The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion

I've recently started to wonder why I am steadfastly ignoring a whole genre of books--historical fiction. I read several YA HF books when I was a teen and enjoyed them, but have not been inclined to read any as an adult. I think my blinders have to do with the fact that I somehow would simply rather read a book from the time period than one written today ABOUT the time period (sometimes modern authors seem so impressed with their research it can't help but spill into the writing; whereas it's much more fun to simply be immursed in the world, like in reading classics from the 1700s and 1800s). I know this is probably utterly unfair and I'm ignoring some fabulous books, so let me know if you have any to recommend. I prefer character-driven stories and I don't want to read about really depressing chaptes of history for my "pleasure reading" so don't recommend anything dealing with plagues or details of war and such. Thanks! :-)

I'm a huge fan of historical fiction. One of my high school teachers thought the best way to learn history was to read good historical fiction. It puts life and breath into those names and dates. While technically not a historical novel, The Joy Luck Club gave me insight into Chinese history, especially during WW11. There's a wonderful series of books (the Outlander books) by Diana Gabaldon, that combine history, fantasy and romance. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett recreates life in Medieval Britain. Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy creates an historically plausible look at Arthurian legend. I also recommend The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, a murder mystery set in an Italian Monastery. For American history, you can't beat Gore Vidal's historical fiction.

Well, Irving Stone and James Michener can give Vidal a good run for his money in the genre and I've read many of both of these two so can vouch for them firsthand while I never really got into Vidal.

I am also a huge fan of this genre. It can make a really great "escape read." But I completely understand what you mean about authors that include too much research, it can really take away from the story. Here are some of my Historical Fiction Favorites:


Girl with a Pearl Earring
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Red Tent
Gone with the Wind
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

Yes, Memoirs of a Geisha is such a great book!
I really really loved the story. It was also made into a movie.. That's pretty good as well : ) (The book is better, needless to say)
I guess it is a good "start" read to get into historical fiction : )

I second the Red Tent. I have a bachelor's in History and I took a few classes on that time period. I agree that some books can be over researched, or the author tries to include too much research, but that book was perfectly done. The author was super educated and highly creative.

Any of the books by Margaret George are amazing, Loving Frank,Cane River(but not the sequel),Anya Seton wrote some wonderful historical fiction and Cold Mountain is one of my favorite books ever.

Oh, how could I forget Margaret George? Definitely hers are great reading -- and though large are very quick reads.

The Birth of Venus: A Novel is one I liked. Also Year of Wonders. I second The Red Tent, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The latter led to lots of web research for me.

I love Peter berling's books about Children of the Graal and Lian Hearn's Otori saga.

Thank you all so much for the recommendations! Any others, keep 'em comin'! :-) Dottie got me thinking about this topic when she recommended a few books to me for Japanese culture and the list keeps growing, yay! (BTW, I have seen "Memoirs of a Geisha" and thought it was a beautifully filmed movie and the music was stunning!)

Has anyone read Margaret George's CLEOPATRA? I'm interested in that era and haven't read much about it--but the length of the novel is SO daunting!

I liked The Tale of Murasaki/i> by Liza Dalby

Thanks, Anna! That is one of the few that I'd actually heard of and considered. Glad to know it has your endorsement!

Kathryn, I have Cleopatra here in a box of books somewhere waiting to be read but I absolutely LOVED George's book Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles and it is the very close to the equal in heft of The Memoirs of Cleopatra. Long but very quickly read because it is just so well done and full of insights into the times.

Has anyone read Julian Barnes and specifically his "Arthur and George" about Conan Doyle? Sounds good, but I've not read any of his work yet.

(Thanks, Dottie, for your message 15 re: George's books!)

I have Barnes's book Something to Declare: Essays on France on the shelf waiting and know of a few who read and liked Flaubert's Parrot well enough but that's not much help -- Arthur and George grabbed my interest as I love, love, love Sherlock Holmes.

And I heartily second Year of Wonders -- absolutely fantastic reading.

I'd like to suggest Herman Wouk. His is more recent history. "The Winds of War" and "War and Rememberance" are two of my favorite books

Excellent addition, Eliza. His books have been on my TBR list for far too long without my having done something about actually reading them.

Hi Kathryn:

Thank you so much for posting on this topic because I have just recently become interested in historical fiction and thought that I would recommend a few books that I discovered:

1. All This And Heaven Too by Rachel Field - Please also do yourself the big favour of watching the classic film with Bette Davis of the same title. You will not be sorry.

2. The Cloister and the Hearth - Charles Reade

3. Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen

4. The Bridge on the Drina - Ivo Andric - Nobel Prize Winning that has to get your attention.

Happy Reading!!!

Wait, sorry, there is one more - The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte he mentions something like 100 titles in this novel because the main character is a book detective. How inspiring is that.

Loved The Club Dumas!

Hi
Does anyone already mentioned Judith Merkle Riley?
Her Magareth of Ashbury Trilogy is amazing. A woman who takes her life in her own hands in a time when men ruled the world! It's not only happy but she fights to get what she deserves...You have to read the books yourself to know if there's a happy end ;)!

I really enjoyed Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette. Cold Mountain was good, but a little slow if I remember correctly. Aztec just about killed me. And I couldn't make myself finish The Other Boleyn Girl. My point is, it just depends on the author and your interests!

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thanks again. I have over 100 books on my to-read list already and am sure I'll be adding a few more based on your recommendations! :-)

I was going to be appalled that no one mentioned Wouk's War and Remembrance & The Winds of War, but praise be, Eliza chimed in!

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell is quite good. Pretty much if you want something from the WW2 era, I'll be able to recommend it. There is one on Dietrich Bonnhoffer's resistance to Hitler that is truly amazing and completely true - The Cup of Wrath by Mary Glazener.

There are others, even non-WW2 ones, but those are the first that come to mind. This is a favorite genre for me!!

i be open to any historical fiction...in the past when i have read them i have enjoyed them.
The only thing that gets me or was my ex who would point it out to me....was if the history was wrong. But the authors you mentioned i believe are very creditable.
I just enjoy since it is when my parents grew up so seems very real to me. Or fun asking them questions about it.

If chosen correctly- historical fiction can be tons of fun. Their lives back then were very juicy (ever seen The Tudors on HBO?) My recommendation is anything by Phillipa Gregory. I am currently reading The Other Queen (about Mary Queen of Scots) and it is awesome.
A couple non-Phillipa Gregory's are The Widow of the South and The Seamstress Both are fabulous. Oh, and Abundance...there are so many!

Dottie, I've owned Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles for ages, and was recently thinking of ditching it (because there is so much I want to read more and I'd never heard anything about it). Then I saw your comment here. Make me want to get to it, as I trust your tastes! So thanks!

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles
is a good one. It's the first of Margaret George that I read and I enjoyed it so much I went out and got all of her others. I'd also recommend Edward Rutherford I really enjoyed both London andThe Forest. He explores the history of a place throught it's history so his books read a little like a collection of short stories.

I absolutely loved girl with the pearl earring, I read the book after seeing the movie. Thought it was amazing since all the author had to go one was a limited biography on Johannes Vermeer and a painting.

But here are some other favorites of mine:
Zorroby Isabel Allende
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi: A Novel by Arthur Japin (Dutch author, the book is about a Ghanese prince who is sent to the Netherlands by his father the king together with his nephew to learn about the Dutch, story is set in the nineteenth century)
Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan (just loved the movie and thought it was an amazing sad story)
And I like Umberto Eco's books as well, but thought The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose was a bit of a slow read at first.

Hi, I am new here I just wanted to say that Memoirs of Cleopatra is a great book.You can really see that the writer is so inte Cleopatra.It's s must read and the size well it's so well written that you want even notice

I've been putting off posting on this thread because I haven't read any historical fiction in ages! (I need to though!)
I have found memoirs/travel memoirs to be interesting and entertaining while still insightful to an era and time period-they aren't fiction, but often read like it. Some of my favorites: Summer at Tiffany (1940's. College-age girl's summer working for the dept. store)
Our Hearts Were Young And Gay: An Unforgettable Comic Chronicle of Innocents Abroad in the 1920s (college-age - again - friends trip "abroad").

I love historical fiction, though I have trouble finding really good books. I'll have to look into some of the recommendations in this thread!

It doesn't help much that my current historical obsession is with the Empress Elisabeth of Austria and other late 19th century Habsburgs, and there aren't that many good historical novels written on the subject in languages other than German (which I don't read very well yet, though I'm learning). Although one could argue that in their case many of the so-called non-fiction are pretty much historical fiction... ;) Well, I guess that goes for a lot of topics.

Earlier I was hugely into the French Revolution, and I really loved Tanith Lee's The Gods Are Thirsty: A Novel of the French Revolution. It's about the Revolution from Camille Desmoulin's point of view. Hmm, I'm trying to think of what other historical novels I've loved, but for some reason I can't think of many... I can never remember things like this when I actually try to give other people recommendations!

There are some old classics that are also historical novels. I haven't yet read enough of Alexandre Dumas père, but I loved The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. Well, The Count of Monte Cristo mostly takes place only about 10-15 years before the time of its writing, but the plot is based on events that have their roots in 1815 (although I realise many of you probably have read it, as it was one of the books of the month not long ago - a pity I wasn't a member yet, I would have loved to join the discussions as I also read the book recently and adored it). Victor Hugo also wrote some historical novels, the most famous of them being Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Hugo tends to ramble quite a bit, but I enjoyed his books some years ago.

Oh, and I have something of a thing for historical fantasy, which mixes history and AU/fantasy. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is a good example, it takes place in an early 19th century England in which magic exists. Another I've loved is Greg Keyes's "Age of Unreason" series, starting from Newton's Cannon. It takes place in the early 1700s, in a world where science is mixed with a kind of an alchemy/magic and there are angels plotting for the destruction of humankind. The heroes are a young Benjamin Franklin, a Frenchwoman named Adrienne de Montchevreuil, and a Choctaw Indian called Red Shoes, and there are appearances by historical figures such as Voltaire, Charles XII, Peter the Great, Newton, and Louis XIV, among others. It's really excitingly written and fun, even if by the third book I was getting really annoyed with Keyes's tendency to finish every chapter with a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are great, but it gets boring if you use them all the time.

Katri, have you read any of the The Scarlet Pimpernel books? They are set during part of the French Revolution. I believe there's several books in the series. But, I've only read three, though I think the other books start to focus on other main characters. They books are a tad over-dramatic, and the focus is more on the mysteries and escape plans than historical fiction, but I do like the books. I LOVE the play!!! I read the following in this order:
Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
The Elusive Pimpernel
El Dorado: Further Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
(I'm not promising that's the correct order, but it seemed to all fit when I read it, so...).

Also, the historical fantasy got me thinking that for more of a YA/children's book idea I think the Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space books are fantastic! True, very little is actually devoted to any history, but you do get glimpses of English society for that era.

Also, The Invention of Hugo Cabret had some interesting history in it, especially for the silent movies.

Yes, I've read the first Scarlet Pimpernel book. It was a lot of fun. But the later ones have been harder to find here in Finland, so at some point I gave up looking for them. I love the musical, and at some point there was a TV miniseries which I watched.

I am new to this group and have enjoyed all the recommendations above. I wholeheartedly second the praise of Margaret George. I have read both Mary Queen of Scots and
Mary, Called Magdalene. (One caution for the Magdalene book. A lot of it is more fiction than historic - there being a dearth of information to call on - but it is a great read.)

I have also enjoyed all of Phillipa Gregory's books.

I also recommend Sena Jeter Naslund's Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer: A Novel. This is one of my all-time favorite books.

Two others that come to mind:

The Dante Club: A Novel
The Painted Kiss: A Novel

One more:
The Book of Salt: A Novel

I have to disagree about Year of Wonders. Not my favorite. However.... Birth of Venus... yes!

Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund is fantastic (it is about Marie Antoinette).

Has anyone read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova? I had to stop after 100pages and I'm really quite sad about that because I had been looking forward to reading it for ages.

Amira -- The Historian is on my TBR mountain and it will be a long while before I get to it, I'm sure. If you are like me you may find that though it disappointed you at the moment, it will be an easy, enjoyable read at a later time.

Christina -- the ending of Year of Wonders seems to be a sticking point for some and yet my own response to it overall was that the book was a very interesting reading experience.

Katri,
I hadn't heard of the mini-series! Was it good? I love the musical, too! And I've seen a few of the movie versions. I like the one with Anthony Andrews and (oh! I didn't realize this): Ian McKellen! Okay, now I have to watch again ;>

Kathryn, a few others that came to mind:
The The Little House Collection by Laura Ingalls Wilder are great!!
Also, for a play (to read or see) I can't recommend 1776 enough! Totally brilliant!!! The musical with Williams Daniels is so great! Yes, the filming is a little out-dated, and not everyone can sing, but the concepts are amazing. And some of the lines/passages are just incredible!! So beautiful and meaningful. And the history is pretty good too. A few "liberties" (pardon the pun ;>) were taken, but all-in-all it's a great way to learn about the Declaration and America's Founding Fathers.

Dottie: "TBR mountain" lol! That's perfect! I must call my "shelf" a mountain from now on!!! :D

It's been so many years since I saw the miniseries (it had Richard E. Grant as Percy) that I don't remember well, but I think I liked it. I've only seen some really old movie version. This discussion reminds me that I should go back to those stories, they were fun. :)

1776! An American was once devious enough to send me a copy of the cast recording, and it was so much fun that I and my musical-obsessing friend eventually got around to getting the DVD and the play as well. We were so obsessed with it for a while, it was so adorable and fun, and then we of course got around to reading more about those times as well. :)

I read The Historian a few years ago, and I really liked it. The ending was a bit too rushed and so it wasn't quite satisfying, but I really enjoyed most of the story.

I read The Historian last year and really enjoyed it and I'm not usually a fan of vampire stories. I agree with Katri that the ending was a little rushed but overall I really liked it.

I LOVE "1776"!!!

Wow, this topic has grown beyond my wildest expectations. I'm grateful for all the continuing comments and it sounds like others are benefitting from the thread, so I'm glad I'm not the only one! :-)

Good news! I guess I'll go back to it at a later date!

Ditto Katri. I saw another old Pimpernel movie ages ago, but can't remember what I thought of it! lol!! But, I'll have to look into the miniseries - especially this winter when tv goes on break;>
I'm glad there's some other "1776" fans out there!:D It is unique, so I doubt everyone would love it, but I try to watch it every July 4th and am always impressed.

Hm... I don't really know anything about "The Historian" but sounds like I must look into it!:D

I am currently reading Gone With The Wind, and it is amazing! It's over a 1000 pages, but it is easy to read. It will become one of my favorites when I finish.

As for The Historian, I really liked it until the last 50 pages or so. It had a lot of potential, and then just fizzled out.

Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer: A Novel was a great book, as someone else mentioned.

I really like historical fiction, but I don't limit myself to it. And I can think of a couple that I did not like at all. It's nice to trade off--read a book about contempory times, then a classic...