank you so much for supporting the channel! Hope a few of these suggestions intrigued you :)

[@elaineporter182]

@@thebrothersgwynne Yes, I have ordered two of them: The Winter King and Boudicca . Glad I found your channel

[@Roondawg_Valhalla]

Loving the historical recs! I recently picked up everything from Robert Low, on top of the Boudica series and Essex Dogs. Thanks for all these great recommendations!

[@cheryllovestoread]

I just finished The Wolf Den trilogy. Wow. Thanks for the great rec. The final scene… so perfect!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

So glad you picked it up! It really was. Elodie Harper is a master of her craft. Will

[@EstbXCIII]

Nice 👍🏻 I've always been a massive history fan so i know qeite a lot of Medieval history. I just realized that i haven't ever read a Medieval FICTION book so I'm excited to read the books you guys mentioned.

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Hope you love some of the books we recommended :)! Will

[@angelamccollister]

For books that span eras try Edward Rutherfurd. He takes a location and writes the history of that place over millennia. I've only read one of his books so far, Sarum, and loved it. It starts in prehistory with the building of Stonehenge up to the 1980s.

[@OhioEddieBlack]

I totally scored a really nice first edition hardcover Thomas Cahill at the thrift store yesterday. Its super succinct title is How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe. The endsheets are gorgeous, full-color reprints of illuminated manuscripts - more specifically The Book of Kells (which I saw when I visited Trinity College - I swooned) and The Lindisfarne Gospels. Best dollar I've spent in ages.

[@moev29]

Hear me out: Ed should mention Boudica in every video until the end of the year just to see if he can find a way to justify it 😂

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Challenge accepted! Ed

[@DoUnicornsRead]

Now, there is a list! Also, here is a question: Is Ed at this stage mentioning Boudica more often than Philip Chase is mentioning Beowulf? Great video!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Hahaha I think it must be close? Ed

[@MargaretPinard]

I have had Boudicca on my shelf but hesitated to start when I couldn't find book 2... yay for historical Britain!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

We all need some more historical Britain in our lives! Ed

[@duffypratt]

If you haven’t read Dorothy Dunnett, you might want to check her out. Either the Lymond Chronicles, or The House of Nicollo. I will definitely keep these recommendations in mind.

[@outofthisworldreader1700]

Saving Private Ryan in the 14th century, say no more! A friend recommended Wolf Hall to me a little bit ago, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Hearing about it again today has sparked my interest. I'm not sure if you have read it yet, but I've heard Daughters of Sparta is really good, I’m hoping to get to it soon. I will definitely watch another video like this if you have more recommendations!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Daughters of Sparta is really high on the list too! Thanks for watching mate. Ed

[@BookBuds]

Wow this video is all I’ll ever need to guide me on my reading quest into the past! Great recommendations! Thank you.

[@MargaretPinard]

Well done with the props! First time on your channel, drawn by the histfic. Wondering about the switch from British to American for 19-20th centuries...no Victorian recs? 👀

[@thebrothersgwynne]

I haven't read toooo much Victorian books ... much more drawn to the American west. Ed

[@karolovesbooks2233]

I bought Shogun and it's two sequels at a second hand bookfair because of Ed, hope to get to read at least Shogun early next year

[@thebrothersgwynne]

I hope you love it as much as I do! Ed

[@stepan.tichyy]

I'm surprised there was no Tom Swan in here, but I think that Ill made knight took its spot! I will make sure to check Gates of Fire and Shogun, they sound amazing.

[@thebrothersgwynne]

The Ill-Made Knight has a great arc that Tom Swan can't compete with! Ed

[@taralohman6492]

Love “The Winter King”!

[@RedFuryBooks]

This is a great way to structure this video - thanks! So, Ed, you do recommend for a first time reader of Lonesome Dove to read it 3rd in the series? I have it on the shelf and want to read it soon. Thanks!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Thanks mate! Yes definitely - that's the way I did it and I felt even more attached to the characters because of that development. Ed

[@SamPegg90]

Come on now lads, my TBR is unachievable enough as it is.

[@rhyleygrant5660]

Bought essex dogs because of ur recommendation 150 pages left love it has everything I want in a book violent brutal and lots of swearing easily book of the year so far for me

[@thebrothersgwynne]

So glad you're loving it! It's so much fun isn't it😁 Ed

[@jenb9742]

I don't know what they teach in the U.K. about American history and I can't quite remember what I learned here in the U.S. as far as Native American studies while I was in school. I've learned plenty just on my own, but I'm pretty sure we studied about 'The Five Civilized Tribes' in my Oklahoma History class. I don't know what other states do. I actually learned a lot over a decade ago back when I read a lot of romance. I've always wanted there to be more to read, specially from Native writers themselves, but there isn't too much out there.

[@FrancT-]

Try the Iron King by Maurice Druon. It's the historical fiction equivalent of Game of Thrones.

[@thebrothersgwynne]

I'll add it to the list, thank you😊 Ed

[@Roondawg_Valhalla]

I recently picked up this entire series. It sounds fantastic!

[@Speed202]

Wow...what a list!

[@pacasad7373]

Im loving all by Conn Iggulden at the moment, Caesar was brilliant and the Khan books, WOW

[@derekgreen7319]

Oh the saxon stories by bernard cornwell are great!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Glad you love them too! Ed

[@Viksbelle]

Off subject, but I just noticed both outward-facing copies of Hunger of the Gods are showing the back cover. Oopsie?

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Oops!! Ed

[@JamesI88]

I read the lonesome dove books in chronological order and agree.

[@michaelibk418]

When you lived under the same roof did you share your books or did you buy just for your own taste? You have a similar taste so it would make sense to share and save money to buy some very nice editions of your favorites. I do understand that that if you are a reader you want you own books but i am just curious how you handled it in your family.

[@GlitterPoolParty]

I'm glad you acknowledged that young samurai is a young adult "not in the way of love triangles," but that the target audience is young adult and therefore the writing is more accessible. So much YA these days is just garbage that the good young adult books need a disclaimer like yours.

[@EricMcLuen]

Cenozoic Era - West of Eden by Harry Harrison.

[@judoman9006]

I never see ‘Musashi’ by Eiji Yoshikawa on these lists 😢

[@thebrothersgwynne]

I’ll read it soon I promise! Ed

[@judoman9006]

@@thebrothersgwynne good man haha

[@farhad_s]

Warlord Chronicles was my favourite series of the year, Gates of Fire was my favourite standalone. You're pushing me away from Fantasy towards Historical Fiction

[@shawn4white]

Empire of the summer moon is another book about the Comanches and quanah Parker harrowing tale crazy story highly recommend

[@musicgenius1948]

Warlord chronicles is simply superior and the best

[@derekgreen7319]

Historical fiction is my favorite genre!

[@melissamybubbles6139]

This is an interesting video. There seem to be some good books here. The ones about Texas are about western Texas, not about slavery in eastern Texas. That would have been a nice balance to see. Most of the books were written by men, and most of them are about men. Most of the books are about Europe or western America and the ones about Asia center white main characters. Most are about white people and probably all of them were written by white people. In the early modern and modern periods, there aren't very many historical events represented. To be fair, my own reading isn't any better. I was just looking for recommendations to widen my reading. I know you probably won't see this comment a year on, but if you do, please make a video on historical fiction written by diverse authors. Thanks.

[@72mje]

Brilliant recommendations! My already ridiculous TBR just grew a bit more. Sigh.

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Hahah sorry.... but not sorry! Will

[@noteuser15]

You’ll commit Soduku on me 😭😂

[@thebrothersgwynne]

🤣 🤣

[@stuart1346]

Some great stuff boys I wanna give Essex dogs a go……but where’s the napoleonic historical fiction you are missing out 🤷‍♀️🙂

[@thebrothersgwynne]

We really do need to read more Napoleonic stuff! Do you have any recs? Ed

[@stuart1346]

@@thebrothersgwynne not to be cliche but you can’t go wrong with Sharpe. Also hornblower or the napoleon wellington quartet by Simon scarrow 🙂master and commander by patrick obrian. also curveball cornwells non fiction book on Waterloo is my favourite he’s written.

[@annmoore321]

Slaughterhouse-Five isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s dark, nihilistic, and is severely pessimistic. Definitely not fun, or funny. It focuses heavily on the worst mankind has to offer. That said, it is still worth a read even if not everyone will like it. It makes you think, and challenges your personal paradigm.

[@angelaholmes8888]

I read dead man's walk last year unfortunately I didn't enjoy it

[@francoisbouchart4050]

I read Shogun in my teens. I will never forget the boiling alive of the sailors at the start of the book. 🤮

[@playermartin286]

Why not her fiction recommendations? That's sexist!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

😂😂

[@wbl5649]

you fools ramble too much

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Thanks for watching!

[@jasonmorgan8888]

Hey dude, gonna ever read and talk about anything else?

[@Roondawg_Valhalla]

How about you reread your comment and try again 🤦‍♂️

[@thebrothersgwynne]

Probably not Ed

[@BlissfulAriana]

Good red flag check for anyone wondering: If someone starts complaining about "masculine women" at any point because how DARE women ever act in a way that isn't how men think women should act. Bonus points for talking about how they love history. History is fantastic and amazing and in and of itself isn't a red flag. But when combined with other things it easily becomes a very big red flag. Also combine that with a weird obsession for vikings and japan and you have red flag soup. Every one of these people are genuine carbon copies of one another. Would not be shocked if this guy has a blue checkmark on twitter.

[@thebrothersgwynne]

English please? Also this doesn’t sound very blissful, Ariana. Ed