Having finished 'Sharpe's Triumph' recently by Bernard Cornwell, it got me thinking. Is Cornwell the best historical fiction novelist ever? Well, the answer is, 'possibly'. The Warlord Chronicles are perfection as is the stand alone novel 'Stonehenge', The Saxon Stories are fantastic, and even the Grail Quest series are a good read despite the story being weak at times. In comparison to say, Elizabeth Chadwick, it is clear that he struggles with creating feasible female characters, however in my opinion this does not really matter because his battles scenes are IMMENSE. And most male authors struggle with it - the female is either a whore or a conniving bitch, or both (lol). Again contrasting with Elizabeth Chadwick, she is the opposite. She conjures up very convincing male and female characters and uses beautiful descriptive language. The battle scenes (if there are any), leave a lot to be desired but because she crafts the story so well in other areas this does not matter. I read a review once of one of her books and the person said 'it was like a medieval Emmerdale', and they are right. The relationships she weaves between characters are very realistic and there is just enough action to keep you interested. Both authors then, in conclusion, are in my top ten.
Top 5 books by Cornwell
- Stonehenge
- Sharpe's Tiger
- The Burning Land
- The Winter King
- Excalibur
Top 5 books by Chadwick
- The Falcons of Montabard
- The Winter Crown
- The Conquest
- The Greatest Knight
- The Winter Mantle
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