Historical Fiction

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by murphy

hopefully with better covers so that they don't look like an average bodice ripper.

Um, the Angelique books were ripping bodices at a time when most historical romances were fairly sedate. According to my memory of the plots (and Angelique's sexual adventures) I'd say they were just the sort of books the term was invented to describe.

[murphy]

The Angelique books were supposed to be historically accurate, but she did skip from bed to bed. It was funny as well as pretty good story-telling.

[Rosemary]

There was another series set in about the same era, only in England. Have tried to find out the author but maybe it was too long ago now.
The basic historical facts were mainly of Charles II, his exile in France and his many bedroom visitors! His mistresses Nell Gwynn and Barbara Villiers appear in many other historical novels.
It also mentions the Kings's help during The Great Fire Of London.
There are also plenty of facts pertaining to the French Louis XIV, The Sun King and his affairs. There was also 'witchcraft involved' in a lot of the French Historical Novels. For lovers of Historical Novels this series was just marvellous. I am pretty sure that it was published around the same time as Angelique.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Speaking of the court of Louis XIV, I recently found one of my favorite sources from that period as a free etext at Blackmask: the Memoirs of the Duc de Saint Simon (in translation, which is handy since I don't speak or read French) -- in twelve volumes! All the gossip, all the intrigue, all the politics -- all the remarkably unglamorous details of a courtier's life -- written by someone who was actually there. Fans of Angelique would undoubtedly meet some of their favorite historical characters.

One of those books I used to haul home from the library and wish that I could own a copy. Now, for the price of paper and ink, I can.

[murphy]

Originally Posted by Rosemary

(snip)

Can anyone recall who wrote the series about the Welsh Kings?

Sharon Kay Penman wrote a trilogy about the Welsh. Here Be Dragons, Falls the Shadow, and The Reckoning. Is that who you meant? Very good and accurate historical novels, but then I am a fan of hers.

[murphy]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

I've seen the Angelique books, but have never read any of them. However, they do bring to mind another series, which I did read...avidly...when I was in junior high school. These were the Catherine books by Juliette Benzoni, in translation from the French. I had five of them, but I see from a little searching around on the 'net that there were 7 in the French. I don't know if I just missed two, or if two of them were never translated into English.

Typical bodice rippers that took place during the Hundred Years' War if I recall correctly. Anyway, they probably weren't that accurate historically, but I liked them anyway. Somewhere along the way I lost track of my copies of these books, but I surely wish I could find them again, if only to see how silly they really were. From what I can remember, the child Catherine (blonde and beautiful, of course) falls in love with a beautiful blonde young man who is soon killed, breaking her heart. Ah, but wait a bit, and she discovers that he has a twin brother who is his double except for having darker coloring. And thus begins a love/hate/love relationship that lasts through the various volumes.

Aw, heck, I was twelve or thirteen when I read these books. But I do remember them fondly.

In checking out eBay for the Angelique books, I came across some books by Juliette Benzoni about a Catherine.

[littlemissattitude]

That would be them. Thanks, murphy. I'm beginning to think it's possible to find anything on eBay.

[murphy]

For out-of-print books, I start out by looking at Barnes & Noble online, then Amazon, followed by Alibris and then eBay. The first three are pretty reliable and using eBay is taking a chance.

[murphy]

Just for fun, I check the out-of-print section at the online B&N, they have a number of Juliette Benzoni at very decent prices. Of course, you have to add $3.99 for shipping for each book.

[Anubis]

I just started reading Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, and so far I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
It's beautifully constructed and very ambitious in scope. It does move a little slowly at first, but the manysurprising historical references keep it interesting.

Also, I wanted to ask whether anyone here has read a book by a Dutch writer Hellas S. Haasse called in English 'In a Dark Wood Wandering'. A good book set around the time of Henry V. It's a fascinating, if somewhat melancholy story about the life of Charles D'Orleans.

[Hawise]

elizabeth chadwick her books a set in norman times and they give and idea to how those people used to live

[Hawise]

elizabeth chadwickwith hers it contains romance, fighting and the way people used to live in norman time (that's the period she writes in).

[Hawise]

elizabeth chadwick i think it shows you how people used to live in norman days it also contains romance and fighting

[Hawise]

elizabeth chadwick i think it tells you how people lived in norman days and about romance and fighting (it's fiction though)

[aarti]

You know, I was never enamoured with Pillars of the Earth. I read it for a group last year, and while I found it entertaining, I also thought there were a lot of historical inaccuracies. But for those who really enjoyed it, he is writing a sequel :-)

I read a lot of historical fiction. I am currently in the midst of Sandra Gulland's Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, which I think is really good (I'm a bit of a sucker for 1700-1820 European history). I also LOVE Georgette Heyer, though I guess she's more of an escapist read.

Has anyone read Sharon Kay Penman's Sunne in Splendour about Richard III? I was very engrossed in that one. And, in more recent history, I loved Carlos Ruiz-Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, and the just-published The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, both about WWII. They were VERY, very good.

And I also love The Count of Monte Cristo, which someone mentioned earlier. I thought it was masterly. I should reread it soon, too. I thought the book was much more complex and detailed than the movie was.

I own some Elizabeth Chadwick books, which Hawise mentioned, but I've only read her The Greatest Knight, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also think she's just a generally very nice person, as we're on some reading groups together, which I think makes it even better to read a good author :-)

And I do have In a Dark Wood Wandering, Anubis, though I haven't read it yet. I've heard a lot fo good things about it, though!

I think Teresa has read Dorothy Dunnett, but has anyone else? I'm SLOWLY making my way through her House of Niccolo series now. But she takes a LOT of concentration, so I only read a book of hers every few months or so, really ;-)

Whew, I think that catches me up!