1950s
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Doctor Zhivago (1957), Boris Pasternak
Rating: 9/10 · Translated from Russian Accuracy: The Revolution, Civil War and early Soviet years carry…
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The Roof Tile of Tempyō (1957), Yasushi Inoue
Rating: 8/10 · Translated from Japanese; English edition 1975 Accuracy: Built on the real mission that…
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The Etruscan (1955), Mika Waltari
Rating: 6/10 · Translated from Finnish Accuracy: Rich in period detail on the Greek, Sicilian and…
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The Iron King (1955), Maurice Druon
Rating: 8/10 · Translated from French Accuracy: Closely based on the chronicles of Philip IV’s final…
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Andersonville (1955), MacKinlay Kantor
Rating: 7/10 Accuracy: Deeply researched, with real figures such as Captain Henry Wirz and real events…
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The Eagle of the Ninth (1954), Rosemary Sutcliff
Rating: 8/10 Accuracy: Built on two real puzzles: a wingless bronze eagle dug up at Silchester,…
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Katherine (1954), Anya Seton
Rating: 7/10 Accuracy: Carefully researched; the known outline of Katherine Swynford’s life is followed, but her…
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Freedom and Death (1953), Nikos Kazantzakis
Rating: 8/10 · Translated from Greek (original title Kapetan Michalis) Accuracy: The Cretan uprising of 1889…
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The Cornerstone (1953), Zoé Oldenbourg
Rating: 8/10 · Translated from French Accuracy: Among the most authentic portraits of 13th-century France; Oldenbourg…
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The Scarlet City (1952), Hella Haasse
Rating: 7/10 · Translated from Dutch; English edition decades later Accuracy: Well researched Renaissance Rome, with…
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Death Is My Trade (1952), Robert Merle
Rating: 8/10 · Translated from French Accuracy: Based closely on Rudolf Höss’s testimony at Nuremberg; the…
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The Silver Chalice (1952), Thomas B. Costain
Rating: 5/10 Accuracy: Loosely anchored in the first-century Christian world; mostly invention, inspired by a real…