[froasty]

Dorothy Dunnett is the hidden gem of historical novelists. If you mashed up the romanticism of Dumas, the Machiavellianism of Martin, and the polymathic nature of Joyce, you would have something approaching the Lymond Chronicles, a seamlessly interwoven exploration of 16th century Europe.

Dunnett is without peer, Mantel included. I cannot recommend her works enough.

Here is someone else's review that does her justice, unlike mine:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/153390106