I don't particularly like him, but Bernard Cornwell will almost certainly engage your male students. He's an author you will absolutely need to get parents to sign a waiver for, so I recommend his novel 1356, about the Battle of Poitiers, or Azincourt, which is about the Battle of Agincourt. The latter has an especially interesting subplot revolving around a couple of Saints. Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles might also be of interest, as it's meant to be a "historical" take on King Arthur.

Edit: to clatify, Cornwell's history is adequate, about on par with your average pop historian. It's just his writing style and some of his attitudes that bug me. Generally it's his interpretation of events or customs that I don't like, rather than the actual facts (except for his blind adherence to Keegan in the matter of horses charging).

Edit 2: Also, I'd recommend Ellis Peter's Cadfael series, which are about a monk solving murder mysteries during The Anarchy. It's a pretty good look at mid-12th century England, and no waivers are needed.

The book Silence by Shusaku Endo, about Christianity in Japan, is one of the single most memorable books I’ve ever read. It will leave a lasting mark on your students. It takes place in around 1600, however. There’s a lot of descriptions of violence (like crucifixion) but no sex or course language that I remember.

Consider having them read some Boccaccio for medieval Europe. You’ll have to choose which stories—though it’s authetnically medieval, some parts are pretty raunchy. Likewise, Anglo-Saxon poetry is great. Dream of the Rood and the Wanderer are two good entry points.

One place that might be interesting to look is If It Had Happened Otherwise, an early collection of “alternative history”, though I think only one fits your time period (“If the Moors in Spain Had Won”) which I can’t remember if it was any good.

My Name Is Red is Orhan Pamuk’s most famous Ottoman Novel, but I didn’t like it very much. I much preferred the more straightforward the White Castle. Anything Ottoman, though, is pushing up against your end date. It’s not a novel, but an interesting non fiction book by a novelist might be the Crusades through Arab Eyes. I haven’t read it, but I have heard good things about Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali (set in 1499 Spain, apparently). Ditto The Rock: A Seventh Century Tale of Jerusalem (which is apparently quite political for a book taking place thirteen centuries ago).

The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis is about a private detective in Ancient Rome under Vespasian. Marcus Didius Falco is sarcastic, and the tone is not too serious. Much of the book (and series) takes place in everyday Rome, instead of focusing on the famous figures.

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff is a young adult novel about a discharged Roman officer seeking information on the the fate of his father's legion, who vanished in northern Britain. (For a long time, Legio IX disappeared from the records after being stationed in Britain, but recent archeology suggests it was transferred elsewhere.)

One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters is a mystery novel set during the Anarchy, the English civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. The protagonist is a monk in Shrewsbury Abbey, who was formally a crusader.

The name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
It's set in a medieval abbey and revolves around books, christianity and Aristotle.
There's a sex scene though.
Also The shield of Talos, by Manfredi, but I don't know if ot was translated in english.
The story of a boy during the messenian revolt.

Colleen McCullough's seven part Masters of Rome series is far and away my favorite when it comes to historical fiction. I mean I had some general interest in ancient Rome before I read those books, but afterwards I became positively obsessed with the period for a while (still am to some extent), and it helped me make the jump to actual academic literature.

I'd say it's also as realistic a portrayal as a historical novel can be. Especially about the ancient world, with all the knowledge gaps we still have about the nitty gritty of particular events, people and even daily life. So she does have to speculate, but she usually tries to base her speculation firmly on the knowledge we do have, and there's actually a chapter at the end of each book detailing how she used her sources to arrive at the narrative she presents.

There is some sex and violence, but nothing gratuitous, so it should be fine (though not having gone through the US education system, I might be off on that, so take my assessment with a grain of salt). And don't worry about assigning a series either. The first book in particular, The First Man in Rome, can stand very well on its own, detailing the political and military rise of Gaius Marius, his war against the Numidian king Jugurtha as well as his famous victories against the Cimbri, Teutones and Ambrones. It ends with him fully taking his place in the political establishment by defeating his former political allies, Saturninus and Glaucia, who had been declared in rebellion by the senate. So while there are definitely plenty of "sequel hooks" (especially in regards to Marius' relationship to his protégé Lucius Cornelius Sulla), it very much tells a complete story. So I'd say assign the first book and tell them there's plenty more where that came from for those interested.

I thought Pillars of the Earth was a good read - been a long time since I was 18, so not sure what type of reading/interest level they operate at these days - it's a sizable book.

There are several series of books by Christian Jacq set in ancient Egypt. He was trained as an Egyptologist, so the historical accuracy is generally pretty good.

Death Comes as the End is Agatha Christie's only novel set in the past (ancient Egypt) and was inspired by the Heqanakht papyri. Christie's husband was an archaeologist, which influenced several of her books.

Helen of Troy by Margaret George was a great read; her other books are worth a look.

Robert Graves might have some good novels for this. I, Claudius is what everyone will point out. I really like his novel Belisarius, though it's kind of a revisionist approach to Procopius's A Secret History and I have no idea of the historiographical opinions on it these days.

I.J. Parker's detective novels set in 11th century Japan are really good, exciting reads. I recommend "The Black Arrow" as the one that would really capture the imagination of teenagers. It's got action, mysteries, and humour.

As "Black Arrow" opens, Sugawara Akitada assumes his new post as provisional governor of Echigo, a frigid province in the far north notorious for its hostility to outsiders. But the snow that threatens to completely isolate the region is the least of his problems which include a local uprising, a series of brutal murders, and a mystery that's as old as the frozen hills and a lot more dangerous.

However, there are some fade-to-black sexual encounters in that book (the hero's assistant is seduced by a femme fatale) and the others, and in general, this is a thing with Japanese historical fiction. Sexuality was very much open and on display and novels will reflect that. Parker's novels, though, are not on the lurid side of things, and "The Black Arrow" will probably win "morality points" by being about a married man in love with his wife. It depends on your local atmosphere.

ETA: No historical novel is going to be 100 percent accurate, and they'll probably be a lot less than that. But an engaging story that gets people interested is still worthwhile, in my opinion. Your job as the teacher is to not present novels as the truth, but a way in. Sounds like you're doing a fine job there.

I quite enjoyed the Cicero-Trilogy By Robert Harris (the three books themselves being titled Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator). The books are written from the perspective of Cicero's personal secretary Tiro (who himself is a historical person who wrote extensively about his former master after Cicero's death, but his works have sadly been lost, so Harris is using secondary sources (of which many relied on Tiro's works) to creat the viewpoint) about the events that transpired in Rome from the beginning of Cicero's rise to fame when he prosecuted Verres to his death at the behest of the triumvirate.

It's decently sourced (while, of course, taking some artistic liberties, but as far as I can judge not changing any major events but more regarding the fillers in between) and very well written in my oppinion.

Edmund Rutherford's London and Sarum is good; he's also written about Ireland and Russia, but all of his works are long, like <500 pages, so I don't know if any one will actually read all of it.

What about John Gardner's Grendel? Funny as hell, quick, and if they had Brit Lit in 11th grade they read a bit of Beowulf.

You could also assign a tale or two from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and some Irish/ Welsh stuff: Irish would be the Tale of Cuchulain and Welsh would be the Mabinogi.

You might consider longer short stories or chapters that can stand alone, especially if they are coming from classes where not much was expected of them.

PM me with your requirements and let me see what I can come up with. I'm an English teacher.

PS Do you have a good librarian?

(I'm so excited to see if my comment stays-- I've never been bold enough to post to AskHistorians)

Other posters have mentioned Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy, all of Bernard Cornwell's work, Clavell's Shogun, The Pillar's of the Earth, and The Name of the Rose, all of which I'd second.

I'd add Hild by Nicola Griffith, a magnificently well-researched book following a young girl who becomes an oracle/advisor to the pagan/then Christian king of Northumbria in the 7th century. It's a brilliant setting as it shows Britain during the tribal/kingdom conflicts of Britain just as it was beginning to get unified and Christianized. It is also one of the very few historical novels written from the POV and abut the life of a female character.

The Source, by James Michener is brilliant as it follows an archeological dig as it goes through the layers of discovery of a site, each chapter being a short story set in a different time period, starting with stone-age Israel, then the tribal, and kingdom periods of Israel, then progressively working up to modern history. The later chapters cover 20th century history, but as each chapter can work as a standalone short story, you can just give the students as much as you want.

I'd also recommend The Last English King by Julian Rathbone, which is a brilliant story based around William the Conquerer's invasion, from the point of view of the Anglo-Saxons.

Another would be Creation by Gore Vidal. Its a brilliant work that follows the grandson of Zoroaster who travels the known world in the 5th/6th century BC, works for the Persian Ruler Darius and meets the major figures of his time, Socrates, the Buddha, Mahavira, Lao Tsu, and Confucius. Julian, about the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, is also very good.

Shogun is a phenomenal book about the opening, and closing, of Japan, and the beginning of the Edo period. It is fascinating, excellently researched, and really just superb historical fiction. Additionally, the cultural information presented is spot on. Clavell is awesome, and Shogun is awesome.

Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth by Naguib Mahfouz. https://www.amazon.com/Akhenaten-Dweller-Truth-Naguib-Mahfouz/dp/0385499094#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1517176169164

I taught this at the very beginning of the year as it gives students multiple accounts and perspectives of the same event - it really allowed me to set the tone at the beginning of the year in regards to examining perspectives.

If you're interested in using film in your class, I would definitely check out Teaching History with Film: Strategies for Secondary Social Studies (https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-History-Film-Strategies-Secondary/dp/0415999561) and Teaching Difficult History through Film (https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Difficult-History-through-Film/dp/1138190772). Both books give excellent rationals for using film and give several cases/strategies on how film can be used effectively.

I taught AP World History for 6 years (am now working on my PhD in Secondary Social Studies Ed) and I've definitely experienced what you're experiencing. My students were also seniors and their previous teachers were also lackluster. I also taught 1984 and Brave New World towards the end of the year, but film is where I really hooked them. You might get some pushback from your admin for using film (I know I did), but it can be really effective if done right.

This is a great exercise and I hope you find some good options! I keep running afoul of the fact that my favorite historical more-or-less-standalone novels are either outside of the period, super inappropriate for a school setting, or both. Wolf Hall? Post-1500, has a sequel. Slammerkin? 18th century, about miserable underage sex workers. As Meat Loves Salt? 17th century, POV character is a rapist. Woof.

Some of Mary Renault's standalone historical novels might be pushing it on the sexual content but I remember liking The Mask of Apollo (4th century BC Greece). Bruce Holsinger's A Burnable Book is set in late 14th century England, with a lot of appearances by contemporary political and literary figures (John of Gaunt, Chaucer, etc.) One of the POV characters is a sex worker and in modern terms might be called transgender (the historical figure John/Eleanor Rykener) if that's something you predict having issues with, though I don't remember a real wealth of explicit content. Are you leaning toward historical fiction in the "written recently, set pre-1500" sense, or are you okay with older works in then-contemporary settings a la Chaucer/older works attempting coverage of historical events a la Shakespeare's history plays?

Adding a new perspective as this thread grows and people pour in with their historical novel recommendations . . .

A lot of the recommendations OP's getting are for classics such as Rosemary Sutcliff and Mary Renault, which were dated when I was a kid reading them in the 90s. I still think they're great novels. They transported me into those histories, making them feel human and interesting, but they are decades out of date.

Other recommendations for Conn Iggulden's series, which is full of mixed-up history, Ellis Peters "Cadfael" which I've avidly read but suspect the main character is weirdly modern in his worldview. And then are so many other historical novels which I've loved but have no idea of the accuracy.

I think teachers using historical fiction in the school (and I'm an elementary student teacher so I'm thinking this through) really must understand what they're doing with it. Does it matter that Sutcliff and Renault aren't the latest and most up-to-date? I don't think so, as long as you're very clear on how you're using the fiction.

Anyhow, OP, you might be interested in checking out this earlier thread. What's a historical fiction novel that impressed you with its accuracy? with more recommendation and discussion of what makes historical fiction tick.

Maurice Druon - Les Rois Maudits (the accused kings). Seven novels covering roughly the XIV-th century in France. Some sex and violence.

Alexandre Dumas - [La Reine Margot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine_Margot_(novel)) (so a bit over 1500), and Julius Caesar, read them as a kid, don't remember any license. Also, Dumas is generally safe.

Frans Bengtsson - The Long Ships. Vikings cca 1000 AD. Again, read it in my youth, I think it's safe. Some violence, the only sex I can remember is implied, not described.

Tim Severin - [The Brendan Voyage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin#The_Brendan_Voyage_(1976%E2%80%931977)). Not a novel, but the story of a modern-day attempt of retracing the legendary journey of VI-th century St. Brendan from Ireland to (apparently) America. Complete with technical details on building boats of leather (tanned with oak bark), and island-hopping in these from Ireland / Hebrides / Iceland / Greenland.

When I was around the same age as your students, I read and loved The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour. Unlike his other novels, it is not a Western. It follows the story of a young Celtic man in the 12th century, having exciting adventures as he tries to track down information about his lost father. He spends time in Islamic Spain, travels across Europe to Kiev and Constantinople, and ends up in the Middle East.

These might be a little heavy for high school students, but I'd always recommend the Icelandic Saga's to someone that wants to read fiction written during the middle ages. The sagas honestly read like a typical plot from a Hollywood movie, with some extra pages to introduce the long lineage of various characters we barely see again. They are about heroes (or antiheroes), feuds, romance, politics, voyages, family, and general struggles. There is a lot of violence depicted in these stories, especially descriptions of limps being cut off. I don't remember an instance where sex was described, and the plot doesn't really revolve around sex.

I wouldn't expect many students to pick these, but I think they would be an excellent choice for a student looking for the challenge and to fully submerge themselves into the time period. These are after all narratives written around a century before the Canterbury Tales, are are not written in prose either. The reason why I recommend these is that they capture the atmosphere of the viking age perfectly, despite not being written by a modern omniscient author. The English translations should read a lot smoother than the original, and I'm sure I've seen some that cut some of the fat as well. Njáls Saga is the classic, but it is also the longest and covers many different central characters. For more contained stories, I'd also recommend Grettis Saga and Gísla Saga.

I think these stories might also surprise your students, as you'll see instances of dark humour and surprisingly familiar and even clishé plot lines, even though they are written to depict real events.

I’m partway through Aliette de Boddard’s Servant of the Underworld, the first of three mystery novels following an Aztec priest. It’s not the most beautifully written work ever, but the plot moves along fine and the setting is unusual and engaging. And it seems to get the religion right per u/Mictlantecuhtli (I wouldn’t know myself). There’s a lot of animal sacrifice and ritual blood-letting to work magic, but the closest you get to sex is intent to commit adultery and talk about sacred courtesans.

The Pagan Chronicles (Pagan's Crusade, Pagan in Exile, Pagan's Vows, Pagan's Scribe, and Babylonne) by Catherine Jinks, are a very engaging series set during the crusades in the twelfth century. In the first, the protagonist is the squire to a Templar knight; later he goes with his knight to France, experiencing life in a castle and then a monastery and encountering Cathars. Quite readable and very fun, and the first book (which will stand on its own) is good for the "world" aspect of world history.

The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliffe, is a YA classic set in Roman Britain. Much better than the Channing Tatum/Jamie Bell movie based on it.

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, is, strictly speaking, fantasy rather than historical. However, it is based on late medieval Greece and I think can do a lot to spur interest in the period and geographic location. (Also, as a fan of the series I am contractually obligated to wedge it into conversation whenever possible.)

If you are looking for some historical perspective on the South Asian / Indian civilization and how it interacted with other civilizations in the region - Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, then I would recommend "The Ocean of Churn" by Sanjeev Sanyal. This is NOT a historical fiction, though that is your question. This is a pretty easy read at the same time gives us a lot of information on the civilizations that once adorned those parts of the world.

Sanjeev Sanyal writes: “History looks different when witnessed from the coastlines rather than from an inland point of view.” In this groundbreaking, one-of-its-kind book, Sanjeev Sanyal retraces History from the Indian Ocean's and its coastline's perspective. The book start right from the origin of Indian Ocean due to the movement of tectonic plates and ends right at the transformation of Bombay to Mumbai with the reclamation of land over the ocean. The book is full of rich details of all kingdoms that throve around the Indian coastline and islands on Indian ocean and of also those that had cultural and trade ties with these kingdoms.

I have gifted a couple of high schoolers that I know of and they felt it was thoroughly enjoyable read as well as being very informative at the same time.

I've read a whack of Bernard Cornwell and I'll give you my two cents on this (because I think he's your best bet).

• The last kingdom - This is a LONG series, like 9 or 10 books. But realistically you could read the first book to get a pretty good taste of it. The problem is that you're really not going to get into the guts of the "value" in this series until kinda like 3-4 books in. Basically, this series is about Alfred the Great. And it's told in a very entertaining way. The book(s) are focused on Uhtred, an arrogant, but generally amiable warlord, who is torn between his allegiances to the English and his upbringing with the Danes. The books are written in a way that provides extremely valuable insights about the political forays of the period. For example, how was power measured? How was security measured? What did it mean to be a subject of a king, and what did it mean to have a king, or a lord? These are all great questions to answer for young people, because it gives them a really valuable outlook on the benefits and boons of the modern world. However, my personal feeling is that the books don't really have enough pithy substance on Alfred, with the focus generally on Uhtred.

• The warlord chronicles won't be too much of value, in my opinion, since there simply isn't enough factual evidence to recreate these timeless legends. Cornwell himself admits such in an authors note. These books are a decent read - albeit taxing on the memory early on to understand who all the characters are, but he is a spinner of the strange and wonderful. So good entertainment, but not much else.

http://www.bernardcornwell.net/series/other-books/

I'd go for waterloo - I haven't read it.. but I darn well will.

I’m in the middle of The Outcasts of Time by Ian Mortimer. It’s brand new, published last year. In 1348, two men on a hill outside Exeter are about to die of the plague. They are approached by a spirit (devil? God?) who offers them a choice: live out their last six days in their time, or be cured and live the same six days—but each morning they wake up 99 years in the future. Obviously they take the red pill.

The history is spot on, as Mortimer is a historian. The writing is pretty good. He does a great job switching up the phrasing and word choice just enough so that you feel transported, while still being able to easily follow along. There isn’t too much of a plot, since they keep hitting reset on their life, but in this case the journey is the destination. You learn all sorts of things about the time periods they pass through, and you see it from the point of view of a time traveller (as you would be) but from the PAST. Subtle things, such as how the date is reckoned (AD vs “the fifth year of the reign of King Edward III”), to dramatic things like the enclosure of crop land and how wars are waged. You get to see our modern world being built, stone by stone, over the course of 600 years.

If you can get around the supernatural device, I’m sure your students would enjoy it.

I also wanted to put in a plug for The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. This masterful David Mitchell novel follows the upright de Zoet as he tries to work out who’s embezzling what in Dejima, the Dutch East India Company’s trading outpost in the Nagasaki harbour. There’s a Wild West feel to this place, and a host of well-observed, indelible characters. Lots of Enlightenment philosophy and historical accuracy. This is one of my favourite novels, period. At 1799, though, it does fall quite a way outside your pre-1500 range. (Mitchell wrote the equally-excellent Cloud Atlas, which isn’t really historical fiction but is just amazing and is something you should read yourself!)

This post seems to have taken off. Good luck picking your novels, seems like you’re spoiled for choice!

Hello, I know you asked for historical fiction books but I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to Reacting to the Past. https://reacting.barnard.edu

In RTTP students engage with history directly through, reading, play and public speaking. It is designed for college-aged students but has been used successfully in high school.

There are quite a few books that you can buy and even more that you can playtest.

I have seen firsthand how students who were not interested in history connect with it in a real and lasting way.

This straddles your year range, but The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone. It's a novelized version of the life of Michaelangelo and how he creates his masterpieces (as well as his interactions with the papacy). The author used close to 500 letters from Michaelangelo himself (that the author translated from Italian to English and later published as a separate volume) as a primary source. I know I really enjoyed it both from a history and an art history perspective as a high schooler.

Wikipedia link

It might be a bit advanced for high schoolers (though probably not for seniors), but I'm a huge fan of Umberto Eco's Baudolino. The first one is a historical fiction about the fictional Italian adopted son of emperor Barbarossa and his life in the imperial court, university and campaigning with his adopted father. Halfway through though the title character heads east to find the realm of Prester John and the book slowly turns into a fantasy narrative where everything that Europeans thought was in the east actually was. The book conveys the social, religious, economic and political issues of the day without ever feeling like it's bashing you over the head with exposition or leaving you in the lurch if you aren't already a medievalist. The copy I got even has a section at the back for facilitating discussions about the book. This novel is what basically solidified my choice to go into medieval history.

If Baudolino is too esoteric for you there's also The Name of the Rose by the same author. It's basically a murder mystery set in a thirteenth century Benedictine monastery.

Connie Willis' Domesday Book is a really interesting look into the Black Death. A character time travels to the past and experiences the chaos and horrors of the plague, but the parts that take place in the fourteenth century are well researched.

The Roman Mysteries may be a little young for 17-18 year olds, but they're generally well-researched, covering the adventures of a group of kid detectives in Roman Ostia from AD 79 onward. Each novel has historical notes in the endpapers to explain Roman customs, politics, or Latin terms.

Though it has more merits as a novel than a work of history (it is far more sympathetic to Cromwell than many historians are, for better or worse), Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall really makes the reader feel embedded in the day-to-day of the court of Henry VIII, and does a huge amount of work to get away from the sterile view of "great leaders." Mantel imbues the characters with tremendous life, fallibility, and danger, and the world she builds is a rich one. It is also a serious book of literature on its own merits. A favorite of mine. Lots of possible discussions could come out of it.

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, about the Battle of Thermopylae. I read this in high school as recommended by my history teacher and it singlehandedly changed the way I looked at learning history and learning in general.

Possible deal breakers are scenes depicting a rape and subsequent attempted abortion.

Even if this doesn’t help you with reading material for your students, it’s definitely an awesome read.

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault

flap blurb: In The Last of the Wine, two young Athenians, Alexias and Lysis, compete in the palaestra, journey to the Olympic games, fight in the wars against Sparta, and study under Socrates. As their relationship develops, Renault expertly conveys Greek culture, showing the impact of this supreme philosopher whose influence spans epochs.

Possibly awkward/awesome: This book is primarily centered on mentor/mentee relationships in late Golden Age Athens, and it acknowledges the romantic and often sexual nature of these relationships with a fairly neutral eye (nothing graphic or raunchy, but there's plenty of talk of man-boy love). If the prospect of an in-class discussion where the appropriateness of teacher/student romance is considered is out of the question for you, then you might want to skip this. If you're up for that sort of thing, though, it's a hell of a hook for instant engagement.

I really enjoy Samuel Shellabarger. I didn’t think they were still in print, but it appears that at least Prince of foxes (Italian Renaissance) and Captain from Castile (Mexican conquista) are in print, and both of those and The king’s cavalier (France of Francis I) are published as electronic books for iBooks and Kindle. He was a professor of English at Princeton, and published non-fiction work on the Chevalier de Bayard (Pierre Terrail) and Lord Chesterfield, along with mysteries and romances under other names.

The books I mention seem to have been packaged for young adults when they were originally printed in the mid fifties, and I do not recall anything that would get one in trouble for assigning to teenagers.

Edit: You mention an interest in Rome. Steven Saylor writes a wonderful series of mysteries, Roma sub Rosa, set at various times during the fall of the Republic, centered around Gordianus, who starts off working for Cicero. I don’t think it would be suitable in terms of content for your class, but for yourself, go ahead.

Many great suggestions on this thread, I can't find a reference to Mary Renault's 'Alexander Trilogy', you could read 'Fire From Heaven', the opening book, as a stand alone.

I did see a reference to Robert Harris's excellent Cicero Trilogy, perhaps his rather shorter and more action packed 'Pompeii' would be an easier introduction to the period. And certainly a much much easier read than Robert Graves' 'Claudius' books.

The Unknown Soldier is a good one on the Finnish struggle in WW2. No clue if it exists out there in english though.

A little later era, but The Kent Family Chronicles (also known as The American Bicentennial Series) is a series of eight novels by John Jakes written to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

The books became best sellers, with no novel in the series selling fewer than 3.5 million copies. With The Rebels, The Seekers, and The Furies, Jakes became the first author to have three books on the New York Times bestseller list in a single year (1975).

The books feature different members of the Kent family, connecting them with historical events at the time of the American Revolution. The first novel begins just before the American Revolution, with Frenchman Phillipe Charboneau, who travels to England and later to the New World, changing his name to Philip Kent along the way and meeting several key figures of the Revolution, including the Marquis de La Fayette, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and others. The saga ends some generations later in 1890, with the death of Gideon Kent in The Americans. The series was originally intended to continue until 1976, covering 200 years

Hi there - this thread has attracted a lot of responses, and we're glad lots of people want to help and that /u/Amaelamina has received lots of great responses.

However, we also want to point out that this thread is not someone asking "what's your favourite historical novel?" - it's asking for an appropriate book for high school seniors which is set before the modern period - 'before the year 1500 (CE)'.

Because this is the case, as moderators, we expect that responses a) recognise that they should be talking about books set before the year 1500, b) explain in some detail about what the book is about, and c) explain why it would be a suitable book for /u/Amaelamina's students - e.g., how much sex and violence is in it, what reading level does it assume, how fast-paced is it? Responses that don't do this (or that recommend things that make historians groan because of how inaccurate they are) will be removed. Thank you!

Bernard Cornwell is the best for short reads that keep you turning. his Sharpe series is outstanding! Steven Pressfield also is amazing. Tides of War! Awesome book on the Peloponnesian War. I loved Shogun and other books in that series.