Sheila, Thanks for that wonderful research - very historian-like. :)

Jennifer - I'm going to pick up Miracles of Little No Horse shortly. I'm doing some Native American reading/research at the moment and a novel will be a nice break.

Wendy wrote: "Hi Maria, I've recently read two of Bradshaw's books.
"Island of Ghosts", which is about the Roman occupation of Britain and the barbarian tribes that helped them, was just ok for me. There wasn't ..."


Thanks Wendy for the review on Bradshaw's other books! I only heard a review on the Egypt book. I'll have to add Wolf Hunt to my library request as well!

I would also agree that Gone With The Wind would be a period piece....

This conversation made me think of books that I've read by Danielle Steel (I know, I know...but I love 'em) where her stories are a story about the characters with something historically significant going on around them. Message From Nam, No Greater Love, Crossings, Zoya...all period pieces where you learned about people and what they went through during a truly horrible time in the world. I learned alot about the Vietnam War, WWII, the Titanic catastrophe, and the Russian revolution by seeing these things through the eyes of her characters.

In light of that I'm going to say I like period novels and not historical fiction now....thanks for showing me the difference!! This was a great conversation for me....... ;)

I was totally thinking about GWTW when I was thinking about how I classify them. I personally see GWTW as more of a period piece rather than a historical fiction. The story is timeless. The war is a backdrop and it does lead the characters but it isn't defined within the story. It could be any war in any land (relatively).
Where as Roots (another great book) is historical fiction/biographical to me because not only is the time a character of the story but many of the characters were real.

Jennifer, it seems that if your great grandfather lived through WWII, then wrote a novel about it, it would be considered a autobiographical novel....

"An autobiographical novel is a novel based on the life of the author. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Names and locations are often changed and events are recreated to make them more dramatic but the story still bears a close resemblance to that of the author. While the events of the author's life are recounted, there is no pretense of neutrality or even exact truth. Events may be reported the way the author wishes they had been with enemies more clearly loathsome and triumphs more complete than perhaps they actually were."


Interesting how books are, and can be, classified so many different ways.

So if my great grandfather (yes, I still have a great granfather- 91 and kicking!) were to write a novel about WWII it wouldn't qualify as historical fiction because he lived through it? Huh.

Kelly Jo- I finished Miracles of Little No Horse this weekend. I'm still not decided what I think about it. I read you're a history major, and I'm not sure how historically accurate it is. It had the feel of mysticism or a dream-like quality to it. The characters are unique, and there are some very funny moments juxtaposed with some very thought-provoking concepts. Overall I liked it. I think the hardest part for me was picturing every thing, I didn't get the sense that I was *there*. I don't know if read Heretic's Daughter, but reading that I felt like you could plop me down in town and I could find my way around. Definitely not the case at Litlle No Horse. I hope that makes sense and doesn't deter you from reading it as there are some amazing characters and occurences throughout.

Tera, since you have read Gone With The Wind, is that one you would consider more of a period piece? I know it is often called historical fiction, but I'm thinking it is more fiction in a historical setting, or a period piece, since yes it is set in the civil war times, but I see it as mainly a novel about completetly fictional characters.

I think, for me, there is historical fiction and then there are period pieces. Stories that take place in the past but don't really center on a historical person or event seem more of just a period piece of work.

that's great they have an entire society of it!

The last few post have made me wonder what the actual definition of "historical fiction" is, so I decided to do some more googling. :o)
Actually, I started on the website for The Heretic's Daughter, to see what they listed the book as. And they do state that it is "a novel", and note the following about the author:
"Kathleen was very honored to be awarded the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction!"
So apparently the publisher considers it historical fiction.

And according to The Historical Novel Society:
To be deemed historical (in our sense), a novel must have been written at least fifty years after the events described, or have been written by someone who was not alive at the time of those events (who therefore approaches them only by research).

Here is the website for The Historical Novel Society, which according to their homepage "is THE best place to find out about new historical fiction."
http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/ma...

Really I would have thought Heretics Daughter was historical fiction? I mean isn't historical fiction a story that takes place within history following a generally accepted account of happenings but taking allowance to add conversations and liberties to events? The Boleyn series by Phillipa Gregory is historical fiction yet all those people did live. We just don't know what they thought or how they acted or why they did what they did and the author gives their take on those things.

I loved Heretics Daughter too. I cant wait for the prequel.

Beth wrote: "I highly recommend THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent, set during the time of the Salem witch trials and written by a descendant of one of the women condemned as a witch. A fascinating and emo..."

THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER is not really fiction, as the characters really lived, and were involved in the Salem Witch trials. The facts in the book are skewed a little. Perhaps the book would be classified as "creative nonfiction", which I really love as a genre. However, it's definitely not fiction.

I loved the book, I almost (ALMOST) felt it was comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird, as it was a child's voice telling of historic/difficult times.

I highly recommend THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent, set during the time of the Salem witch trials and written by a descendant of one of the women condemned as a witch. A fascinating and emotional read!

Thanks for the tips, ladies! If I ever get done my Afghanistan/Middle Eastern library I know what to read next!

I have to say some of Gregory Maguire's Fantasy meets Historical Fiction are great (ie Mirror Mirror).

Also read Pillars of the Earth (LARGE!) and as much as I kept telling myself I hated it, I couldn't stop reading it :)

I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpent's Tale(don't let the names scare you). Easy and quick but with plenty to think upon.Ariana FranklinGregory Maguire

Hi Maria, I've recently read two of Bradshaw's books.
"Island of Ghosts", which is about the Roman occupation of Britain and the barbarian tribes that helped them, was just ok for me. There wasn't much action for a book about barbarians and warriors.

Also read "The Wolf Hunt" which is much much better. It's a fairy tale-ish, medieval story about a young woman who's kidnapped from a nunnery and meets a lord who's hiding a deep dark secret about his identity. She keeps his secret from being exposed and, of course, falls in love with him.

I'm looking forward to reading Bradshaw's books about Egypt.



Maria wrote: "Has anyone read any of Gillian Bradshaw's books? I heard good things about them...they don't seem well known on Goodreads as far as # of ratings.

I've been meaning to pick up :

[b:The Beacon..."

I really enjoy Phillipa Gregory.

I'll 2nd (or 3rd or 4th or 5th) Daughter of Fortune A Novel.

For Civil War era, I really liked The Widow of the South.

I know I've read more. Those are just the recent ones that stand out in my mind.

Kathy wrote: "Thanks Wanda!! That's my new grandaughter. She has truly brightened my life."

And now she is world famous. Thanks so much for sharing. I could look at baby pictures all day. Babies are the best!

Thanks Wanda!! That's my new grandaughter. She has truly brightened my life.

Kathy wrote: "My idea of heaven is a nice comfy chair and all the books on my wish list, with eterity to read them all.
"

Kathy, my idea of heaven would be holding that baby in your picture - simply adorable!

I have Erdrich's "Last Report..." in my to-read pile. I'll look forward to your reivew, Jennifer!

I'm with you Kathy!

I'm currently reading The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse which takes place over the last 100 years (give or take) on a reservation. Lots of unique characters!
Last year at some point I read Raising Holy Hell A Novel by Bruce Olds about John Brown and the raid on Harpers Ferry that lead to the Civil War. It was presented in an interesting way, journal entries from and about John Brown, newspaper articles etc. I also have his Bucking the Tiger A Novel about Doc Holiday which I imagine will be as imaginatively presented as John Brown was.

My personal historical preferences are WWII and the Civil Rights movement of the 60s.

My idea of heaven is a nice comfy chair and all the books on my wish list, with eterity to read them all.

Okay, I've thought of another. I was talking to Meg on another thread about a book she won, Genghis Birth of an Empire, which is historical fiction about Genghis Khan, and it reminded me of another great book called The Journeyer, which is all about Marco Polo and his travels including the time he spend with Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis).

Sheila wrote: "<snip>and remember really enjoying them and learning about the Civil War era. "

Oh, for Civil War historical fiction, I strongly recommend Howard Bahr's The Black Flower. Beautiful, beautiful writing. Have The Judas Field queued up to read soon.

I just looked through some old journals of mine from 1985 to 1993, and in the backs of them I had written down books I read for those years. Looking through the books I found some historical fiction that I had forgotten. I read these in 1987 and 1988, and remember really enjoying them and learning about the Civil War era. They are
North and South, Love and War, and Heaven and Hell.

I shouldn't have wandered into this thread. Too many books, too little time, and here I am adding to my already too long list. *sighs. removes cap from pen.*

I remember I checked out The Agony and the Ecstasy A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo in HS but never finished it because everytime I took it out to read in class the boys oooh'd and ahhh'd over the title. They thought it was erotica. boys!

Kelly Jo wrote: "I got Rutherfurd's "London" from BookMooch yesterday. I've never read anything from him yet. Victoria, what did you think of his writing? "

I enjoyed the books. Was not spectacularly amazing writing, but it isn't bad, and the stories are engaging. Each chapter is a different generation of history, following the same families through the history of a place (e.g. Sarum from Stonehenge thru Salisbury Cathedral to modern times). So you don't really engage with a specific character for more than one chapter, but you do engage with their family history.

The only Rutherfurd I didn't care for was The Forest, I thought London was great, and am very much looking forward to New York coming out later this year.

Sheila wrote: "Wanda, I have not read any of Sharon Kay Penman's books, but my husband read all of the books in the [b:Here be Dragons|77449|Here be Dragons (Welsh Princes, Book 1)|Sharon Kay Penman|http://photo...."

Sheila, you are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Wales and the old castles. I hope to be able to do the same some day. I have ordered Agony and Ecstasy and cannot wait until it arrives. And, you are correct, I could not finish Nefertiti. I just did not care for it. So, I am reading Lady Audley's Secret now - an old Victorian novel originally written for a newspaper serialization. It is surprisingly good. It is available for free download from Amazon for Kindle and I would imagine from other ereader sites, too. I know it is also available from www.gutenberg.org as a free download. And, one more thing -- I am really dumb because I kept thinking PBS was something to do with public broadcasting so I would go onto the pbs website and scour it looking for something trading books. Stupid me! I only just realized it was paperback swap when I yahooed it. Learn something new every day.

Wanda, I have not read any of Sharon Kay Penman's books, but my husband read all of the books in the Here be Dragons series, as well as other books of hers and really enjoyed them. In fact when we went to Wales on vacation, we visited a whole bunch of the historical sites from those books (the old welsh castles, churches, graves, waterfalls, places where people were killed, etc).

I read The Agony and the Ecstasy many years ago, but I remember really enjoying it and learning alot from it. Yes, it is the one where the movie was made where Michelangelo argues with the Pope.

Nefertiti is similar in style to The Other Boleyn Girl and the other Phillipa Gregory books, so if you don't like Phillipa Gregory you probably won't like Nefertiti.
I like them all though. :o)

Interesting to see Gates of Fire mentioned. I had heard it was good, but just couldn't get into in, no matter how much I tried, so I ended up giving my copy away on PBS.

Maria, nice to see someone else from WA! I live Rochester, a small town below Olympia.

KrisT wrote: "Tera, are you on the 1/2 price mailing list? if so this week I think there was a ton of coupons in the email.

I am so glad so many are interested in Pope Joan it is a really good book.
I have bee..."

Coupons to 1/2 Price? I have got to get on their mailing list! Headed there after work!

I got Rutherfurd's "London" from BookMooch yesterday. I've never read anything from him yet. Victoria, what did you think of his writing?

Tera, are you on the 1/2 price mailing list? if so this week I think there was a ton of coupons in the email.

I am so glad so many are interested in Pope Joan it is a really good book.
I have been wanting to read Margaret George and I never get to her cuz they are so chunky!

I love Michener and Uris if you are looking for a chunky to become your friend.

Have to pipe up for anything by Edward Rutherfurd - in particular Sarum, Russka, and London. More of a fictional history of place and families rather than a single time period.

I second anything by Margaret George (except maybe Mary Queen of Scots) and Sharon Kay Penman (especially The Sunne in Splendour).

Pope Joan has been on my to-read shelf for a while, perhaps I should dust it off and move it to the front of the list.

Wait I lived in Bellevue when I first got married and my husband worked there until we moved here. I used to love to go to Crossroads mall on the weekends and spend the afternoon in 1/2 price books and then get some Pho`.

I used to live in Bothell and Issaquah. I miss the NW SOOOO much. Thanks for sending me a piece of home :)

Oh - you used to live in Bellevue?! : )
I included a little Seattle bookstore bookmarker with TTW!

*cries a tear* I miss Bellevue WA. I miss WA!!!

So glad to here you now have one near you, Tera. You will probably go home with an armload of books at the opening sale!
My local one always has about 6 library carts full of literature (not mass market) for $1 or $2. At that price - my arms fill up fast.
By the way, when I picked up 20th Wife today - I noticed that the author lives in my town - Bellevue, Wa. Thought that was kinda neat!
Maybe I can order Pope Joan from you when you are done! I mailed of 6 books today for PBS - including TTW to you!

I ordered Pope Joan from PBS.com the other day.
They JUST opened a 1/2 price books near me and the opening week is this week with SALES!!!

These lists helped me today at 1/2 price books.
I found the follwing on clearance all at $2 each! Woot

The Twentieth Wife A Novel
Portrait in Sepia A Novel
and
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan A Novel

KrisT - I added Pope Joan to my library hold list. Looks very good - thanks for the rec!

LOL Suze, so is mine! Exponentially.

I need to stop reading these lists - my wish list on Amazon is out of control!

I'm just about finished with Ines of my Soul - it's about Ines Suarez and her role in founding/building the nation of Chile. I haven't read many books about South America, but this one is very interesting. It gets pretty graphic in some parts - describing the war with the natives there - but I love the historical context. It's written by Isabel Allende (who wrote Daughter of Fortune). I'll probably read more of her books...

I finished reading 'The Killer Angels' by Michael Shaara a couple of weeks ago and it still resonates within me. This is a Pulitzer prize winning book about the Battle of Gettysburg. It's definitely a book about war, but I learned more about the Civil War, this battle and the leaders on both sides than I ever did reading history books in school. I highly recommend this book.

I just finished Loving Frank and, particularly as a big fan of FLW anyway, I thought the book was great. Even though it was fiction, with it being an extrapolation on facts I feel like I got some really good insight into who they really were as people.

Kelly Jo, I actually started reading the Masters of Rome series backwards. Picked up Antony and Cleopatra at my local library because I noticed the cover art on the "new release" shelf and have always been entranced by Egypt. I really enjoyed it, and yet most people on Goodreads say this was not her best work. Will definitely look for The First Man in Rome soon.

They are entranced... phase one of my plan is working! muhahahha

swinging... swinging...

Being a history major in my past, it's sometimes hard for me to read and like historical fiction; however, I have found some I do enjoy:

My all-time historical fiction favorite is the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCollough. It covers the time before and immediately after the rise of Julius Caesar. The first book in the series is The First Man in Rome.

I read The Flames of Rome A Novel in high-school and liked it, but read it again after college and found it quite presumptuous with historical fact. This is my biggest problem with enjoying historical fiction.

I have Margaret George's books on my wishlist, and Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune A Novel in queue.

I will have to look into the Josephine books, since that mesmerizing hypnotic pendant started swinging...swinging...

Kalanna wrote: "*swinging a pendant* Read Josephine, read Josephine.

hehe"

*Eyes spinning in circles* Kalanna says "read Josephine, read Josephine. Must read Josephine."