# Looking for good fiction that took place in the 19th century. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213 "2013-12-13T01:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/1 "2013-12-13T01:35:38Z")
Just so we’re clear, the book itself doesn’t have to be written in the 19th century, just the _story_ takes place in the 19th century. I’ve always been fascinated with the 19th century and it just dawned on me I haven’t read any good books set in that era. Thanks for any suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/2 "2013-12-13T01:42:17Z")
Like westerns? Might want to check out authors like Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/3 "2013-12-13T01:50:32Z")
I just finished reading _David Copperfield_ and liked it (though I’m not sure I could articulate exactly why). It was interesting to me how the story is very much set in 19th century England, but here and there a detail will jump out because it seems oddly modern. Also, Dickens is a lot funnier than I had expected. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/4 "2013-12-13T01:54:48Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Like westerns? Might want to check out authors like Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. Yeah, westerns are good. I was also thinking about a high seas adventure. Something like that. > [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > I just finished reading _David Copperfield_ and liked it (though I’m not sure I could articulate exactly why). It was interesting to me how the story is very much set in 19th century England, but here and there a detail will jump out because it seems oddly modern. Also, Dickens is a lot funnier than I had expected. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/5 "2013-12-13T01:59:49Z")
Heck, start with almost anything by Dickens, almost anything by Conan Doyle, Louisa May Alcott, Jules Verne… Of course, they cheated by actually _living_ in the 19th century… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/6 "2013-12-13T02:04:13Z")
Connie Willis’s “To Say Nothing of the Dog” is a fun read. But have you considered books by 19th century authors? Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Anthony Trollope, Victor Hugo, Leo Tolstoy, etc? There’s a reason that they’re still popular today. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/7 "2013-12-13T02:07:24Z")
A bit of a melodrama but I like _A Dangerous Fortune_ by Ken Follett. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/8 "2013-12-13T02:09:53Z")
If you want a high seas adventure, Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series about a Royal Navy ship in the Napoleonic Wars is pretty good. To see the Napoleonic Wars from the land side, there’s also Bernard Cornwall’s “Sharpe” series. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/9 "2013-12-13T02:30:06Z")
James Clavell’s _Tai-Pan_ and _Gai-Jin_ are about an English trading company in 1841 Hong Kong and 1861 Japan, respectively. Not as much high seas adventure as there could be, but the setting and historical period play a big role in the novels. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/10 "2013-12-13T03:23:20Z")
**The Voyage of the Narwhal** by Andrea Barrett is an excellent story of an expedition to find the Northwest Passage. **Okla Hannali** by SF writer R. F. Lafferty is the story of the Choctaw Nation in the 19th century. Lafferty combines real people into the character of Okla Hannali. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in years. For westerns, try **Heart of the Country** by Greg Mathews – it features a misogynistic buffalo hunter, who’s also a dwarf. **The Son** by Philipp Meyer is on a lot of Best of 2013 lists. It’s very violent but quite good. There’s so much good fiction about that time period, it’s hard to know what to recommend. We’ve got westward expansion, the Civil War, the war with Mexico, Indian wars, the Napoleonic Wars, industrialization and urbanization, exploration and colonialization, not to mention mysteries and family sagas set in that time. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/11 "2013-12-13T07:43:24Z")
I don’t know what you consider to be “good books”, but **most** of what are considered to be “classic” English (including American) novels were written in, and are set in, the 19th century. The works of: Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, W.M. Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, the Brontes, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Elizabeth Gaskell . . . . Or there is Russian literature, like Dostoyevsky, Turgenyev, Chekov, Tolstoy … Or French, or German … Seriously, you have never read/can’t find a good book set in the 19th century? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/12 "2013-12-13T12:46:35Z")
My favourite piece of 19th century literature is **Vanity Fair**. Very funny, and not a dull moment (IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/13 "2013-12-13T13:21:49Z")
\*Moby Dick \* Written in the 19th century, about the 19th century, great stuff. Also agree that Patrick O’Brien’s Maturin and Aubrey novels has kept many people company for months as they work their way through from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/14 "2013-12-13T13:35:00Z")
I’d recommend the “Flashman” series of novels – plus a few short stories – by George MacDonald Fraser. In my opinion, excellent satirical / historical fiction, ably and very literately written. The eponymous anti-hero and first-person narrator finds himself personally involved in many of the big, and not-so-big, historical events worldwide, between the 1840s and the late 19th century. In the books, the author passes on much of his very extensive knowledge of the history of the period. The books are often thought-provoking, and also often very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/15 "2013-12-13T15:24:14Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I don’t know what you consider to be “good books”, but **most** of what are considered to be “classic” English (including American) novels were written in, and are set in, the 19th century. The works of: Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, W.M. Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, the Brontes, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Elizabeth Gaskell . . . . > > Or there is Russian literature, like Dostoyevsky, Turgenyev, Chekov, Tolstoy … > > Or French, or German … > > Seriously, you have never read/can’t find a good book set in the 19th century? :dubious: This was my reaction. **Shakes** , maybe you could narrow it down a bit for us? Is there any specific genre, or type of setting, or whatever, that you’d be interested in? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-good-fiction-that-took-place-in-the-19th-century/676213/16 "2013-12-13T15:34:15Z")
Try \*\*\*Death Comes for the Archbishop \*\*\*by Willa Cather and \*\*\*Age of Innocence \*\*\*by Edith Wharton.