It’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the state of the world right now — so why not escape to the past? Enjoy a feast of great historical fiction, chosen by our experts. Whether it’s the man who eats everything, a courtesan visiting Pompeii (at exactly the wrong time) or a pianist settling into married life in 1930s Rome, you will find plenty to be absorbed in.
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Few historical novels this year were more striking, in subject matter and use of language, than this second novel by the author of The Manningtree Witches. AK Blakemore’s bizarre anti-hero is Tarare, a boy born into rural poverty in pre-Revolutionary France who grows up to become a freak show attraction, famous for his prodigious appetite and ability