Books like “The Sunne in Splendour”

What to read after “The Sunne in Splendour” by Sharon Kay Penman: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Azincourt
Bernard Cornwell · 2008
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- War Fiction
Outlawed archer Nicholas Hook joins Henry V's army as it invades France. Mired in a brutal siege and heavily outnumbered at Azincourt, he and his comrades face a battle that will decide the fate of a kingdom.
2
The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett · 1989
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- Betrayal
In twelfth-century England a stonemason named Tom Builder dreams of raising a great cathedral. Around its construction gather a cunning prior, a noblewoman and a ruthless lord whose ambitions and feuds shape the lives of an entire town.
3
World Without End
Ken Follett · 2007
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- Betrayal
Two centuries after The Pillars of the Earth, four children in Kingsbridge witness a killing that binds their fates together. As plague sweeps the land, they struggle with love, ambition and the harsh rules of their age.
4
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah · 2015
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
- Rebellion
In occupied France, two sisters take very different roads through the war. One keeps her daughters safe in the countryside while sheltering fugitives; the other joins the resistance, guiding downed airmen over the Pyrenees. Their choices strain their bond and put both of them in constant danger.
5
The White Queen
Philippa Gregory · 2009
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
Elizabeth Woodville, a widowed commoner, secretly marries King Edward IV and is crowned in a court that dislikes her family. Through the wars between Lancaster and York she and her relatives rise, scheme and lose ground to rivals who will not accept a commoner as queen.
6
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr · 2014
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
During the German occupation of France, a blind girl and her father flee Paris for the walled city of Saint-Malo, carrying a valuable jewel. In Germany, an orphan with a gift for radio repairs is drawn into the war machine. Their separate paths move slowly toward the same besieged town in August 1944.
7
The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell · 2004
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- War Fiction
Raised by Vikings after they kill his father, the Saxon boy Uhtred must choose between the people who love him and the kingdom of his birth. As Alfred of Wessex battles the Danes, Uhtred becomes a warrior torn between two worlds.
8
Katherine
Anya Seton · 1954
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
In fourteenth-century England, Katherine Swynford becomes a lady-in-waiting and falls in love with John of Gaunt, a royal duke bound by marriage and politics. Their long, often forbidden attachment survives plague, war and the disapproval of a court that cannot forgive a scandal.
9
The Greatest Knight
Elizabeth Chadwick · 2005
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- Betrayal
William Marshal, a landless younger son, wins renown on the tournament circuit of twelfth-century Europe. Sworn to kings and queens, he serves through rebellion and shifting alliances, and his loyalty is tested as often as his skill at arms.
10
The Alice Network
Kate Quinn · 2017
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
- Betrayal
In 1947, pregnant and unmarried Charlie follows a lead about her missing cousin to a ruined woman in London. Their search draws on the story of Eve, a spy who ran a network in occupied France during the First World War, and the betrayals that broke it.
11
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini · 2007
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
Mariam and Laila, born a generation apart in Afghanistan, are forced together by marriage to the same violent man. Through decades of war and loss, the two women become each other's only home and take great risks for the chance of a different life.
12
Schindler's Ark
Thomas Keneally · 1982
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
In German-occupied Poland, Oskar Schindler, a Czech businessman and opportunist, employs Jewish workers in his factory. As the war turns and deportations intensify, he uses his wealth and connections to shield them, at growing personal risk.