Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Historical Settings

Posted February 2, 2016 by meezcarrie in Deeanne Gist, Erica Vetsch, historical, Jane Austen, Janette Oke, Jocelyn Green, Jody Hedlund, Julie Klassen, Karen Witemeyer, Laura Frantz, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laurie Alice Eakes, Lori Benton, Lynn Austin, Margaret Brownley, Mary Connealy, Melanie Dickerson, Melissa Jagears, Patricia Polacco, Regina Jennings, Rosslyn Elliott, Sarah E. Ladd, Tamera Alexander, Top Ten Tuesday / 71 Comments


Top Ten Tuesday Favorite

Welcome back to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, hosted as always by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic has several possible variations but I’m choosing to talk about my favorite historical settings. You know, those periods of history whose mere mention in a book blurb has your radar engaged and your interest piqued.

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colonial america

(This covers the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early American eras for me)

colonial america collage

Some of my favorite books from this time period include:

The Mistress of Tall Acre by Laura Frantz

A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist

The Midwives series by Laurie Alice Eakes

The Wood’s Edge by Lori Benton

Love’s Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Ben & Me by Robert Lawson

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This is a subset of sorts to the previous category, but after living in Kentucky for 20-some years I’m particularly drawn to stories that tell its rich history. (This subset could also easily be called “books by Laura Frantz” lol)

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My favorites in this category are (not surprisingly) all by Laura Frantz! 🙂

The Frontiersman’s Daughter

Courting Morrow Little

The Colonel’s Lady

regency england

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I could pretty much just say “All of Julie Klassen’s books” and “All of Sarah Ladd’s books”, and that would be accurate too.

But some of my specific favorites in this genre are:

The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen

A Spy’s Devotion by Melanie Dickerson

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Whispers on the Moors series by Sarah E. Ladd

Daughters of Bainbridge House series by Laurie Alice Eakes

wild wild west

This is probably the most difficult setting from which to pick my favorite books, simply because the authors I tend to like here stick with this genre and do a phenomenal job every time.  So I’m just going to highlight a few of my favorite in the collage and then send you to the amazon pages for each author, instead of the separate books.

wild wild west collage

Karen Witemeyer    Melissa Jagears

Mary Connealy    Tamera Alexander

Regina Jennings   Erica Vetsch

Margaret Brownley

settlers and pioneers

This is similar to the Wild, Wild West setting but I’m specifically thinking here about the wagon trains and the homesteaders and the logging camps.

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Some of my favorites in this category include:

Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke

Lassoed in Texas series by Mary Connealy

Michigan Brides series by Jody Hedlund

The 12 Brides of Christmas collection

Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist

civil war

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I love many books and series from this setting but these are my favorites:

Refiner’s Fire series by Lynn Austin

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

Heroines Behind the Lines series by Jocelyn Green

A Lasting Impression (plus several other books) by Tamera Alexander

underground railroad.png

While this sometimes overlaps with the Civil War, many books about the Underground Railroad occur before the war began or apart from it.

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Besides those I mentioned along with the Civil War, my favorite books about the Underground Railroad are The Ballantyne Legacy series by Laura Frantz and The Saddler’s Legacy series by Rosslyn Elliott.

Ok. So. That’s only 7 but they are my very favorite historical settings.

Honorable mention goes to The Gilded Age/Edwardian Period (with books like The Everstone Chronicles by Dawn Crandall, Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, the Edwardian Brides series by Carrie Turansky, and A Class Of Their Own series by Jen Turano) as well as World War 2 (including For Such A Time by Kate Breslin, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, Flame of Resistance by Tracy Groot, and The Butterfly & The Violin by Kristy Cambron).

What are some of your favorite historical settings? Are there any books I missed from your favorite era?

STAY TUNED next week for our very special and much-requested KISSING BOOKS 101, LESSON 2 post. I’ve got a fabulous bundle giveaway planned with all of the books I’ll be featuring that day!!

Also, check out my Pinterest page and my #WeRead boards for more historical settings and lots of great pictures!

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71 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Historical Settings

  1. I love how you included some of your favorites from each time period! The Underground Railroad is a great choice that I didn’t even think to add to my list!

  2. Karen

    I enjoyed the Mercy Falls series by Colleen Coble. They take place in the early 1900s. Not quite as long ago as some which you’ve listed, but I found them very interesting because that era is somewhat underserved in Christian fiction. And 100 years ago is historical, right? 🙂

  3. carrieturansky

    Those are wonderful eras and some of my favorite books and authors! I’m partial to English settings, so Julie Klassen is a favorite. I recently read and enjoyed The Painter’s Daughter. I also listened to the audio versions of Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. Ahhhh….take me away to England!

  4. Wow, you really excelled at your list this week! I’m not much of a historical fiction type reader (even thought I really like history, I’m strange, I know!) I like the sound of the Wild West though, that would make a cool setting.
    Also, I love that cover for Pride & Prejudice, it’s really pretty.
    Great list! 🙂

  5. lindseyhabets

    I don’t read nearly enough historical fiction (my TTT is about futuristic dystopian societies), but this list looks really nice. They all seem to have really pretty covers too!
    Lindsey – http://www.lindseyh.be

  6. I thought about including the Wild West in my list, but I actually haven’t read a lot of books set in that period. I need to change that. I love that you listed your favorites along which each time period. I’m always looking for book suggestions. Great list!

  7. Carrie, Love how you set this up! HUGE thanks for including my books with so many great authors:) I’m taking notes! I’m thrilled to be adding another KY book before long. Cover coming soon! Bless you for being here!

  8. I love all of the recommendations you included! Especially on the settlers and pioneers. I love books with that theme. Have you read anything by Alexis Harrington? I enjoyed her western and pioneer romances.

  9. I love so many of these books!!!! I know you mentioned Tamera Alexander, but I’d have to specify her book “Revealed” under the wagon-train subcategory! And I’d add Julie Lessman’s Hearts of San Francisco series to the Gilded Age/Edwardian one.

  10. I love how you listed different time periods AND gave recs for each! I’ve never read about some of these time period, so I’ll have to check your recs out, especially since someone else just mentioned to me that they like Regency England 🙂

  11. So many books here that I’m going to have to go look at. (So many that I’m probably going to have to bookmark this page,in fact.) Let’s see, I love Regency England books and have only read a few from Colonial America, but have enjoyed them a lot. I’ve also read a few in the Wild Wild West and, surprising myself, really liked them. I’ve totally got to give the Civil War Era and Underground Railroad a go – as well as some of your honorable mentions.
    Thanks for visiting my blog!

  12. Definitely agree that the Civil War-era is a fascinating era to read about, although it looks like you lean more towards romance novels then I tend to. Might still have to check out some of your favorites.
    Thanks for visiting my TTT!

  13. Wonderful list and I loved how you put it all together with the recommendations; really looks lovely and clean. Colonial America/Kentucky are some of my favorite historical settings and definitely Regency England. Also, thanks for stopping by my blog!

  14. What an interesting list! Thank you for sharing, and for the recommendations from each period. I think there’s a few books I’ll have to check out 🙂

  15. Yay for “The Mistress of Tall Acre.” I’m no ordinarily a big fan of that period, but that novel… it was gorgeous! Also, if PBS’ new drama “Mercy Street” does well, I suspect the Civil War will be getting LOTS of play. 🙂

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