2022 ~ Your Historical Fiction Adventures

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2022 ~ Your Historical Fiction Adventures

1rocketjk
Jan 10, 2022, 12:04 pm

Guess I’ll kick off the New Year, here!

I finished Satan in Goray Isaac Bashevis Singer’s first novel, originally published in Poland (in Yiddish) in serial form in 1933, and then in novel form in 1935. The novel wasn’t published in English until 1955. Satan in Goray is an historical novel, taking place in 17th Century Poland, and based on two historical facts. One is the uprising of Cossack armies in 1648. They were revolting against Polish rule, but they found their easiest targets among the Jewish towns across the country, and the result was a series of furious attacks and massacres. The other is the rise several years later of Sabbatai Zevi, a charismatic figure who claimed to be the Messiah that Jews had been waiting and praying for since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews were to be finally redeemed, their suffering on Earth at an end! Zevi gathered a huge following of Jews desperate to believe in the end of their travails.

And so we come to Goray, “the town that lay in the midst of the hills at the end of the world,” and practically obliterated by the pogroms. The action of the story begins 20 years later. The scattered survivors of the town have gradually drifted back to their homes. The town’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Benish Ashkenazi, it’s attempting to restore a sense of normalcy through the age old religious teachings of the Torah that have been followed for centuries. But first one and then another messenger arrive in the town heralding the rise of the new Messiah. Soon, the agony of the Jews will be over. Why follow old laws and old rules of morality? And so the battle is on. It’s a fascinating novel about a tragic, horrifying time and place, but it also tells a deeper tale of good vs. evil, old ways vs. new, and human folly.

2tealadytoo
Jan 10, 2022, 2:41 pm

>1 rocketjk: Happy New Year!

I just finished The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat, in audiobook format, read by the excellent Simon Vance.

I was quite riveting, and to a non-sailor like myself, at least, it felt authentic.

3MissWatson
Jan 11, 2022, 4:57 am

I have just finished Sea of poppies set in 1838 and there's so much going on that I will need to start the next book soon. Love the linguistic richness of the British Raj era.

>1 rocketjk: Taking a note of that. Is that the Chmelnicki revolt? I (vaguely) remember reading about that in one of Sienkiewicz' fat books...

4annamorphic
Jan 11, 2022, 9:35 am

I just finished Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, set during the 30-years' war. Compared to some, Kehlmann is less concerned with exact historical accuracy and more with atmosphere and characters, but he's really good at those. The characters I knew to be real historical people were entertaining as characters but not completely believable historically. I refuse to believe, for instance, that James I called his daughter Elizabeth "Liz"!

5rocketjk
Jan 11, 2022, 2:28 pm

>3 MissWatson: "Is that the Chmelnicki revolt?"

Yes, that's the event.

6MissWatson
Jan 12, 2022, 3:51 am

>5 rocketjk: Thanks!

7Cariola
Modifié : Jan 13, 2022, 10:49 pm

Last week I finished The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian. It had been many years since I read anything by him, and obviously my tastes have changed. There were some interesting bits, but mostly I thought it dragged, that many characters were clichés, and that he went overboard trying to appeal to modern-day feminists.

8Lightfantastic
Jan 13, 2022, 7:06 am

>7 Cariola: I agree! I was listening to it and gave up. Mainly just found it boring.

9Lightfantastic
Jan 13, 2022, 7:12 am

Recently finished All For Nothing by Walter Kempowski, about an upper class German family at the end of WW2. Excellent story about an under-reported topic.

10al.vick
Jan 13, 2022, 8:10 am

>7 Cariola: Your touchstone goes to an Anne Rice book, here is the right one: The Hour of the Witch

11rocketjk
Jan 13, 2022, 12:16 pm

>9 Lightfantastic: I'm glad you liked All for Nothing. I thought it was very powerful.

12Cariola
Jan 13, 2022, 10:49 pm

>8 Lightfantastic: What really bothered (aside from what I wrote above) me was the horrendous cruelty. Yes, there were witch trials in New England, and there were strict rules of behavior. But historically, Puritans were not misogynistic spouse abusers whose physical brutality was condoned by everyone--even the magistrates--who believed the men's absurd cover-up lies. I wondered for a time if Bohjalian was trying to make a comparison to the current acceptance of lies in the American political arena and the radicalism of the evangelicals. But nah, it was just a bad book.

13Cariola
Jan 13, 2022, 10:50 pm

>10 al.vick: Thanks--I caught that in several other places but must have missed it heree.

14Lightfantastic
Jan 15, 2022, 2:46 pm

I agree, the misogyny didn’t seem to be organic, but was put in to make a point. I don’t like being preached to in novels.

15Molly3028
Jan 16, 2022, 9:15 am

Woman in the White Kimono
by Ana Johns
(audiobook/Japanese culture and pearls of wisdom)

16Lightfantastic
Jan 18, 2022, 10:52 am

Any recommendations on ww1 novels? I’ve read the Regeneration trilogy, and have been breezing through the Charles Todd / Ian Rutledge books.

17tealadytoo
Modifié : Jan 19, 2022, 8:59 am

>16 Lightfantastic:

Well, there's Todd's Bess Crawford series, which is actually set during WWI, rather than the aftermath. Bess is a British nurse. Although I like the Rutledge series, I actually prefer the Crawford series a bit.

I just finished Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters, which is a novel based on the WWI Smith College Relief Unit. That was very good, and an episode in WWI history that I was unaware of.

Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth is excellent, but more a memoir than a novel.

18Lightfantastic
Jan 18, 2022, 11:34 am

I loved Band of Sisters. Have a connection to Smith, so it got me to do more research on that program.

19Lightfantastic
Jan 18, 2022, 11:51 am

Did you know Charles Todd is actually a mother and son?

20Molly3028
Jan 19, 2022, 8:38 am

>16 Lightfantastic:

Maisie Dobbs series written by Jacqueline Winspear

21tealadytoo
Jan 19, 2022, 8:55 am

>19 Lightfantastic: Yes, I did. I think it allows them to have both a male and a female series lead and neither feels artificial.

22Cariola
Jan 21, 2022, 10:40 pm

>16 Lightfantastic: Have you read Pat Barker's other WWI trilogy? Life Class, Toby's Room, and Noonday, the last of which takes place in WWII but with many continuing characters from the first two books.

Another World by Pat Barker

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

The Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields

A Month in the Country by J. L.. Carr

The Lie by Helen Dunmore

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason

23nrmay
Jan 22, 2022, 12:27 pm

Right now I'm enjoying Secrets of a Charmed Life, by Susan Meissner. WWII Britain.
3/4 of the way through.

24tealadytoo
Modifié : Jan 22, 2022, 1:51 pm

Just finished The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr . There's a lot that is interesting about it, but the voice doesn't feel authentic for an 18th century woman who was enslaved for a great portion of her life. I think it would have been more convincing written in the 3rd person rather than the first.

25princessgarnet
Modifié : Jan 25, 2022, 9:58 pm

>16 Lightfantastic:, Check out this thread for WWI titles:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/311355#n7562272
I read and recommend The Road Back by Erich Maria Remarque, translated by Arthur Wesley Wheen. It's the sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front.

26Molly3028
Modifié : Jan 26, 2022, 11:53 am

enjoying this audiobook via hoopla ~

The Second Mrs. Astor
by Shana Abe

27laceyvail
Jan 29, 2022, 5:59 am

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally is an unforgettable novel about the nurses of WW I. I read it several years ago and still think about it now and then.

Just finished re-reading Margaret Irwin s trilogy about Queen Elizabeth--Young Bess, Elizabeth, Captive Princess and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain Superior historical fiction.

28princessgarnet
Fév 2, 2022, 6:39 pm

>27 laceyvail:, I read and own the reissued "Good Queen Bess" trilogy. (My high school library had the older editions from back in the day) Sourcebooks Landmark released the trilogy with new covers from 2010-12 here in the US.

29Molly3028
Fév 3, 2022, 8:22 am

I am in a Gilded Age mood right now. I am enjoying the new HBO series, and I am listening to novels which feature the Gilded Age.

audiobook via hoopla ~
Deception by Gaslight: A Gilded Gotham Mystery
by Kate Belli

30princessgarnet
Fév 3, 2022, 1:03 pm

>29 Molly3028:
I read Deception by Gaslight and the sequel Betrayal on the Bowery from the library.

31rabbitprincess
Fév 3, 2022, 7:02 pm

I'm very slowly working my way through The Ringed Castle, by Dorothy Dunnett, which takes place in England, Scotland, and Russia during the eras of Mary I of England and Ivan IV of Russia.

32Cariola
Fév 4, 2022, 9:27 pm

I'm halfway through A Net for Small Fishes. This one is set in the court of King James I. It's the scandalous story of Frances Howard, Countess of Essex, and the king's favorite, Sir Robert Carr, who, along with the novel's narrator, Ann Turner, were accused of murdering Sir Thomas Overbury. More scandals involved, but I don't want to give away too much!

33Tess_W
Fév 13, 2022, 11:26 pm

I finally read The Book Thief and found it to be a superb book. The only problem I had was that the narrator, Death, gave away too many spoilers!

34rabbitprincess
Fév 14, 2022, 7:27 pm

>33 Tess_W: Hmm, I wonder if that's why I couldn't finish the book! I wanted to read it because I wanted to see the movie, and I wanted to see the movie because Roger Allam voiced Death.

35Cariola
Fév 14, 2022, 9:21 pm

I'm reading Pat Barker's Women of Troy, which is excellent.

36Molly3028
Fév 22, 2022, 7:08 am

Enjoying this audiobook via hoopla ~

It's in His Kiss (Bridgertons Book 7)
by Julia Quinn

37nx74defiant
Fév 28, 2022, 6:24 pm

Listened to The White Princess
Philippa Gregory chooses what is dramatic over historical accuracy.
If this was your source of knowlege of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York you would never guess that most historians believe they had a good marriage.

38Cariola
Modifié : Fév 28, 2022, 10:37 pm

>37 nx74defiant: Her books are formulaic and sensationalized--just godawful. I fully believe in poetic license and suspending one's disbelief, but there's a limit when an author attempts to rewrite history. Don't even bother with The Constant Princess. That's the one that made me hit the wall.

39Caramellunacy
Mar 1, 2022, 4:58 am

>38 Cariola: The Virgin's Lover was the one I threw at a wall...

40mnleona
Mar 2, 2022, 12:09 pm

I have some of Phillipa Gregory books on my shelf that I bought at thrift stores. Since I do not know a lot about English history, I will listen to >38 Cariola:. Other suggestions??

41nx74defiant
Mar 4, 2022, 5:44 pm

Philippa Gregory is very popular. But -- if you know anything about history it is annoying how ridiculously inaccurate they are. She chooses scandal over accuracy every time. She even invents it on her own.

Alison Weir has a much better reputation.

What do people here think of Anne Easter Smith?

42Unreachableshelf
Mar 4, 2022, 8:52 pm

I'm going back and forth between the 1890s, the 1950s, and just long enough ago to be prepandemic in The Lost Summers of Newport. I always enjoy Lauren Willig but this is the first of the "Team W" collaborations I'm reading.

43tealadytoo
Modifié : Mar 4, 2022, 9:55 pm

I've been in 1930's Singapore trying to solve a murder, with Ovidia Yu's The Paper Bark Tree Mystery, the third in her excellent "Crown Colony" series.

44Molly3028
Modifié : Mar 5, 2022, 9:16 am

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-18/duvall-hecht-books-on-tape-g...
Duvall Hecht, whose daily grind to L.A. led to Books on Tape, dies at 91

RIP

Thanks to this pioneer, I have been enjoying audiobooks for about twenty years. Multi-tasking is a daily joy because of audiobooks and the electronic devices which have been introduced over the years.

45rosalita
Mar 5, 2022, 1:47 pm

>44 Molly3028: Gosh, yes! I started using Books on Tape in the 1990s and it was a great, easy-to-use service with the pre-addressed, pre-paid return packaging included. It was cassettes back then, and they were roughly 45 minutes a side, perfect for walking the dog. I would time the walks so that I could listen to one side per outing. I think Odie appreciated walks that were much longer than they would have been if I hadn't had something to focus my attention on. :-)

46Molly3028
Modifié : Mar 6, 2022, 1:31 pm

>45 rosalita:

I started listening to the tapes on my Panasonic tape player after he sold the business to Random House and libraries started lending out copies to their patrons. When I am driving and listening to a CD book, I often take what I call "the scenic route" to extend the time I spend in the car.

47mnleona
Mar 7, 2022, 8:00 am

>46 Molly3028: I also take the back roads and not the freeway so I can listen to my books.

48Lightfantastic
Mar 8, 2022, 9:33 am

Sorry that I missed your post. No, I’ve not read the other Pat Barker trilogy. I’ll add it to myTBR list. I think Birdsong is next, though I’m taking an “easy” break and reading a mystery. But thanks for the new list!

49tjm568
Mar 8, 2022, 2:40 pm

I recently finished what I think is the final book of the Uhtred of Bebbanburg series by Bernard Cornwell. I am sad to see it end as I have really enjoyed those books. I have also started binging the tv series which I have also been enjoying.

50Tess_W
Mar 9, 2022, 6:10 am

I read the first two books in the series The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell about the Dane (Vikings) invasion of Wessex circa 900. Excellent!

51Cariola
Mar 9, 2022, 2:01 pm

>39 Caramellunacy: OMG, yep, that one, too. There is NO WAY that the Duke of Buckingham would have risked his position with King James by engaging in a sexual relationship with a lowly gardener. It's a shame, because I was really fascinated by the story of the Tradescants. I actually read several nonfiction books about them after this disaster.

52Cariola
Mar 9, 2022, 2:03 pm

>41 nx74defiant: Agree with you on Alison Weir, who is a historian first and only started trying her hand at fiction about 10 years ago.

Not fond of Anne Easter Ellis. Carolly Erickson isn't bad on accuracy, but I really detest her flowery style. Her book hit the wall, too.

53Cariola
Mar 9, 2022, 2:14 pm

On audiobooks: I used to listen to a lot of them during my commute, but since I retired, I listen to them less. I'm also very particular about the readers, so I always listen to samples first. I've belonged to audile.com for years. Mostly I use my credits now to send gifts to others.

I just finished a wonderful book that jumped to the top of my Best of 2021 list: The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks. The author fleshes out the story of the five-times married character from The Canterbury Tales. I think she did a great job of filling in the blanks, adding motivations and turning Alyson into much more than a simple stereotype. She comes across as a smart, resourceful and resilient woman with a good head for business who is thwarted by the misogyny of her times. Brooks also creates a circle of loyal women--servants, stepdaughter, spinners and weavers--to help convey a feminist theme that doesn't seem imposed (as so often it is). Her research is very good, and she brings in many historical events, such as the Peasants' Revolt, the preaching of John Wycliffe, the plague, etc.

55cindydavid4
Mar 18, 2022, 9:54 pm

>38 Cariola: I guess there is an audience for any author, but I expect some realistic accuracy going on in my HF. Sharon Kay Penman spoiled me I don't even pick upa Gregory book look whats it about.

57mnleona
Mar 21, 2022, 7:39 am

> I believe I have a Norah Loft. Thank you.

58cindydavid4
Modifié : Mar 21, 2022, 9:33 am

She is amazing, I loved her house bless this house trilogy, and thought her The King's Pleasure the best portrait of Catherine of Aragon I have ever read.

59cindydavid4
Mar 21, 2022, 9:38 am

Oh forgot another Elizabeth Chadwick Her early books were more romance, but even they her historical accuracy made up for it. Loved her Marshall series The Greatest Knight

60Lightfantastic
Mar 22, 2022, 8:27 am

>54 cindydavid4: They both look very interesting. My TBR list gets longer and longer. Haven’t tired of ww1 yet.

61cindydavid4
Mar 22, 2022, 9:46 am

Oh I know. My TBR list has turned into a spiral note book....embarrassment of riches here, and Im not complaining but I know I'' never get to them all!

62Lightfantastic
Mar 23, 2022, 8:02 am

Really enjoyed The First of July by Elizabeth Speller.

63gmathis
Mar 23, 2022, 9:55 am

Just started Will's War: A Novel, which is based on an actual trial for the charge of treason circa 1917 Texas.

64Molly3028
Mar 23, 2022, 12:09 pm

Enjoying this OverDrive Kindle eBook Alexa can narrate ~

Miss Eliza's English Kitchen: A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship
by Annabel Abbs

65Molly3028
Modifié : Mar 28, 2022, 9:39 am

Starting this audiobook via hoopla ~

The Letter from Briarton Park (The Houses of Yorkshire, #1)
by Sarah E. Ladd
(Regency England romance/Austen-Brontë type tales)

66princessgarnet
Modifié : Mar 26, 2022, 3:19 pm

>65 Molly3028: I borrowed and read a library copy of this novel.
I wish the heroine had gotten her father's letter sooner!

67nrmay
Mar 28, 2022, 1:42 pm

I finished The River Between Us by Richard Peck.
Novel of women in the Civil War.

68tealadytoo
Modifié : Mar 28, 2022, 8:02 pm

Reading Elizabeth Camden's A Gilded Lady which features fictional White House employees during the last days of William McKinley.

69Tess_W
Mar 30, 2022, 2:46 pm

I read Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule. This was a story of primarily Mrs. Grant and the General. There was little about Mrs. Grant's slave, Madame Jule, but it made for a good title. The book was very good and historically sound. This has prompted me to get U.S. Grant's Memoirs.

70princessgarnet
Modifié : Mar 30, 2022, 6:25 pm

>68 tealadytoo: and >69 Tess_W:
I read and own both of these novels!

The Prince of Spies finishes the Hope and Glory trilogy, focusing on Luke, the youngest Delacroix brother.

71tealadytoo
Mar 31, 2022, 6:12 am

>70 princessgarnet: I loved both the first two, particularly A Gilded Lady. Can't wait to read Prince of Spies!

72gmathis
Mar 31, 2022, 10:48 am

I'm already fascinated by Sarah's Quilt, which I understand is actually a sequel to These Is My Words, which I am now adding to my hunt-it-down-and-drag-it-home list.

73tealadytoo
Mar 31, 2022, 12:00 pm

>72 gmathis: I loved both of those. There's a third one as well, The Star Garden, but I haven't dug that one up yet.

74cindydavid4
Modifié : Mar 31, 2022, 12:46 pm

In Greece with myths from a women's POV pandoras jar finished her magnificent novel about Troy a thousand ships

75nrmay
Avr 1, 2022, 12:14 pm

Recently read Lostman's River by Cynthia DeFelice. Florida Everglades, early 1900s.

76tealadytoo
Avr 1, 2022, 2:57 pm

Reading book 4 in Ovidia Yu's Crown Colony series The Mimosa Tree Mystery. Excellent mystery series set in 1930s/40s Singapore. This episode is set after Singapore has fallen to the Japanese.

77Molly3028
Avr 2, 2022, 8:05 am

Starting April with this audio via hoopla ~

The Last Grand Duchess: A Novel of Olga Romanov, Imperial Russia, and Revolution
by Bryn Turnbull

78Tess_W
Modifié : Avr 14, 2022, 9:34 am

I have read the first 6 books in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell : The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song, The Burning Land, Death of Kings. This is a great series about the settling of Wessex by the Ango-Saxons, King Alfred's dream of a united country to be called England, and the Danish invasions. Highly recommended.

79cindydavid4
Avr 14, 2022, 9:48 am

oh thats my husbands favorite series (along with Cornwells Sharpes Adventure series I couldn't read them, a bit too much blood and gore, but I read his Arthur trilogy and loved how much history he put into the legend, Excellent writer (oh he also wrote stonehenge)

80Cariola
Avr 14, 2022, 6:32 pm

Just finished Booth by Karen Joy Fowler. Professional reviews haven't been great, but I enjoyed it (although it needed considerable editing).

81gmathis
Avr 14, 2022, 6:44 pm

I'm also enjoying a reread of La's Orchestra Saves the World which is a thoughtful, gentle take on how folks fared on the home front in WWII Sussex. Very different from Alexander McCall Smith's normal fare--not as quirky.

82GingerCrinkle
Avr 15, 2022, 11:48 am

I’m currently reading the penultimate Shardlake book, Lamentation, by CJ Sansom. Henry VIII’s reign is coming to an end and there is a power struggle brewing. I’m enjoying this more than Shardlake’s previous outing which felt a bit far fetched.

83mnleona
Modifié : Avr 16, 2022, 9:01 am

>63 gmathis: This is a good read. Also by Janice Woods Windle, True Women and Hill Country. True Women was a movie I watched years ago.
When clicked on True Women, it is showing a mini series. It is also a book.

84Molly3028
Modifié : Avr 16, 2022, 10:04 pm

Half-finished with this enjoyable hoopla audio ~

Front Page Murder (A Homefront News Mystery, #1) by Joyce St. Anthony
(WWII era/Irene is the wartime editor of her hometown newspaper/
a Nancy-Drew type character/includes interesting war news flashes)

85gmathis
Avr 16, 2022, 6:50 pm

>83 mnleona: I've got the other Janice Woods Windle titles on my hunt-em-down list.

86cindydavid4
Avr 16, 2022, 10:28 pm

been living in ancient greece, reading Natalie Hynes retakes of myths in a thousand ships and Jocasta's Children telling the stories through the eyes of the women.

87Molly3028
Modifié : Avr 30, 2022, 9:29 am

Starting this OverDrive audio ~

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post: A Novel
by Allison Pataki

(pulled the plug early on)

88gmathis
Avr 22, 2022, 1:09 pm

>73 tealadytoo: I couldn't resist ordering These Is My Words and I'm eating it up like candy!

89nrmay
Modifié : Avr 23, 2022, 2:49 pm

>73 tealadytoo:
>88 gmathis:

I'm reading that right now. Fast-paced, history, adventure, calamity, courage. Love it.

90tealadytoo
Modifié : Avr 23, 2022, 1:34 pm

>88 gmathis: >99 Molly3028:. I just picked up the third book, The Star Garden. Can't wait to read it!

91nrmay
Avr 23, 2022, 2:53 pm


>73 tealadytoo: tealadytoo:
>88 gmathis: gmathis:

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know there were 2 more of these!

92gmathis
Avr 23, 2022, 4:48 pm

>91 nrmay: Part of me wonders, "How much calamity can a body handle?" but then, it's fiction--good fiction!

93nrmay
Avr 23, 2022, 5:53 pm

>92 gmathis:

calmity and a string of catastrophes!

94Unreachableshelf
Avr 29, 2022, 6:01 pm

I'm in the 1850s at the moment in Booth.

95Molly3028
Avr 30, 2022, 9:28 am

Enjoying this hoopla audio ~

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II
by Madeline Martin

96tealadytoo
Avr 30, 2022, 11:44 am

>95 Molly3028: Oh, I just listened to that one last week. I enjoyed it very much.

97gmathis
Avr 30, 2022, 9:32 pm

>95 Molly3028: I finished the print version of The Last Bookshop in London recently. Enjoyed it!

98Cariola
Modifié : Mai 1, 2022, 3:08 pm

>94 Unreachableshelf: I quite enjoyed Booth, although professional reviews have been mixed.

I just finished The Christie Affair (meh) and started Leonora in the Morning Light .

99Molly3028
Mai 2, 2022, 8:46 am

Enjoying this OverDrive Kindle cozy Alexa is narrating for me ~

Her Royal Spyness (A Royal Spyness Mystery, #1)
by Rhys Bowen

100Tess_W
Mai 2, 2022, 8:53 am

Completed books 8 and 9 in the Saxon Stories (The Last Kingdom): The Pagan Lord and The Empty Throne. Historically speaking, this takes me through the death of King Alfred. Cornwell sure is a master of the historical fiction.

101rocketjk
Modifié : Mai 6, 2022, 2:07 pm

I just finished one of the grand masters of American historical fiction, Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a good, long, old fashioned historical novel, and Northwest Passage certainly filled this bill for me. Young Langdon Towne just growing into adulthood in 1750s Maine, wants to be an artist. He wants to go west and paint Indians. This ambition runs him afoul of his straight-laced father and, especially, of his beloved Elizabeth's father, a hell and brimstone, status seeking minister. When Towne further gains the enmity of the town's petty tyrant, he hightails it out of town with a friend with an aim to join the army, thinking it fairly safe, as the major battles of the English and their American colonists against the French and their Indian allies (i.e., the French and Indian War) seem to be mostly over. Running into the charismatic figure of Sergeant McNott in a nearby pub, however, Towne and his friend soon find themselves joining the famed Rogers Rangers, led by the larger than life Major Robert Rogers. Adventure ensues, you'll not be surprised to learn, 709 pages of adventure, to be precise, along with romance and political intrigue. Towne's superior abilities as an artist stand him in good stead throughout. This novel is a lot of fun, and even, in some places thought-provoking. The descriptions of the hardships endured by the Rangers, and the countryside they travel through, are vivid (descriptions of nature and weather are a strength throughout), as is the violence of the massacre they perpetrate an Indian village, a retaliation, we are told, for the outrages these Indians themselves have perpetrated on nearby English homesteaders. Our hero at first tells us of his opinions that Indians are, when push comes to shove, basically "savages." But as the book moves along and Towne matures, and he learns more about the Indians and about the villainy that Europeans perpetrate on the natives, so do his perspectives and his sympathies. Which is not to say this is an even-handed treatment, narratively. The book is a product of its time, for sure. Jews don't come off too well, either. That said, the plotting and characterizations in this novel turned out to be more nuanced and complex that I was expecting. Heroes turn out to be flawed, sometimes gravely so, expectations regarding stereotypical romantic historical fiction plotting are often subverted, as well. So while there are parts of this long novel that move along less briskly than we would wish, overall I found this to be a very entertaining reading experience.

This book was first published in 1937, and we find it listed in the post for that year in the old, mostly deserted but still interesting to peruse Bestsellers Over the Years group. In fact, according to the book's "Bibliographical Note," including the book's first appearance on June 25, 1937 and the printing of the copy I own on August 30, 1938, there had been 26 printings!

102nx74defiant
Mai 5, 2022, 7:35 pm

The Court Dancer The story of the Joseon Dynasty is unfamiliar to me. So the ending came as a surprise to me. I really enjoyed this story. The beautiful descriptions of the Korean court. We see Yi Jin's view of life in Paris. The grace and poetry of the traditional ways as well as the downside.

103Tess_W
Mai 6, 2022, 10:40 am

>101 rocketjk: certainly taking that as a BB!

Book #9 in the Saxon Stories (now renamed the Last Kingdom). Quite a bit happens in this novel: Ragnall, the treacherous Dane is defeated by Uhtred, who combined forces with Sigtryggr (Ragnall's brother and Uhtred's son-in-law). Brida has returned to take her vengeance upon Uhtred. She begins by castrating Uhtred's son, Father Oswald. 326 pages Completed 5-5-2022

104gmathis
Mai 6, 2022, 1:50 pm

>101 rocketjk: I wasn't aware that a Bestsellers Over the Years group existed! Hunting it down now!

105rocketjk
Mai 6, 2022, 2:09 pm

>104 gmathis: I thought I'd included a link in my post, but evidently I got the html wrong. Anyway, here you go:

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/2847/Bestsellers-over-the-Years

It seems to mostly date back to the Big Bang of the early days of LT, with not much action recently.

106TheYankeeIrregular
Modifié : Mai 7, 2022, 8:24 am

>101 rocketjk: Rocketjk: I have this book! Northwest Passage. Thanks for mentioning it. I think I will dig it out and start reading!!

107TheYankeeIrregular
Mai 7, 2022, 8:27 am

>82 GingerCrinkle: Love Love Love CJ Sansom!!

108tealadytoo
Modifié : Mai 7, 2022, 8:43 am

>101 rocketjk: Kenneth Roberts is a favorite of mine. Rabble in Arms was one of the first adult historical novels I ever read, and I never looked back. :=)

109rocketjk
Mai 7, 2022, 12:07 pm

>108 tealadytoo: My wife and I had both Northwest Passage and Rabble in Arms on our bookshelves. A few years back, my wife decided she was in the mood for a good old-fashioned historical novel and pulled Rabble in Arms down off the shelf to read. She enjoyed it so much that she immediately read Northwest Passage. So I kept them both in mind, and sure enough, this month Northwest Passage was just the thing!

110Tess_W
Modifié : Mai 10, 2022, 8:11 am

I completed book #10 in the Saxon Stories (The Last Kingdom), The Flame Bearer. This book focuses on the tenuous peace between the Danes, led by Sigtryggr, King Edward (Wessex) and his sister, Lady Aethelflaed (Mercia). Uhtred's first attempt to take back Bebbanburg is not successful, but when he enters disguised, his second attempt is successful. I get the feeling from this book that the "story" is winding down and many sub-plots are being resolved, although there are 4 books remaining. The books are also getting shorter. I'm fortunate that I've been able to get these books from the library either in ebook or audiobook form without no wait, for the most part. My friend tells me there is a Netflix series based on these books. I don't get Netflix, but I may pay to stream it for a month or two to watch this series. I probably will wait till winter to do that, though. 255 pages

111Tess_W
Mai 12, 2022, 10:37 pm

War of the Wolf is book #11 in the Saxon Stories (The Last Kingdom). I'm not as impressed with this book as with the others---about a zillion things happened and many of them with similar names (Æthelflaed, Æthelstan, Æthelhelm, Æthelstan the Younger, etc). This caused me to have to go back multiple times and re-read to get the main gist of the story--I really didn't find this in the previous 10 books. Uhtred seems to fight many battles in the book (not my favorite--battles) with little success. His daughter is also killed and he sets out to avenge her. Osferth, Alfred the Great's oldest bastard son makes an appearance in this novel. He's one of the "good" guys. There are 2 more books in this series. I have loved this series, but I need to finish it up. One can only spend so much time with the Danes and the Saxons! 339 pages 3.5 stars

112tjm568
Mai 13, 2022, 2:26 pm

>Tess_W
I really enjoyed that series. I was reading them as they were released and not binging them. As a result I often had to piece together who was who when a new book was released. It didn't really matter that much though. Uhtred and his merry men were constants throughout, although some were killed off from time to time. The television series is pretty good, and is still going. I think six seasons are done and season seven is coming. Bernard Cornwell has some other book series that I also enjoyed. The Arthurian books were good, although the name difficulties you mentioned show up there also. There is also a series about an English Longbowman that was fun. And of course the Sharpe books. Not sure how many of those there are. The writing in those varies quite a bit, as they were written over a very long period and frankly, Cornwell became a better writer over time.

113BAPS
Mai 19, 2022, 9:37 pm

They Whisper in my Blood
I loved this book for its language, the characters and the fact that it is about a 'tribe' of people, the Portuguese-Indians, or Luso-Indians as they should be more accurately called, who lived and loved when the Portuguese held sway in India from 1505 to 1961. Their territory - Portuguese Estado da Índia, slowly dwindled over the years, but their progeny multiplied. To quote from the back cover: 'They Whisper in my Blood' is a moving love story, a sweeping tale, a panorama of a Portuguese-Indian family’s history told through a poignant refrain that is this clan’s nemesis. It screams across time and continents. There’s murder, girl-child trafficking, a torrid mixed-race affair and homophobia, all of which beget intrigue, sensuousness, heartache . . . but always hope. The characters – visceral, impassioned and deeply flawed – stay with you long after the last page is turned.
The Portuguese were the first European colonizers of India and ruled Portuguese India – Portuguese Estado da Índia – for four and a half centuries. Their legacy endures even today in the lives of their descendants, one of whom is differential, intelligent, beautiful Perpetua – Pippa – Cabral, the heartsick protagonist in this novel. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

114bernsad
Mai 19, 2022, 10:23 pm

>113 BAPS: Are you actually the author of this book?

115cindydavid4
Mai 19, 2022, 11:18 pm

>113 BAPS: oh duh it didnt occur to me that Portugal was in India first; should have considering how much that country was known for their global colonies. And I love the name Perpetua! and it sounds like an excellent book. Thinking about it this would make a good selection for the Asian Challenge next month . Thanks for the rec!

116nx74defiant
Mai 25, 2022, 4:17 pm

I finished three more historical fiction books:
The Secrets of Latimer House - World War II
A Tale of Two Cities - The French Revolution
Engraved on the Heart - The Civil War

117rocketjk
Mai 25, 2022, 5:43 pm

I finished and enjoyed Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, a fine if a bit overlong novel about two generations of African American life on a Southern plantation, both just before and during the Civil War, and then in the seven years just after.

118Cecrow
Mai 25, 2022, 8:18 pm

>114 bernsad:, second time I've seen him/her heavily endorse that title, so you're wise to be cautious.

119tealadytoo
Mai 26, 2022, 7:01 am

>116 nx74defiant:. I've read all three of those, nx74defiant. Quite a range of styles! Which was your favorite?

120gmathis
Mai 27, 2022, 8:33 am

My admiration of Sarah Agnes Prine continues in The Star Garden. Can't wait to hunt down the other stand-alone novels written by Nancy E. Turner.

121Cecrow
Mai 27, 2022, 10:19 am

Finished The Guermantes Way, and next I'm starting in on A Tale of Two Cities myself. Recently read Citizens, a non-fiction study of the French Revolution which ought to provide me with all the period background I need and then some.

122Cariola
Mai 31, 2022, 12:10 pm

I finished The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. It was more of a coming of age story than I expected. It's set in Victorian England. The young woman who is the main character is the daughter of one of the lexicographers working on the first Oxford English Dictionary. She collects "women's words" that are mostly excluded by the male lexicographers, and these words become the frame of her personal story.

I just started School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak. It's set in Versaille in Louis XIV's time.

123Cariola
Mai 31, 2022, 12:11 pm

>121 Cecrow: Simon Schama is wonderful. His histories are so enjoyable.

124Molly3028
Juin 1, 2022, 8:36 pm

Enjoying this OverDrive audio ~

Yours Cheerfully: A Novel (The Emmy Lake Chronicles, #2)
by AJ Pearce

125Tess_W
Juin 4, 2022, 10:11 am

Really liked The King's Mistress by Emma Campion, which was a great historical fiction read about Edward III (Plantagenets) during the 1300's. Included many real personages such as Geoffrey Chaucer.

126gmathis
Modifié : Juin 4, 2022, 5:56 pm

In pre-WWII London with Kick, The Kennedy Debutante.

127BAPS
Modifié : Juin 7, 2022, 3:45 pm

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

128BAPS
Juin 7, 2022, 3:41 pm

>115 cindydavid4: Thanks for the heads-up about the Asian Challenge. Where can I find more information?

129BAPS
Modifié : Juin 7, 2022, 3:44 pm

>116 nx74defiant: What did you think?

130Molly3028
Juin 9, 2022, 12:13 pm

Starting this audio via hoopla today ~

The Widow and the Highlander (Tales from the Highlands, Book 1)
by Martha Keyes

131Tess_W
Juin 15, 2022, 6:41 pm

Read 2 good ones lately: 1) Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March which took place in India during 1870's-1890's. Lots of colonial information as well as Sepoy rebellion info. 2) Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers which was about the fille du roi of King Louis XIV's plan to colonize Quebec.

132Tess_W
Juin 19, 2022, 9:59 pm

I completed The White Queen by Philippa Gregory about Edward IV (York) vs Henry VII (Tudors) in the War of the Roses. This was from the perspective of Elizabeth Woodville, commoner who married Edward IV. Great read!

133Cariola
Juin 19, 2022, 10:02 pm

Hadn't read anything set in or around the French Revolution for some time. The School of Mirrors spans the period from about 1750 through the revolution and beyond.

134nx74defiant
Juin 20, 2022, 3:25 pm

Of my reads:
I really enjoyed The Secrets of Latimer House - I've been interested lately in the roles women played in World War II. So here we get the view points of 3 different women.

A Tale of Two Cities - I found Dickens's writing a bit of a challenge. It is a great story, but at times I had a struggle with the style.

Engraved on the Heart - This is Christian fiction. I think the religious aspects were handled well. There were abolitionist groups that were motivated by their faith. So the way the beliefs were shown worked well.

135nx74defiant
Juin 20, 2022, 3:32 pm

>132 Tess_W: I enjoyed the White Queen, but got really annoyed with The White Princess. I have a LOT of problems with the whole story-line that Elizabeth of York and Richard III were not only planning on getting more, but were also lovers. The next book has Elizabeth constantly going on and on how Richard was her lover, over and over again. It was just enough already.
For one thing Elizabeth Woodville got where she did by holding out for marriage. Her refusal to be Edward's lover is the reason her daughter was a princess. And it is the reason her family was able to advance. I find it hard to believe she wouldn't have taught her daughters not to settle for being the mistress.
I could do a long list of the reason Richard III wouldn't want to marry his niece.

136Tess_W
Juin 20, 2022, 10:24 pm

>135 nx74defiant: I agree--even though the idea was just introduced in the last couple of chapters, I wasn't please with it. There is absolutely no historical evidence for this, except rumor. In fact, after the death of Richard III's wife, he negotiated a marriage between himself and the daughter of the King of Portugal; but the marriage did not take place due to The Battle of Bosworth Field, where Richard was killed. He also had a marriage contract drawn up for Elizabeth with Manuel, the son of the king of Portugal. Most historians believe the Richard III/Elizabeth thing was Tudor propaganda.

137Tess_W
Juin 21, 2022, 11:58 pm

I read Fatherland by Robert Harris. This was speculative historical fiction--as if Germany had won WWII. This also might be a political thriller, in that the Nazi's were killing off the attendees of the Wannsee Conference in hopes of better relations with the U.S. Odd book--can't really say I enjoyed it.

138princessgarnet
Juin 24, 2022, 2:18 pm

>136 Tess_W: I read The Last White Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir from the library and enjoyed it. Mrs. Weir stuck to historical record and has a better written story line on Richard III and Elizabeth of York.

139Molly3028
Juin 25, 2022, 6:58 am

Enjoyed this audio via hoopla ~

The Girl With The Make-Believe Husband: A Bridgerton Prequel
by Julia Quinn

140Molly3028
Juin 27, 2022, 8:52 am

Starting this OverDrive audio ~

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

141TheYankeeIrregular
Juin 30, 2022, 9:33 am

>138 princessgarnet: Love,Love, Love Alison Weir. Her non fiction works are as easy to read as her novels. I don't think Antonia Fraser, while a great author in her own right, is nearly as easy to read as Ms. Weir.

142nrmay
Juin 30, 2022, 4:16 pm

Just finished Al Capone Does My Shirts, Alcatraz Island, 1935.

143rocketjk
Août 12, 2022, 2:45 pm

I forgot to come to this thread to mention that I finished Boy in Blue, an obscure but highly readable novel about the American Civil War. Boy in Blue was published in 1937. Doing the math, this means that it was published 85 years ago, but "only" 72 years after the end of that war. The author, Royce Brier, was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle who three years before this book's publishing had won the Pulitzer Prize in Reporting "For his account of the lynching of the kidnappers, John M. Holmes and Thomas H. Thurmond in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 26, 1933 after they had been jailed for abducting Brooke Hart, a merchant's son."

In a way the novel is standard fare. Robert Thane, a young naive but good-hearted boy is growing up on a farm in Indiana. The Civil War has just begun. His father is a staunch Unionist and abolitionist, but his uncle's sentiments are with the Confederacy. Robert has an older brother who is soon to enlist with the Federals. In the meantime, Robert is in love with the pretty girl living on a nearby farm. She returns his affections, but he is too shy to do much about it. Soon, of course, events send Robert off to the war as well. Well, it seems that every Civil War novel, and many another historical novel in general, begin more or less in this way. A reader must simply determine to plow through the opening to get to the real action of the story. However, Brier was a pretty good writer, and he does a good job of using this opening act to set the stage of Robert's attitudes about the war. And while we see him as naive at the beginning, he comes to see his father's passion for the principles that have set the conflict in motion as being the real naïveté. We may or may not agree with that, but we can understand the soldier in the midst of the conflict thinking so.

Robert's early army days entail a lot of training, and then months of marching hither and yon, up and down Tennessee, without seeing much action. As readers, we know, of course, that there must be a climactic battle coming at the end of all this. Still, the descriptions of those dreary months of marching and discomforting struggle are rendered quite well and we do feel that we're getting a believable close feel for the experience of an army in the midst of its perplexing (to the foot soldiers) wanderings. Brier was very good with the sights and sounds and physical toils of the marching, rain soaked or sun beaten days and weeks going by, with just enough characterizations of Robert's marching comrades to fill in the spaces around him. The flyleaf tells us that Brier spend a long time walking the Cumberland Valley trails that the Federal army traversed during the weeks leading up to the battles fought there, and we can certainly believe it.

The battle, when we finally get to it, takes up around the final 60 or so pages of the book. We do not know whether Robert will survive. It is a testament to Brier's skill, I think, that the ending, whether it's to be happy or tragic, is not telegraphed. So, all in all, I am happy to have read this novel, though it doesn't surprise me too much that it's become forgotten and obscure. My copy, a first edition, is one of only four copies listed here on LT. I've had it on my shelf since before my LT "Big Bang," which is to say before I first began posting my personal collection here in 2008.