What are your favorite books set in the 19th century or before?

No steamy romances please, just well-written books set in the past. I love Jane Austen and have read quite a few (probably most) sequels to her works but would like something with different characters and plots. Intrigues and affairs of state would be wonderful elements.

Asked by Mistral 58 months ago Similar questions: favorite books set 19th century Arts > Books > Books - Genres.

Similar questions: favorite books set 19th century.

Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World These three novels by Neil Stephenson might do the trick. They follow multiple plotlines from the late 17th century to mid-late 18th, in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Politics, science, mysticism, and adventure all comingle to provide a fascinating story.

Just enough "romance" to make fun of the historical romance novel. Hope you like to read, each book alone is huge! Icecorps's Recommendations Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol.1) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $1.19 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 290 reviews) The Confusion (The Baroque Cycle, Vol.2) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $0.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 67 reviews) The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, Vol.3) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $5.95 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 55 reviews) .

Try Dorothy Dunnett I adore the immortal Miss Austen's books too, I re-read them at least once a year. I have very much enjoyed a series of books by Dorthy Dunnett - 'The House of Niccolo'. It's set in 15th century Scotland/Europe/Middle East and it followers the adventures of Niccolo from dye-yard apprentice to merchant prince and friend to kings.

I enjoyed the series so much I'm gradually buying them rather than depending on the library, and that's a high compliment. The first one is Niccolo Rising Her other series "The Lymond Chronicles" which is set a little later, in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots childhood. Lymond is a Scottish adventurer/diplomat/spy who travels all over Europe.

I didn't like this series as much as Niccolo, but many people do prefer it. The first is Game of Kings. Progressing through the centuries, Neal Stephenson's trilogy "The Baroque Cycle" is set in late 17th/early 18th century England (mostly) and follows three main characters, Eliza, ex-harem odalisque, Half-Cocked Jack the Vagabond King and Daniel Waterhouse, natural philosopher and friend to Isaac Newton.

Revolution, calculus, Solomon's gold, cryptography, piracy and a happy ending. What more could you want? I bought these books in hard-back and that is my ultimate compliment!

The first is Quicksilver. On a lighter note, have you tried Georgette The inventor (and still Queen) of the Regency Romance, but so, so much better than her modern imitators. Try These Old Shades or The Unknown Ajax or Cotillion or ....heck, most of them are a good quick read!

Sources: My opinion annecm's Recommendations Niccolo Rising: The First Book of The House of Niccolo Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $0.41 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 24 reviews) The Game of Kings Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $0.27 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 104 reviews) Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $5.953 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 290 reviews) These Old Shades Amazon List Price: $6.50 Used from: $5.957 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 46 reviews) The Unknown Ajax Amazon List Price: $15.953 Used from: $5.958 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 14 reviews) .

Here are some "genre" works I enjoy If you like stories with a bit of fantasy, you would enjoy "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke -- it takes place in 19th century England, is very well written, has a riveting story, and is overall a joy to read. I liken it to "Harry Potter for adults". Neal Stephenson, most known for his science fiction work, has produced an opus called "The Baroque Cycle" which is a densely plotted narrative that takes place in the 1600s and 1700s.It's much more "historical fiction" than it is "science fiction" or even "steampunk", but it has elements of the fantastic.

It is three huge volumes, though, so you can plan on 3000 pages or so if you get into this. Finally, if you don't mind a full-on genre work, Bruce Sterling and William Gibson wrote a book called "The Difference Engine" which takes place in the 19th century, as a sort of alternate-industrial-revolution tale. Both of these guys are well known (again) in science fiction circles, but this book is not science fiction, though it is fantastic (in both senses).

So there you go; a few books a little off the beaten path for you. Hope you decide to try one and enjoy it! TeeSeeJay's Recommendations The Difference Engine (Spectra Special Editions) Amazon List Price: $7.99 Used from: $0.01 Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5 (based on 94 reviews) Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol.

1) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $1.19 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 290 reviews) Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $0.94 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 620 reviews) .

The Age of Innocence comes immediately to mind. The Age of Innocence by Edith WhartonMore recent but right setting, Affinity by Sarah WatersThere's the epic, Gone With the Wind by Margaret MitchellYou might try any of the novels by Henry James or Charles Dickens. Middlemarch by George EliotOr have you tried Bronte?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Sources: Opinion .

Carolly Erickson and Allison Weir edfoug's Recommendations The First Elizabeth Amazon List Price: $17.95 Used from: $3.57 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 20 reviews) The dden Diary of Marie Antoinette: A Novel Amazon List Price: $13.95 Used from: $2.35 Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5 (based on 34 reviews) Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria Amazon List Price: $19.95 Used from: $6.00 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 10 reviews) Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England Amazon List Price: $119.75 Used from: $62.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 26 reviews) .

" "Please name some of your favorite non fiction books.

Please name some of your favorite non fiction books.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.