Alison Weir is the other author I was thinking of. She writes along the lines of Penman's books.

I've noticed her books. I was interested in the Eleanor book at one point, but never picked it up. Lots of great subjects for the Anglophile!

My guilty pleasure, too. I used to devour them like potato chips (bet you can't read just one) but I've definitely slowed down. Now I concentrate on my favorites like Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes, Sue Grafton, etc.

Another author I always read is Sheri S. Tepper. I discovered her writing mysteries under another name. She writes amazingly creative fantasy.

But I almost forgot my most recent obsession: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series including a few books for young readers that are wonderful.

I finished the Margaret George "Helen of Troy" novel a week or so ago. While it was an enjoyable read, it didn't match her Henry VIII "Autobiography" in brilliance, characterization or entertainment. I really know very little about ancient Greek and Mycenean cultures - other than a VERY basic knowledge of arcitecture/sculpture/mythology, so it was interesting to be able to fill in a few gaps. however, the problem is that, so little is actually known about the "real" life of these peoples and even if a real Helen of Troy & Sparta really existed. With so much assumption being made to tell this story, I think it made the "historical" part of this "historical fiction" a little more fictioney. In other words, I think the book would've been more successful if it was complete fiction based on what little is known rather than trying to make something that is mythological into a reality. But, such is the fine line an author walks when writing this type of novel.