Thanks to everyone that submitted their suggestions of the best historical fiction books that they would suggest buying as a gift for those who love to take a peak into another time period  out there. Download a printable shopping list of the most often suggested books here.  Check out the full shopping list below or all of the shopping lists will be linked at the top of my blog.

Some interesting facts regarding some of the suggestions below…

Did you know that in Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks…

• The town of Eyam really did quarantine themselves when the plague was discovered there.  There has also been some disagreement if the inhabitants of Eyam had some sort of genetic protection against the bubonic plague.

Did you know that other than being known for beheading wives…

• Henry VIII also composed music.
• Out of all his wives Jane Seymour was the only one to give birth to a male heir and Henry VIII was buried next to her.
• At death Henry’s waist was approximately 58 inches around!

In Gone With the Wind did you know…

• Scarlett O’Hara was initially supposed to be named Pansy.

Did you know that Cleopatra…

• Had three children with Mark Antony including twins and after their parents death they were raised by Antony’s wife, Octavia.

Did you know Pride and Prejudice has…

• had at least 5 film adaptations including a Bollywood adaptation called Bride and Prejudice.

Full List of Suggestions

• Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series by Pamela Aidan (Book 1 is An Assembly Such as This)
• Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin (Christian Fiction)
• Tiger, Tiger by Lynne Reid Banks (Rome-Caesar)
• March by Geraldine Brooks
• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (17th century England-plague)
• Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot (Following the Crusades-Young Adult)
• Daughters of England series by Philippa Carr (15th century England) (Book 1 is The Miracle at St. Bruno’s)
• To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick (Magna Carta)
• Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (14th century England-Young Adult)
• For the King by Catherine Delors (Post-French Revolution)
• The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant (early American Life)
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Biblical Fiction)
• Annie, Between the States by Laura Malone Elliott (Civil War)
• One Thousand White Women: The Diary of May Dodd by Jim Fergus (Wild West/Indian Nation)
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet (12th century England)
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (post-WWII-Japanese internment camp)
• The Duchess by Amanda Foreman (18th century England)
• The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Russia 1910)
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (18t century Scotland)
• Black Ships by Jo Graham(Bronze Age)
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Henry VIII)
• The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (Tudor Dynasty)
• The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (Plantagenet Dynasty)
• Josephine Bonaparte series by Sandra Gulland (Napoleon-Book 1 is The Many Lives  & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.)
• The Queen’s Mistake by Diane Haeger (Henry VIII)
• Sarah by Marek Halter (Christian Fiction)
• Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (King Edward II)
• Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs (Christian Fiction)
• Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard (Pride and Prejudice-Young Adult)
• The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff (Post-WWII)
• By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan (Spanish Inquisition)
• Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart (19th century Philadelphia-Young Adult)
• The Hustorian by Elizabeth Kostova (Vlad the Impaler)
• The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson, Tony Goldwyn (1893 Chicago World Fair)
• Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 by Kathryn Lasky
• The Heritage of Lancaster County series by Beverly Lewis (Amish-Book 1 is The Shunning)
• The Town House by Norah Lofts (14th century)
• Bloody Jack by L.A Meyer (Young Adult)
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran (Cleopatra)
• The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (Nefertari-Egypt)
• The Eight by Katherine Neville (French Revolution)
• Seasons of the Heart series by Janette Oke (Christian Fiction-Book 1 is Once Upon a Summer)
• Lone Star Legacy series by Judith Pella (Christian fiction-Old West-Book 1 is Frontier Lady)
• Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (1850s slavery)
• The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters (12th century)
• The Plantagenet Prelude by Jean Plaidy (Plantagenet Dynasty)
• Anything by Eugenia Price (US history, post-Revolutionary war)
• Lady Julia series by Deanna Raybourn (Book 1 is Silent in the Grave)
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Egypt-Young Adult/Middle Grade)
• Viking Warrior by Judson Roberts (Vikings)
• Watermark:A Novel of the Middle Ages by Vanitha Sankaran
• Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (post-WWII)
• The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton, Philippa Gregory (17th Century Puritans)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Post-WWII)
• Return to Red River series by Lauraine Snelling (Early American history-Book 1 is A Dream to Follow)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (1960s)
• Raeliksen by Renee Vincent (Ancient Ireland)
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
• A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna White (Biblical Fiction)
• Rocky Mountain Memories series by Lori Wick (early American West-Book 1 is Where the Wild Rose Blooms)
• The King’s Daughter by Sandra Worth (Tudor Dynasty)
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (WWII)

Giveaway

I hope you have actually read through the list and got some good ideas of holiday gifts for those historical fiction readers.  To help spread the word about this project there are 2 prize packs up for grabs.

Thanks to the awesome folks at Simon & Schuster I have two sets of Philippa Gregory’s books, The White Queen and The Red Queen.  These were by far the most suggested books for this shopping list. So two winners will receive copies of both books.

The Rules

• This is really counting on the honor system here but leave me a comment about either someone you are going to buy a book for as a gift (it doesn’t have to be a child) or someone to who you have mentioned this shopping list to (be it a mother, friend, fellow blogger, random stranger in a book store…) and your contact information.
• If you already have one of the books please note in your comment which one you would like to win.  If you win then I will choose someone else to receive the other book to help share the wealth.
• Open to US only. Sorry money is tight so I cannot afford to mail these internationally.
• Ends December 25, 2010.

Extra entries (some people love ‘em, some people hate ‘em so it’s up to you)

Since the point is to spread the word as much as possible about this project here are some ways to get extra entries:

• If you advertised the original post about giving the gift of reading then leave a comment with the link (+3 entries)
• If you advertise this post (Tweet, Facebook, link to side bar, etc.) leave the link (+1 for each link)
• If you dedicate a post on your blog to this shopping list and this project leave the link in the comments) (+5 entries)