My Favorite Eras in History and Books Set in Them – Part I

Posted September 24, 2017 by Stephanie in Historical Fiction, History / 5 Comments

As some of you might know, I’m a bit of a history geek (to put it lightly haha!) and historical fiction is my favorite genre so today I’m going to talk a little bit about my favorite eras, time periods and topics from history that I love to read about and featuring some books that are set in them. ❤️
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Ancient Egypt
Let’s start of with my #1 favorite era in history. For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated with anything related to ancient Egypt. The culture, the mythology, the mystery, the art… it all just speaks to me. Because of this you’d think that I would have read many historical fictions set in ancient Egypt but I actually haven’t. I have read a few but mostly I’ve read nonfiction. Both is good of course so I will feature a little bit of fiction and nonfiction.

The Princess of Egypt Must Die by Stephanie Dray – 4/5★ {Mini review}
A short story about Arsinoe, the sister of the infamous Cleopatra.
The book is free on: 
Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter  4/5★ {Review}
This book is about Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome who becomes a prisoner of Rome along with her siblings after her parents die.

Tales of Ancient Egypt  by Roger Lancelyn Green 4/5
This book includes stories of ancient Egypt’s mythology among others, including one of the oldest Cinderella stories.

Before the Pyramids by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler 4/5
To be fair this isn’t just a nonfiction about ancient Egypt only, it also includes explanations and information about an advanced pre-Ice Age civilization and sites like the henges of North Yorkshire. But still it counts. 


20th Century
Books set in the 20th century, especially the early 1900’s has been a pretty recent new addiction of mine. I haven’t read a whole lot of books set in this era but the ones I have read were all really amazing. I don’t know why I suddenly am more interested in those books but there’s just something about it.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – 5/5★ {My Review}
This brilliant novel about female spies set in 1918 and 1946 is my favorite 
book of the year and definitely a must-read. It was even voted for Reese 
Witherspoon’s online bookclub as their July read.

The Artist’s Muse by Kerry Postle – 4.5/5★ {My Review}
I was pleasantly surprised about this back when I read it last summer. The writing 
was absolutely gorgeous and the story moved me so much!

Mata Hari’s Last Dance by Michelle Moran – 4/5★ {My Review}
I’m super intrigued by the life of Mata Hari. Was she a spy? Wasn’t she? 
That’s the big question, isn’t it. I really can’t get enough of reading 
books about her. The Spy by Paulo Coelho is also a good one.


The Ottoman Empire
I’m not sure where my fascination with the Ottoman Empire comes from but whenever I see a book that’s set in it I just need to read it. I really can’t resist. The rise of the Ottoman Empire started c. 1299 and was abolished in the 20 century. I also have to say most books I’ve read set in the Ottoman Empire also involve Vlad the Impaler, who I also love reading about.

And I Darken by Kiersten White – 5/5★ {My Review}
This is probably the most popular out of the bunch and my favorite. It’s about a 
gender bended Vlad Dracula and it’s just all around brilliant. The sequel was 
pretty great as well!

The Sultan, the Vampyr and the Soothsayer by Lucille Turner – 5/5★ 
This was another amazing story. It mostly revolved around the relationships of 
fathers and sons. In this case between Vlad Dracula and his father Vlad Dracul and between Mehmet and his father Murad. It was striking!

The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien – 4/5★ {My Review}
This one, unlike the others is set in the 19th century when the Ottoman Empire is 
declining so that alone made it different most others I’ve read. And also 
Jane Austen’s books play a pretty big part of the story.

I haven’t actually read this one yet but I know it’s partly set in the Ottoman 
Empire so I just wanted to add it. It’ll be my next read once I finish my current 
one. It sounds  really promising like a mix between historical fiction and science 
fiction. 




So that was it. I hope you all liked this post and that you found some new books to
add to your TBR. I’ll post the second part soon because I have so much more 
favorite eras/topics to talk about. 😀


5 responses to “My Favorite Eras in History and Books Set in Them – Part I

  1. So great! I haven't read anything set in ancient Egypt.
    I also love historical fiction! My fave era is 1800s London. The gaslights, the mystery, the poverty and the nobles… it all fascinates me. Wonder if that'll show up in your next post… looking forward!
    Esty
    Boarding with Books

  2. I don't think I've read any books set in Ancient Egypt at all, so I'm glad you have some recommendations! Really want to read The Alice Network soon! I've heard great things! Have a great week and happy reading!

  3. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres – the 1900s is one I love, for some reason I love wartime novels, so The Alice Network is definitely on my radar!

    I'd love to read more novels set in ancient Egypt!

  4. I have the same obsession with Egypt! So I've added Tale of Ancient Egypt to my list for sure! Also I really need to read The Sultan, The Vampire, and the Soothsayer. I've heard a lot of good things about it! Looking forward to part 2!

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