Historical Fiction

Yossi312

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway, based during the Spanish Civil War.

Harry Angstrom

The Plot Against America - Philip Roth

Ormus

Evelyn Cusack wrote: »

I'd add Shogun by James Clavell (I think)

It's about an English sailor landing in feudal Japan - samurai sh*t

Great read

marienbad

The Odysseus/Troy series by Glyn Iliffe - takes the story from the start to finish and includes all the ancillary myths such as Iphigenia, Ajax, Philoctetes
that are usually skipped over and puts them back as vital components of the narrative . Four books written -taking us to the fall of Troy and one (Odysseus voyage home) to be published later this year.

Great stuff if you like the Greeks and a reminder of all they have given us.

Harry Angstrom

doyoumrjones wrote: »

Also can anyone recommend any of Elton's other books and are they also historical fiction? Thanks

The only novel I've read of Ben Elton's was Popcorn. It was like a hackneyed rehash of Pulp Fiction and True Romance. Half of it was written as a film script so presumably Ben was expecting Tarantino and Miramax to come along and buy up the film rights. Apart from the fact that he's a hypocrite and a sell-out, Ben Elton isn't much of a writer either.

Reiver

The Flashman series is amazing. People have decried it of being politically incorrect but when the narrator is a 19th century British soldier and adventurer (who is an absolute cad), you'll get that. It's educational, entertaining and downright uncomfortable especially when narrating the death of British army in 1840s Afghanistan or the atrocities (by both sides) during the Indian Mutiny.

Anything by Bernard Cornwell is good.
Sharpe-A Napoleonic wars British light infantry officer, one whos risen from the ranks and charts his rise from beginnings in India to Waterloo and beyond.
Grail Trilogy- An English longbowman during the Hundred Years War
Warlord Chronicles- one of the most enjoyable depictions of the Arthurian age I've ever read.
Saxon Stories-centres around the clash between Wessex and the invading Vikings.

And Nigel Tranter, want to know about Scottish history? He's your guy!

Paddy Samurai

doyoumrjones wrote: »

hi

I am coming to the end of Ben Elton's "Two Brothers" novel which is set in Weimar/Nazi Germany. I absolutely loved the book and am wondering can anyone recommend any other good historical fiction novels?

You could try one of my favourite's

The Religion by Tim Willocks
But just to let you know ,it is pretty violent/gory.

2008 interview with the Author...............

This wonderful adventure story is also an unavoidably resonant meditation on the power of religion to incite war.
Tim Willocks has harnessed a huge amount of knowledge to create a panorama of the siege from both perspectives, while never losing sight of his individual characters. His device is Tannhauser, a nominal Christian who has spent years as a devshirme, a Muslim convert in the elite Ottoman janissary corps.

Full review here : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3654884/Blood-drenched-quest.html

Reekwind

I'm not entirely sure that it counts as 'historical fiction', being more a series of related vignettes and brief essays than a novel, but Francis Spufford's Red Plenty really is an amazing work. It charts the decline of the Soviet Union, from the heady days of the 1950s to the squalid decay of the 1980s. I loved it.

genie

Pretty much anything by Sharon Penman but her Welsh trilogy (Here Be Dragons, Falls The Shadow, The Reckoning) is especially good.

r3nu4l

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

The only novel I've read of Ben Elton's was Popcorn. It was like a hackneyed rehash of Pulp Fiction and True Romance. Half of it was written as a film script so presumably Ben was expecting Tarantino and Miramax to come along and buy up the film rights. Apart from the fact that he's a hypocrite and a sell-out, Ben Elton isn't much of a writer either.

Putting aside your obvious dislike for the man and bias against him I'll answer the question without bias.

The First Casualty by Elton is a fantastic novel, well written and with a good storyline. It was also well received for the most part by the critics, many of whom are the same people who accuse him of being a sell out to his original ideals.

In fact, the Telegraph (a Tory paper [Elton at the time was one of Labour's biggest donors]) described the novel as a "work of formidable imaginative scope... the writing is so good, the language so surprisingly subtle and the characters so beautifully delineated" and "Nevertheless, you can now put aside any remaining thoughts of Ben Elton in his shiny jacket and start to think of him as a real writer."

The book is not without it's faults but it is good.

You could also try the Conquerer series by Conn Iggulden, set in ancient Rome. It's very well written and fast paced but like Robert Harris, Iggulden is less concerned with complete historical accuracy and if you are a stickler for accuracy these books will drive you mad (two of the characters in the book are said to be of similar age but in reality one of these men was about 15 years older than the other). However, they are a good read.

Iggulden has written plenty of other historical fiction and his latest efforts revolve around the Houses of Tudor and Lnacaster, The Wars of the Roses.

Ipso

American Tabloid by James Ellroy, a seedy telling of JFK era politics.

eire4

I have always been a big fan of Morgan Llwelyn's books. Lion of Ireland, The Bard, Druids, Grania just to name a few.

The White Feather

doyoumrjones wrote: »

hi

can anyone recommend any other good historical fiction novels?

Thanks

I would recommend the Ethan Gage series of novels by William Dietrich. It starts off with a book called "Napoleon's Pyramids"

I have only read the first 3 so far but they are very exciting with the protagonist meeting Napoleon and other famous historical figures by trying to play all sides against each other.Full of action and narrow escapes!

kimmykins

The Languedoc Trilogy by Kate Mosse is quite good

eire4

Anne Chambers The Geraldine Conspiracy is a great read as well.

Eramen

Gates of Fire (Steven Pressfield) & Red Plenty (Francis Spufford) are among the best novels I've come across - not just in the historical fiction genre - but among all forms of literature. And I've read a lot of historical/fiction.

donglen

Evelyn Cusack wrote: »

I'd add Shogun by James Clavell (I think)

It's about an English sailor landing in feudal Japan - samurai sh*t

One of my all time favourites, there's few books I read more than once but this is one of them.

Neleven

Don de Lillo's Underworld and Libra - both good insights into 20th century America.

Pat Barker's 1st world war trilogy- not to everyone's taste but captivating and I much preferred them to Sebastian Faulk's Birdsong.

Loads of others that I've read but my mind is a fuzzy muddle at the moment. 😳

Censorsh!t

Not set in the 20th century, but The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco was very good.

Time's Arrow by Martin Amis - not sure how much this fits into an historical fiction category. It's very experimental.


Edit: Also, I, Claudius by Robert Graves is very good. Especially for the bits concerning Caligula.

pavb2

Censorsh!t wrote: »

Not set in the 20th century, but The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco was very good.

Time's Arrow by Martin Amis - not sure how much this fits into an historical fiction category. It's very experimental.


Edit: Also, I, Claudius by Robert Graves is very good. Especially for the bits concerning Caligula.

I Claudius is very well written and easy to read Claudius is a reluctant hero and you find yourself rooting for him. I'm currently watching the bbc box set of the series from the seventies.

Paddy Samurai

pavb2 wrote: »

I Claudius is very well written and easy to read Claudius is a reluctant hero and you find yourself rooting for him. I'm currently watching the bbc box set of the series from the seventies.

I read the book and liked it big time.
I would be interested in your opinion of the TV series as I saw the tv series a long time back and thought at the time it was pretty good.But I hear it has'nt dated well

pavb2

Hi PaddyS

Yes the series is definitely dated in comparison to productions made today but in 1976 this would have been the norm and I daresay you wouldn't have 'Noticed' it.

I read a review and agree that for the first 2 or 3 episodes you almost have to ignore and see through the dodgy sets if you can do this and concentrate on the plot and acting it is very good.

It is like a dramatic soap opera with plenty of comedy.

Some famous stars in the cast Patrick Stewart,Brian blessed,Derek Jacobi and John hurt.

the book was fine for me but as there were so many characters the series made things a lot clearer as regards to who was who and what they did.

Paddy Samurai

I would love the BBC to produce a new up to date version,as it such a interesting story with great characters.

quickbeam

I would love HBO to produce a new up to date version, as it such a interesting story with great characters.

Mr.Buzz

quickbeam wrote: »

I would love HBO to produce a new up to date version, as it such a interesting story with great characters.

God, No. Whatever they put their hands on, it turns into a soft-core porn version of what it should be. Leave it with BBC and their pretty amazing mini-series record.

chasmcb

Mr.Buzz wrote: »

God, No. Whatever they put their hands on, it turns into a soft-core porn version of what it should be. Leave it with BBC and their pretty amazing mini-series record.

The BBC version had its ration of folk getting their kit off as I recall. And some of the shenanigans those Roman Emperors got up to would qualify as hard-core porn never mind soft-core!

But to get back to the thread topic; there are two historical fiction books I saw great reviews of recently and I'm going to order them in my local bookshop next time in town; "Kingmaker; Winter Pilgrims" by Toby Clements is the first of a series of novels set during the Wars of the Roses. Came out in hardback last year and paperback edition is due next month I think. "Neverhome" by Laird Hunt got rave reviews in both The Irish Times & The Guardian over the weekend. It's set during the American Civil War and is about a woman who disguises herself as a man and enlists in the Union army.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

chasmcb wrote: »

"Neverhome" by Laird Hunt got rave reviews in both The Irish Times & The Guardian over the weekend. It's set during the American Civil War and is about a woman who disguises herself as a man and enlists in the Union army.

I heard about this book last year when it was announced that Irish director Lenny Abrahamson was on board to direct the film adaptation. I think it was optioned before it was even released. I assume if the Irish papers are reviewing it now it's due out here now?

chasmcb

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I heard about this book last year when it was announced that Irish director Lenny Abrahamson was on board to direct the film adaptation. I think it was optioned before it was even released. I assume if the Irish papers are reviewing it now it's due out here now?

That's interesting about Lenny Abrhamson being lined up to do the film. Amazon list its publication date as February 5th so I guess it should be available here around then.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

chasmcb wrote: »

That's interesting about Lenny Abrhamson being lined up to do the film. Amazon list its publication date as February 5th so I guess it should be available here around then.

Yeah, I heard that at some point last year but haven't seen or heard anything about it since. Looking forward to reading it either way.

Paddy Samurai

donglen wrote: »

One of my all time favourites, there's few books I read more than once but this is one of them.

Yeah I agree Shogun is one of only three books that I have read multiple times.Although i start out with great intentions to read other books again ,I rarely find the time.


I also got the TV series box set a few years back and I have watched it on at least 3 occasions.IMO it has dated pretty well for something from the 1980's.