Historical Fictionistas discussion
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What are you reading in 2021?
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Sophia
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Jan 22, 2021 12:50PM
I have just finished The Viennese Candidate. I thought it was excellent and would recommend it. I have reviewed it if anyone is interested.
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This is a great one for kids and music lovers. Elton John by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara is bright and interesting and real. 
5★ Link to my Elton John review with several illustrations
Sulari Gentill's exceptional Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series takes her four Australian characters to 1930's Shanghai in Shanghai Secrets. What a terrifying place it was - but a great read!
5★ Link to my Shanghai Secrets review
I've picked the Wars of the Roses as one of my focus themes for 2021, both fiction and non-fiction. Right now I'm reading Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith and planning to read all of hers in chronological order. I'm also working on a S L O W reread of the whole Outlander oeuvre include the Lord John books and the short stories. Kind of stalled on Outlander right now though! LOL!
Oh yeah - on audiobook, I'm listening to Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan about Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Osbourne. I had a "Stars" theme last year and still have a number of "Star" titles I want to get to, like The Giver of Stars. I'm also reading Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age. I'm finishing up War and Peace which I counted as read in 2020, but actually I'm hoping to finish it today! Yes, I read a lot of books at the same time!
Finished The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
byJohn le CarréMy Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3755138338
Daisy Jones And the Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid – 3***
A book within a book, that purportedly tells the story of a famous rock band of the 1970s, told as an “oral history.” It’s a love story, a history of the 1970s rock scene, a coming of age story, and a story of how addiction steals the best parts of our lives. I didn’t like the main characters. And as for plot – it just didn’t seem to be going anywhere, or at least not anywhere I wanted to go. And then I got to the ending and my breath was taken away. Those last twenty pages made me bump the rating up from 2 to 3 stars.
My full review HERE
Finished my February 2021 Historical Fiction Book Club Pick "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek"Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
As readers know, Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer known for her detective novels. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie uncovers the untold story of her mysterious eleven day disappearance. When she reappears, she claims amnesia, never revealing what happened.
5/5 I’m a huge fan of Marie Benedict. I’ve read all her books, which I highly recommend. She is a master storyteller bringing compelling tales intricately woven, with characters readers will deeply care for and prose to greatly enjoy.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Into the Unbounded Night
Into the Unbounded Night takes us to a time of ancient stones paving the way to the great temples. A time, when different ideologies rub shoulders leading to the birth of Judeo-Christian monotheism. It is also a time when accumulation of wealth and power leads to rebellion and destruction. With Kaplan’s gifted storytelling, the reader is transported into the ancient times of turmoil and history in the making.
5/5 I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the quality of this story and the writing. And the research that went into crafting such fine book with compelling plot, rich historical background and well-developed characters including some iconic figures St. Paul and Yohanan ben Zakkai.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished and enjoyed Fey's War: The True Story of a Mother, her Missing Sons and the Plot to Kill Hitler
byCatherine BaileyMy review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3771810111
Finished and enjoyed Fey's War: The True Story of a Mother, her Missing Sons and the Plot to Kill Hitler
byCatherine BaileyMy review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3771810111
How could I not love The Kalahari Typing School for Men, the 4th book in the series of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith? These are always enjoyable and a gentle reminder that life in rural Botswana is a far cry from that of most readers.
4★ Link to my Kalahari Typing School for Men review
Psychedelic dreaming for toddlers, anyone? Alice In Wonderland by words&pictures has some inventive artwork by Cynthia Alonso, including holes in the pages for peeking and for little fingers.
4.5★ Link to my Alice review with illustrations
Right now I am reading The riddle of the sands. by Erskine Childers
While I've been working on sewing a new patchwork quilt I've been listening to
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue.It's a fascinating account of a nurse working over a period of three days in a maternity ward for pregnant women with Spanish flu in Dublin in 2018. Hard not to compare what has and hasn't changed in the handling of our current pandemic.
my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Silver Pigs #1 Marcus Didius Falco by Lindsey Davis. Historical mystery set in 1st Century Rome and Britain. Rated 3 stars. Enjoyed this although it seemed to drag in the middle. Not sure if I'll continue the series as I have so many series on TBR list.
I've not read any of Jeffery Deaver's work before, so his short story Turning Point was my introduction. Loved it! Finding RDK, the Russian Doll Killer, was cleverly done.
4.5★ Link to my Turning Point review
Shuggie Bain, the autobiographical novel by Scottish-born author Douglas Stuart, tells of a loving, queer, little boy who adores his beautiful, alcoholic mum. It is heart-breakingly wonderful! Well-deserved winner of the 2020 Booker Prize.
5★+ Link to my Shuggie Bain review
The Four Winds
The Dust Bowl during the 1930s was the worst environmental disaster in the US history, accompanied by the collapse of the economy and its effect of massive unemployment, resulting in massive migration of people from the Great Plains and other parts of the country to California. California was advertised as the land of milk and honey. Was it so?
5/5 Written with beautiful prose, vividly presented story of hardship and comradery of ordinary people who show strength and resilience and human spirit that touches your heart.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Revelations
Margery Kempe (1373-1438) was “a mystic living in the full stream of worldly life – she triumphed in transforming herself from a desperate housewife into an intrepid world traveler and lifelong pilgrim.”
5/5 Richly imagined story, engrossingly woven and with beautiful prose transports a reader to a different time and place. With heroine you deeply care for and witness her journey of self-discovery and transformation.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Annette wrote: "The Four WindsThe Dust Bowl during the 1930s was the worst environmental disaster in the US history, accompanied by the collapse of the economy..."
I've heard people say the first half of the book is a little slow and hard to get into, but seems like the Great Depression part of it in 1934 is the more interesting half. Did you find this?
I am reading a horrible book. Summer of '69 It is for a book group so I must finish it. It is an historical that shows how acceptable casual racism was.
So much to choose from! Buzz Books 2021: Spring/Summer is full of sample chapters of upcoming books, some by established authors and some by those who are also up-and-coming. 
5★ Link to my Buzz Books review with some of my picks
This is designed for little kids, but adults will enjoy seeing how Charles Darwin made the scientific discoveries that changed our understanding of the world. Need I add that every school should have this one?
5★ Link to my review of Charles Darwin with several illustrations from the book
I am reading The Book of Lost Names
by Kristin Harmel. I am about halfway through and really enjoying it. Very well written. You get the feeling of disbelief that many of he Jews had in Paris that Nazi's could not round them all up.
I enjoyed reading
The Silk House by Kayte Nunn with its elements of the supernatural and witchcraft woven into the mystery of the house.my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Nature of Fragile Things
San Francisco, 1906. Sophie Hocking is questioned by the US Marshal. Her husband is missing, and she waited six weeks after the San Francisco earthquake to report him missing. Why?
5/5 Seamlessly woven story with intricately developed characters that takes a reader on a fast-paced journey. Mystery unrolls with each page. It is engaging from the very first page to the very last one. The plotting convincingly immerses a reader in the events, both historical and fictional.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Letters Across the Sea
This story brings the little-known chapters of Canadian history which happened right after the Great Depression as an effect of it and during WWII.
5/5 It’s a poignant story bringing heartache, but also showing us that even during the worst times you can find acts of human kindness. This touchingly woven story with moving characters also shows us the power of love, what it can endure and how far it can go. It’s interestingly written with well-developed characters which expose a reader to the little-known pockets of history.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February is Black History Month, and I found James Baldwin's long story/novella Letter from a region in my mind online from 'The New Yorker Magazine'. Still relevant and worth remembering.
5★ Link to my review of Letter From a Region...
February is Black History Month. Alexander McCall Smith is a white author who created the wonderful Mma Ramotswe in Botswana and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She features in The Cleverness of Ladies, a lovely little novella.
3★ Link to my Cleverness of Ladies
Finished Medicus #1 Gaius Petreius Ruso by Ruth Downie. Historical mystery set in 2nd century Britannia. Rated 3 stars. Liked this more then the 1st book in the Falco series by Lindsey Davis.
Gopher Golf: A Wordless Picture Book by Karl Beckstrand is exactly that - many pages of pictures. There are enough varied scenes for a little kid to follow as a story and then be encouraged to "tell" a story themselves. Lots of laughs!
3.5★ Link to my Gopher Golf review with several illustrations to give you the idea
Mick Herron, when interviewed about his latest spy thriller, Slough House, recently said "I look at Jackson Lamb and think: My God, did I write that? My mother reads this stuff!" Well, on behalf of mothers and grandmothers everywhere, I say - Keep up the good work! 
5★ Link to my Slough House" review (with a link to the article quoted)
Kathryn, which Phillipa Gregory title do you recommend for someone knew to her work? I’ve been meaning to try her.
A Suspicion of Silver is the latest (#9) in the terrific Sir Robert Carey historical mystery series set in Elizabethan England. P.F. Chisholm simply cannot leave us with that cliffhanger ending! 
4.5★ Link to my review of A Suspicion of Silver
Alexander McCall Smith offers a monthly short story on his website. I got a kick out of February's Doctors, Detectives, Common Sense, about the "traditionally-built" Mma Ramotswe, the founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana, and her annual medical check-up. 
4★ Link to my Doctors, Detectives... review with a link to his site
I am reading The Arctic Fury
by Greer Macallister. An all women expedition sent up to Arctic through Hudson Bay. Love the different setting. Strong Women characters. Good so far.
Finished today reading Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon, and started The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin.Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Historical Fictionistas
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C.S. Harris (other topics)
Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara (other topics)
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