Royalty Free Fiction - hopping through history

http://www.passagestothepast.com/2012/12/1st-annual-historical-holiday-blog-hop.html

Royalty Free Fiction (Historical Fiction with no Kings and Queens) is proud to be part of the Historical Holiday Blog Hop organised by Amy at Passages to the Past.

I'd love to know a favourite historical novel you have read which features ordinary people and no royalty. Comment here to win a signed copy of The Gilded Lily - open worldwide.
One extra entry if you follow this blog, another extra entry if you tweet about Royalty Free Fiction - the past is full of ordinary people with extraordinary lives.