Looking for book recommendations.
Something exciting and lighthearted, set in the Middle Ages or Renaissance, in the vein of The Princess Bride, Robin Hood, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,, or the movie A Knight’s Tale.
What are your favorites? Thanks!
I dont know if this really fits what you are looking for, but we had a Dutch writer called Thea Beckman who wrote the book Crusade in jeans (kruistocht in spijkerbroek). No clue if it was translated, and if it isnt too teensy, but I liked it when I was younger. It is about a boy from our time being sent back to the medieval times, and how he had to deal with the crusade he found there.
Sounds right up my alley, and it looks like there’s a translation and a movie! Thanks!
Skip the movie! It is a horrible attempt to make it cooler. All of a sudden he is a prof football (soccer) player and they get many details wrong. It was a horrible watch for me :p
Haha okay thanks for the heads up!
I thoroughly enjoyed Shellabarger’s “Prince of Foxes”, set in Italy during the Renaissance. I think it was fairly lighthearted, but maybe someone who read it more recently can correct me if my memory is off. A friend of mine reviewed it as “a register of Italian names”, so you know its got to be good. Must be 30 years since I read it and it was the first book that came to mind so it did have an impact on me even if it failed to catch the fancy of my friend. My suspicion is that he failed to read past the first chapter as the rest of the book has adventures and excitement aplenty.
Looks great, thank you!
Here is my assortment of recommendations.
The greatest classic of the genre: Ivanhoe. Written in the 1800s, it feel its age, but to some (i.e. me and hopefully others) it just add to the charm. So much adventure on a very romanticized medieval background.
The Arthurian cycles: if you are not looking for historical accuracy are are fine with a little magic sprinkled around. Many authors retold the legends, there are the old french novels (by Chrétien de Troyes - a bit stiff at times and formulaic) or the more modern ones. My personal favorite is the cycle by Mary Stewart, but “The Once and Future King”* is also really good.
An adventurous take on the fall of the Roman Empir: The last Legion by V M Manfredi*.
A view on the life of common people during the middle ages, developed around a compelling plot: the quadrilogy by Valeria Montaldi.
The ones you can’t overlook: Pillar of the Earth by Ken Follett and Cathedral of the Sea by Idelfonso Flacones. Flavor-wise I felt they were very similar, a broad cast of characters with strong emotions moving on the backdrop of the gothic revolution. Particularly good if you like architecture.
*: YA, all others are “adult” novels.
These are great recommendations, thank you! I’m especially looking forward to the Valeria Montaldi stories. I read The Once and Future King a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. (It’s probably as close as I’ll ever get to Le Morte d’Arthur haha)
Glad to be of help!