Figured it would benefit all to include a little primer on the Quest, how it was curated, and what I hoped to accomplish here.

I am a huge history lover, specifically European history, and saw so many interesting Medieval historical fiction titles published in the past two years. There seems to be a resurgence of Medieval motifs in pop culture, from the latest runway shows (check out Louis Vuitton), to Chappell Roan's Joan of Arc inspired fashion, to publishing's newfound affinity for knights, princesses, and Arthurian legend.

The Medieval period is so rich with iconography and lore; it is the inspiration for many fantasy novels, period romances, even modern festivals and entertainment franchises (the title of this quest is a cheeky reference to Medieval Times, the dinner & tournament experience in the US link here ) In curating the books for this Quest, I wanted to capture the wonder of this time period that lives in our collective imagination -- knights, cold stone castles, complex politics, epic legends and the undercurrent of magic.

While doing research, I learned the Medieval period is quite difficult to define from an academic historical perspective. We can very broadly think of it as the period between Antiquity and the Renaissance (or, Early Modern Period), but when each culture entered the Early Modern period can differ by over a hundred years. Culture trickles down slowly, so while many people in the upper echelons of society (nobility, scholars, artists) felt the world around them changing during these transitional periods, the vast majority of society was still living in a Medieval world. As a matter of scholarship, these period distinctions matter a great deal, and there's many interesting discussion to be had on what exactly defines the Medieval period--and for whom.

In addition to capturing the Medieval of our collective imagination in the book selection, I also wanted to ensure the Quest was not tedious and did not feel like homework. I wanted someone to be excited to earn a high level badge, which would require 15+ book finished. There are many historical fictions in this theme that are dense, extremely long, and quite a slog to get through. I included a very select few of those (since it frankly seemed sacrilegious not to include certain authors and series!) but opted for accessibility and entertainment where possible, even if it meant taking creative liberties with the academic definition of Medieval.

Genre-wise, I wanted to stay in the historical fiction category with only slight deviations (examples: retellings of iconic Medieval legends, some horror titles). I intentionally did not include rom-coms and high fantasy novels inspired by Medieval history (such as Game of Thrones).

There has been some discussion in this forum about the accuracy of this list - in particular Hamnet, The Other Boleyn Girl, Wolf Hall, and Year of Wonders have been identified as English Early Modern and not Medieval. I took it to a community vote to see if we should keep or remove these titles; the majority wanted them to stay, so I adjusted the Quest description and made this post for folks to reference in the future when having these discussions. I will be staying out of future discussions about time periods and accuracy from here on out, but here's the reasoning behind the inclusion of these titles:

Hamnet: set in 1580-1590's ish. Centers Shakespeare's family's life in rural England. Cambridge identifies Shakespeare's world as "largely Medieval" (source), and having read the book I felt it was an accessible look into rural country life during this time - not something we see often in this historical genre, which tends to highlight nobility.

Wolf Hall and The Other Boleyn Girl: set in early 1500's (1520-1530ish). These titles are wildly popular, won literary awards, and capture political intrigue without being overly dense. Another case of the world being largely Medieval, though the official starting point of the English Early Modern period had started 40-50 years prior.

Year of Wonders: set in 1666. This is the most egregious example of creative liberty with the time periods. I wanted to include a story about the Black Death, but could not find an accessible title. This is about a later wave of the plague in 1666.

I hope this shed more light on the intent and thought behind the Quest curation, and I hope everyone (from staunchly academic to historically curious) is able to discover some books to scratch the Medieval itch!

“I wanted to pit Dracula against my mum”

Love a good authors note