Historical Fictionistas discussion

Has anyone read Tara Conklin's The House Girl? It came out last year and looks really interesting (it's also a dual-time story, Jennifer, at least as I understand from the blurb).

Others on my wish list set in the US—although I have yet to read them, so can't really recommend them—are The Age of Desire, about Edith Wharton; Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker; and Queen of America, the second part of a story that begins in Mexico but here moves to the US Southwest and, I think, is about the author's own grandmother. These all came out in the last year or two.

Haven't read The House Girl but it was definitely on my radar--and reading up on it now re-piqued my interest. Thanks for the rec! Also love anything that has to do with Edith Wharton! Thanks C.P. :)

I just finished The Doctor's Daughter, set in Tennessee just at the start of the Civil War. I really enjoyed it; here's my review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

And here's an excerpt from that review:

Despite the many serious subjects – murder, revenge, love, hate, Civil War, justice, slavery – this book is a lot of fun. First, Belle Blackburn has a real sense of humor when it comes to her choice of language and phrases. There’s also rich detail in how people lived – they best way to kill a hog for example – but told in such a way that you’re laughing.

It was an enjoyable and compelling read.

C.P. wrote: "Has anyone read Tara Conklin's The House Girl? It came out last year and looks really interesting (it's also a dual-time story, Jennifer, at least as I understand from the blurb).

Others on my wis..."

I really liked The House Girl. It is a unique way of looking at slavery and how cultural things can be used by big business to make money.

Linda B.

There is also Doc, about Doc Holliday, of Wyatt Earp (and Star Trek) fame. I haven't read more than the sample of this one, but the same author's The Sparrow is stunning and thought-provoking, so I have every hope that she has nailed it here, too.

There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads.

Eileen wrote: "There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads."

How is that so? She is not listed as a GR author. Do you know if she has a regular profile?

Thanks for all these recommendations! My TBR list is growing and I'm so excited. Most of my historical fiction so far has been England-based (mostly Tudor era) so I'm excited to expand to other countries and time periods.

Jackie wrote: "Eileen wrote: "There's also by Kathleen Grissom. I enjoyed it and I understand that a lot of its popularity grew from the author's activities on Goodreads."

..."

There was a big article in, I think, the Wall Street Journal, about how she promoted the book with book clubs and giveaways on Goodreads. It was last year sometime. Until I read it, I had never heard of Goodreads before. Now look at me!

Eileen, that's pretty awesome. I actually found out about GR the same way- through an article in my local newpaper. :)

I googled the article you mentioned...I think it's this one- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000... Didn't see GR mentioned, but I have to admire her dedication to promoting her book!

I listened to the audio of The Kitchen House last year and highly recommend it.

Jackie wrote: "Eileen, that's pretty awesome. I actually found out about GR the same way- through an article in my local newpaper. :)

I googled the article you mentioned...I think it's this one- http://online.ws..."

Maybe it was somewhere else then. I'm sure it was in conjunction with the book, and I did see the WSJ article, but there were other columns, given how successful she was with a debut novel.

"March," by Geraldine Brooks. This was another great one by Ms. Brooks. This Pulititzer Prize-winning novel of the Civil War imagines the experiences of the character Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," when he goes off to war as a chaplain for the Union troops. March struggles to live up to the man he thinks he should be.
Despite having loved all of the author's other novels, I had resisted reading this one, having never read "Little Women" and so feeing that I would be missing some important previous knowledge. I soon found that one needn't have read Alcott's book to fall under the spell of this well-researched and beautifully written masterpiece.

@M, I've really enjoyed Geraldine Brooks too, and I had never heard of March before! Sounds like a great premise, and I've never read anything from his perspective before.