Best Historical Novels About Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov

1552–1605

Boris Godunov rose from the service nobility at the court of Ivan IV and became one of the most powerful figures in Russia during the reign of Feodor I, whose wife Irina was Boris's sister. After Feodor's death ended the main Moscow line of the Rurik dynasty, an assembly elected Boris tsar in 1598.

His reign continued diplomatic and commercial contacts with western and northern Europe, including relations with Elizabethan England, but was later damaged by famine, social unrest and the appearance of the first False Dmitry. Boris died suddenly in 1605 as the political crisis that became the Time of Troubles was intensifying.

In John Pilkington’s The Muscovy Chain, Thomas is given responsibility for a magnificent gold chain intended as a diplomatic gift for Boris Godunov, the dominant figure at the Russian court, only for the jewel to disappear.

Historical novels and book series featuring Boris Godunov (1 series)

The Thomas the Falconer Mysteries in Order

by John Pilkington 7 books 4.4(24,286)

The Thomas the Falconer Mysteries follow Thomas Finbow, falconer to a Berkshire knight, through seven investigations in the late reign of Elizabeth I. Thomas is neither nobleman nor professional officer: his authority comes from service, experience and the habits of a hunter trained to read small signs before…