Historical Fiction: The Medieval World

Compilation of Suggested Books by YALSA-BK Listserv

Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2002)

Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.

Barrett, Tracy . Anna of Byzantium (1999)

Anna Comnena, who was born in 1083, must fight for her right to rule the Byzantine Empire .

Beaufort, Simon . Murder in the Holy City (1998)

When Sir Geoffrey de Mappestone returns from a desert patrol near Jerusalem during the Crusades, he discovers a murdered soldier in a baker's bedchamber. Also in the series: A Head for Poisoning (1999)

Bragg, Melvyn. The Sword and the Miracle: A Novel (1996)

In 657, Bega, a Celtic princess and Padric, a British prince flees from Ireland to Britain , where, although in love, they must fulfill different tasks of valor.

Cadnum, Michael . The Book of the Lion (2000)

In twelfth-century England , after his master, a maker of coins for the king, is brutally punished for alleged cheating, seventeen-year-old Edmund finds himself traveling to the Holy Land as squire to a knight crusader on his way to join the forces of Richard Lionheart.

Cadnum, Michael. Forbidden Forest (2002)

Profiles Little John, from his quiet life before joining Robin Hood through his adventures protecting a beautiful lady when she is wrongfully accused of murdering her husband.

Cadnum, Michael. Raven of the Waves (2000)

Viking raiders attack villages and capture an Anglo-Saxon boy in 8 th century England .

Chadwick, Elizabeth . The Champion (1998)

Not until years after his one night with Monday in Normandy which leaves her with a child, does Alexander de Montroi faces the consequences of his action.

Cornwell, Bernard. The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur (1996)

Arthur keeps back the invading Saxons during the sixth century while dealing with his scheming wife, Guinevere, the manipulative Merlin and the cowardly Lancelot. Also, Enemy of God: A Novel of Arthur (1996)

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Seeing Stone (2001)

In late twelfth-century England , a thirteen-year-old boy named Arthur recounts how Merlin gives him a magical seeing stone which shows him images of the legendary King Arthur, the events of whose life seem to have many parallels to his own. Also, At the Crossing-Places (2002)

Cushman, Karen . Catherine, Called Birdy (1994)

The thirteen-year-old daughter of n English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off. Also by Karen Cushman, Matilda Bone (2000) and The Midwife's Apprentice (1995)

Doherty, P.C. An Ancient Evil (1995)

First in a series of historical mysteries using characters from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales . See also, A Tapestry of Murders (1996) and A Tournament of Murders (1997).

Doherty, P.C. Murder Wears a Cowl (1994)

After Edward I knights Hugh Corbett, Corbett goes to London in 1302 to identify the killer of courtesans serving the nobility. Others in the series featuring Corbett include : The Demon Archer (2001), The Devil's Hunt (1998), and Satan's Fire (1996).

Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir. The White Company (1999)

An Englishman travels abroad in the 14 th century during the time of the Black Death and the Battle of Poitiers.

Dunnett, Dorothy. Caprice and Rondo (1998)

Nicholas Vander Poele participates in 15th century intrigue. Also, Gemini (2000)

Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose (1994)

In the early 14 th century, the English monk William, visiting at a Clunic Abbey in Italy, solves a murder.

Eisner, Michael. The Crusader: A Novel (2001)

In 1275, Brother Lucas is put in charge of driving the demons out of aristocrat Francisco Montcada, who has just returned from the Crusades, and as the demons slowly leave Francisco's body, he recounts the tale of his Crusade.

Eyre, Elizabeth. Dirge for a Doge (1997)

Sigismondo, Renaissance detective must find out who stabbed a recently married Niccolo Ermolin, a deceitful aristocrat, in his locked Venetian study.

Follett, Ken. The Pillars of the Earth (1989)

A prior, a master builder and their community try to build a cathedral to protect themselves while Stephen and the Empress Maud fight for the crown of England .

Golding, Michael . Simple Prayers (1994)

In the 14 th century, a corpse with black welts on its body washes up on the shore of an island near Venice and forebodes doom for the people there.

Goodman, Joan. The Winter Hare (1996)

In 1140, with England divided between the supporters of King Stephen and those of the Empress Matilda, twelve-year-old Will Belet, small for his age but longing to be a knight, comes to his Uncle's castle to be a page and soon finds himself involved in dangerous intrigues and adventures. Followed by Peregrine (2000)

Grace, C.L. A Shrine of Murders: Being the First of the Canterbury Tales of Kathryn Swinbrooke, Leech, and Physician (1993)

Kathryn Swinbrooke joins Colin Murtagh, who has come to Canterbury to restore peace after the Wars of the Roses, to investigate the poisoning of pilgrims visiting Becket's shrine during the 15 th century. Other titles in the series include: The Eye of God (1994) , The Merchant of Death (1995) , The Book of Shadows (1996) , and Saintly Murders (2001).

Haahr, Berit. The Minstrel's Tale. (2000)

When betrothed to a repulsive old man, thirteen-year-old Judith runs away, assumes the identity of a young boy, and hopes to join the King's Minstrels in fourteenth-century England .

Herman, George. A Comedy of Murders (1994)

Artist Leonardo da Vinci and a dwarf named Niccolo investigate homicides in the Milanese court and are subject to threats from the pope.

Holland, Cecelia. The Angel and the Sword (2000)

Ragny, a young noblewoman, transforms herself into the valiant knight Roderick the Beardless, in ninth century France .

Holland, Cecelia. Jerusalem (1997)

In 1187, during the last years of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Knight of the Temple is drawn into the councils of the leper-king of Jerusalem as he does battle with the Sultan.

Jordan, Sherryl. The Hunting of the Last Dragon (2002)

In England in 1356, as a monk records his every word, a young peasant tells of his journey with a young Chinese noblewoman to St. Alfric's Cove and the lair of a dragon.

Kalogridis, Jeanne. The Burning Times (2001)

A fourteenth-century monk is charged with the task of determining whether a midwife turned abbess accused of heresy by the Inquisition should be dubbed a saint or burned at the stake.

L'Amour, Louis . The Walking Drum (1984)

Mathurin Kerbouchard, captured and made a galley slave after his mother's death in 12 th century Brittany , takes control of the boat and lands in Spain .

Llywelyn, Morgan. Lion of Ireland (1981)

Brian Boru rises from a low position in his Irish tribe to become the king of a united Ireland in the 10 th century. Followed by Pride of Lions (1996)

Marston, Edward. The Ravens of Blackwater: A Novel (1994)

Ralph Delchard, a soldier, and Gervase Bret, a lawyer, investigates Norman overlords who illegally annex property for King William, but they must also look into the secrets at Blackwater Hall after the murder of the elder son there. Others in the series include: Dragons of Archenfield (1995) and Hawks of Delamere (1997).

McCaffrey, Anne. Black Horses for the King (1996)

Galywn helps King Arthur buy and care for the horses that he will use in his battle against the raiding Saxons.

Morressy, John. The Juggler (1996)

Beran makes a pact with the devil to become the greatest juggler in the world.

Morris, Gerald . Parsifal's Page (2001)

In medieval England , eleven-year-old Piers' dream comes true when he becomes page to Parsifal, a peasant whose quest for knighthood reveals important secrets about both of their families.

Morson, Ian. Falconer's Judgment (1995)

In 1264, ambitious men in England await Pope Alexander's death, but Master Regent William Falconer worries about defending a student accused of murdering the brother of Oxford 's Cardinal Otho. Others in the series are Falconer and the Face of God (1996) and Falconer and the Great Beast (1999).

Newman, Sharan. Death Comes as Epiphany (1993)

Catherine Le Vendeur, the most promising student in Heloise's convent, Paraclete, has the responsibility of discovering who has altered the text of a psalter given to the Abbot of Suger during the 12 th century. Others in the series include: Cursed in Blood (1998), The Difficult Saint (1999), and Strong as Death (1996).

O'Brien, Patrick. The Making of a Knight (1998)

Traces James's journey during the middle Ages in England from inexperienced page at the age of seven to knighthood at the age of twenty-one.

Paton Walsh, Jill. Knowledge of Angels (1994)

When a child raised by wolves without human contact is found on a Mediterranean island, the Inquisition decides that an atheist prince will be condemned if the child shows any awareness of God.

Penman, Sharon . Here Be Dragons (1985)

Members of the Plantagenet House war among themselves, with King Henry and his heir John fighting Henry's other three sons, while Llewelyn eventually unites Wales . Followed by Falls the Shadow (1988) and The Reckoning (1991).

Penman, Sharon . The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery (1996)

In the 12 th century, Eleanor of Aquitaine hires Justin de Quincey, bastard son of the Bishop of Chester, to find the murderer of one of her goldsmiths. Also in the series: Cruel as the Grave (1998).

Reade, Charles. The Cloister and the Hearth; or, Maid, Wife, and Widow; a Matter-Of-Fact Romance (n.d)

Erasmus's father, receiving a forged letter saying that his love Margaret is dead, joins a monastery but after 20 years he discovers that Margaret is still alive.

Robb, Candace. The Apothecary Rose (1993)

In the 14 th century, one-eyed Owen Archer, new agent for the Lord Chancellor of England and the Archbishop of York, must investigate the deaths of two important men treated at an abbey nearby for an illness. Also in the series : A Gift of Sanctuary (1998), The King's Bishop (1996), The Lady Chapel (1994), and The Riddle of St. Leonard 's (1997).

Roberson, Jennifer. Lady of the Forest (1992)

Robert of Locksley or Robin Hood, now involved in the politics of England , meets Marian of Ravenskeep after returning from the Crusades with King Richard.

Sedley, Kate. The Plymouth Cloak (1993)

The Yorkist Duke of Gloucester hires Roger the Chapman to find who murdered the king's messenger on his way to stop another Lancastrian plot. Followed by: The Weaver's Tale (1994), The Holy Innocents (1995), The Eve of Saint Hyacinth (1996), and The Brothers of Glastonbury (1997). (We are missing the first title in the series, Death and the Chapman .)

Shelley, Mary Wollstoncraft. Valperga (1998)

Castruccio Castracani becomes involved with the political intrigues of the Guelfs and Ghibellines in medieval Italy .

Sherman, Josepha. Windleaf (1993)

In 1510 eighteen-year-old Thierry, orphaned Count of Foretterre, undertakes a series of difficult challenges in order to free the half-human, half-fairy girl he loves from the hold of her cold-hearted father, Lord of Faerie.

Springer, Nancy. I am Modred. (1998)

Mordred, illegitimate son and ultimate killer of King Arthur, tells his own version of the Camelot tale.

Springer, Nancy . Rowan Hood, Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest (2001)

In her quest to connect with Robin Hood, the father she has never met, thirteen-year-old Rosemary disguises herself as a boy, befriends a half-wolf, half-dog, a runaway princess, and an overgrown boy whose singing is hypnotic, and makes peace with her elfin heritage.

Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave (1971)

Merlin spends his childhood in the court of his grandfather, the King of Wales, where he keeps secret his ability of "second sight". Followed by The Hollow Hills (1996 pap.), The Last Enchantment (1979), and The Wicked Day (1983) .

Stewart, Mary. The Prince and the Pilgrim (1995)

Alexander and Alice meet and fall in love during King Arthur's rule, while Alexander plots to avenge his father's assassination and Alice goes on pilgrimages to holy shrines with her father.

Tarr, Judith. His Majesty's Elephant (1993)

Charlemagne's daughter must call on her own magic and the power of a young Breton and a special elephant to save her father from a deadly Byzantine spell.

Tarr, Judith. Queen of Swords (1997)

Melisende, oldest daughter of Baldwin II, the king of Jerusalem, rules from 1129 to 1153, first as wife of Fulk of Anjou and then as regent to her son, with the French Lady Richild as her attendant.

Temple , Frances . The Beduin's Gazelle (1998)

In 1302 (or 680 according to the Muslim Calendar) Halima is lost during a sandstorm and captured by a rival tribe who will force her to marry their sheik. Her betrothed, Atiyah, and a French pilgrim, Etienne, set out across the desert to rescue her.

Temple , Frances . The Ramsay Scallop (1994)

At the turn of the fourteenth century in England , fourteen-year-old Elenor find her betrothal to an ambitious lord's son launching her on a memorable pilgrimage to far-off Spain . Followed by The Beduin's Gazelle (1996).

Tomlinson, Theresa. The Forestwife (1995)

In England during the reign of King Richard I, fifteen-year-old Marian escapes from an arranged marriage to live with a community of forest folk that includes a daring young outlaw named Robert. Followed by Child of the May (1998).

Unsworth, Barry. Morality Play (1995)

Nicholas Barber leaves monkhood to join a group of itinerant players and becomes caught in a 14 th century small-town murder investigation.

Williams, Laura. The Executioner's Daughter (2000)

Thirteen-year-old Lily, daughter of the town's executioner living in 15 th century Europe , decides whether to fight against her destiny or to rise above her fate.