Historical Stories: Our Top Picks

The 2023-2024 York Historian Committee recommends our favourite historical fictional tales, from mystery novels, to medical television and queer film.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Although not a true historical tale, I would recommend the French historical romantic drama film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, also known in French as Portrait de la jeune fille en feu. Set in France during the end of the eighteenth century, the film tells the story of two lesbian young women, whose love struggles against societal conventions. The narrative commences when Marianne, a painter, arrives on Brittany, commissioned to paint the portrait of the recently-engaged Héloïse, who is reluctant to have herself be drawn. Without spoiling too much on how their relationship develops, this period piece brilliantly yet intimately portrays a love story of two women damned by destiny and their historical context. If following the progression of a queer, star-crossed, yet inseparable relationship intertwined with art and history sounds like it could be for you, then open Netflix and watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Written by Piper Hedges

My Lady Jane (2016/2024)

My Lady Jane – where to start? First released as a book in 2016 by Cynthia Hand takes the sad, unfortunate, and tragic life of Lady Jane Grey “The Nine Day Queen” and pulls her into a fantastical blended realm of a little bit of fact and glorious fiction. Whilst a popular book in its own right, My Lady Jane boomed into popularity with the 2024 Amazon Prime series by the same name. Again, this incredibly well written story pulls in both casual rom-com loves and history buffs with stunning visuals, well-made and accurate costumes and a stunning cast. I often annoy my family and friends with unwarranted criticism of historical dramas due to their often lacking accuracy and yet I could not drag myself away from this series. A beautiful new rendition of a young girl often forgotten and cast aside for her famous cousins, My Lady Jane should be at the top of everyone’s TBR (to be read) and TBW (to be watched) list.

Written by Ellie-Mae Britton

Sovereign (2006)

The Shardlake series, authored by the (recently deceased) CJ Sansom follows Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer, who solves mysteries whilst navigating the tumult of England during Henry VIIII’s religious reforms. The third book in the series, Sovereign, is set in York and is hard to put down. Religious conflict, court intrigue and cut-throat politics abound in this fast-paced, superbly-researched novel. Having walked this city’s streets for three years, and seen the buildings in which the events of the book are set – the Minster, Cliffords Tower, King’s Manor – with my own eyes, the action in Sovereign feels incredibly real. The book portrays the culmination of ‘The Progress’, Henry VIII’s triumphal march from London to York in 1541, in order to accept the surrender of those who rebelled against the crown during the pilgrimage of grace. Whilst the Shardlake series is a fantastic entrypoint into the chaos and conflict of sixteenth-century England, if you specifically want a taste of Tudor York, Sovereign is the novel for you.

Written by Sacha Brozel

The Knick (2014-15)

While I may be biassed, as I am writing my public history dissertation on The Knick, any lover of Grey’s Anatomy, Call the Midwife, or any other medical drama will be drawn to this 2014 period drama set in 1900s New York City. Based on a real-life surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Knick follows Dr. John Thackery, a cocaine-addicted surgeon with ambitious goals to usher in a new era of modern medicine. The series does not shy away from dissecting racism and sexism in medicine through the eyes of other main characters, which helps the audience to understand how these forces have been baked into the American healthcare system today and how they continue to affect the quality of care minorities receive. Gritty and sometimes gory, each episode boasts at least one operating theatre scene and a plethora of early medical remedies that viewers are relieved to be safe in the past. The Knick’s costuming, set design, and props were all informed by archival medical photography which give it an immersive feel. For a fresh, different type of period drama, I highly recommend The Knick.

Written by Kaylie Bergeson

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Everyone has encountered Jane Austen’s masterpieces at some point, regardless of her literary works. Whether in modern adaptations like Clueless and Bridget Jones Diary, or in more faithful adaptations like the 1995 BBC series and the 2005 movie. The enemies-to-lovers story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy is as apt as when it was written and has stolen hearts for centuries.The best adaptation has to be the 1995 BBC series starring Jennifer Ehle and (an often soggy) Colin Firth – a contentious opinion I know, and the movie is pretty but this is so much better. It follows the original story stunningly with the same surprising wit and sarcasm that Austen includes in her novel and has set a precedent for period dramas since. Its perfection is in its simplicity: it transports you to Georgian country life, lets you breathe the same air and maybe swim in the lake…

Written by Hollie Tilling

Gentleman Jack (2019-2022)

“Nature played a challenging trick on me, didn’t she?” Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones) first says this sentence with an ironic amusement, but over the course of Sally Wainwright‘s drama Gentleman Jack, she often repeats the sentiment with pride, exhaustion and defiance. Her story is a extraordinary one (nicknamed ‘Gentleman Jack’ for her demeanour and love of black suits), she was a prolific writer who left many diaries detailing her life that have proved to be invaluable resources as rare historical documents of what it meant to be a gay woman in the nineteenth century (it must be noted that, to protect the most explicit details, she wrote much of the diaries in a code based on mathematical symbols and the Greek alphabet that was not broken until the 1890s and their contents were not published until the 1980s!).) In her writing, she revealed herself to be clever and sly, willful and frustrated, yearning and more romantic than even she might have liked to admit. Adapting these diaries into a two season series that can dig into her life, how it affected those around her, and queer history in general is one that deserves to be watched!

Written by Ariane Palmas