Help finding next historical fiction book to read (fairly specific)

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Help finding next historical fiction book to read (fairly specific)

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1wunderlong88
Apr. 23, 2016, 11:45 am

Having a hard time finding my next historical fiction read. Would love to hear some suggestions.

I don't wan't graphic sex, language or violence. Nothing supernatural.
I don't want a romance novel disguised as historical fiction, although a love story within the historical fiction is fine (Katherine by Anya Seton comes to mind here).
I've read a lot of English royaltly hf and would really like something maybe set in the late 1800's or upto World War 2.
WW2 would be my first pick but I would want something along the lines of stories of the homefront, resistance, or occupied countries more than the military aspects of the war.

Some I have really enjoyed: Galway Bay, The Other Bolyen Girl, The Book Thief, These is My Words: Diary of Sarah Agnes Pine, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. I like a lot of classics: Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Thomas Hardy. I'm not really looking for a classic though. Just giving you an idea of my tastes.

I want something that has been historically researched, tells a good story, is written well (but doesn't have to be a literary masterpiece or too hard to read).

I'm considering War of the Winds (Wouk), The Nightengale or All The Light We Cannot See.

My concerns:
War of the Winds - a soap?
The Nightengale - I read some reviews stating this was just a romance with not much historical research or basis
All the Light We Cannot See - tries to hard with language and literary devices

I would not rule out any time period if my other qualifications are met. I love stories about real people and real events, stories that I can escape to another time and place with them.

Looking forward to your recommendations!
Thank you!

2Lynxear
Bearbeitet: Apr. 23, 2016, 1:18 pm

If you like the Napoleonic War period I have two authors you might consider. I will only mention the first book of each series. If you like the book you will be hooked and want to read every book in their respective series... and read them in order for you will see the development of the main character of each book.

The first book is Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwall

Dick Sharpe is a young private the bastard son of an unknown gentleman and London prostitute. He is forced to join the British Army because of a minor theft that back then was a hanging offense. You will learn what it is like to be in the British Army during this time, to the extent that you will know how to load and fire a musket in 20 seconds.

The Siege of Seringapatam is a real battle and at the end of the novel Cornwall gives the real details on which the story is based. Most of the characters in the novel are real and act as they did in history, except that Dick Sharpe is inserted and has some effect on the ultimate outcome of a battle of fight.

There are 20 books to this series and you follow Dick Sharpe as he makes his way through the British Military during the Napoleonic war eventually to become a commander... no mean feat considering he has no money and most officer positions are purchased.

The second book is Midshipman Hornblower by CS Forester

In a way the two books are similar except this is an insight into the British Navy during the time of the Napoleonic war. Hornblower is a very private man, hates anything musical (drives him crazy... even the marine whistles). Through this series of books, starting here, you will discover what it is like to serve on various types of naval warships as he progresses through his career. He is a very calculating individual who, when he becomes an officer has the loyalty of all his men... sometimes to his surprise.

Both authors write in an easy to read manner and in a voice that is suitable for the times, though not as detailed as Patrick O'Brian where you almost need a naval jargon dictionary of the period to understand what is being said.

As I said earlier, you will probably be hooked on reading either of these books and want to read the complete series.... There is violence in each of these books but it is not gratuitous violence. You are placed in each battle and really feel you are a part of the scene. Also the battles are mainly climaxes in these stories. They are books describing the life during those times, not just fight after fight which for me gets boring after a while.

3wunderlong88
Apr. 23, 2016, 5:50 pm

Thank you! I appreciate you for you detailed response. I will look into these although I don't mind some battles (that aren't too graphic) my interest lies more in daily life, espionage, resistance or survival. The actual battles are the least interesting part for me, for some reason.

I've seen the Horatio Hornblower series (BBC) and enjoyed it. I assume this character comes from these books? I'll have to google it :-)

Thank you again!

4Lynxear
Bearbeitet: Apr. 25, 2016, 3:45 pm

If you are into historical mysteries I recommend Dissolution by CJ Sansom

The novel takes place during the time of Henry VII after he has kicked out the Catholic church. Thomas Cromwell is tasked with confiscating the monasteries, land and relics as well as offering the occupants an opportunity of renouncing their faith or be burned at the stake as heretics. One of his men sent to a monastery is murdered and Cromwell gives Mathew Shardlake the task of solving the murder. Mathew is a hunch back lawyer who is very good at his job.

You get a really good view of life in London and beyond during the times of Henry VIII. Like the other books I have recommended, this is the first of a series of mysteries Shardlake has to solve... each one as good as the previous one.

5Tess_W
Bearbeitet: Apr. 24, 2016, 4:04 pm

All the Light We Cannot See is the best HF book I've read in ages. Your concern about the language & literary devices? I didn't find that to be the case at all!

6torontoc
Apr. 24, 2016, 4:37 pm

All of the C.J. Sansom books are terrific!

7charl08
Apr. 24, 2016, 5:05 pm

I really liked Their Finest Hour and a half about the UK homefront. And Angela Huth's book Landgirls is a favourite of mine. I couldn't see any Sebastian Faulks' books in your cayalogue - Charlotte Gray is about a young woman training for the SOE.

I wondered if you had tried searching the tags for 'home front' or 'resistance' or similar historical key word- you might find more of what you're looking for.

8gmathis
Apr. 25, 2016, 11:37 am

Have you checked out Edward Rutherfurd? He writes big, meaty sagas that trace a family or location through several centuries...but despite their length, they are smooth, easy reads. I'm enjoying Sarum right now.

9wunderlong88
Apr. 25, 2016, 2:04 pm

I haven't tried the tags option simply because it is hard to know how graphic the books are unless someone tells you. They need ratings :-) I will check out your suggestions. TY!

10Unreachableshelf
Apr. 25, 2016, 5:30 pm

If you'd be interested in late 18th century France, you might check out The Executioner's Heir, about Charles-Henri Sanson, the master executioner of Paris. It's been a while since I read it but the reviews that I'm looking up to confirm my memory agree that it's occasionally grim but never overly graphic. Executioner is mostly a hereditary job, largely because nobody except executioners and their families are really willing to associate with families who are already in that line, so he finds himself in the position without having necessarily wanted it. It ends before the revolution and I'm just anxious for the sequel to come out.

And if Horatio Hornblower type stuff sounds promising, check out the Master and Commander series. It's extremely character driven and the series overall has nearly as much to do with their lives off ship as on.

11wunderlong88
Apr. 27, 2016, 10:32 am

The Executioner's Heir sounds interesting!

12torontoc
Apr. 27, 2016, 10:40 am

S.J Parris has a wonderful series of books- Heresy is the first andProphecy is the second-the main character is "renegade" monk Giordano Bruno ( who is a real person with a very tragic end)- He is living in Elizabethan England and works for Sir Francis Walsingham the Queen's spymaster-there are murders, intrigue and more. I hope that the author will write more although she is constrained with the time line of Giordano's real story.

13wunderlong88
Apr. 28, 2016, 2:17 pm

I sure appreciate all of the suggestions, so far! I see several I am interested in pursuing.

14ScoLgo
Apr. 28, 2016, 7:47 pm

I have not yet read them but have received several recommendations for Robert Goddard's The Wide World series that begins with The Ways of the World.

15Zumbanista
Apr. 29, 2016, 12:57 am

>10 Unreachableshelf: I've added The Executioner's Heir to my Wishlist. Thanks for that!

16swsol
Mai 4, 2016, 6:04 pm

Try Philip Rock's Greville Family Saga. The Passing Bells is the first, starting in 1914. Circles of Time and A Future Arrived

17laceyvail
Dez. 24, 2016, 6:15 am

City of Women by David Gillham WWII and Berlin is a city of women. Very well written.

Also, a quartet about Churchill by Michael Dobbs--Winston's War, Never Surrender, Churchill's Hour, Churchill's Triumph. You'll never again take for granted the winning of WWII. Or Britain's role in it. Extremely well done.

18threadnsong
Bearbeitet: Dez. 30, 2016, 11:08 am

I've just started Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and enjoy its description of Amiens before the start of the Great War. It is interesting (tragic may be a better word) to see what was swept away.

Another good book I read on the WWI theme years ago was Flanders by Patricia Anthony. The basic premise is a young Texan who is recruited as a sharp shooter by the British Army. He lives in the trenches and fights with his British comrades while writing letters home to describe his battleground experiences. He also has an ability to "see" his dead fellow soldiers. There is one scene that is later revealed as a rape, from the POV of the effect on the victim, but the rapist gets his judgment and punishment at death.

19cindydavid4
Bearbeitet: Dez. 30, 2016, 8:39 pm

Edited - sorry, should have read the time period needed!

20bostonbibliophile
Dez. 30, 2016, 8:04 pm

I'd recommend Code Name Verity, set in WW2 it's YA but very approachable for the adult reader.

21Lynxear
Dez. 31, 2016, 3:46 am

>18 threadnsong: I am going to have to search out Birdsong. I have been to Amiens 4 times in the last 6 years for 4-5 weeks at a time. There is several places of interest (besides my girlfriend at the time ;) ). Not the least is the Notre Dame 'Amiens. I am not religious but I visited that cathedral (which is bigger than Notre Dame De Paris) at least 2-3 times each trip and saw new things with each visit. The area surrounding the cathedral was bombed to the stoneage in WWII... By the cathedral itself was basically unharmed. The Cathedral features hundreds of statues (about 1/3 life size) plus thousands of smaller carvings and scenes that were cut into the walls of the cathedral centuries ago. I was told that back then most people were illiterate and these pictures/statues were representations of the Bible and used by priests to teach the masses.

The construction proceeded in stages starting about 1220AD.... It is the tallest standing cathedral in France... if not Europe. How the architects through the centuries believed they could construct such a massive structure and build it to last almost 800 years, amazed me when most modern structures don't make 100 years nowadays.

In WWII they sandbagged the outer walls to a height of about 30 feet to protect the wall carvings and I guess there was an agreement not to damage this building, though today you can see lesser churches in a bombed out condition.

I am not certain what happened in WWI as bombing was far less intense. As well I am not certain Amiens was even occupied as it was in WWII.

It is certainly a book I would love to read.... lovely city and nice people from my experience.

22somermoore
Jan. 17, 2017, 11:13 pm

While Still We Live, by Helen MacInnes, is about a young Englishwoman mistaken for a German spy in Poland during WWII. Marvelous detail of the Polish resistance. There is a romance that is a large part of the story, but in my mind the main story is the resistance. Helen MacInnes was known for her well-researched novels, but I wondered if the level of organization outlined in this books was real; when I read the nonfiction book The Zookeeper's Wife I knew it was.

Alistair MacLean had several good WWII novels including The Guns of Navarrone. Violence, but not as graphic as newer books tend to be. Very much mainstream adventure of the time (written in the 1950s-60s).

Elswyth Thane has a 7-book series, generally referred to as the Williamburg series, that starts with the American Revolutionary War and ends right before Pearl Harbor. An "upstairs" account -- I would love to see someone write the "downstairs" counterpoint. Well researched, both as to homefront social and political attitudes and to battle scenes.

I read The Winds of War by Herman Wouk a long time ago. I liked it OK but did not read his others about the same time period.

23patwo
Feb. 12, 2017, 9:30 am

I've just re-read Nevil Shute's Landfall, which is set during WW2. It's not really a historical novel as it was published in 1940, but I guess it would tick the historical accuracy box! It's a kind of mystery/romance, and like all the other Nevil Shute novels I've read, just a fairly untaxing good read.

24cindydavid4
Bearbeitet: Feb. 13, 2017, 7:34 pm

Why wouldn't it be considered an historical novel? WWII is definitely history to me (tho I am aware that we all have our ideas on this issue so ymmv) But any way I do love that book but then I love most that I have read of nevil Shute.

25bostonbibliophile
Feb. 13, 2017, 8:20 pm

because it was published contemporaneous with the events it describes. like publishing a novel today about the recent presidential election would not be considered "historical" because it's about modern day events.

26varielle
Feb. 14, 2017, 10:40 am

I once had an elderly veteran tell me, "How can WWII be history? It just happened." ;)

27cindydavid4
Feb. 17, 2017, 8:14 am

>24 cindydavid4: ok that makes sense.

28threadnsong
Feb. 27, 2017, 2:28 pm

>1 wunderlong88: I've read the first section of Birdsong and you might find the detailed scenes of amorous encounters a bit much for your reading enjoyment. You can probably skip the most graphic ones, and read the last 20 or so pages (they're hinted at here, and not quite so graphic) and still get the gist of the story. But I did want to post here and give you fair warning.

On the other hand, Part II is exactly what it sounds like you're looking for: depictions of the tunnel digging beneath the trenches, life in the chaos and muck, and the living conditions of the officers and the men. So if you're not looking for the hot, passionate romance, skip those pages, get to the end of Part I, and the story will still come together with its great descriptions.

29pmackey
Apr. 7, 2017, 12:52 pm

>1 wunderlong88: I suggest another Bernard Cornwell book, Agincourt: A Novel. As far as supernatural in the book, the protagonist, Nick,does "hear" God speaking to him from time to time. Still, a great book. Respectful of religion and an accurate picture of the time. I've read/listened to it several times.

30gmathis
Apr. 7, 2017, 1:09 pm

>9 wunderlong88: People's tolerance levels are so different that I'm not sure how a reliable "squeaky clean" rating system could be devised, but I definitely wish it could!

>16 swsol: Have read the Phillip Rock trilogy. It was recommended to me as a Downton Abbey-withdrawal antidote. The first one was, somewhat; the two that followed were heavier on the history than the tea and crumpets. Still well done, just a little different than advertised.

31Lynxear
Apr. 7, 2017, 7:18 pm

>29 pmackey: I will second Agincourt as a sterling novel... I don't recall anything supernatural particularly... many people of the time were quite religious so there may have been a prayer or to before a battle... nothing to twig me.

What I did like was the way Cornwell described the integration of all types of warriors on the battle field... How they protected each other... and depended on each other for survival in battle.

32pmackey
Apr. 8, 2017, 8:51 am

>31 Lynxear: Agincourt is my favorite Bernard Cornwell novel and I like most of his books. I felt immersed into the time period and their way of thinking.

33Lynxear
Apr. 11, 2017, 10:37 am

>32 pmackey: Yes, I agree totally. I feel the same about his Sharpe series which MUST be read in order to get the full enjoyment out of them.

Curiously, I don't feel the same about his Starbuck series about the American Civil war and I definitely don't like his viking and now turning into Arthurian legend series.

The thing about his books that I like is the detail based on real battles. You really feel a part of the scene... the Viking series especially seems to be just blood lust to me.

I truly think... if given a pouch of shot, powder horn and a musket... I believe I could load and fire a musket like you had to in the Sharpe series. In his Grail series and Agincourt books... I know how to fight in those battles too though I doubt I could bend a longbow :)

34pmackey
Apr. 11, 2017, 12:40 pm

>33 Lynxear: I've read most of the Viking/Anglo-Saxon series and enjoyed them... until I didn't. I don't mind romance thrown in, but I don't like it when the hero jumps from one love to another in different books. About the bloodlust and gore... I thought he was going for the Viking boasting vibe and he nailed it. Like I said, I enjoyed them for about four or five books and then just lost interest.

Couldn't get into the Arthurian books though I bought the series for my Kindle. Maybe some other time, but not now.

I tried the ACW series once, picking up a copy at the library and reading the jacket and the first few pages. I just couldn't get into it. So I gave it up.

The Sharpe's series... I began reading them a long time ago and can't remember why I stopped following.

The Grail Quest series was good, but not as good as Agincourt: A Novel. The other book I liked nearly as much as that was 1356: A Novel. Yeah, you are right there in the mud, the fear, the exhilaration.

35Lynxear
Apr. 16, 2017, 1:14 am

>34 pmackey: If you want an interesting take on the Authurian legend try starting with this book Skystone by Jack Whyte... A Roman legion, does not want to leave Britain after defeat at Hadrian's wall. The commander, Caius Britannicus, decides to form a "survivalist" type colony at a place called Camulod to preserve Roman life. Publius Varrus, his right-hand man and metal worker, searches for a special metal ore in a skystone. He has heard of such a metal that was made into a dagger of such quality that wars were fought over its possession.

You will find this to be a very interesting series of books and twists that make you smile as they are revealed.

36threadnsong
Apr. 16, 2017, 12:29 pm

I read Skystone a number of years back and really, really liked it. After all, the historical Arthur has been placed at the withdrawal of the Roman troops from the British Islands, and this novel details that time period very, very well. I liked the emphasis on the discipline that was part of the life of the Roman soldier.

37elena.trintas
Apr. 25, 2017, 11:14 am

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