# What Historical Book/Person/Topic would you like to see HBO do as a miniseries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 16, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088 "2008-06-16T07:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/41 "2008-06-17T11:16:06Z")
I would watch 90% of those mentioned. My choices: the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine would make a kickass miniseries. She had such a long life, with such historical scope. They’d almost need to have two actresses to play her, though. Maybe a mother and daughter duo? Man, I’d love to see that. But my favorite miniseries idea will certainly never be made. It would be based on a historical novel set in San Francisco during the gold rush. The novel (one of my all-time, absolute favorites) is _Calico Palace_, by Gwen Bristow. It was written in the '50s and practically nobody but me has ever heard of it. But it would make a _great_ miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/42 "2008-06-17T11:21:17Z")
There’s a trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman about Simon de Montfort that I always thought would make an excellent miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/43 "2008-06-17T11:54:02Z")
Have them do Suetonius’ **The Twelve Caesars** , scandals and all. One of my personal favorite historical characters – **Sir Richard Francis Burton**. There’s a lot that **Mountains of the Moon** didn’t even touch. **Roy Chapman Andrews** , explorer, adventurer, palaeontologist, and arguably one of the real-life models for Indiana Jones (after Scrooge McDuck) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/44 "2008-06-17T12:06:44Z")
The French or Russian Revolutions would be more awesome than a whole sack full of awesomeness fired from an awesome cannon. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/45 "2008-06-17T12:06:53Z")
I’d like to see a good, accurate version of the end of the French monarchy. Maybe start with Louis XV, and end the first season with the marriage of his son to Marie Antoinette. Then a second season ending with the executions. It could even segue into a third season discussing the revolution and the rise of Napoleon. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/46 "2008-06-17T12:27:44Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] [Akhenaten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten), the monotheistic ruler of Egypt, husband of Nefertiti, father of Tutenkhamen. ..His reign was a bizarre period for Egypt and I think an HBO miniseries could do a lot with it. [/QUOTE] Ooh! And I know just the novel that could be a basis for that series. The [novel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Egyptian) Sinuhe, based on an [historical figure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_of_Sinuhe), follows an Egyptian physician who gets caught up in the affairs of the court, and from whose point of view the story is told. Narratively speaking he has a similar role as dr. Melfi in the Soprano’s and Verinus in Rome. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/47 "2008-06-17T12:29:21Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] The French or Russian Revolutions would be more awesome than a whole sack full of awesomeness fired from an awesome cannon. [/QUOTE] The russian revolution would get my vote as well. Start with the latter years of Czar Nicolas’s reign, and end with Stalin getting crazy. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/48 "2008-06-17T12:40:10Z")
Theodora: from “actress” to Empress in an almost unbelievably exotic setting. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/49 "2008-06-17T12:46:52Z")
Why not a series about pirates in the early 18th century either during or after Queen Anne’s War? You’ve got a ship full of murderers, rapist, and thieves and, what the hell, maybe even a woman or two as members of the crew! (It’s got historical precedence.) It’s almost like _Oz_ except it’s on a boat! Action: They’re pirates so they’ll be doing all sorts of pirate stuff. Sex: They’re pirates so they’ll be doing all sorts of pirate stuff. Intrigue: Captains of pirate vessels don’t typically have absolute power. Charles Johnson in _A General History of Pirates_ says something to the effect that “Crews select a captain that they can captain over.” So the captain has to build alliances and deal with the crew in such a way that he might remain captain. Tough job. Cost: Probably too expensive. Marc ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/50 "2008-06-17T12:56:27Z")
Blackbeard, maybe Captain Kidd or The War of 1812 ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/51 "2008-06-17T14:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] But my favorite miniseries idea will certainly never be made. It would be based on a historical novel set in San Francisco during the gold rush. The novel (one of my all-time, absolute favorites) is _Calico Palace_, by Gwen Bristow. It was written in the '50s and practically nobody but me has ever heard of it. But it would make a _great_ miniseries. [/QUOTE] Oh wow, that would be awesome!! Just yesterday I was thinking that I haven’t read any Bristow in a couple of years and was trying to decide which one to read. _Calico Palace_ is probably my second favorite, as I LOVE _Celia Garth_, but you are right that _Palace_ would be just a great movie. There was a movie of _Jubilee Trail_, but I haven’t seen it since I was a little girl. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/52 "2008-06-17T15:17:07Z")
A biopic of Nikola Tesla, but not by Tim Burton, Ron Howard or Terry Gilliam. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/53 "2008-06-17T15:27:18Z")
The travels of one of those early European explorers of the present-day US. Like Hernando de Soto’s: > **[Hernando de Soto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_(explorer))** > > Hernando de Soto (/də ˈsoʊtoʊ/; .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish: \[eɾˈnando ðe ˈsoto\]; c. 1500 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, but is best kno or Cabeza de Vaca: > **[Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabeza_de_Vaca)** > > Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish pronunciation: \[ˈalβaɾ ˈnuɲeθ kaˈβeθa ðe ˈβaka\] ⓘ; c. 1488/90/92 – after 19 May 1559) was a Spanish explorer of the New World, and one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition. During eight years of traveling across what is now the US Southwest, he bec In... or Coronado’s: > **[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_V%C3%A1squez_de_Coronado)** > > Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish pronunciation: \[fɾanˈθisko ˈβaθkeθ ðe koɾoˈnaðo\]; 1510 – 22 September 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542. V... These guys remain little more than mentions in our history books, and we’re mever really told what they really did or why, and what really happened. Be interesting to se it dramatized. ---
**Author:** ![tirial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@tirial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tirial)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/54 "2008-06-17T15:56:24Z")
[Thomas Cochrane](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cochrane) - the inspiration for Hornblower among others, he had a more than interesting life (became an admiral, alledgely bribed his way to a parlimentary seat, and was caught up in the stock exchange fraud, among other events). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/55 "2008-06-17T16:16:05Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] A biopic of Nikola Tesla, but not by Tim Burton, Ron Howard or Terry Gilliam. [/QUOTE] I was going to say Tesla, but I thought it had already been done. If not, then definite second. And Marconi. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/56 "2008-06-17T16:37:58Z")
Susan MacDougall ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/57 "2008-06-17T18:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] One of my personal favorite historical characters – **Sir Richard Francis Burton**. There’s a lot that **Mountains of the Moon** didn’t even touch. [/QUOTE] There was a miniseries about Burton and Speke, titled _Search for the Nile_. It was quite a while ago, but you could search IMDB for it. It was the first time I’d heard of the duo. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/58 "2008-06-17T18:19:28Z")
[QUOTE=RachelChristine] Oh wow, that would be awesome!! Just yesterday I was thinking that I haven’t read any Bristow in a couple of years and was trying to decide which one to read. _Calico Palace_ is probably my second favorite, as I LOVE _Celia Garth_, but you are right that _Palace_ would be just a great movie. There was a movie of _Jubilee Trail_, but I haven’t seen it since I was a little girl. [/QUOTE] See, right here is why this is a great message board. I have _never_, and I read my first Gwen Bristow book (_Jubilee Trail_, it was) in 1975, met another person who’s read one. They would all make awesome movies or miniseries, if done right (I have heard that the movie of _Jubilee Trail_ wasn’t). _Jubilee Trail_ is probably my favorite, BTW – although they are all wonderful. But I think _Calico Palace_ would lend itself best to the miniseries form. She’s too old for the part now, but my first thought on seeing _Unforgiven_ was that Frances Fisher would have made an awesome Marnie. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/59 "2008-06-17T19:10:13Z")
> [@](#): > > There was a miniseries about Burton and Speke, titled Search for the Nile. It was quite a while ago, but you could search IMDB for it. It was the first time I’d heard of the duo. But that’s what **Mountains of the Moon** was about. I want something about the REST of Burton’s life, most of which had nothing to do with Spejke – his time in India, his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, his trip to Salt Lake City, his government postings, and his founding the Kama Shastra Society and translating the Arabian Nights. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088/60 "2008-06-17T20:50:32Z")
I remember that miniseries: it opened with Burton rampaging his carriage through the gardens at Oxford while everyone runs in terror, and ended with his snotty Catholic wife burning all his papers (something that would have been out of character for Fiona Shaw in The Mountains of the Moon, so they omitted it) But both omitted a lot more, incuding how Burton had no choice but to kill his Arab guide to Mecca when he forgot to squat to pee like an Arab and gave himself away, or his exploration of homosexual brothels in India (since some Dopers will recognize where I got those anecdotes, might as well suggest a miniseries based on Amy & Irving Wallaces 'Book of Lists" and “Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-historical-book-person-topic-would-you-like-to-see-hbo-do-as-a-miniseries/453088.md?page=4)