Book picks similar to
Devil by David Churchill


historical-fiction
historical
medieval
fiction

Wives of War


Soraya M. Lane - 2017
    Two young nurses meet at a train station with a common purpose: to join the war effort. Scarlet longs for the chance to find her missing fiancé, Thomas, and to prove to her family—and to herself—that she’s stronger than everybody thinks. Nursing is in Ellie’s blood, but her humble background is vastly different from Scarlet’s privileged upbringing. Though Ellie puts on a brave face, she’s just as nervous as Scarlet about what awaits them in France.In Normandy, the two friends soon encounter the seemingly unflappable Lucy. Scarlet and Ellie are in awe of her courage and competence, but the experienced nurse is well aware of the dangers of the job they’ve chosen—and even she is terrified they won’t make it home alive.Pushed to their limits by the brutality of a world at war, Scarlet, Ellie and Lucy will need to rely on each other—and the power of their friendship—to survive.

Now is the Time


Melvyn Bragg - 2015
    Yet Richard, bolstered by his powerful, admired mother, felt secure in his God-given right to reign.Within two weeks, the unthinkable happened: a vast force of common people invaded London, led by a former soldier, Walter Tyler, and the radical preacher John Ball, demanding freedom, equality and the complete uprooting of the Church and state. They believed they were rescuing the King from his corrupt ministers, and that England had to be saved. And for three intense, violent days, it looked as if they would sweep all before them.Now is the Time depicts the events of the Peasants' Revolt on both a grand and intimate scale, vividly portraying its central figures and telling an archetypal tale of an epic struggle between the powerful and the apparently powerless.

A Place of Greater Safety


Hilary Mantel - 1992
    Capturing the violence, tragedy, history, and drama of the French Revolution, this novel focuses on the families and loves of three men who led the Revolution--Danton, the charismatic leader and orator; Robespierre, the cold rationalist; and Desmoulins, the rabble-rouser.

The King's General


Daphne du Maurier - 1946
    Set in the seventeenth century, it tells the story of a country and a family riven by war, and features one of fiction's most original heroines.Honor Harris is only eighteen when she first meets Richard Grenvile, proud, reckless - and utterly captivating. But following a riding accident, Honor must reconcile herself to a life alone. As Richard rises through the ranks of the army, marries and makes enemies, Honor remains true to himAs the English Civil war is waged across the country, Richard rises through the ranks of the army, marries and makes enemies, and Honor remains true to him, and finally discovers the secret of Menabilly.Decades later, an undaunted Sir Richard, now a general serving King Charles I, finds her. Finally they can share their passion in the ruins of her family's great estate on the storm-tossed Cornish coast-one last time before being torn apart, never to embrace again.

The Iron King


Maurice Druon - 1955
    He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty ...

An Officer and a Spy


Robert Harris - 2013
    This is the story of the infamous Dreyfus affair told as a chillingly dark, hard-edged novel of conspiracy and espionage. Paris in 1895. Alfred Dreyfus, a young Jewish officer, has just been convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil’s Island, and stripped of his rank in front of a baying crowd of twenty-thousand. Among the witnesses to his humiliation is Georges Picquart, the ambitious, intellectual, recently promoted head of the counterespionage agency that “proved” Dreyfus had passed secrets to the Germans. At first, Picquart firmly believes in Dreyfus’s guilt. But it is not long after Dreyfus is delivered to his desolate prison that Picquart stumbles on information that leads him to suspect that there is still a spy at large in the French military. As evidence of the most malignant deceit mounts and spirals inexorably toward the uppermost levels of government, Picquart is compelled to question not only the case against Dreyfus but also his most deeply held beliefs about his country, and about himself. Bringing to life the scandal that mesmerized the world at the turn of the twentieth century, Robert Harris tells a tale of uncanny timeliness––a witch hunt, secret tribunals, out-of-control intelligence agencies, the fate of a whistle-blower--richly dramatized with the singular storytelling mastery that has marked all of his internationally best-selling novels.

Hereward


James Wilde - 2011
    With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood.The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king's closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward.To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the foes that gather to claim England's throne. But in his country's hour of greatest need, his enemies at Court have made him outlaw. To stay alive - and a freeman - he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders' fields and the fenlands of East Anglia.The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mismatched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a man of peace, a monk. One will risk everything to save the land he loves, the other to save his friend's soul.James Wilde's thrilling, action-packed debut rescues a great English hero from the darkest of times and brings him to brutal and bloody life.

The Address


Fiona Davis - 2017
    But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility—no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America, where a person can rise above one’s station. The opportunity to be the female manager of The Dakota, which promises to be the greatest apartment house in the world. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else...and is living in The Dakota with his wife and three young children.

I Am the Chosen King


Helen Hollick - 2000
    After the political turmoil and battles leading up to 1066, we all know William the Conquerer takes England. But Helen Hollick will have readers at the edge of their seats, hoping that just this once, for Harold, the story will have a different ending.

The Paladin


George Shipway - 1973
    From the author of Imperial Governor. Normandy: 11th century: Young Walter has grown up at the abbey of Evreux, believing himself the son of the abbey’s superintendent Dean Fulk, and earns the nickname Tirel for his skill at archery. An unfortunate incident leads to him being sent away to endure the rigorous training of a squire in William the Conqueror’s household. At the same time he learns his true lineage, and how he has been deprived of his inheritance. He finds a friend in the Conqueror’s second son William Rufus, but is disgusted by certain aspects of his behaviour. He must also attach himself to Rufus’s feckless elder brother Robert Curthose in the hope of making his fortune and regaining his inheritance, but this leads him to make new enemies, and brings him together with his childhood sweetheart, the warrior-lady Isabel of Conches. ‘George Shipway’s progress as an historical novelist has established him in the enviable position of matching such masters of the genre as Harrison Ainsworth. No sloppy romantic make-believe; instead, Mr Shipway creates a vivid, definitive adventure story of the period.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘You could easily vaunt George Shipway’s latest novel as a saga of nymphomania, homosexuality, torture, witchcraft and bloodshed. But that would be to do it a great deal less than justice, for THE PALADIN blends its … ingredients into a very civilized novel. Mr Shipway promises a sequel, which softens the blow of reaching the final pages of this story.’ Daily Mail ‘Here is a rattling good yarn in the form of a historical novel. .. the details of life in castle and countryside are animated and evocative.’ Evening Standard ‘Vivid reconstruction of violent period of history probably nearer the truth than conventional notions of romantic chivalry.’ The Evening News ‘As delectable a piece of historical collage as you could wish for.’ Liverpool Daily Post ‘Power passion rather than rosy romance is the preoccupation of the giant Norman knights who stalk the pages of THE PALADIN by George Shipway . . . Its earthy often horrific images have a great physical presence...His sheer professionalism is a joy.’ Eastern Daily Press ‘This “account” of the young Norman lord’s (Tirel’s) earlier life is so vividly told that one waits eagerly the culmination in a second novel.’ Western Mail ‘George Shipway’s new book.… should make you late for dinner….In diamond-hard style he tells a meaty tale of bad barons, sadistic soldiery and persecuted peasants in post-Conquest Normandy. A disturbing picture of the so-called Age of Chivalry.’ Coventry Evening Telegraph This book was first published in the 1970s and has since been out of print. Contains passages which may be offensive to LGBT readers. ABOUT THE AUTHOR George Frederick Morgan Shipway was in 1908 in India and was educated at Clifton. He then attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1928. He was attached the 2nd Battalion The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire), for one. After his year Shipway was posted to the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers. He spent two years (1936-1938) as Adjutant of the Mekran Levy Corps. In 1940-41 he became a General Staff Officer, at General Headquarters, India. He remained on the staff until 1944 when he was posted to serve with the Hyderabad Lancers.

The Conqueror


Georgette Heyer - 1931
    His victory, concluded at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is known as the Norman Conquest.Known for her exhaustive research and ability to bring past eras to life, bestselling author Georgette Heyer tells the story of William the Conqueror, who became King of England in 1066, and his queen Matilda, the high-born noblewoman who at first scornfully spurned him. William was an illegitimate child of a nobleman, who won his dukedom through force of will, and went on to bring European feudalism to England, along with a program of building and fortification that included the building of the Tower of London.The historical novel includes Heyer's brilliant period language and her perfect grasp of the details of the day - clothing, armor, weapons, and food - making for a fascinating and blood-stirring read.

Under a Gilded Moon


Joy Jordan-Lake - 2020
    The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow.Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians. She is determined to distance herself from the opulence she sees rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, however close its reach. Her family’s land is among the last pieces required to complete the Biltmore Estate. But something more powerful than an ambitious Vanderbilt heir could change Kerry’s fate as, one by one, more outsiders descend on the changing landscape—a fugitive from Sicily, a reporter chasing a groundbreaking story, a debutante tainted by scandal, and a conservationist prepared to put anyone at risk to stoke the resentment of the locals.As Kerry finds herself caught in a war between wealth and poverty, innocence and corruption, she must navigate not only her own pride and desperation to survive but also the temptations of fortune and the men who control it.

A Dangerous Inheritance


Alison Weir - 2012
    A Dangerous Inheritance weaves together the lives and fates of four of its youngest and most blameless: Lady Katherine Grey, Lady Jane's younger sister; Kate Plantagenet, an English princess who lived nearly a century before her; and Edward and Richard, the boy princes imprisoned by their ruthless uncle, Richard III, never to be heard from again. Across the years, these four young royals shared the same small rooms in their dark prison, as all four shared the unfortunate role of being perceived as threats to the reigning monarch.

Four Sisters, All Queens


Sherry Jones - 2012
    . . . Amid the lush valleys and fragrant wildflowers of Provence, Marguerite, Elonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice have learned to charm, hunt, dance, and debate under the careful tutelage of their ambitious mother--and to abide by the countess's motto: Family comes first.With Provence under constant attack, their legacy and safety depend upon powerful alliances. Marguerite's illustrious match with the young King Louis IX makes her Queen of France. Soon Elonore--independent and daring--is betrothed to Henry III of England. In turn, shy, devout Sanchia and tempestuous Beatrice wed noblemen who will also make them queens.Yet a crown is no guarantee of protection. Enemies are everywhere, from Marguerite's duplicitous mother-in-law to vengeful lovers and land-hungry barons. Then there are the dangers that come from within, as loyalty succumbs to bitter sibling rivalry, and sister is pitted against sister for the prize each believes is rightfully hers--Provence itself.From the treacherous courts of France and England, to the bloody tumult of the Crusades, Sherry Jones traces the extraordinary true story of four fascinating sisters whose passions, conquests, and progeny shaped the course of history.

Music & Silence


Rose Tremain - 1999
    Designated the king's "Angel" because of the purity of his physical beauty, Peter falls helplessly in love with the lovely companion of Queen Kirsten, the king's adulterous wife. The young musician finds himself dangerously torn between loyalties, ensnared in the deep-seated unrest of a royal court where the forces of good and evil, of harmony and dissonance, are ensconced in a battle to the death.