Fall of Constantinople?

Many thanks for the recommendation, sknox - I just checked out Runciman on Amazon and the opening is gripping - but this is a narrative on the history rather than historical fiction?

Not a problem at all if it is - so far I've seen little more than John Julius Norwich in the mainstream, and despite his strengths, I'm always hungry for more! But I'm always looking out for a fiction to bring some of the characters to life, ideally through the different strata of society.
 
Way late in replying. For some reason I keep expecting to see email notifications of thread updates. Is that possible on this forum?

Anyway, yes Runciman is straight history. I can recommend him on a variety of topics. He's most famous for his three volume history of the Crusades. His book on the Sicilian Vespers is also great.

The usual rap on him is that he was too pro-Greek. It's not hard to spot the prejudice, once alerted to it, but while it colored his interpretation of events it never caused him to bend the facts. He's one of the great examples of the amateur historian (in the sense that he was never a university professor).

As for historical fiction, you are right that there is precious little to be found.
 

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