Renaissance Booklist

World History > Prehistory | Early Civilization | Classical Age | Early Medieval | High Middle Ages | Renaissance | Enlightenment | Age of Revolutions | Industrial Age | Modern Age

Book recommendations pertaining to the Renaissance (1400-1599).

See also:

• The Tudors
• Shakespeare

The 1400s

Topics include Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, Art and Artists of the Renaissance, America Before Columbus, Wars of the Roses.

Book Title	Author	PubDate	Reading Age	Time Period	Time Frame	Geographic Area	Country	Topic	Genre	Format
The Apprentice	Llorente, Pilar Molina	1989	MG	Renaissance	1400-1500	Europe	Italy	Art History	F	CB
Marguerite Makes a Book	Robertson, Bruce	1999	LE MG	Renaissance	1400	Europe	France	Illuminated Manuscripts Art History	F	PB
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight	Macdonald, Fiona	2013	LE MG	Renaissance	1400-1425	Europe	Great Britain	Knights	NF	PB
The Making of a Knight	O'Brien, Patrick	1998	LE	Renaissance	1400-1425	Europe	Great Britain	Knights	NF	PB
Joan of Arc	Stanley, Diane	2000	LE UMG	Renaissance	1412-1431	Europe	France	Hundred Years' War Joan of Arc	NF Bio	N
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You	Reynolds, Jason Kendi, Ibram X.	2020	UMG YA	Renaissance	1415-2020	North America	United States	Racism Civil Rights	NF OV	NF
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding our Racial Divide	Anderson, Carol Bolden, Tonya	2019	UMG YA	Renaissance	1415-2020	North America	United States	Racism	NF OV	NF
Tomas de Torquemada: Architect of Torture During the Spanish Inquisition	Goldberg, Enid A. Itzkowitz, Norman	2009	YA UMG	Renaissance	1420-1498	Europe	Spain	Spanish Inquisition	NF Bio	CB
Around the World in a Hundred Years: From Henry the Navigator to Magellan	Fritz, Jean	1994	UMG	Renaissance	1421-1522	Europe	various	Explorers	NF Bio	CB
Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula	Goldberg, Enid A.	2009	YA UMG	Renaissance	1428-1477	Europe	Romania	Wallachia Vlad III Dracula	NF Bio	CB
The Lady of the Rivers	Gregory, Philippa	2011	A	Renaissance	1430-1461	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc	Elliott, David	2019	YA	Renaissance	1431	Europe	France	Joan of Arc	F Bio	N
Wars of the Roses: Stormbird	Iggulden, Conn	2015	A	Renaissance	1443-1550	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
The Second Mrs. Gioconda	Konigsburg, E.L.	1998	UMG YA	Renaissance	1450-1459	Europe	Italy	Leonardo da Vinci	F	CB
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?	Fritz, Jean	1997	UMG	Renaissance	1451-1506	Europe	Spain	Explorers	NF Bio	CB
The Sunne In Splendour: A Novel of Richard III	Penman, Sharon Kay	2008	A	Renaissance	1452-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses Richard III	F	N
Leonardo da Vinci	Stanley, Diane	2000	LE MG	Renaissance	1452-1519	Europe	Italy	Leonardo da Vinci	NF Bio	PB
The Red Queen	Gregory, Philippa	2010	A	Renaissance	1453-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses Tudors	F	N
Wars of the Roses: Margaret of Anjou	Iggulden, Conn	2016	A	Renaissance	1454-1461	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
The Wars of the Roses	Weir, Alison	1995	A	Renaissance	1455-1587	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Wars of the Roses	F Bio	N
Wars of the Roses: Bloodline	Iggulden, Conn	2017	A	Renaissance	1461-1470	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
The White Queen	Gregory, Philippa	2009	A	Renaissance	1464-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
The Kingmaker's Daughter	Gregory, Philippa	2012	A	Renaissance	1465-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses	F	N
Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World	Weir, Allison	2013	A	Renaissance	1466-1503	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth of York	F Bio	N
Wars of the Roses: Ravenspur	Iggulden, Conn	2019	A	Renaissance	1470-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Wars of the Roses	F	N
Francisco Pizarro: Destroyer of the Inca Empire	DiConsiglio, John	2008	YA UMG	Renaissance	1471-1541	Europe	Spain	Spanish Conquistadors Inca Empire	NF Bio	CB
The Kite Fighters	Park, Linda Sue	2000	MG	Renaissance	1473	Asia	Korea	Kites	F	CB
Michelangelo	Stanley, Diane	2003	LE MG	Renaissance	1475-1564	Europe	Italy	Michelangelo	NF Bio	PB
Stone Giant: Michelangelo's David and How He Came to Be	Sutcliffe, Jane	2014	LE	Renaissance	1475-1564	Europe	Italy	Michelangelo	NF Bio	PB
A Ceiling Made of Eggshells	Carson Levine, Gail	2009	UMG MG	Renaissance	1483-1492	Europe	Spain	Spanish Inquisition Jewish Persecution	F	N
The Princes in the Tower	Weir, Alison	1995	A	Renaissance	1483-1485	Europe	Great Britain	Wars of the Roses Tudors	NF Bio	N
The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets!	Williams, Marcia	2016	LE MG	Renaissance	1485-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors	NF	PB
The Tudor Tutor	Alexander, Barb	2015	YA A	Renaissance	1485-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors	NF Bio	B
The White Princess	Gregory, Philippa	2012	A	Renaissance	1485-1499	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth of York	F	N
The Constant Princess	Gregory, Philippa	2005	A	Renaissance	1491-1529	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Katherine of Aragon	F	N
Children of the Longhouse	Bruchac, Joseph	1996	MG	Renaissance	1491	North America	United States	Early America Indigenous Americans	F OV	CB
Before Columbus	Mann, Charles C.	2009	UMG YA	Renaissance	1491	North America	United States	Indigenous Americans	NF	CB
Autobiography of Henry VIII	George, Margaret	1987	A	Renaissance	1491-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	F Bio OV	N
Encounter	Yolen, Jane	1996	LE	Renaissance	1492	North America	Bahamas	Early America Indigenous Americans	F	PB
History Smashers: Christopher Columbus and the Taino People	Messner, Kate	2023	MG UMG	Renaissance	1492	North America	United States	Colonization Exploration Caribbean Indigenous Americans	NF	B
Exploring the New World: An Interactive History Adventure	Herr, Melody	2011	MG	Renaissance	1492-1682	North America	United States	Explorers	NF	CB
Morning Girl	Dorris, Michael	1992	MG	Renaissance	1492	North America	Bahamas	Early America Indigenous Americans Colonization	F	CB
Across So Many Seas	Behar, Ruth	2024	UMG YA	Renaissance	1492-2003	Europe North America	Spain Cuba United States	Spanish Inquisition Sephardic Jews Diaspora	F	N
A Fire Among Clouds: Codex Black	Lozano, Camilo Moncada	2023	YA	Renaissance	1493	North America	United States	Indigenous Americans Mesoamerican Mythology	HF	GN
Leonardo's Shadow	Grey, Christopher	2008	UMG YA	Renaissance	1497	Europe	Italy	Leonardo da Vinci	F Bio	N
The King's Curse	Gregory, Philippa	2014	A	Renaissance	1499-1540	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Margaret Pole	F	N

The 1500s

Topics include Protestant Reformation, Mughal Empire India, Ottoman Empire, Edo Period Japan, Exploration and Discovery of the Americas, Tudor England, Elizabethan Era and Shakespeare, Mary, Queen of Scots, European Wars of Religion and Ivan the Terrible (Russia).

Book Title	Author	PubDate	Reading Age	Time Period	Time Frame	Geographic Area	Country	Topic	Genre	Format
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings	Weir, Alison	2011	A	Renaissance	1500-1543	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Boleyn	F Bio	N
The Samurai's Tale	Haugaard, Erik C.	2005	UMG	Renaissance	1500-1599	Asia	Japan	Samurai	F	CB
The Boy and The Samurai	Haugaard, Erik C.	1991	UMG	Renaissance	1500-1599	Asia	Japan	Samurai	F	CB
Incantation	Hoffman, Alice	2006	A	Renaissance	1500	Europe	Spain	Spanish Inquisition Jewish Persecution	F	N
You Wouldn't Want to Be Married to Henry VIII	Senior, Kathryn	2014	LE MG	Renaissance	1501-1588	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	NF	PB
Doomed Queen Anne	Meyer, Carolyn	2002	UMG YA	Renaissance	1501-1536	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn	F Bio	CB
Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen	Weir, Alison	2016	A	Renaissance	1501-1536	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Katherine of Aragon	F Bio	N
Three Sisters, Three Queens	Gregory, Philippa	2016	A	Renaissance	1501-1533	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Margaret Tudor	F	N
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All	Anderson, M. T. Fleming, Candace Hemphill, Stephanie Sandell, Lisa Ann Donnelly, Jennifer Park, Linda Sue Hopkinson, Deborah	2018	YA A	Renaissance	1501-1588	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	F	N
You Wouldn't Want to Be Ill in Tudor Times	Senior, Kathryn	2014	LE MG	Renaissance	1501-1599	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Medicine	NF	PB
Henry VIII: Royal Beheader	Price, Sean Stewart	2009	YA UMG	Renaissance	1509-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	NF Bio	CB
Henry VIII: The King and His Court	Weir, Alison	2001	A	Renaissance	1509-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	F Bio	N
The Six Wives of Henry VIII	Weir, Alison	1991	A	Renaissance	1509-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	F Bio	N
Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession	Weir, Alison	2017	A	Renaissance	1512-1536	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn	F Bio	N
The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas	Weir, Alison	2015	A	Renaissance	1515-1578	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Margaret Douglas	F Bio	N
Mary, Bloody Mary	Meyer, Carolyn	1999	UMG YA	Renaissance	1516-1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Tudor	F Bio	CB
Mary Tudor: Courageous Queen or Bloody Mary?	Buchanan, Jane	2008	YA UMG	Renaissance	1516-1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Tudor	NF Bio	CB
Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen	Weir, Alison	2018	A	Renaissance	1518-1537	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Jane Seymour	F Bio	N
The Other Boleyn Girl	Gregory, Philippa	2001	A	Renaissance	1521-1536	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Boleyn	F	N
Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen	Weir, Alison	2020	A	Renaissance	1528-1542	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Katheryn Howard	F Bio	N
Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait	Weir, Alison	2019	A	Renaissance	1530-1557	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anna of Kleve	F Bio	N
Ivan the Terrible: Tsar of Death	Price, Sean	2008	YA UMG	Renaissance	1530-1584	Asia	Russia	Russian History	NF Bio	CB
The Gold Eaters	Wright, Ronald	2015	YA	Renaissance	1532-1541	Western South America	Peru	Spanish Conquistadors Inca Empire	F	N
The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn	Weir, Alison	2009	A	Renaissance	1533-1536	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn	F Bio	N
Elizabeth I: The Novel	George, Margaret	2012	A	Renaissance	1536-1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth I	F Bio	N
The Boleyn King	Andersen, Laura	2013	A	Renaissance	1536-1554	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn Hypothetical Henry IX	AH	N
The Lady Elizabeth	Weir, Alison	2008	A	Renaissance	1536-1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth I	F Bio	N
The Crown: A Novel	Bilyeau, Nancy	2012	A	Renaissance	1537	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Joanna Stafford	F	N
Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey	Weir, Alison	2006	A	Renaissance	1537-1554	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Jane Grey	F Bio	N
The Children of Henry VIII	Weir, Alison	1996	A	Renaissance	1537-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Henry VIII	F Bio	N
Nine Days a Queen: The Short Life and Reign of Lady Jane Grey	Rinaldi, Ann	2005	UMG YA	Renaissance	1537-1554	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Jane Grey	F Bio	CB
The Chalice: A Novel	Bilyeau, Nancy	2014	A	Renaissance	1538-1540	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Joanna Stafford	F	N
The Boleyn Inheritance	Gregory, Philippa	2006	A	Renaissance	1539-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors	F	N
Sir Francis Drake: Slave Trader and Pirate	Nick, Charles	2009	YA UMG	Renaissance	1540-1596	Europe	Great Britain	Pirates	NF Bio	CB
The Tapestry: A Novel	Bilyeau, Nancy	2015	A	Renaissance	1540-1541	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Joanna Stafford	F	N
Mosque	Macaulay, David	2008	LE MG	Renaissance	1549-1580	Middle East	Turkey	Middle East Building	F	PB
Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley	Weir, Alison	2003	A	Renaissance	1542-1587	Europe	Great Britain Scotland	Tudors Mary Stuart	F Bio	N
Queen's Own Fool	Yolen, Jane Harris, Robert J.	2001	UMG YA	Renaissance	1542-1587	Europe	Great Britain Scotland	Tudors Mary Stuart	F Bio	N
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles	George, Margaret	1997	A	Renaissance	1542-1587	Europe	Great Britain Scotland	Tudors Mary Stuart	F Bio	N
The Taming of the Queen	Gregory, Philippa	2015	A	Renaissance	1543-1547	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Katharine Parr	F	N
Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife	Weir, Alison	2021	A	Renaissance	1543-1548	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Katharine Parr	F Bio	N
The Queen's Fool	Gregory, Philippa	2003	A	Renaissance	1548-1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors	F	N
The Last Tudor	Gregory, Philippa	2017	A	Renaissance	1550-1573	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Jane Grey	F	N
A Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower	Weir, Alison	2012	A	Renaissance	1553-1567	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Katherine Grey	F Bio	N
My Lady Jane	Hand, Cynthia Ashton, Brodi Meadows, Jodi	2016	YA A	Renaissance	1553-1573	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Lady Jane Grey	HF Bio	N
The Boleyn Deceit	Andersen, Laura	2013	A	Renaissance	1554-1555	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn Hypothetical Henry IX	AH	N
The Boleyn Reckoning	Andersen, Laura	2014	A	Renaissance	1556-1559	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Anne Boleyn Hypothetical Henry IX	AH	N
The Shakespeare Stealer	Blackwood, Gary	1998	MG UMG	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	F	CB
Shakespeare: His Work & His World	Rosen, Michael Ingpen, Robert	2001	UMG YA	Renaissance	1558-1616	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	NF Bio	PB
The Perilous Gard	Pope, Elizabeth Marie	2001	UMG YA	Renaissance	1558	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Tudor	HF	N
The Virgin's Lover	Gregory, Philippa	2004	A	Renaissance	1558-1560	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth I	F	N
Bard of Avon	Stanley, Diane Vennema, Peter	2015	UMG	Renaissance	1558-1616	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	NF Bio	PB
William Shakespeare & the Globe	Aliki	2000	MG	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	NF Bio	PB
The Marriage Game	Weir, Alison	2014	A	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth I	F Bio	N
Loving Will Shakespeare	Meyer, Carolyn	2008	UMG YA	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	F	CB
Shakespeare: The World as Stage	Bryson, Bill	2016	YA A	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Shakespeare	NF Bio	CB
At the House of the Magician	Hooper, Mary	2007	YA	Renaissance	1558-1603	Europe	Great Britain	Elizabethan England	F	N
Along Came Galileo	Jeanne Bendick, Jeanne	1999	MG UMG	Renaissance	1564-1642	Europe	Italy	Galileo	NF Bio	CB
My Contrary Mary	Hand, Cynthia Ashton, Brodi Meadows, Jodi	2021	YA A	Renaissance	1568-1587	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Stuart	HF Bio	N
The Other Queen	Gregory, Philippa	2008	A	Renaissance	1568-1587	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Mary Stuart	F	N
Blood Countess	Popovic, Lana	2020	YA	Renaissance	1575-1614	Europe	Hungary	Elizabeth Báthory LGBTQ+ Hungary	F Bio	N
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist	Morley, Jacqueline	2013	LE MG	Renaissance	1575–1625	North America	United States	Colonial America	NF	PB
A Tip for the Hangman	Epstein, Allison	2021	A	Renaissance	1585-1593	Europe	Great Britain	Tudors Elizabeth I	F	N
Roanoke: The Lost Colony	Yolen, Jane	2003	MG UMG	Renaissance	1587-1590	North America	United States	Roanoke Colony Colonial America	NF	PB
The Familiar	Bardugo, Leigh	2024	A	Renaissance	1590	Europe	Spain	Spanish Inquisition Jewish Persecution Sephardic Jews	HF	N
Where Is the Taj Mahal?	Hoobler, Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas	2017	MG	Renaissance	1592-1666	Asia	India	Taj Mahal	NF	CB

Disclosure: History Book By Book is reader-supported. When you buy books we recommend using Amazon or Bookshop links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission (at no additional cost to you).

List of abbreviations:

Reading Age	Genre	Format
LE = lower elementary MG = middle grade (8-12 yrs.) UMG = upper-middle grade (11-14 yrs.) YA = young adult (14+) A = adult (18+)	NF - non fiction F = fiction Bio = biography HF = historical fantasy AH = alternate history OV - own voices M = mythology S = spine book	PB = picture book GN = graphic novel ER = early reader CB = chapter book B = book (NF) N = novel M = memoir