Wonderful Wednesday - Historical Fiction

Wonderful Wednesdays is a meme about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven't read them recently.  Each week will have a different genre or theme. It is hosted on Tiny Library by lovely Sam. This week's theme is historical fiction.

I love classic literature so I love reading stories set in the past. I'm really fascinated by the past and would love to time travel not only in my fantasy. I long for a day - yes just one day - in Victorian England or one hour at one of Jane Austen's balls. If only I could ...However, my fascination for the past is not only an appeal to 19th century England . It is a fondness for every past era and for many different geographical settings. The books I want to recommend today are  historical novels I've read in the last year and that I particularly liked.
The first in my "MUST READ IT"  list is Sharon Kay Penman's,  The Sunne in Splendour. It is set in England at the time of the bloody War of the Roses. It is one of the most compelling and gripping novels I’ve ever read and a book I've  added to my “ the unforgettable” shelf . Dickon, its protagonist, Richard III Plantagenet has become  one of my heroes and ... I wear his white rose - a badge - on my favourite jumper, well ... I've got it on right now. This book has signed and changed my view of history and led me to go on an incredible tour in Yorkshire last July on the footsteps of Richard III. I love Shakespeare but I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive what he did to Dickon and how he supported the Tudors' campaign of vilification.The second book I want to recommend is set in ancient Italy and in ancient times. Australian writer, Elisabeth Storrs, has written an incredibly beautiful tale set in my country and I must thank her for the unforgettable hours she has granted me while reading about the marriage of Cecilia, a Roman,  to Mastarna, an Etruscan,  in The Wedding Shroud. You too will be allured by the magic and beauty of the Etruscan world, just like Cecilia. Ancient history becomes life, love and passion in this novel.I'd love to hear from you. Do you like reading historical fiction? Which of your latest read would you recommend? What's your favourite historical novel ever? Visit Sam's blog, Tiny Library, to check the other posts in the series Wonderful Wednesday (HERE)