June / Historical Fiction Poll

[wessexgirl]

I've thought of a few really interesting ones. As a sucker for the Civil War period, (the English one) what about As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann? (Absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm currently reading this ). Or a couple of Victorian thrillers, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, (actually non-fiction, but written like a novel), or The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox? One I absolutely must read is The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd, involving many of the literati of the time. Ooh, choices, choices.........

Ok, decision made. Can I nominate that last one, the Ackroyd please?


http://entertainment.timesonline.co....cle4627299.ece

[MissScarlett]

I read The Meaning of Night last year. Absolutely loved it.

[Virgil]

I noticed that too, Virgil, and I wasn't trying to get ahead of you on which Scott to read. I just noticed a lot of people mentioned "Ivanhoe" and asked if two by the same author could be nominated. I didn't really get any answer on that, so I went ahead and nominated it. I don't know anything about "Waverly", do you? What is the novel about? At anyrate, maybe that can also be nominated.

I didn't know much about Waverly except that when I see Scott mentioned in literary criticism, that seems to be the book most mentioned. I know nothing about Ivanhoe or Rob Roy that Kilt has suggested. I guess for now I'll stay with Waverly until I can do a quick research. Length of book matters to me too; I can't spend the time on a six hundred page novel I'm afraid.

Yes more than one book by the same author can be nominated. It's one nomination per lit net member.

[MissScarlett]

Waverly is Sir Walter Scott's first novel. It's set during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and centers around Edward Waverly, who leaves his aristocratic home in southern England and journeys to Scotland to restore the "rightful" monarchy. Waverly is often called "the first historical novel."

I read it in school. It's good, but Sir Walter Scott can be tedious at times. He's not for everyone, but then, who is?

[Scheherazade]

Sorry about that, Virgil!

Nominations so far:

1. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

2. Julian Gore Vidal

3. Katherine by Anya Seton

4. The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

5. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

6. Ivanhoe[/QUOTE]

7. Waverly

8. The Boy in the striped Pyjamas

9. The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein [/B]by Peter Ackroyd


Last nomination up for grabs!

[kilted exile]

Ok, I've got time just now to involve myself so: Rob Roy

[Virgil]

Waverly is Sir Walter Scott's first novel. It's set during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and centers around Edward Waverly, who leaves his aristocratic home in southern England and journeys to Scotland to restore the "rightful" monarchy. Waverly is often called "the first historical novel."

Yes, I have seen it refered to as the first historical novel. That is why I nominated it.

I read it in school. It's good, but Sir Walter Scott can be tedious at times. He's not for everyone, but then, who is?

Having never read Scott I am doing myself a disservice. Anyone who could invent an entire genre that is still going strong two hundred years later deserves attention.

[wessexgirl]

I read The Meaning of Night last year. Absolutely loved it.

I've just read that Michael Cox has died. He had been in ill-health for years, but such a shame. Apparently he wanted to write a third book as there was a second to TMON. I started TMON last year, but didn't finish it as I had to return it to the Library. I do want to try it again though.

[Scheherazade]

The final 10:

1. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

2. Julian Gore Vidal

3. Katherine by Anya Seton

4. The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

5. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

6. Ivanhoe[/QUOTE]

7. Waverly

8. The Boy in the striped Pyjamas

9. The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein [/B]by Peter Ackroyd

10. Rob Roy

[Virgil]

We people who want to read Walter Scott should all agree on the same one or we will divide our vote and surely lose. I don't have a preference so whichever you guys want is fine with me.

[MissScarlett]

I've just read that Michael Cox has died. He had been in ill-health for years, but such a shame. Apparently he wanted to write a third book as there was a second to TMON. I started TMON last year, but didn't finish it as I had to return it to the Library. I do want to try it again though.

Oh, that's terrible! Such a shame. I do think I had read he'd been in ill health, but I thought whatever it was, he overcame it. I recently purchased the "sort of" sequel to The Meaning of Night, but I haven't read it yet.

Thank you for posting the news, sad though it is.

Katherine by Anya Seton.

Can we bribe people to vote for Katherine?

[JBI]

I dunno - I find Scott to be boring, and as for the historical novel going strong, it has come a very, very long way, to the point where I don't think a serious author can write historical realism anymore, and must rely on metaficticious elements (Kroetsch), or intense satire (Saramago).

Generally though, history, as represented in novels, has seriously changed. It went from being a form of escapism, to a form of identity and pride, and then nostalgia, and then to something which is constantly undercut and manipulated.

What is interesting to note about Scott, is the power he had in establishing the 3 volume novel as the standard form, which prevailed in England up until the time Vizetelly completely destroyed the publishing world by tossing out 2 and a half shilling copies of Zola (of which, we now have the pleasure of viewing on this website, though the translations are supposedly beyond mediocre). In terms of publishing, Scott was perhaps the most central figure in transforming the way people accessed books, and the way people read novels.

As a writer though, well, he is interesting in places. He's an interesting poet too though.

It seems though, that this selection is pretty masculine, all things considered, and it would have been interesting to have some feminist texts dealing with history, like perhaps Anne Hebert's great Gothic historical novel Karmouraska, or Willa Cather's My Antonia (or some other text). In truth, it seems a bit limited to have 3 novels by the same author.

[Janine]

We people who want to read Walter Scott should all agree on the same one or we will divide our vote and surely lose. I don't have a preference so whichever you guys want is fine with me.

I hate to break this to you, Virgil, but I think "Waverly" is a whole set of novels by Scott. I just looked it up online and on Ebay someone is selling the whole set. It would take all year to study "Waverly". I would prefer the more managable "Ivanhoe". It's a really good novel; I read it years ago. I don't know much about "Rob Roy", only that I saw the movie version with Liam Neeson years ago.

[JBI]

I hate to break this to you, Virgil, but I think "Waverly" is a whole set of novels by Scott. I just looked it up online and on Ebay someone is selling the whole set. It would take all year to study "Waverly". I would prefer the more managable "Ivanhoe". It's a really good novel; I read it years ago. I don't know much about "Rob Roy", only that I saw the movie version with Liam Neeson years ago.

The name refers to the novel Waverley as well as the collection of novels that make up his entire opus (though the term usually refers to the ones set in Scotland).

[Janine]

The name refers to the novel Waverley as well as the collection of novels that make up his entire opus (though the term usually refers to the ones set in Scotland).

Oh thanks for clearing that up, JBI, I didn't know about the difference. Is "Waverley" a very long novel and what is it about?