The Crown

This book does what I desperately want more historical fiction to do: write a character whose outlook is true to their historical period, and... that's it, actually. It's such a small ask, yet it's so hard for the vast majority of historical fiction, whose characters tend to mug to the audience the way a comedian does at the end of their career: remember the good stuff? You want girlboss feminism? I can do that! You want some romantic swooning? I can do that too!

Rarely do I come across a historical character who is so utterly, totally disinterested in modern concerns. Sister Joanna is a Catholic nun, and she cares about the schism happening in England. She cares about religious relics being authentic. She cares about serving capital-G god. As the child of nobility, she has no experience with swords, and she's both spoilt by her childhood as much as she's haunted by the reality of growing up in a dangerous medieval world. She does not seem to be aware of modern conversations of social justice.

Sure, the book isn't perfect. It drags in places and has too many endings. But I'll do anything for a historical character who actually feels like a historical character.