Historical literature

[ballb]

Would anyone care to nominate their favourite historical novelist and favourite historical novel. Very few historical novels ever strike me as convincing. What and whom should I be reading?

[Whifflingpin]

A while ago, I would have said Alfred Duggan. He wrote about 20 historical novels, all of which are good, but, if I had to choose, say 3 of them, I'd pick "Winter Quarters," "He Died Old" and "Lord Geoffrey's Fancy." Oh, but then there's ... and ...

Then maybe Marguerite Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian," that's a good crisp read.

And Cecelia Holland, who has written novels about many different periods. I did not much enjoy her "Firedrake," but I'd recommend her others, especially "Great Maria" and "Death of Attila"

But, if you want convincing, then I'd say Colleen McCollough's Roman series are unbeatable. Really well told and readable stories, with a depth of scholarship that only becomes amazing when you stop to think about it - it's there all the time, but, unlike some historical novelists, McCollough never goes into schoolteacher mode or forgets that she's writing a novel.

[Niamh]

My favourite novel is Murder at the Abbey Theatre. Its based in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and is about the Playboy riots of 1907 but is a very enjoyable fictionous vision of the event.

[Dark Muse]

I really like Morgan Llywelyn who forcuses upon stories or Irish Lore and History.

And I am currently reading this very intresting and detatiled story about the Aztecs called Aztec by Gary Jennings

And I read this great book called Gates of Fire about the battle of Thermopylae and the Spartan Army, by Steven Pressfield

[Niamh]

Morgan Llywelyns book Lion of Ireland is Amazing!

[Nico87]

There are so many.

The Middle Parts of Fortune by Frederic Manning. "The finest and noblest book of men in war" according to Hemingway. About life in the trenches - WW1. Probably the greatest book I've ever read.

The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth - about the decline and fall of the Austrian Empire.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and/or The Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn - about life in Gulag, and how the system worked.

Cancer Ward by the same authour - about life in a Soviet cancer ward.

If This is a Man / The Truce by Primo Levi - Concentration camp experiences and his return home to Italy.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler - about the Moscow Trials etc.

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker - about life and pasients in the Craiglockhart Mental Hospital for WW1 veterans.

These are all books that are based on actual events and real places.

Thats all I can think of right now. All books comes highly recommended.

I've only listed novels, but if you're interested in WW1 or WW2 litterature in general, I can recommend another 20 books.

[Beverly S]

Anything by the Bronte sisters is good. Jane Eyre I really enjoyed.

[higley]

Jeff Shaara writes some really great historical war novels if that strikes your fancy. His father also wrote the pulitzer-winning Killer Angels, a novel focusing on central figures in the Battle of Gettysburg.

[ballb]

Nico87, talking of WW1 novels, have you read "Covenant With Death" by John Harris about the Somme campaign and Ernest Raymond`s "Tell England" about Gallipoli? Both excellent & convincing novels. And both sadly out of print now I think.

[bazarov]

Hemingway's Farewell to Arms(incredibly bad book about WWI) and For Whom the Bell Tolls about Spanish Civil War, Tolstoy's War and Peace about Napoleon war against Russia.

[Nico87]

Nico87, talking of WW1 novels, have you read "Covenant With Death" by John Harris about the Somme campaign and Ernest Raymond`s "Tell England" about Gallipoli? Both excellent & convincing novels. And both sadly out of print now I think.

I hadn't heard of Covenant With Death, but I have heard about Tell England. Gallipoli is my "favourite" battle", and I think I've read almost every book written about it (about 30 books), except this one.

There's a paperback edition published in 2007 on amazon for £13, or $26.

I also found a hardcover edition on Abebooks, £25 for the book, published in 1927, which I just ordered.

PS! I can be wrong, but I think the producers of the Gallipoli movie (with Mel Gibson etc.) said that they were inspired by Tell England when making their movie.

[Dark Muse]

The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck I thought was a really good book about the Great Depression and the dust bowl.

And I just read a book The Fortunate Pilgrim by Mario Puzo that was an execellent book on the lives of Italian Immigrants

[Zelly]

Hmm... It would take me forever to list them all but the one that jumped to my mind was Calico Captive, by Elizabeth George Speare. Set during the French and Indian War. I'll put more as I think of them. But that one really stood out, the French household seemed very realistic, as well as the Indian villages.

[mtpspur]

A little reluctant to share Rafael Sabatini (Captain Blood--favorite book ever)because of your use of the word 'convincing'. I read Sabatini for entertainment and his delightful turn of phrase. A bit more 'convincing' would be C. S. Forester's Hornblower series. Hope this helps.

[Nico87]

Oooo, the Hornblower series are excellent!

[Boris239]

Maurice Druon series "Cursed Kings" is absolutely brillant. It is about France of the beginning of the 14th century. I enjoyed two Heinrich Mann's novels about Henry IV. Some of Walter Scott novels are very interesting. Dumas is a good choice if care a bit less about the historical accuracy and more about adventures. Grossman's "Life and Destiny" is good for the Second World War.

[thegreenthing]

I would want to add "the silent Don" by Mikhail Sholokhov, it may not be that true to history, but it's a lovely acount of the Cosacks lives and customs.

[PeterL]

Arundel and Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Roberts are excellent novels that retell the history of the Northern Campaign and the defeat of Burgoynne during the American Revolution. The characters are good, and the history is accurate, which is good for an obscure but very important bit of American history.

[mtpspur]

I heartedly second Kenneth Roberts. He should always be in print but isn't. I was a huge fan in my teen years and just slightly embarassed now that he's slipped my mind.

[stately,plump]

Does Garcia Marquez count? Lot of his books are set in the "past," although that's probably not what you mean by Historical Fiction :)

[JBI]

Why read historical novels when you can just read classic novels. Anyway, A Tale of Two cities by Charles Dickens, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, etc.

[Nico87]

Well, many historical novels are classic novels, but it's not the same thing.
I wouldn't say that, for example, The Brothers Karamazon, is not a historical novel, just because it's rather old.