Rats, Lice and History by Hans Ziesser is a compulsively readable (non-fiction) account of typhus, touching on a number of the other great plagues.
The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman has some great scenes involving the onset of the Great Plague of 1665 in a St Giles brothel, starting with the scene where the madam suddenly discovered her poxed charges are especially in demand, because of a belief that syphilis kept off the plague.
The Last of The Wine by Mary Renault has the great line "And it is seldom a many can say, either of the Spartans or the plague, that he owes them life instead of death" in one of the opening paras, though the plague does not play a great role after that.
What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute probably doesn't count as historical fiction; it was published in 1938/9 contemplating WWII, which plays out rather differently than the historical war. However, the very powerful scenes when ariel bombardment destroys Southampton's sewerage system and cholera breaks out in the city are extraordinarily powerful (Shute later credited civil defence actions based on his book as being the reason the actual facts did not support his scenario in the event, which I personally think counts as having it both ways).
Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer and Thank Heaven Fasting by Em Delafield both have plot developments turning on the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, as does A Sailor of Austria by John Biggins.
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The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman has some great scenes involving the onset of the Great Plague of 1665 in a St Giles brothel, starting with the scene where the madam suddenly discovered her poxed charges are especially in demand, because of a belief that syphilis kept off the plague.
The Last of The Wine by Mary Renault has the great line "And it is seldom a many can say, either of the Spartans or the plague, that he owes them life instead of death" in one of the opening paras, though the plague does not play a great role after that.
What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute probably doesn't count as historical fiction; it was published in 1938/9 contemplating WWII, which plays out rather differently than the historical war. However, the very powerful scenes when ariel bombardment destroys Southampton's sewerage system and cholera breaks out in the city are extraordinarily powerful (Shute later credited civil defence actions based on his book as being the reason the actual facts did not support his scenario in the event, which I personally think counts as having it both ways).
Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer and Thank Heaven Fasting by Em Delafield both have plot developments turning on the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, as does A Sailor of Austria by John Biggins.