REVIEW:- Nick RENNISON - “100 Must-read Historical Novels“

A Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide

Year Published: - 2009
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 978 1 408 11396 7
Pages: - 176pp
Genre: - Non-Fiction - Literature
How I came across it: - Browsing Library shelves
Rating: - ***** ****

One sentence summary:- An interesting selection of historical novels that 'should be read' including a brief description of the plot and the author.

General comments:- This, sensibly, does not claim to represent the best ever historical novels since that would be such a subjective view. Rennison takes a gap of 60 years between the events and the writing as a minimum which excludes some that I would consider obvious candidates but he had to draw the line somewhere. In addition to the principal 100 there are a selection of 500 'read-on' recommendations. The few small 'themed categories' are inadequate but the idea is a good one.

AUTHOR Notes:- Nick Rennison is a writer, editor and bookseller with a particular interest in the Victorian era and in crime fiction. He is the author of many books including The Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide to Crime Fiction, 100 Must-Read Crime Novels and Sherlock Holmes: An Unauthorised Biography. He is currently working on his own crime novel set in nineteenth century London.