Historical Fictionistas discussion

Hi everyone.

Could you recommend a good HF based on a true crime story? Preferably set in the 19th century but could be any period.

TIA.

Quiet Dell .

Mayhem

Sinful Folk

Dear Laura by Jean Stubbs.

Lady Darlington: a Novel by Fred Mustard Stewart.

All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field

I'm not sure if the first 2 are based on a real crime story.

Thanks for all the recommendations. All look great but I'll have to look into some of them to make sure that they're based on true events.

"The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" by Kate Summerscale. This is based on a true crime, but I'm not actually sure if it is fiction, although it reads like fiction.

The same applies to "Mr. Brigg's Hat" by Kate Colquhoun.

Sorry Zuzana, but I'm not sure if either of the above are fiction. But some that definitely are include: -

"An Officer and a Spy" by Robert Harris, based on the Dreyfus case in France.

"Prague Fatale" by Philip Kerr, based around the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

"The Corpse Reader" by Antonio Garrido. Set in Sung Dynasty China (I think) and supposedly based on real events.

"The Eye of the Red Tsar" by Sam Eastland is fiction surrounding the murder of the last Tsar of Russia and his family.

"The Bloody Meadow" by William Ryan is supposed to be based around a film with a similar name made in 1930s Ukraine. I thought this was a damn good read anyway, and gave it 5 stars on Amazon.

I hope they fit your needs.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

I enjoyed 31 Bond Street and am looking forward to The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress.

Alias Grace (the event is also mentioned in Sisters in the Wilderness)

The Poe Shadow (I hesitate mentioning this one; I found it boring)

Idk if anyone said this but:

Death in the City of Lights by David King

It's about a serial killer in nazi occupied Paris. It's great!

Joseph wrote: "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson"

An excellent book. My f2f book club enjoyed it.

I just recently finished An Officer and a Spy and recommended it to a friend. We both thought it was good.

Phillip Margolin's Worthy Brown's Daughter is based on a true law case from 1850s Oregon. He spent years as a criminal defense lawyer before hitting the New York Times bestseller list, so the legal stuff is really sound. But the history is good, too.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. I blow hot & cold on Atwood; love some of her books hate others. Really liked this one.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The audio is simply incredible....such a senseless quadruple homicide in a sleepy town in Kansas, a true crime novel.

In ColdBlood is a great read

Kathryn wrote: "Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. I blow hot & cold on Atwood; love some of her books hate others. Really liked this one."

Atwood is an author I always buy. I agree some are better than others. I still want all her books. I love the way she uses words

Purgatory by Rosetta Allen. Beautifully written, set around 1860ish in New Zealand. Tells the fictionalised true story of a murdered family. A fabulous read.

I want to read Alias Grace too. Burial Rites was about what happened after a crime and might interest you.

Loved Larson 'The Devil in White City'. Draws you into the atmosphere of the time, place and crime. One of those books that leads you off on tangents of google searches researching random historical info. I constantly highlighted some fact within every chapter to research after for pure interest.

Ann Rule who wrote many non-fiction crime books died today at the age of 83.

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Ann Rule who wrote many non-fiction crime books died today at the age of 83."

Heartbreaking. I have read many of her books and really enjoyed. I did not know that she was that old. Was she a GR author? RIP Ann Rule. You will be greatly missed.

Tania wrote: "I want to read Alias Grace too. Burial Rites was about what happened after a crime and might interest you." I liked Also Kristin Lavransdatter. This work formed the basis of Undset receiving the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded to her "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages". Her work is much admired for its historical and ethnological accuracy.