Most of them were historical novels set in ancient times when samurai roamed the land.

NEWYORKER: Town of Cats

By the mid-1940s he had published three historical novels set in ancient Egypt, and planned a long further series.

ECONOMIST: Naguib Mahfouz | The

Eventually in the 1970s and 80s he was widely feted for his historical novels based on the lives of US figures such as Abraham Lincoln.

BBC: US author Gore Vidal dies aged 86

It is no insult to young Paolini to say that his books are effectively co-written with Tolkien, any more than it is an insult to Chatterton-Rowley to say that his had a co-author in Macpherson-Ossian or, for that matter, that virtually all medieval-minded historical novels in the nineteenth century, including some very good ones, were produced jointly with Sir Walter Scott.

NEWYORKER: The Dragon��s Egg

In the four centuries or so since the first operas were written, operatic stories have been inspired by an astonishing array of literary sources from Nordic legends and Greek classics, to romance novels and historical fiction.

NPR: Quirk of Nature: Janacek's 'Cunning Little Vixen'

The author draws upon his rural upbringing in his novels, mixing historical perspective with mythical elements.

FORBES: China's Pyramid Of Power

Playwright and educator Paul Dumol has "assembled" a dramatization of Rizal's interrogation, trial and execution based purely on historical documents, interspersed with scenes from the hero's novels and play.

CNN: Glancing Back

There's a plot to kill the president in "The Fifth Assassin, " the second installment of a projected trilogy (and like all of Mr. Meltzer's novels, a blend of conspiracy, cliffhanger and historical factoid the more arcane the better).

WSJ: Brad Meltzer: His Plotting Pays Off | By Joanne Kaufman

His novels, some of which are also excellent, fall into two categories: the historical and the proselytising.

ECONOMIST: American literature