Medieval-ish Novels
Selected by the Bookshop
In their previous Close Readings series, Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley have examined many of the classic epics, romances and lyrics of medieval literature. This time they’re going beyond the Middle Ages to explore uses and reimaginings of medieval events, settings and characters in novels by Walter Scott, Umberto Eco, Sylvia Townsend Warner and many more.
From the publisher:
'One of the great British novels of the twentieth century: a narrative of extraordinary reach, power and beauty' Sarah WatersThe nuns who enter a medieval Norfolk convent are told to renounce the world, but the world still finds ways to…
From the publisher:
On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed in mysterious circumstances. His calculating father Manfred fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself - despite…
From the publisher:
'One of his masterpieces . . . without doubt a great novel' GuardianOne of Hermann Hesse's greatest novels, Narcissus and Goldmund is an extraordinary recreation of the Middle Ages, contrasting the careers of two friends, one of whom shuns…
From the publisher:
FROM THE BESTSELLING WRITER OF REBECCA'The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier . . . ' NEW YORK TIMES'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN 'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied…
From the publisher:
The hugely anticipated novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Pull of the Stars and Room'Haven is everything a novel should be: compassionate, unpredictable, and questioning. This is Donoghue at her strange, unsettling…
From the publisher:
Read the enthralling medieval murder mystery. The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by…
From the publisher:
*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available*…
From the publisher:
**One of the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**Read this timeless tale of medieval romance and adventure. It is the dark days of King Richard the Lion Heart’'s reign, when the beloved king is fighting in far-off lands,…
From the publisher:
When Connecticut mechanic and foreman Hank Morgan is knocked unconscious, he wakes not to the familiar scenes of nineteenth-century America but to the bewildering sights and sounds of sixth-century Camelot. Although confused at first and…
From the publisher:
'Tender and elegant' Guardian'Unlike anything else in modern English literature' D.J. Taylor, SpectatorA damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer…
From the publisher:
**Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2023****Chosen as a book to watch out for in 2023 by The Times, Observer, Guardian, Irish TImes and Scotsman**'An epic the north has long…
From the publisher:
First published in 1994, Robert Glück’s Margery Kempe is one of the most provocative, poignant, and inventive American novels of the last quarter century. The book tells two stories of romantic obsession. One, based on…
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