History: Actual, Fictional and Legendary discussion

Looks like I won't be reading a Civil War book! :-) Any good suggestions for my first book on The Napoleonic Wars. I honestly can't remember ever reading one. I like either fiction or non-fiction.

Martha wrote: "Looks like I won't be reading a Civil War book! :-) Any good suggestions for my first book on The Napoleonic Wars. I honestly can't remember ever reading one. I like either fiction or non-fiction."

They are addictive but the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian or the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell would be a good place to start. There's always War and Peace if you have 8 hours a day to read.

I'm sure some of our members have suggestions. If you go to "Find Books" then to "History" under genre and finally type in "Napoleon" in the "shelf" blank you will find thousands of books about the Napoleonic wars.

Good luck.

Thanks, Ed!

I highly recommend Sandra Gulland's Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe. OK, it is not about the WARS exactly, but about Napolean and Josephine. It is the first of a trilogy, and I left a review on the groups's thread of member reviews for the entire trilogy. They should be read together.

Thanks, Chrissie. I'll check them out. At this point I haven't found anything that I'm in the mood to read. That's not always a good indicator of what I should be reading ... I don't know. It's early ... I have to go in to work early today & need some coffee!

Martha, I rarely read a book with a group. When I pick a book it has to be one I simply "feel for", right at that moment! That rarely coincides with a scheduled group read. Neither do I understand challenges. I don't need that motivation to try different books. But I do like following the discussions. Often after following a group discussion I will then go out and buy the book and read it myself. Since I write my thoughts as I read the book, often people will start discussing the book with me. That is always fun! I hope your coffee wakes you up...... Here it 3PM and I have to take Oscar, the curly coated retriever with me on my avatar, out for a walk.

Oscar's gorgeous, Chrissie. :) Never seen a dog who looks like him.

Alex, curlies are a rare breed. I have many different dogs but now I never consider but getting anything but a curly coated retriever. They are very smart, which keeps you on your toes. they are sweet and adore swimming. I have several pictures of him on my profile. I life revolves around books, Oscar and oh yeah my husband too! Here in Belgium people go baahhh, when I pass them. They think I am walking a sheep due to the curly hair. It is not like apoodle's hair - he drops it naturally, all over the house. Nice that you like him! I do too.....

He is gorgeous, Chrissie! He looks right at home in the water!!
I think I'm going to pass on the group reads for now. I'm so busy with grandkids & Special Olympics (I'm head coach for a group of about 30 athletes) and we're doing bowling & heading into basketball next month. So I just don't need the pressure to finish a book by a certain date. I do like following the discussions & read most posts even if I don't have time to reply to all. I've certainly enjoyed being a part of some great groups on GR.

Pretty awesome that you coach for the Special Olympics, Martha. :)

Thanks, Alex. They are my extended family & I enjoy my time with them very much. Hopefully, they're helping me stay young, but I'm beginning to doubt that when I have such achey joints!! :-) I got involved with my oldest son who has been a Sp. Ol. athlete since the mid 90s. He's 35 now.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Napoleonic War setting - with fairies.

The Temeraire books, starting with His Majesty's Dragon - the Napoleonic Wars with dragons.

I've liked both of those. I think that I shall be trying a historical novel about Josephine by Sandra Gulland that I have lying around.

Susanna, I added today my review of Sandra Gulland's Bonaparte Trilogy. Excellent books. All three really should be read together as one book.

Martha wrote: "He is gorgeous, Chrissie! He looks right at home in the water!!
I think I'm going to pass on the group reads for now. I'm so busy with grandkids & Special Olympics (I'm head coach for a group of ..."

Martha, there is no need to read a book to participate in the discussion. Movies count, TV programs count, Graphic Novels count, those abridged books we cheated with by reading in college count, books read years ago count. My point is that I deliberately set this group up the way I did because I, too, did not like to have to read a book on demand.

So don't push yourself, follow the discussion and when you feel like adding something, even if it's not directly related, do it.

Thanks, Ed. I do like this group very much & have a couple of books on the period in mind. Will request from the library when I've read the ones I already have from there.

Woohoo, Napoleonic Wars! *super excited*

Ha...you're awesome, Silvana.

Which doesn't change the fact that Man U sucks. Go Liverpool!

lol. gerrard and the lads should step it up if they want to win the league. good luck with the cham..i mean europa league :)

back to topic now. i just realised that jonathan strange n mrs norrel has napoleonic wars as background. i wonder if i could finish that pillow book in a week or two. hmm

Ouch.

Silvana wrote: "lol. gerrard and the lads should step it up if they want to win the league. good luck with the cham..i mean europa league :)

back to topic now. i just realised that jonathan strange n mrs norrel..."

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell took me a few weeks, if I'm remembering right. I really enjoyed it, though.

Susanna, so it really does work to learn about the Napoleanic Wars all blended and stirred up with fairies? I was kind of stumped when I read the book description. Could you explain a little bit. I like magical realism but I cannot say I have much experience with total fantasy.....

i have the same question as chrissie there. wondering if the history portion is significant enuf.

That is a book I find hard to describe, sorry. I do recall that one of the magicians, Jonathan Strange, is "embedded" with the Duke of Wellington.

Susanna, let me ask you this: do you really learn about the Napoleonic Wars from reading JS&MN?!

It strikes me as very nearly as much "on the theme" as the Temeraire books, which have been suggested by several. Both take place in Alternate Englands going through Napoleonic settings.

It was, at any rate, just an idea.

Susanna wrote: "It strikes me as very nearly as much "on the theme" as the Temeraire books, which have been suggested by several. Both take place in Alternate Englands going through Napoleonic settings.

It was, at any rate, just an idea."

Ideas are good. The more variety we generate, the more participation we may get.

Thank you Susanna.

Nominations for our next topic are about to close. Get your choices in ASAP.

I was interested in Mexican Wars for Independence and or anything about General MacArthur.

has the theme been decided yet?

Silvana wrote: "has the theme been decided yet?"

Going to do a poll, today.

Hi All

I've looking for a simple, brief summary of the whole of English history. Can anyone suggest anything reasonably easily obtainable?

Thanks, All.

The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain is one recommended by my history professors.

Thanks, Susanna. Sounds good. I'll look for it.

Mario, brave man, try "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples"; a four-volume history covering the period from Caesar's invasions of Britain (55 BC) to the beginning of the First World War (1914)by Winston Churchill - not just a war leader, an outstanding writer.
Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I know of Churchill's history and his writing (and speaking) skills, but at this stage I just want a kind of brief overview. I have patches of knowledge of English history, but I want to connect them. Keep well.

Yeah, it sounded to me like you wanted a one-volume one; so that's what I suggested.

Hey, I already got my Alison Weir's book The Life of Elizabeth I, when can we start discussing the Tudors? :D

Yuhuu, Ed?