83 books like Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune

By Rory Muir,

Here are 83 books that Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune fans have personally recommended if you like Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Regency Spies: Secret Histories of Britain's Rebels and Revolutionaries

Lona Manning Author Of A Contrary Wind

From my list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of Jane Austen-inspired fiction who fell down a research rabbit hole and perhaps I’ll never climb out. Dr. Johnson said, “The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading… a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” The five books I’m recommending offer a window into the long 18th century, the era of the Enlightenment, and the dawn of the industrial revolution. In these books I’ve met philosophers, romantics, and reformers who brought literacy to the underclass and emancipation to the enslaved. These books have helped me place the characters of my novels within a fascinating, consequential period of history. 

Lona's book list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets

Lona Manning Why did Lona love this book?

How did governments spy on their own citizens in the age of quill pens and candlelight? Although Londoners lustily sang “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves,” the reality was that few men could vote, and some were in danger of being dragged off the street and impressed into the Navy. The struggle for democratic reform, however, was met with suspicion by government leaders who feared a revolution like the one in France that toppled the monarchy. Regency Spies uncovers the hidden world of espionage and agents provocateurs who kept an eye on populist reformers like Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt and deluded fanatics like Arthur Thistlewood. While learning about the Peterloo Massacre and the Cato Street Conspiracy, I was also intrigued by the parallels to our own times.

By Sue Wilkes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Regency Spies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sue Wilkes reveals the shadowy world of Britain's spies, rebels and secret societies from the late 1780s until 1820. Drawing on contemporary literature and official records, Wilkes unmasks the real conspirators and tells the tragic stories of the unwitting victims sent to the gallows. In this 'age of Revolutions', when the French fought for liberty, Britain's upper classes feared revolution was imminent. Thomas Paine's incendiary Rights of Man called men to overthrow governments which did not safeguard their rights. Were Jacobins and Radical reformers in England and Scotland secretly plotting rebellion? Ireland, too, was a seething cauldron of unrest, its…


Book cover of The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age

Lona Manning Author Of A Contrary Wind

From my list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of Jane Austen-inspired fiction who fell down a research rabbit hole and perhaps I’ll never climb out. Dr. Johnson said, “The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading… a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” The five books I’m recommending offer a window into the long 18th century, the era of the Enlightenment, and the dawn of the industrial revolution. In these books I’ve met philosophers, romantics, and reformers who brought literacy to the underclass and emancipation to the enslaved. These books have helped me place the characters of my novels within a fascinating, consequential period of history. 

Lona's book list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets

Lona Manning Why did Lona love this book?

A book about a group of London intellectuals – sometimes friends, sometimes frenemies – who expressed their influential ideas with an elegant style that I find irresistible. (Dr. Johnson strongly influenced Jane Austen, so if you like Austen, you’ll like Johnson.) This book is filled with anecdotes of friendships, rivalries, partying, and bickering, with a fair amount of Georgian bawdy humor sprinkled throughout. You’ll meet writers, poets, playwrights, legislators, and bluestockings. The Club gives you multiple biographies plus a portrait of London in the late Georgian period. Spending time with this book is like spending a few hours with Dr. Johnson and his witty friends at a London coffeehouse.

By Leo Damrosch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Club as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The story of the group of extraordinary eighteenth-century writers, artists, and thinkers who gathered weekly at a London tavern

Named one of the 10 Best Books of 2019 by the New York Times Book Review * A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 * A Kirkus Best Book of 2019

"Damrosch brings the Club's redoubtable personalities-the brilliant minds, the jousting wits, the tender camaraderie-to vivid life."-New York Times Book Review

"Magnificently entertaining."-Washington Post

In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head…


Book cover of Sweet Water and Bitter: The Ships That Stopped the Slave Trade

Lona Manning Author Of A Contrary Wind

From my list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of Jane Austen-inspired fiction who fell down a research rabbit hole and perhaps I’ll never climb out. Dr. Johnson said, “The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading… a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” The five books I’m recommending offer a window into the long 18th century, the era of the Enlightenment, and the dawn of the industrial revolution. In these books I’ve met philosophers, romantics, and reformers who brought literacy to the underclass and emancipation to the enslaved. These books have helped me place the characters of my novels within a fascinating, consequential period of history. 

Lona's book list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets

Lona Manning Why did Lona love this book?

While doing research on the British campaign to end the slave trade, I read many books, but no book transported me to the decks of the slave ships and to the rugged coast of Africa like Sweet Water and Bitter. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade is placed in its historical, military, and economic context, but Siân Rees also shows the human side of the story. On every page, there is another amazing/shocking/heartbreaking/inspiring vignette. You meet the sailors and missionaries who fought to smother the slave trade, often at the cost of their lives. The hopes and hardships of life in Africa are expressed by emancipated slaves, naval officers, and ordinary seamen. Rees' prose is clear and even-handed. My paperback copy is bristling with little post-it notes.

By Siân Rees,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sweet Water and Bitter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sweet Water and Bitter is the extraordinary sequel to Britain's abolition of the slave trade in 1807. The last legal British slave ship left Africa that year, but other countries and illegal slavers continued to trade. When the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, British diplomats negotiated anti-slave-trade treaties and a 'Preventive Squadron' was formed to cruise the West African coast. In six decades, this small fleet liberated 150,000 Africans and lost 17,000 of its own men doing so. This is the tale of their exciting and arduous campaign.

It is a story of unforeseen consequences and a swashbuckling naval adventure,…


Book cover of The Boss of Bethnal Green: Joseph Merceron, the Godfather of Regency London

Lona Manning Author Of A Contrary Wind

From my list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of Jane Austen-inspired fiction who fell down a research rabbit hole and perhaps I’ll never climb out. Dr. Johnson said, “The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading… a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” The five books I’m recommending offer a window into the long 18th century, the era of the Enlightenment, and the dawn of the industrial revolution. In these books I’ve met philosophers, romantics, and reformers who brought literacy to the underclass and emancipation to the enslaved. These books have helped me place the characters of my novels within a fascinating, consequential period of history. 

Lona's book list on Regency England beyond balls and bonnets

Lona Manning Why did Lona love this book?

The story of how one unscrupulous person seized control of the evolving institutions of municipal government to line his own pockets might not strike everyone as seat-of-the-pants reading but Julian Woodford’s account of Joseph Merceron is vivid and still relevant today. The long career of this scoundrel is also woven into the larger picture of the times: the ebb and flow of political campaigns; the British reaction to the French Revolution, the effect of the long-running wars against Napoleon, the rapid growth of London, and the scourge of cholera. Stepping into this world is like stepping into a Hogarth print. This book taught me things about everyday life in London I wanted to know but didn’t know how to look for.

By Julian Woodford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Boss of Bethnal Green as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Julian Woodford uncovers the breathtakingly appalling life of Joseph Merceron (1764-1839), gangster and corrupt magistrate, who accumulated enormous wealth while presiding over the creation of the poorest slums in Georgian London.Ruling Spitalfields and Bethnal Green from his base in Brick Lane for half a century, Merceron gave the East End the bad reputation that still lingers today, while the exploits of recent mobsters and political miscreants pale by comparison with his staggering violence and ruthlessness.Julian Woodford's shrewd biography - the first on this subject - is essential reading for all those interested in eighteenth century London, anyone fascinated by the…


Book cover of The Head That Wears the Crown

Nancy Herkness Author Of Royal Caleva: Gabriel

From my list on modern-day royalty.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of twenty romance books, but I started as a reader. I have read thousands of romance novels in my life, which I humbly submit makes me something of an authority. In fact, I started writing romance novels because I wanted to offer readers the elements that I loved about my favorite books: sympathetic, fully-realized characters, sharp dialogue, deep emotion, and good writing. I have focused on modern-day royals because I am writing a series featuring a royal family. I have been reading extensively to see what other authors are doing in that subgenre…and because it’s fun to don an imaginary tiara!

Nancy's book list on modern-day royalty

Nancy Herkness Why did Nancy love this book?

Don’t we all dream of being a queen? In this fun modern fairy tale, a forty-something single mom from Philadelphia suddenly discovers she is the heir to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Saint Gilbert. It would be a fish-out-of-water story, except that Annie takes on the job with a can-do attitude that I adored. Her whole family, including her kids, gets involved. She fends off antagonistic councilors—and a kidnapper—to drag Saint Gilbert into the modern era and prosperity. You gotta love that Philly attitude. 

This story skews more towards women’s fiction, but do not fear: there is a very handsome, suave captain of the guards, Max Belleme, who provides a delicious frisson of romance for the Grand Duchess. He can be my bodyguard anytime!  

By Mariah Stewart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Head That Wears the Crown as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fortysomething woman’s ordinary life takes a royal detour in an engaging novel about embracing a family legacy and stepping up when it matters most by New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart.

Annaliese―Annie―Gilberti is a divorced South Philadelphia mother of two with a nine-to-five job when a shocking discovery turns another average day upside down: her late grandmother was the exiled ruler of a small European country, and Annie is next in line to wear the crown and restore the monarchy. The would-be grand duchess of the Grand Duchy of Saint Gilbert has vacation time coming, enough to take…


Book cover of Of Cages and Crowns

H.J. Nelson Author Of The Last She

From my list on reads according to your favorite Taylor Swift song.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Sci-Fi and Fantasy author who loves all things young adult! I always listen to Taylor Swift when I write, because I love how her songs are full of nostalgia, romance, humanity, and a lust for adventure—just like my books. If you couldn’t make it to the Era’s tour, no fear, check out some of these books below! 

H.J.'s book list on reads according to your favorite Taylor Swift song

H.J. Nelson Why did H.J. love this book?

If your favorite song is “Look What We Made You Do” try Of Cages and Crowns by Brianna Crump.

Think Hunger Games but with more romance, and very much the vibe of “I got my but you’ll all get yours.” There’s revenge, survival, romance, and revenge and a rebellion brewing in the background, but I was surprised at how much this book surprised me.

Every time I thought I knew what was coming next, some new secret or shocking twist surprised me.

By Brianna Joy Crump,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Of Cages and Crowns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

For goddess-touched girls, there is only one destiny: the Culling

From the moment Monroe Benson is born with a mark on her hand and the ability to summon fire from her fingertips, her life will never be her own. She’s goddess-touched, which means she’s destined to participate in the Culling, an age-old competition to determine the next queen of Erydia. For most of her seventeen years, her family has managed to keep Monroe―and her powers―hidden. But now, as Queen Viera calls for the Culling to start, and war looms on the horizon, Monroe can no longer hide. She must face…


Book cover of Tooth and Claw

Chrys Cymri Author Of The Temptation of Dragons

From my list on great dragon characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first toy was a plastic dinosaur, which I took to school and it bears my toothmarks on the tail. As a young teenager, I stumbled across the Dragonriders of Pern books, and my allegiance transferred to dragons. I find them fascinating, both beautiful and dangerous, and prefer books in which they have their own cultures and are strong characters in their own right. The novels I’ve recommended have great world building to draw you into the fascinating lives of dragons, and the humans who come to know them. 

Chrys' book list on great dragon characters

Chrys Cymri Why did Chrys love this book?

This is like a Dickens novel, but the characters are dragons rather than humans. All of the elements of a Victorian romance, such as obsession with manners and purity, are present, along with draconic elements like the heirs eating their dead father and parents killing off weak hatchlings. Social class and women’s rights are set in a culture of dragons!

By Jo Walton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tooth and Claw as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A family of dragons gathers on the occasion of the death of their father, the elder Bon Agornin. As is custom, they must eat the body. But even as Bon's last remains are polished off, his sons and daughters must all jostle for a position in the new hierarchy. While the youngest son seeks greedy remuneration through the courts of law, the eldest son - a dragon of the cloth - agonises over his father's deathbed confession. While one daughter is caught between loyalty to her family by blood and her family by marriage, another daughter follows her heart -…


Book cover of The Forgotten Garden

Julie Brooks Author Of The Keepsake

From my list on whisking you from one time period to another.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the girl who loved school excursions to historical parks and the middle-aged author who cannot keep away from a house museum. Like most Australians, I love to travel (you’ll meet us everywhere), gravitating towards historical sites and weighing down my luggage with museum-shop trophies from Beijing to Bath and Cusco to Athens. All novels are mysteries the reader wants to solve, but stories with multiple timelines add an extra layer of puzzle to the mystery. As a writer I get to craft those puzzle pieces. And as a reader, I love solving them!

Julie's book list on whisking you from one time period to another

Julie Brooks Why did Julie love this book?

The Forgotten Garden hooked me on novels with multiple timelines.

It was the first of Kate Morton’s books I read and I’ve since snapped up each new title as it came out. It is layered with all the things I enjoy in novels: mysteries, old houses, family secrets, disappearances, and stories within stories.

I love being immersed in the mystery as the present-day character unravels a puzzle from the past, especially when I’m clever enough to stay one step ahead of her!

By Kate Morton,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Forgotten Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A special Sophie Allport Design limited edition of the moving and powerful mystery, The Forgotten Garden, the bestselling second novel from the author of The House at Riverton, Kate Morton.

A lost child . . .

On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her -but has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret . . .

On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she…


Book cover of The Schirmer Inheritance

Garrett Epps Author Of Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America

From my list on legal novels that you can't put down.

Why am I passionate about this?

Garrett Epps is the author of two published novels and five works of non-fiction about the U.S. Constitution. He graduated from Duke Law School in 1991; since then he has taught Constitutional Law at the American University, the University of Baltimore, Boston College, Duke University, and the University of Oregon. For ten years he was Supreme Court Correspondent for The Atlantic, and covered from close up cases involving the Affordable Care Act, same-sex marriage, and the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. He is now Legal Affairs Editor of The Washington Monthly, and at work on a novel about crime and justice during the years of Southern segregation. 

Garrett's book list on legal novels that you can't put down

Garrett Epps Why did Garrett love this book?

A World War II bomber pilot returns home thoroughly determined to have no more excitement in his life. He settles down in a quiet wills-and-trusts practice. In a dusty file about an unclaimed estate, he sees that a missing heir may be living in Europe. Searching for this heir, he is pulled into Cold War politics, kidnaped, and dragged into Communist Albania, where his fate becomes an international incident. The law overtakes George in a thoroughly believable way; it is an example of why readers fear the law, which may at any moment demand that we sacrifice our comfort, our place in society, and even our very lives.

By Eric Ambler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Schirmer Inheritance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A masterful contribution to the literature of international dirty work." - The New Yorker
George Cary, former WWII bomber pilot and newly minted lawyer, reviews the files on the Schneider Johnson case, to make sure nothing has been overlooked. What George discovers connects a deserter from Napoleon's defeated army to a guerrilla fighter in post-war Greece, and leads him into a dangerous situation where his own survival will depend more on what he learned in the army than anything he learned in law school.


Book cover of King Lear

Laurie Frankel Author Of One Two Three

From my list on how sisters are great but also a pain in your ass.

Why am I passionate about this?

I like books about big families, especially unusual ones, but I have only one sister and only one child, so when I set out to write about these families, I read about them first. We place so much importance on how kids are raised, what kind of childhood and home life and family they have growing up, what gifts and what challenges they’re bestowed by genetics, history, identity, society, circumstance. Siblings usually share all or at least most of these markers and yet turn into often wildly different adults. It’s also true that all those fine sibling balances – love/hate, adored/annoyed, admired/appalled, alike/different – are great fun to read and write.

Laurie's book list on how sisters are great but also a pain in your ass

Laurie Frankel Why did Laurie love this book?

When I first sat down to write a novel about three sisters, step one was to reread King Lear which is about exactly that. The three sisters in Lear are quite different from mine. Among other things, they like each other much less. But for that delicate sisterly balance between so-glad-I-have-you-to-share-the-burdens-of-an-aging-parent and I-might-actually-have-to-kill-you, nothing beats King Lear.

By William Shakespeare,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked King Lear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Synopsis coming soon.......


Book cover of Regency Spies: Secret Histories of Britain's Rebels and Revolutionaries
Book cover of The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
Book cover of Sweet Water and Bitter: The Ships That Stopped the Slave Trade

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,494

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in inheritances, Regency, and Christianity?

Inheritances 92 books
Regency 88 books
Christianity 687 books