Some good historical fiction

Cafe Society
21

I will warn you that * Autobiography * has quite a few factual errors, but it’s an entertaining read, neverthless.

If you’re interested in the Tudors, you might want to read * The Other Boleyn Girl. * It’s a wonderful book. It’s written from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, and is rich in detail. It delves into the sexual politics of the Tudor court, and is well-written and very interesting.

  • Child of the Morning* is one of my favorite fictionalized biographies. It’s about Hatshepsut, the female Pharoah. I recommend it highly.
22

vl_mungo,

Thanks so much for the Flashman reminder. I read one of those years ago and forgot how much I loved it.

23

Kenneth Roberts - “Rabble in Arms” and “Northwest Passage”

Jeff Shaara - “Rise to Rebellion”

Allan Eckert - “That Dark and Bloody River”, "The Frontiersmen, and “Wilderness Empire”

24

Ara-Alon, Katherine’s a favorite here too, as is Doomsday Book.

I had looked at Plague Tales but was scared away by some negative reviews at Amazon – stuff they thought was unrealistic enough to hurt the story.

Lissa, I didn’t know there was another Boleyn girl, think I’ll look for that one too.

Didn’t Jeff Shaara write Killer Angels? I really liked that one, and I’m not much for Civil War stuff. Incredible writing.

Ivylass, I read the first Gabaldon book, got all excited about the series, hung out on an Outlander board for awhile and ended up having the rest of the books spoiled for me because I had to keep reading about what was going to happen in the other books. !! Learned my lesson though.

More recommendations for Dunnett – guess it’s time to take the advice asked for and get going. On the easy one. :slight_smile:

25

I’m throwing my hat in the ring to endorse anything written by Judith Merkle Riley. Great books, excellent characters, amusing and some interesting historical details.

26

Aleq, yeah! Good choice!! I’ve read The Oracle Glass, and Master of All Desires is on the shelf.

Lots of original stuff in Oracle Glass. Nice job, showing women’s choices (pretty much none) in those days.

27

That’s Michael Shaara

28

Mary Boleyn was the mistress of King Henry before Anne came into the picture. Some historians speculate that she had his child, but records of Mary’s life are spotty when compared with Anne’s. * The Autobiography of King Henry VIII * states that Mary’s daughter Katherine was Henry’s, while in * The Other Boleyn Girl * Mary’s child is a son. She is also suspected of having been the French king’s mistress before her return to England.

Henry liked Mary well enough to name a ship after her, and see to it that she made a good marriage to cover up their affair, or possibly to conceal the parentage of her child. (* The Other Boleyn Girl * has her marrying before she became Henry’s mistress.)

As I said before, there are a few factual errors in * The Autobiography of King Henry VIII * not the least of which is the alleged “sixth finger” of Anne Boleyn, but I don’t think these details necessarily detract from the story, unless you’re a stickler for correct historical details.

29

Burr, by Gore Vidal (it is the start of his American Empire story cycle, which coveres roughly 1800 through 1920). I love his works.

Also, Vidal’s “Lincoln.” One of my favorites.

30

Sarum by Edward Rutherford is probably my favorite. I also loved The Red Tent!

For more loosely historical fiction, I must give a plug to my namesake, Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

31

Please consider the KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER trilogy by Sigrid Undset. It’s the story of woman in medieval Norway. Tho the efforts of the translator to make the dialog sound “medieval” are awkward, the story is wonderful and the authenticity is fantastic.

32

One of my favourite (vaguely) historical fiction books is The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. It’s the story of King Arthur, except is as historically accurate as possible.

33

;or; The visit of the royal physician (I couldn’t find your title when I searched for it, but it could be a matter of different editions).

34

A forgotten master of American historical fiction is Conrad Richter. Among his best is the Awakening Land trilogy (written 1939-1950):

THE TREES
THE FIELDS
THE TOWN

They cover the settling of the American frontier at a time when that was Ohio. The protagonists are Sayward (pronounced “Saird”) Luckett, an extremely intelligent but illiterate “woodsy” brought into the wilderness by her trapper father, and her love for/marriage to Portius Wheeler, a “Bay State lawyer” with a mysterious past. The trilogy spans the turn of the 18th/19th century to the outbreak of the Civil War through the many trials, tribulations, successes, arguments, etc., of the Wheeler family.
It’s not a particularly long or detailed series, but imho it captures the essence of frontier life, 19th century dialect and attitudes, and with a bare minimum of romanticism. None of the characters are saint or sinner, there are no gratuitious sex scenes but neither are the characters puritanical (and with 11 kids you assume they figured out how the parts move), and best of all there’s no transplanted late 20th century mindsets on the frontier. I can’t recommend it enough. (The miniseries based upon it is also excellent; it starred Hal Holbrook and Elizabeth Montgomery and turns up on cable periodically, though at 6 hours in length it sacrifices many side characters and plots.)

Other very good Richter: LIGHT IN THE FOREST & SEA OF GRASS. (The only “not good” novel I’ve read by him was “The Bostonian”.)

McMurtrey’s LONESOME DOVE series is, as it’s sales would suggest, “all that”, as are his non historical books.

For “fluff” historical fiction from which you can still learn some interesting facts, John Jakes’ THE KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES offers lots of name-dropping, Obligatory Sex Scenes (OSS), and powdered wigs, but none of the depth of Richter and McMurtry.

35

AuntiePam - you named some books that to my knowledge are historical (duh) but on the spectrum ranging from “the book uses an historical setting as a basis for what is essentially airport junkfood fiction” to “yes, it is in the historical genre, but it transcends the genre to approach Literature status”, you seem to lean towards the latter (not that there is anything wrong with airport junkfood fiction - I love well-rendered versions of it - but you have to wade through a lot of crap to find the good stuff). With that in mind, I offer the following comments - and then have a request of you:

McCullough’s Masters of Rome series - very high quality stuff, well portrayed by Kid Charlemagne (did you get the recommendation from me, Kid?). Don’t let the cheesy covers fool you - this is an education in history, well masked in very readable prose.

I, Claudius - also amazing, but spends less time on the macro forces at work, and more on envisioning the personalities of the bluest of blue bloods at the top of the Empire. You could easily read the Masters of Rome series then read Claudius, since the latter chronologically follows the former.

Gates of Fire by Pressfield - along with M. Shaara’s The Killer Angels, the best book describing an actual battle. In this case, it is the Battle of Thermopylae, considered the greatest military stand in history where 300 Spartans and allies held off over a million Persians to buy time for the Greek army to mount a defense. I am not a military book guy, but this is great stuff (his second historical book - Tides of War - wasn’t nearly as good)

Burr, Lincoln by Vidal - Great, interesting books - if you like Vidal’s style - which I do - his ability to credibly portray what it was like in the head of historical figures is great and his social and political commentary is insightful. Has a number of other US History-related books.

The Alienist by Carr - More junk-foody than those previously mentioned, but at least it was written by an actual historian. A serial killer thriller that gives a great view of life in 1890’s Manhattan. Fun, fast, educational read.

The Camulod Chronicles by Whyte - Worth reading, if not as well crafted as, say, the Masters of Rome. Picks up in 4th century Britain after the Roman Empire has more or less abandoned the UK. Offers a credible account of the times and historical figures leading up to and including the Arthurian legend - if Merlin wasn’t an actual sorcerer, what could explain the legendary events? Starts with the Skystone - surprisingly addictive.

Outlander Series by Gabaldon - not particularly rich with historical fact and in its heart of hearts much more of a bodice ripper than anything. Well written for what it is, but not close to the earlier-mentioned books by a great distance.

The Red Tent by Diamant - worth reading, builds on the limited references in the Bible - more of a credible fiction than a well-written historical education. I would put Pillars of the Earth in this category as well.

I really did like The Difference Engine - simply found it more trouble that it was worth.

Gary Jennings’ stuff - Aztec, Journeyer, etc. - is fun, but more airport-level intrigue and soft porn than anything of substance.

Plenty of others, but those are the ones that come to mind. Have you read any of the well-written actual non-fiction out there? I strongly recommend The Professor and the Madman, Longitude, Founding Brothers and a few others. All very well written, enjoyable with great characters and plots and the benefit of being all true.

My question to you is: what did you like about Slammerkin and The Crimson Petal…where do they fit on the spectrum I laid out and how strongly would you recommend them?

Thanks.

36

AuntiePam - you named some books that to my knowledge are historical (duh) but on the spectrum ranging from “the book uses an historical setting as a basis for what is essentially airport junkfood fiction” to “yes, it is in the historical genre, but it transcends the genre to approach Literature status”, you seem to lean towards the latter (not that there is anything wrong with airport junkfood fiction - I love well-rendered versions of it - but you have to wade through a lot of crap to find the good stuff). With that in mind, I offer the following comments - and then have a request of you:

McCullough’s Masters of Rome series - very high quality stuff, well portrayed by Kid Charlemagne (did you get the recommendation from me, Kid?). Don’t let the cheesy covers fool you - this is an education in history, well masked in very readable prose.

I, Claudius - also amazing, but spends less time on the macro forces at work, and more on envisioning the personalities of the bluest of blue bloods at the top of the Empire. You could easily read the Masters of Rome series then read Claudius, since the latter chronologically follows the former.

Gates of Fire by Pressfield - along with M. Shaara’s The Killer Angels, the best book describing an actual battle. In this case, it is the Battle of Thermopylae, considered the greatest military stand in history where 300 Spartans and allies held off over a million Persians to buy time for the Greek army to mount a defense. I am not a military book guy, but this is great stuff (his second historical book - Tides of War - wasn’t nearly as good)

Burr, Lincoln by Vidal - Great, interesting books - if you like Vidal’s style - which I do - his ability to credibly portray what it was like in the head of historical figures is great and his social and political commentary is insightful. Has a number of other US History-related books.

The Alienist by Carr - More junk-foody than those previously mentioned, but at least it was written by an actual historian. A serial killer thriller that gives a great view of life in 1890’s Manhattan. Fun, fast, educational read.

The Camulod Chronicles by Whyte - Worth reading, if not as well crafted as, say, the Masters of Rome. Picks up in 4th century Britain after the Roman Empire has more or less abandoned the UK. Offers a credible account of the times and historical figures leading up to and including the Arthurian legend - if Merlin wasn’t an actual sorcerer, what could explain the legendary events? Starts with the Skystone - surprisingly addictive.

Outlander Series by Gabaldon - not particularly rich with historical fact and in its heart of hearts much more of a bodice ripper than anything. Well written for what it is, but not close to the earlier-mentioned books by a great distance.

The Red Tent by Diamant - worth reading, builds on the limited references in the Bible - more of a credible fiction than a well-written historical education. I would put Pillars of the Earth in this category as well.

I really did like The Difference Engine - simply found it more trouble that it was worth.

Gary Jennings’ stuff - Aztec, Journeyer, etc. - is fun, but more airport-level intrigue and soft porn than anything of substance.

Plenty of others, but those are the ones that come to mind. Have you read any of the well-written actual non-fiction out there? I strongly recommend The Professor and the Madman, Longitude, Founding Brothers and a few others. All very well written, enjoyable with great characters and plots and the benefit of being all true.

My question to you is: what did you like about Slammerkin and The Crimson Petal…where do they fit on the spectrum I laid out and how strongly would you recommend them?

Thanks.

37

D’oh!!

A thousand pardons for the duplicate post - given how long it is, if a Mod wants to deleter, I would be most appreciative.

Also, I caught a typo - “I really did NOT like the Difference Engine”.

Carry on and again, sorry.

38

I liked Firedrake’s Eye by Patricia Finney, although the sequel, Unicorn’s Blood not so much. No one seems to have mentioned the Aubrey-Maturin series or the Horatio Hornblower books. The Aubrey-Maturin books in particular are very well written with a lot of dry, subtle humor that makes re-reading them a pleasure.

The Sharpe books are enjoyable, but are a bit wooden. They kind of suffer from Cornwell writing them in sort of reverse order, that is, he started the series with Sharpe as an ensign in Spain and the later books describing his experiences in India are not maybe 100% consistent.

39

Another chime for Gary Jennings ‘Aztec’ and ‘Raptor’ (‘Spangle was crap, but one learns a lot about traveling circuses in the 1800’).

Lots of sex and violence, be warned. ‘Raptor’ was the first book suggested to me by my boss. In the first 20 pages the main character (a hermaphrodite) is alternatly molested by nuns and monks circa 5th century. Lovely.

It grows and follows along the Ostro and Visigoths down into the Holy Roman Empire. A good read.

Aztec was the first book I read to put a face on the everyday life of Aztecs 600 years ago. Again, sex and violence weave their paths through the story in abundance.

-Tcat

40

No Dunnett is easy ;). I prefer the Lymond series to the Niccolo series although my user name is from the Niccolo series.

Lots of good recommendations here.