What are the best historical novels?

I enjoyed reading "Night" by Elie Wiesel. It is a touching, beautifully written account of Wiesel's experiences with his father in various concentration camps at the height of the Holocaust. If you are looking for something short (just over 100 pages) yet powerful, I would recommend "Night."

Define Historical Novel.

I Claudius, and Claudius the God, by Robert Graves, has got to be one of the best Historical books ever, it tells in story form the life of the Emperor Claudius.

Which in turn tells the beginning of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Nero after the collapse of the Roman Republic and the Civil Wars.

It was made into a TV mini series at the end of the 1970s, and is still regarded as a classic, indeed Brian Blessed regards his role as Augustus as his best ever.

Absolutely cracking read, with sex, murder and intrigue on every page, and you can't help warming to Claudius and rooting for him to survive.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Three Musketeers

Depends on what you mean by "best."

Most accurate

Most entertaining

Fiction set in historical times

Easiest to read

Most thought provoking

You have to be a little more specific in you use of the word "best."

Ride the Wind, Lucia St. Clair Robson

There's no such thing as a good historical novel.