I thought I knew the Arthurian legend, but Giles Kristian took familiar characters and stories in directions I never expected. Lancelot, Camelot and Arthur became an extraordinary reading journey and, quite simply, the best Arthur trilogy I have ever read.

I began The Winter Mantle knowing almost nothing about Waltheof. By the time I finished, his story had completely changed the way I looked at the years following the Norman Conquest.

David Gilman’s Master of War series follows Thomas Blackstone through the turmoil of the Hundred Years’ War. A gripping historical fiction series that deepened my understanding of the conflict and left me with plenty of questions to explore.

Joanna Courtney’s debut novel took me beyond the familiar events of 1066 and into a part of medieval history I knew surprisingly little about. Through Ealdgyth of Mercia’s story, I discovered a world of exile, marriage, fear and loss, and a woman I was very glad to finally meet.

Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth draws you into the medieval world of southern France, weaving mystery, history and the turmoil of the Albigensian Crusade into a story that proved very difficult for me to put down.

Isabella of France is remembered as the queen who returned to England with Roger Mortimer and helped overthrow her husband, Edward II. In The Stone Rose, Carol McGrath takes us beyond those familiar events to explore the woman behind the notorious “She-Wolf of France” and the journey that brought her to that extraordinary point in her life.

More than twenty years ago, “The Sunne in Splendour” introduced me to historical fiction and sent me tumbling down the rabbit hole of medieval history. Returning to Sharon Kay Penman's story of Richard III all these years later proved to be an even more emotional journey than the first.