Historical Fiction / May '11 Reading Poll

I'll nominate Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

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Originally Posted by dfloyd

It is a very good book, not like most historical novels. In fact it is probably more fact than fiction. If you are not familiar with the reign of Henry VIII, you must do research to enable you to read the book with any assurance. Watching The Tudors might help. It is one of those books in which the reader must put extra effort to get the benefit of the author's research and writing. I found myself looking up various facts and personages every few chapters. It is not for those who want historical romantic fiction.

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It's one of the books I've got on the go at the moment. It has an interesting narrative style. I think it's great and well worth reading.

I'll nominate Heartstone by CJ Sansom. It's also set in tudor times and is a murder mystery.

I nominate A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

I'd like to nominate Patick O'Brian Master and Commander, the first of the Aubrey/Maturin books about the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars though I'll go along with Paulclem for C J Sansom - I've enjoyed the previous Shardlake books though I haven't read Heartstone. I also enjoyed Wolf Hall very much but it is quite a long book.

Nominations so far:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

2. "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara

3. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

4. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

5. The Caine Mutiny

6. The Queen's Necklace by Dumas

7. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

8. Heartstone by CJ Sansom

9. Master and Commander




Last nomination up for grabs!


Lost> You need to have at least 50 posts to nominate books :)

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi

Please tell me it's better than the movie.

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Captain Corelli's Mandolin is really good book, though it's a while since I read it. Once you get past the weird Mussolini chapter, it's really good. The movie, however, was a disaster the minute Nicholas Cage was cast as the short, balding, ugly and characterful Captain Corelli and was an overwhelming travesty to anyone who loved the book. Definitely not a book to judge by the quality of its movie which basically sucked.

That being said...oh yeah, it's rubbish. Vote for Wolf Hall :D

My nomination Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

but neither is the book as compared to most of the books nominated. Not much meat in the novel and the ending is telegraphed to the reader. The books by Ecco and Mandel are more worthwhile reads.

Ooh, I may be able to join in with this one, as I love Historical fiction. There are some great books among the nominations. I have read The Name of the Rose years ago, and it is very good, but very deep, with its murder mystery element and all the allusions, philosophy and religious stuff in it. It's well worth a read. As a fan of Hilary Mantel, I have been meaning to read Wolf Hall for some time, as it's on my TBR pile, and I have started it. She's a wonderful writer. I also have Alias Grace in my sights and on my tower of TBR books. Master and Commander also interests me. I will have difficulty choosing one of these, but I will definitely disregard Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I know it has its fans, but it doesn't really appeal to me. If any more nominations are needed, what about a bit of good old Victorian bawdiness with the soon to be televised Crimson Petal and the White, or a foray into 17th century Japan, with the marvellous David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet? All books to really get stuck into.

Nominations:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

2. "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara

3. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

4. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

5. The Caine Mutiny

6. The Queen's Necklace by Dumas

7. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

8. Heartstone by CJ Sansom

9. Master and Commander

10. The Name of the Rose by Eco


Wessex> Thanks for the suggestions but we have already got 10 :)

Lots of interesting and intriguing choices here. I think I'd be willing to read any of them, as long as it isn't a 1000+ page epic. Kinda worn out on those, but May is still a ways off.

"Tale of Two Cities" and "The Name of the Rose" were disgused on this forum a number of years back. I don't know if that matters or if the threads even still exist. Just thought I would point it out. I was in both discussion groups. Of course they are both great books.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi

Please tell me it's better than the movie.

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de Bernieres' book is certainly of a higher quality than the movie (even to someone whose favourite actor is Christian Bale), so don't let your harsh opinion of the film taint your enjoyment of the book, as it's absolutely fabulous :)

Go Wolf Hall!

Master and Commander ... another book I hope is better than the movie. :nod: