[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I’ll second Flashman. Reasonably good history, bawdy, and featuring a top of the line anti-hero.

For really light fare, you can’t go wrong with the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester. Napoleonic era swashbuckling.

If you want more of the same, but the very grown up version, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian had fans in the Naval War College and Charlton Heston.

One great novel that few today know about is The Long Ships, by the Swedish writer Frans G. Bengtsson. Total Viking-era romance, and a hypnotically good read.

[Roccus]

I agree. If you are going to read O'Brian and Forester, you should read Forester first. I'd prolly have enjoyed it more had I done so.