I read more or less only historical fiction, based in fact. My favourite character is Eleanor of Aquitaine in a trilogy of books from Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance and the Devil's Brood.
She was married to Henry II and was mother of Richard Lionheart and King John (of Magna Carta infamy). Her life story would be unbelievable if it were not documented and she lived until the age of 80, quite a feat in the 12th Century.