5 thrilling historical adventures

Published on: 23 January 2025

Author M. G. Leonard recommends five stories that bring the past to life.

There is something thrilling about encountering a historical figure in a fictional story. It’s a different experience to reading about them in a history book. History books are concerned with the clear and logical interpretation of facts and sources. Fiction sprinkles the glittering magic of imagination on those facts and can bring historical figures to life in a reader’s imagination in a unique way. They become living, breathing, dramatic characters. Most of us have a clear idea of the kind of man Henry VIII was because he has been fictionalised and reimagined so many times. He must be one of, if not the most fictionalised historical figure of all time.

I find it interesting to read historical fiction and imagine being in a different time. It helps me understand a period in a way that a non-fiction book does not. And when I close the book, I appreciate the present, with its heating, transport, medicine and clean water.

Growing up I loved the fusion of science-fiction and history in films like Back to the Future and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. As a parent I was delighted by Horrible Histories.

I’m channelling all of this into my new Time Keys series, where, in the first book, my heroes Sim and Jeopardy discover they can open doors in time and travel back to Ancient Egypt at the start of Tutankhamun’s reign, to search for Nefertiti’s golden heart scarab. I wanted the parts of the story set in Egypt to be as historically accurate and rich as it was possible for me to make them, so I travelled to Luxor and toured the Valley of the Kings with an Egyptologist who was very patient with my many questions. I hope readers of Hunt for the Golden Scarab will be able to conjure the period in their imaginations and be delighted by what they discover there.

If you enjoy adventures in history, here are fivefantastic books I recommend that will whisk you away to another time and place, giving a fresh insight into a period of history, as well as being a thrilling read.

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

This is probably the first book I ever read that has time travel in it. Tom is in quarantine at his aunt and uncle’s house, when one night he hears the grandfather clock downstairs chiming thirteen. When he goes downstairs and out the back door, he discovers a wonderful garden that isn’t there during the day. He meets a girl called Hattywho becomes his friend. He appears to have travelled back to Victorian times. I loved this book as a child. However, it does present a romantic vision of the nineteenth century which excludes the workhouses and poverty that concerned writers like Charles Dickens.

Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

I could have chosen any of Emma Carroll’s marvellous books, but this story is one of my favourites. It’s set in 1941 during the blitz of World War II. Olive and her little brother Cliff are evacuated from London to a lighthouse in Devon after their older sister, Sukie, goes missing. Olive finds a coded note and decides to decipher it, which sends her on a journey to find out what happened to her big sister, Sukie. This is such a brilliant read, powerfully evoking the period and touching on complex subjects such as political refugees. The chapters are even named after slogans from WWII propaganda posters!

Asterix the Gaul written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo

I was very young when I first read Asterix. Too young to get all of the jokes, nevertheless I loved it. I didn’t know I was learning about Julius Caesar’s Rome and the brutality of colonisation when I read the stories, but I was. As an adult I still read Asterix. There is a wealthy of knowledge, humanity, and art in these stories that doesn’t date (though it’s important to note that the depiction of Black people has dated). They are brilliant books to read with your children, although, be warned, they will ask you whatyou’re laughing at!

Black Powder by Ally Sherrick

The book takes us back to 1605 when King James I was on the English throne. Tom is travelling to London to try and save his father from hanging. He meets an intriguing man calling himself the Falcon. He makes a deal to help Tom in exchange for a favour. Tom soon realises he’s agreed to be a part of the gunpowder plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. This is a pacy, exciting, adventure that immerses you in Early Modern England. You won’t be able to put it down.

Viking Boy by Tony Bradman

This book is an action-packed adventure, rich with research and Norse mythology. Gunnar is the son of a Viking chieftain whose father is killed when his home is raided and burned down. Gunnar sets out on an epic quest for revenge. This story is stuffed with weapons, battles, a sea voyage and Viking lore. There is also a companion book called Viking Boy – The Real Story full of facts about the Viking age from Tony Bradman’s extensive research. Both are brilliant.