# Any recommendations for great fiction taking place in Victorian times?



## libro (Dec 3, 2008)

I love reading great literature that takes place in the Victorian era, either in the US or overseas.  Any books recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes!  

The Professor Challenger Series by the same author is also good (Start with "The Lost World").

There are many other great ones, but I don't want to distract you from those series....


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Contemporary novels about Victorians:

The Crimson Petal and the White, Michael Faber
The Seance, Jonathan Harwood
Fingersmith, Sarah Waters
Voyage of the Narwhal, Andrea Barrett
Possession, A.S. Byatt
The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles
The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Novels by actual Victorians:

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins
So many by Charles Dickens that I don't even know where to begin
Middlemarch, George Eliot
Cranford, Mrs. Gaskell
East Lynn, Mrs. Henry Wood


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've enjoyed books by Victoria Thompson, P.B. Ryan, and Anne Perry. Also Elizabeth Peter's _Amelia Peobody_ series, though that continues in time into Edwardian. All are mystery series with unconventional (for the time) women sleuths.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

After some thought, I'll add the Harry Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser to my restricted recommendations.  You will actually learn quite a bit about obscure Victorian wars and politics if you read them!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

And Ann....You misspelled Peabody!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> And Ann....You misspelled Peabody!


I did that on purpose to make you feel better.


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## Joseph Fullam (Jul 14, 2010)

I loved _Jude the Obscure_ and _Far From The Maddening Crowd _ by Thomas Hardy. And of course, _The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde_!


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2011)

Joseph Fullam said:


> _Jude the Obscure_


A great work of art, but by far the most depressing story ever written.

Oscar Wilde is great!


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

For (fairly) contemporary novels set in Victorian times, I'll second the recommendations for _Possession_ and the _Flashman_ books.

Victorian works other than those already mentioned: the Brontes, especially the underrated (IMO) Anne's _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_; Elizabeth Gaskell's _North and South_; _Vanity Fair_ (written in Victorian times, though set somewhat earlier).


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> A great work of art, but by far the most depressing story ever written.
> 
> Oscar Wilde is great!


I cried buckets over _Jude The Obscure_.

If you're reading anything about Victorian England, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England is a wonderful resource, one of the most entertaining non-fiction books I've ever read. And it lists a lot of fiction titles and authors from that period. Not available on Kindle unfortunately, but the paperback is cheap.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Sherlock Holmes, of course. And I love Amelia Peabody! At least the first 6 books or so. 
But here is one of the greatest novels ever written, now finally available on Kindle:

(Not to be confused with any horrible TV production.)
(And why are so many great Victorian novels subjected to shameless abuse by so-called filmmakers? There should be a law against it.)


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Mercedes Lackey did a Victorian series (fantasy).  I couldn't get into it, but for something different you might take a look.

Then there's Rys Bowen--sort of cozy mystery/romantic Victorian.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

And Dracula is a Victorian novel!


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## Strapped-4-Cache (Dec 1, 2010)

He didn't make a habit of writing about the Victorian era, but Michael Crichton's "The Great Train Robbery" is an excellent book.

Not only does he tell a good story, but he also provides explanations for many things that a modern reader would not know about.  I learned a lot about the Victorian way of life that I doubt I would have otherwise known had it not been for this book.

Just my $0.02.

  - Mark (S-4-C)


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## Tatiana (Aug 20, 2010)

The Palliser series by Anthony Trollope.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

I really liked Martin Cruz Smith's Rose, but it's not on Kindle. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes was good too.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I once read a massive Dickens-style novel called The Quincunx.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

I'll have to second Sherlock Holmes!


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## isaacsweeney (Jan 1, 2011)

I always liked William Morris and his _News from Nowhere_.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I really enjoyed Michael Cox's "The Meaning of Night."


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## Dee_DeTarsio (Oct 26, 2010)

My friend, M. Louisa Locke, wrote "Maids of Misfortune" set in Victorian San Francisco, great historical mystery!


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## libro (Dec 3, 2008)

All great recommendations.  Thanks everyone!  I've found myself caught in "Sample Land" recently and now have to settle down with just one novel to read.


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## VickiT (May 12, 2010)

If you like supernatural mysteries set in Victorian England, I highly recommend you check out the Jason Dark Ghost Hunter series. I've read all but one. I've just checked and Amazon have discounted the first book, Demon's Night (Jason Dark - Ghost Hunter),to $0.99. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

Cheers
Vicki


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

I second the Gaskell and Trollope (Barchester Towers!) and _Possession_ recommendations. With all the free classics, there's no need for at least a year to buy any "historical fiction."

Don't forget George Eliot. _Middlemarch_ is a book you can read every ten years and get something totally different out of it. The BBC adaptation isn't bad either.


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## William Meikle (Apr 19, 2010)

In the dark fantasy genre, here's a couple of favorites

Anno Dracula - Kim Newman
The List of Seven - Mark Frost
The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
Drood - Dan Simmons

There's also a couple of great collections from Edge Publishing featuring Sherlock Holmes in supernatural cases, Gaslight Grimoire and Gaslight Grotesque (I've got a story in one of them, but don't let that put you off


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## Straker (Oct 1, 2010)

DYB said:


> I really enjoyed Michael Cox's "The Meaning of Night."


I put this book on my wishlist back in November but when I went to buy it today I discovered that it's no longer available to US customers. Does anyone know what happened? A rights issue perhaps?


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

My favorite book set in Victorian times is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  Also love Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins' Woman in White.  It's hard to beat these wonderful authors who actually lived in that time.  They are books that first inspired me to want to be a writer.  

Joan


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## Arthur Slade (Jan 20, 2011)

I second *Drood* by Dan Simmons. A massive, horrific novel with Dickens as one of the main characters.
Anything by Dickens, of course. Great Expectations being my favourite.
*Fingersmith* by Sarah Waters
*The Alienist *by Caleb Carr
*White Stone Day* by John MacLachlan Gray

Non-fiction:
*What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew* by Daniel Pool

A few young adult books:
*The Sally Lockhart *series by Philip Pullman
*Montmorency* by Eleanor Updale
*Young Sherlock Series* Shane Peacock
*The Agency: A Spy in the House* by Y.S. Lee


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Straker said:


> I put this book on my wishlist back in November but when I went to buy it today I discovered that it's no longer available to US customers. Does anyone know what happened? A rights issue perhaps?


re: The Meaning of Night -- must be rights issues. . .I bought it when it was available in July of 2008 or so. . . .I just checked and it's not loanable or I would.  Sorry. 

Maybe it will come back. . . . .


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

Arthur Slade said:


> I*The Alienist *by Caleb Carr


I also thought this one was really good. Very well written, and captures the feeling of the period.


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

There are a ton of good suggestions here. I'd add a personal favorite that's much lighter: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K. Jerome. 99 cents at Amazon, and free at gutenberg.

_Come and see the skulls, young sir! Come and see the skulls!_

And if you want to cross the pond, Mark Twain waits.


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## Ursula Grey (Feb 20, 2010)

I second Thalia's recommendations ~ especially Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters. It was a fantastic read!


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## DaMichaels (Jan 22, 2011)

Dickens has gotten a lot of love here.  I'll just add my name to the chorus and say that Bleak House is such a great Victorian novel.  It has a fantastic range.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

That's odd about "The Meaning of Night!"  I'm sure it will return eventually, though who knows when.  Strange that it suddenly disappeared.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

In the romance/mystery category, I highly recommend Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, starting with: .

By the way,_ The Lady Julia Grey Bundle_, which contains the first 3 books, is a much better deal at $9.99.

N


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## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

Trollope's "He Knew He Was Right" -- love this book, except I tend to skip over the parts with the hero and heroine. They are such crybabies! But all the secondary characters are so wonderful that I still re-read this book from time to time.


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## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

Edith Wharton is a fave of mine. She's a little late to be Victorian, but hey--my dad's Victorian, and he's about to celebrate his 95th birthday.
Wilke Collins--"The Moonstone"
Thomas Hardy
For high drama--The Bronte sisters
Anne Perry is fun.


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## Margaret Jean (Aug 31, 2010)

Thalia the Muse said:


> Contemporary novels about Victorians:
> 
> The Crimson Petal and the White, Michael Faber
> The Seance, Jonathan Harwood
> ...


You got it! You nailed 'em!


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle series is set in Victorian times and she is an amazing writer if you like a bit of paranormal/fantasy in your books.  Also Gail Carriger's Soulless series if you don't mind vampires.  Both series are worth reading for the lovely Victorian atmosphere.


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