My favorite books to read when you dream of waking up in a period drama

I still remember the day I bought Kaufman’s book in a London bookstore near Westminster Abbey—a girl disguises herself as a boy in medieval England and goes in search of the king, so her estate can be restored. Sign me up! It was my first encounter with the magic of historical fiction, the best of which is immersive and alive, without dull data dumps or jarring anachronisms. This wonderful (and, for me, life-changing) story ticks all my boxes: smart heroine; rich, real characters; scenery that doesn’t creak; and a thumping good romance. Last, but absolutely not least, The Shield of Three Lions is stuffed with hilarious lines and scenes. An author who can make me laugh? Her price is far above rubies.

Speaking of the Middle Ages, I can’t not mention the book that launched the whole historical fiction genre. Scott’s rousing tale boasts knights and damsels, Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart, tournaments and besieged castles, and even a good old-fashioned burning at the stake. What’s not to love? No one reads this book anymore because it doesn’t begin with a fistfight or an explosion, which is such a shame because it’s an out-and-out winner. #TeamBriandeBoisGuilbert

As an author of Regency romances, I think of Forester’s Hornblower novels as the guy-friendly equivalents, and I tried and tried to get my son to read these. Sigh. The series follows a Royal Navy man during the Napoleonic Wars, from his days as a lowly midshipman to his zenith as an admiral, and every last book in the series is so stinking good. Forester writes the most bang-up action scenes and has researched the heck out of everything, without ever bludgeoning you over the head with it. His characters are alive—flawed and fascinating and funny. In short, if this man weren’t dead for the last sixty years, I would marry him.

Technically speaking, this isn’t historical fiction because, when Trollope wrote it, it was contemporary (Victorian) fiction. But if you love Austen adaptations or anything set in later periods where people wore fancy, constrictive clothing, this book is for you. Barchester is a cathedral town getting a new bishop, and, oh, man, is everyone in a tizzy. Every cleric is angling for a promotion, simultaneously falling at the feet of the exotic Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni while refusing to bow the knee to the new powers that be. And if you have a soft spot for henpecked husbands, Trollope wrote one for the ages, with wife Mrs. Proudie stealing every scene. For my money, with his keen eye and wicked humor, Trollope is the true heir to Jane Austen.

Unlike the other authors on this list, Edith Wharton is not funny. And if you don’t believe me, or if you suffer from too much cheerfulness, read Ethan Frome. But even though I adore funny writers, I tip my Merry Widow hat to this American master. In The Custom of the Country she follows Midwestern gal Undine Spragg as she conquers first New York and then French society, leaving destroyed men in her wake. Downton Abbey fans will know that this was the book that inspired Julian Fellowes to produce his Gilded-Age saga and complete cottage industry. Undine is a piece of work, and this book is a work of art. Don’t miss it.