Historical Fiction / May '11 Reading Poll

Please nominate the "historical" novel you would like to read in May in this thread.

Please remember that:

- Only those members with 50+ posts can nominate.

- One nomination per member.

- Only the first 10 nominations will be included in the poll.


The Book Club readings are for those who would like to read and discuss books together with other members.

If you are not able to take part or unwilling to (re)read your own nominations, please refrain from nominating book.


A list of historical novels.

I nominate Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

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Originally Posted by TheFifthElement

I nominate Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

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Good choice. :D

It's going to be difficult to decide on a nomination. Some great novels.

Historical fiction is a genre I'm very unfamiliar with, so I'll leave the nominations to other members. :nod:

I would like to nominate "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara. For more info check the following; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killer_Angels

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Originally Posted by TheFifthElement

I nominate Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

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I have been wanting to read that for a while and considered it nominating it myself.

I nominate Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

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Originally Posted by Dark Muse

I nominate Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

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Please tell me it's better than the movie.

And, browsing the provided list, I do have a nomination: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi

Please tell me it's better than the movie.

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I fear I cannot tell you that, since I have not seen the movie, and haven't read the book yet, but the book sounded interesting and I have read good reviews, and was recommended to me here on this forum.

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


I have been meaning to read The Killer Angels for a while now and have read Captain Corelli's Mandolin; thought it was a very good book as it was not simply about a war-time love affair but had many political/philosophical interjections within the story. Haven't seen the movie, though.

I would like to nominate The Caine Mutiny.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

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

I have been meaning to read The Killer Angels for a while now and have read Captain Corelli's Mandolin; thought it was a very good book as it was not simply about a war-time love affair but had many political/philosophical interjections within the story. Haven't seen the movie, though.

I would like to nominate The Caine Mutiny.

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Ummm, I think you overlooked my nomination, Scher ... The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

In that case, I would like to nominate a Dumas' novel, often overlooked and belonging to the Marie Antoinette Romances, but which can be read as a stand-alone historical novel:The Queen's Necklace.

This is going to be hard, HF is one of my personal favorite genres, so almost every book nominated so far I want to read. I am not going to have any idea what to vote for.

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

I've been trying to read Wolf Hall for the longest time.

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.

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:

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi

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

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I actually really liked the movie

I've gone for Wolf Hall.

This is not a popular genre, is it?

Not many votes...

Well, I'm saving my vote for the end. I don't like wasting it on something no one else will vote for.

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Originally Posted by Dark Muse

I actually really liked the movie

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A lot of people did, actually. I just wasn't one of them.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

This is not a popular genre, is it?

Not many votes...

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I'm surprised. There are quite a few good authors in this genre. I like historical fiction because the setting becomes important too in that there's an opportunity to benefit from someone else's research.

My old history teacher used to tell us to read the Flashman novels to get a flavour of the historical period in the Victorian age. I didn't at the time, but later I partook. The books were ok, but they were also informative.

Come on Wolf Hall...

All right, let's see some campaigning. Why should Wolf Hall get my vote? Sell it to me!

I've begun Wolf Hall. It is set in an interesting time - the dangerous court of Henry VIII. It is full of intrigue, and focuses on the rise of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's fixer.

It has an interesting narrative style. The story is told entirely through the eyes of the protagonists, without the use of an external, omniscient narrator who coments upon the scenes and events. It has the effect of bringing the reader into a close proximity to, and thus a closer identification with, the characters.

It is good on historical details.

It won the Man Booker Prize.

So, is it Wolf Hall, then?

Hello admins,

I voted first (for Wolf Hall), and then saw the rules which point out that only members with plus 50 posts can vote. Am I still ok to join this month's reading club? It looks like a belter of a read, and I'm more than willing to postpone reading my recent purchase of The Pillars of the Earth to grapple with this novel and discuss...

Welcome to the Forum, Brock :)

You still have got two days to increase your post count so go for it!


Going once...