Why yes, I was one of those boring children who read all summer long, but even the most dedicated learner benefits from a change of pace.
I'm collecting fiction about sub-Roman Empire Britain, for the purposes of increasing my ambiant knowledge without the angst of yet another research project. (The more I personally identify with and enjoy my research directions, and the further I stretch to get there…the thinner my skin gets. Ergo, time to feed the right side of my brain.)
Having just started, I haven't got very far yet, but the Dark Is Rising series is a favorite. I should probably go back and check epics like Sarum for that period, too. I recently tried The Silver Pigs, the first in Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco series; this one is partly set in Britain.
Wikipedia has a short page on this subject: suggesting Shakespeare's Cymbeline, films King Arthur and The Last Legion (Centurion, Glastonbury, Boudicca, and another I, Claudius seem to be in production), but as the three I could think of most quickly weren't there, I want more suggestions.
Anyone? Bueller? Please no Marion Zimmer Bradley-esque, though.
(and yes, I've unearthed one of my favorite Scandinavian children's books, Hulda, which I will just have to own somehow.)
Edit (from WorldCat):
Libertus series by Rosemary Rowe, all set in Britannia, and apparently heavier than Davis.
Dark North, Gillian Bradshaw
Dalriada trilogy (White Mare, Dawn Stag, Song of the North) Jules Watson
Hadrian's Wall, William Dietrich (warning, romance novel, apparently, but year 375)
Rosemary Sutcliff
Bernard Cornwell’s cycle is my fave historical treatment of the Arthurian legend. And his books always have a postscript in the back delineating fact from fiction. The first in the series is The Winter King.
Diana Paxson, another SCA founder, actually has degrees in medieval lit, and her books are a vasty improvement over MZB ( who didn’t like me personally, apparently based entirely on what I looked like)
I was going to recommend Rosemary Sutcliff but I see that you have her listed, as a kid I read all her books…
Una
Try out Jack Whytes Camuloud Series. Great stuff.
Roman Woman: Everyday Life in Hadrian’s Britain by Lindsay Allason-Jones
I do a Romano British persona and this is a fascinating look into the daily life. I found it to be well researched. Boring for the average reader. Goes into the minutea of daily life. Getting water, grinding stuff on the moretum, baking, shoes. Curling irons and female gossip. Wonderful.
Thanks! Ill look out for it.