Want to know what books Alison Weir recommends? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Alison Weir's favorite book recommendations of all time. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.
Recommended by Alison Weir.The most outstanding historical novel that I have ever read. It is effectively the history of England, seen through the eyes of each generation of the owners of a medieval house, from 1380 through to the 1950s. [source]
2 Recommended by Alison Weir.This is one of my all-time favourite historical novels; it’s absolutely inspirational. Every sentence is a joy. It was written in 1954 and is, of course, of its time – bodice rippers came later. But it’s written with such integrity, and I see it as a benchmark for historical novels. Anya Seton was an American author and she spent four years in Britain researching this novel. Given the sources available to her at the time, it’s brilliant. It has inspired so many people. In 2003 the BBC did a poll, ‘The Big Read’, of all-time favourite books, and Katherine came in the top 100. It’s never been out of print. [source]
3 Recommended by Alison Weir.bBased on the famous poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower of London, in the early 17th century. It has a rich cast of rogues and royal characters at the Jacobean court. [source]
4 Recommended by Alison Weir.It’s a time-slip novel with reincarnation as its central theme. A group of people gather in an old farmhouse near historic Midhurst in Sussex for a weekend in the country, but there are chilling undercurrents beneath the social interaction. [source]
Recommended by Alison Weir.Set in Saxon and Viking times, in the tenth century, at the corrupt court of King Edgar of England, long before the Norman Conquest. It’s based on the obscure legend of a saint. [source]
6 Recommended by Alison Weir.It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I know Mavis Cheek, she’s a fantastic author and her books have me creased up with laughter. It’s about Anne of Cleves’ portrait coming to life, intertwined with a story of a woman who’s been widowed—but is actually a merry widow because she’s so pleased to be rid of her boring old duffer of a husband. She sees the portrait and feels a kinship with Anne, who nightly talks to the other woman in the portraits in the room. [source]
7 Recommended by Alison Weir.This was the first novel I read on Anne Boleyn, in the 1960s, and it’s excellent. It really sums up Anne. It’s so beautifully written that you can forgive the inaccuracies in it. There’s a fictional nurse in it, who gives her poppy juice in difficult times—but that’s one tiny detail. Norah Lofts is my favourite author. I have all 63 of her books. [source]
8 Recommended by Alison Weir.This was published in 1967. It’s a wonderful book, an evocation of what it was like to be a nun dispossessed when the monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII. It’s set in the 1530s and is a beautifully told story. I remember loving it when I was young, and I managed to get a copy a couple of years ago after it was republished. I couldn’t put it down and really recommend it. [source]
