New/old books to read

[SaintGermain]

Could anyone help me by giving me authors and books names.Which you think was a good book.Please

I like books that have little bit romantic,action and history in them.
and mostly old books like playing off in the last few centuries.Not in the present..

Thank you very much

SAINTGERMAIN :p

[Pensive]

I will recommend:
1: A tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
2: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

[RococoLocket]

Historial fiction is my favorite!

The Tudor Court series by Philippa Gregory which are;

The Other Boleyn Girl
The Queens' Fool
The Virgins Lover

Also Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick. I just finished that one today and I could cry because I didn't want it to end ... I wanted to be there :(

I can recommend more if you like but those 4 are lengthy and should keep you going a while :p

[Rachy]

I will recommend:
1: A tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
2: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier


You just said some of my favourite books!

[Mark F.]

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

[Darlin]

Could anyone help me by giving me authors and books names.Which you think was a good book.Please

I like books that have little bit romantic,action and history in them.
and mostly old books like playing off in the last few centuries.Not in the present..

Thank you very much

SAINTGERMAIN :p

But Saint Germain aren't you a fan of Alexandre Dumas? All his books are pretty much what you described. He has so many more books than the Three Musketeers series. If your library has a rare book collection you should be able to find tons of his books or you could order them online if you want to buy them. Try:

Chevalier de Maison Rouge
Queen Margot
Le Chevalier d'Harmental
The Page of the Duke of Savoy
Ascanio

[Eliza]

All good recommendations, but don't forget: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

It will only take a couple of hours to read but it's a great story with all the ingredients you requested.

[mono]

Hmmm, to narrow down my list to less than 2 posts, I think I will name specific authors, rather than specific books by them:
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, J.D. Salinger, D.H. Lawrence, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, O. Henry, Ursula le Guin, Flannery O'Connor, Charles Dickens, and, of course, Victor Hugo.

[subterranean]

I will recommend some of my favs:

Catch 22: Joseph Heller
Siddharta: Hermann Hesse
Sophie's World: Jostein Gaarder
1984: George Orwell
Jude the Obscure: Thomas Hardy

[Rosalind]

Here are some light reccomendations: Robert Louis Stevenson, Anthony Hope ('The Prisoner of Zenda'), Jules Verne. The first two just reek of yummy historical-romantic-adventure, and Verne scores on at least two of the three.

[SaintGermain]

thanks for the great reply!!Ill try ro read some of them!!!

[EAP]

Check out Raphael Sabatini and Louis L'Amour. Heroic, romantic (in the classical sense of the word), chivalrious and most importantly, fun romps which set the benchmark for good historical fiction in their day.

Alternatively, if you are interested in medieval England, you may like writers like Dorothy Dunnett and Sharon Key Penman. Haven't read them myself but they are pretty popular among historical fiction enthusiasts.

[Rosalind]

I second Dorothy Dunnett. Her Lymond Chronicles (first one's 'The Game of Kings') are absolutely terrific.

Hey, EAP, I've heard Sabatini reccomended but I'm not familiar with any of his books. Where would you reccomend to start?

[Darlin]

I have to agree with The Scarlet Pimpernel, Victor Hugo, Robert Louis Stevenson, Anthony Hope (haven't read him though) and I'd add Sir Walter Scott, something like Ivanhoe or the Talisman.



Check out Raphael Sabatini and Louis L'Amour. Heroic, romantic (in the classical sense of the word), chivalrious and most importantly, fun romps which set the benchmark for good historical fiction in their day.


Oh, Louis L'Amour is definitely a good choice though the romance parts are usually minimum at best but so good if you like Westerns which I don't - I love them!

EAP, are you a fan of Louis L'Amour?

[yellowfeverlime]

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

[subterranean]

What's your Verne's fav?


Here are some light reccomendations: Robert Louis Stevenson, Anthony Hope ('The Prisoner of Zenda'), Jules Verne. The first two just reek of yummy historical-romantic-adventure, and Verne scores on at least two of the three.

[EAP]

Rosalind,

Concerning Sabatini,

My knowledge only encompasses those which I have read - two complete books, probably a couple of translations and one half-finished - which is by no means extensive.

'Scaramouche' is generally considered a good starting point. It is one of his most polished books, though, IMO, it somewhat lacks the vigour and panache of works like 'Tavern Knight', where Sabatini's style and his mastery of the period prose really shines through.

As an aside: do you read fantasy?


Darlin,

Fan might be too strong a word. :) I have read 'Rivers West' and It was not a bad read. What he writes about is cliche but not BAD cliche. His prose isn't anything extraordinary, so the descriptions felt a bit flat but the story flowed well, IIRC. Was some time ago.

[Rosalind]

What's your Verne's fav?

Mmm. Tough. I have very fond memories of one of his less-read books 'A Long Vacation,' but I should mention that I read it at an age where school kids getting stuck on an island, sans talking pig heads and broken glasses, sounded very appealing indeed. For outright favorite, though, I may have to go with 'Aroun the World in Eighty Days,' because I devoured it straight through and laughed myself silly. It's been a few years, though...
How about you? Verne picks?

EAP,

Thanks for the reccomednations. I'll see if the library has either of them--not that I have high hopes, with my libary. :(
I do read fantasy. A lot. As much as I adore historical fiction like most of this list, fantasy was my first love and will probably always remain a favorite. Why do you ask?

[EAP]

Rosalind,

I inquired because in my experience, most of the people who liked Dorothy Dunnett were big fans of fantasy in general and George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' saga in particular. Basically It was just a check to see how true this co-relation is. :p

[Nightshade]

There is also The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley ( that is the original story) Umm Edger burroughs rice Books are also a bit of action and romantic but especially with the Tarzan books you have to take his scientific and natural history theorys with a pinch of salt.
Booth Tarkington is good, Ramsey hasa bit of more tied in Historic background but I like The Turmoil more.
James Curwood's books are action and romantic and historic , although they are often filed under westerns like Jack London's they are about alsaka, the North and gold rushes.
Rex Beach -you either love them or hate them I think.
Mary Roberts Rhinehart was more popular than Agatha Christie writes mysteries with a bit of romance

:D
Ill second the scarlet Pimpernel only if you decide to read the entire series some are way better than the rest.
:D :nod:

[Rosalind]

Err...*very embaressed* Scarlet Pimpernel is part of a series? Hey, speaking of 'Mark of Zorro,' has anyone read Isable Allenende's new Zorro book? I've heard mixed things about it, and I'd like to know if it's worth reading.

I'm adding Scott O'Dell and M.M. Kaye's 'The Far Pavilions' to the list of reccomendations.

EAP,
Interesting observation--that makes sense. There are even some historical parallels between GRRM's 'Song of Ice and Fire' and the time period of the Lymond Chronicles, though there's more of a relationship to the Wars of the Roses. Not that the Ice and Fire books are any kind of alternate history.

[subterranean]

I particulary like Journey to the center of the earth ;). And yea...sometimes I do think I shoud have read them when I was younger...


Mmm. Tough. I have very fond memories of one of his less-read books 'A Long Vacation,' but I should mention that I read it at an age where school kids getting stuck on an island, sans talking pig heads and broken glasses, sounded very appealing indeed. For outright favorite, though, I may have to go with 'Aroun the World in Eighty Days,' because I devoured it straight through and laughed myself silly. It's been a few years, though...
How about you? Verne picks?

[melee82]

The first book you should read is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is good too, especially Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude. All three books make for excellent reading.

[melee82]

One book I forgot is Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. That's a real good book, and it's set during the industrial revolution. So it just depends on how historical you like your novels.