Tudor
Rival to the Queen
Not since Victoria Holt’s My Enemy the Queen (1978) have I encountered another novel about the complex rivalry between Queen…
The Life of Mary Queen of Scots: An Accidental Tragedy
Mary Queen of Scots was put to death by her cousin, Elizabeth I, in 1587. Why does Roderick Graham call…
Heartstone
1545, and England is at war with France; the war is going badly wrong for both king and country. A…
The Nine Lives of Kit Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, scholar, playwright, roustabout, and spy for the Queen, is considered a traitor by her spymaster William Cecil. To…
The Heretic’s Wife
Kate Gough and her brother maintain a London bookshop during the reign of Henry VIII. Their “inventory” contains contraband Lutheran…
No Will but His
Of all Henry VIII’s wives, perhaps none is so equally dismissed and pitied as Katherine Howard, the child bride executed…
Secrets of the Tudor Court
This is another Tudor novel, this time seen from the perspective of Mary Howard, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn,…
The Sonnets
In 1592, young playwright William Shakespeare was forced on hiatus out of London due to threats of the plague. Returning…
The Bones of Avalon
Editors' choice
England 1560, and the young Queen Elizabeth is still settling into her new throne. Whilst trying to usher in a…
Heresy
Editors' choice
The name Giordano Bruno is carved deep into the gravestone of Inquisition heretics. He was burned at the stake in…
About our Reviews
Over the last 15 years The Historical Novels Review (the society’s print magazine for our members) has published reviews of some 12,000 historical fiction books. We plan to upload them all and make them searchable here.
