Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

I've always wanted to read a fiction book dealing with the entire thing; the lead up to the invasion, the invasion itself, and then the aftermath. Most of the books I've seen actually have to do with just the stuff that happens as a result of the invasion.

What about these

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

http://www.historicalnovels.info/Medi...

would have been a good one. However, I know you have had some trouble finding that one and it looks like it will never happen.

Hard to find one from both perspectives. Books will either be from the English side or the French. Although the majority I have seen deal with the English side.

Nate,
I know you have probably already been through the Saxon, Norman and 1066 threads, and what you are really after is recommendations on books people have read, not just heard about...but here are those three threads anyway. :)

1066
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...

The Normans
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...

The Saxons
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...

Hey, that Anand series looks good Mark. I'll keep an eye out for it at my bookstore. Terri: I'll get that Rathbone sooner or later. I know it'll show up somewhere. I did look through those but I'll rake through them again and maybe I'll pick up a couple to-reads. Thank you guys, you're great.

Nate wrote: "Hey, that Anand series looks good Mark. I'll keep an eye out for it at my bookstore. Terri: I'll get that Rathbone sooner or later. I know it'll show up somewhere. I did look through those but I'll..."

D'oh! I took my copy down to the charity shop earlier this year.

Which one, Lee? Rathbone or Anand?

Nate wrote: "Hey, that Anand series looks good Mark. I'll keep an eye out for it at my bookstore. Terri: I'll get that Rathbone sooner or later. I know it'll show up somewhere. I did look through those but I'll..."

I too have been interested in the Anand book. My library does not have it though.

Rathbone. I'm surprised it's hard to get hold of to be honest, I mean, he was a major prize-winning author and it's not that long ago that he died.

Glad I could help Nate, I have had the same problem trying find the other point of view in history. A lot of books I have found just don't get translated to English.

Lee wrote: "Rathbone. I'm surprised it's hard to get hold of to be honest, I mean, he was a major prize-winning author and it's not that long ago that he died."

I don't know if I knew he died. Maybe I knew and I forgot.

It is the US where it is hard to find apparently. Not in libraries for example, and I wondered whether that was because it includes incest, homosexuality and mild paedophilia....I figure US libraries may have decided not to stock such naughty British writing. :-)

I have to read this book again - The Last English King. I've got it, I've forgotten it, but Terri's review makes it sound pretty interesting to me.

Don't know him otherwise, but looking at his bio, "much of his writing had strong political and social dimensions. He was difficult to pigeonhole because his scope was so broad. Arguably, his experiment with different genres and thus his refusal to be typecast cost him a wider audience than he enjoyed." -- that interests me too, and he's just jumped the to-read queue on my shelves.

It is everything you don't think the Conquest major players would be. Rathbone breaks all the moulds with the characters. The Godwinsons, William the Conqueror, Edward the Confessor....all the exact opposite of what you imagine they would be like.

I like 'em different.

It sure is that. Which you can tell from my review of it. Very different. It challenged my own thoughts on who those major players were. :-)

Terri wrote: "It sure is that. Which you can tell from my review of it. Very different. It challenged my own thoughts on who those major players were. :-)"

We've talked about this before, haven't we? I remember it as a simple light holiday read on the beach and nothing specific sticks in my mind at all. A few snippets of scenes: his travels through Bulgaria, his time in Constantinople and his return home. That's about it. Am I doing it a disservice? Could be that circumstances reflected my feelings toward it as much as content... I have too much other stuff to read to come back to this one anyway though.

Well, I know I read it. It went out the other ear and I think I felt mildly about it. One of those rare cases where I want to start from scratch.

I remember it differently. I remember the filthy Walt. On the run form his past. Smelly with a rotten limb. I remember the lewdness of the Godwinsons. The Godwinsons were 'very' close with their sister.
I remember the scenes well with the Confessor. On his death bed. The bitter and sexually unsatisfied Edith of Wessex, the Confessor's wife.
I remember Tostig getting up to very naughty things and his running off to rally support from Harald Hardrada. I recall the Stamford bridge battle.
I remember the housecarls doing their best to protect Harold Godwinson in those final moments at Hastings.

Not such a light summer read for me it appears. :-)

Bryn wrote: "Well, I know I read it. It went out the other ear and I think I felt mildly about it. One of those rare cases where I want to start from scratch."

At least I'm not the only one then!

Lee wrote: "Bryn wrote: "Well, I know I read it. It went out the other ear and I think I felt mildly about it. One of those rare cases where I want to start from scratch."

At least I'm not the only one then!"

Not the only one where things just go out your ear? ;)

Terri wrote: "Lee wrote: "Bryn wrote: "Well, I know I read it. It went out the other ear and I think I felt mildly about it. One of those rare cases where I want to start from scratch."

At least I'm not the onl..."

Only important stuff.

Ha. Everything I say to you stays in doesn't it?

Terri wrote: "Ha. Everything I say to you stays in doesn't it?"

That's why the important stuff gets pushed out.

Nate i found this on my will read one day(only if i have ran of out books) shelf
The Saxon Tapestry
its got a few good reviews and 3stars+

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29...

i dont know how easy you can find it it, i couldnt find the book or author on fantastic fiction, i had to use the isbn number to find it. according to FF theres 26 copies for sale online from a £0.01p

Lee wrote: "Terri wrote: "Ha. Everything I say to you stays in doesn't it?"

That's why the important stuff gets pushed out."

Hahaha!! Oh, so its my fault.....wellllll
I can accept that, as it is the way it should be. :D

I added a description and book cover for
The Saxon Tapestry

However, it appears as though it was split into two books.


Magic is mentioned in the description of these two books. We try to keep fantasy fiction out of all threads (except the what are you Reading thread, Historical Fantasy thread and Myths, Mythology Thread). So if anyone looks into these books, please be aware that perhaps there is a fantasy element. The magic may be depicted as real. (as opposed to practicing with no real effect). I cannot tell which it is, so I am leaving the links here in case it is 'magic with no real effects'.

Sorry about that terri, I will have to look closer at the cover notes. I didn't relies about the two books. That explains a lot.

That's okay. It looked perfectly good in its The Saxon Tapestry form. I would never have guessed it might be part fantasy.
It wasn't until I went looking for a cover image for The Looming Battle that I realised it sounds like historical fantasy.
*sigh* I wish authors would keep the fantasy out of historical fiction like this. They need to decide what they want to do. Full blown historical fantasy or straight Historical Fiction. It alienates so many readers by not committing to either.

I own The Saxon Tapestry, unread. It's hard to tell, except the epigraph is: I sing a true song! Which is probably a clue it's fantasy, hah hah.

Bryn wrote: "I own The Saxon Tapestry, unread. It's hard to tell, except the epigraph is: I sing a true song! Which is probably a clue it's fantasy, hah hah."

haha! Nice detective work. :D

Digging into The Last English King as I read it. We've wondered why it isn't easily found in US?

Got this from an interview with him on the web:

"The Last English King sold almost entirely on word of mouth. There was very little publicity. You could see pockets where the word got round. For instance the Waterstone's in Trafalgar Square sold something like 1500 paperbacks. And the only reason that I could think of for that kind of sale was word of mouth in Whitehall."
http://www.twbooks.co.uk/crimescene/R...

So, if very localised and word-of-mouth, unsupported by his publishing house, I can see why the book never travelled. Though was his most commercial success.

Thanks for finding that. That is very interesting to read.

Bryn wrote: "Digging into The Last English King as I read it. We've wondered why it isn't easily found in US?

Got this from an interview with him on the web:

"The Last English King sold almost entirely on wo..."

Once upon a time, Waterstones was very influential in paperback sales in the UK. For more than a decade they ran a 3-for-2 on selected paperbacks; when they announced last year that they were finally discontinuing it due to competition from Amazon (whose combined prices were cheaper than the offer) a lot of authors over here were up in arms. The theory ran that if they picked your book for the promotion then it stood more chance of being purchased by someone as the 'free' book when they were buying a couple by authors they knew (all the books in the offer were laid out on a table in the middle of the shop).

I mention it because I bought both The Last English King and Kings of Albion as part of that deal before going on holiday one year.

For anybody interested. Our Feb 2013 Medieval Group Read is the first book, Mercenaries, in the Series by Jack Ludlow called The Conquest Trilogy.


The discussion thread; http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

In Mary Stewart's book...(view spoiler)[Uther's brother, Ambrosius is named as the Arthurian legend Merlin's father (hide spoiler)]

Erica wrote: "okay who wrote it?" Are you asking the name of the author for the Merlin Trilogy? If so, the author is Mary Stewart.

Erica wrote: "okay, i have a quote that i read in a book" And that quote would be?

Where are you going with all this, Erica? LOL. :-) I am lost.

Erica wrote: "Example of Equipment Lifetimes

Hat 1 year

Gloves 1 year

Coat 2 years

Boots (Infantry) 2 years

Boots (Cava..."


Thanks for these stats.

Thanks. :-)

Thinking about my next book to read. Which, coincidentally is about The Normans. (The group read Mercenaries)

Enjoy. I am off to read. Have a good evening, Erica. :-)
Regards, Terri

A new book out for you to keep an eye out for, Nate.


The Last Conquest

Nate wrote: "I've always wanted to read a fiction book dealing with the entire thing; the lead up to the invasion, the invasion itself, and then the aftermath. Most of the books I've seen actually have to do wi..."

Hi Nate, I could recommend Helen Hollick's book Harold the King but I also am writing a series which starts in the years leading up to the Conquest and am working on the sequel now. I intend to cover the Conquest and invasion in the third and the rebellions in the fourth . The first one is http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15... Sons of the Wolf. you can get it on Amazon and all online retailers. Check out the ratings, four and 5 star reviews.

Paula wrote: "Nate wrote: "I've always wanted to read a fiction book dealing with the entire thing; the lead up to the invasion, the invasion itself, and then the aftermath. Most of the books I've seen actually ..."

Actually, Helen Hollicks really gets back to the beginning of the end. It tells the story of Emma of Normandy, who was married to two English kings, and gave birth to two sons who became king (one of them was Edward the Confessor). She was also the great aunt of William the Conqueror. Very good history.

Also, Patricia Bracewell's Shadow on the Crown tells of the early years of Emma of Normandy's life (a sequel is supposed to follow). Also, a good story, but not as complete yet as Helen's.

It is my understanding that Helen Hollick's I Am the Chosen King aka Harold the King is a stand alone? That while one can read the prequel (the one Eileen just mentioned) the reader does not have to?

The other thing I have often wondered. How romancy or love story themed is Harold the King/I Am The Chosen King?
The first book is regarded by many as definite chick lit and romance themed. But the second book, that Harold the King, does not seem shelved that much as romance compared to the prequel.

Terri wrote: "It is my understanding that Helen Hollick's I Am the Chosen King aka Harold the King is a stand alone? That while one can read the prequel (the one Eileen just mentioned) the reader does not have t..."

I actually believe that Helen wrote the books both as stand alone books. One does not link to the other. I think Harold the King is less romancey but more hist fict and the Emma book which was written after Harold is not greatly romance but hist fict also.

Terri wrote: "Nate wrote: "Hey, that Anand series looks good Mark. I'll keep an eye out for it at my bookstore. Terri: I'll get that Rathbone sooner or later. I know it'll show up somewhere. I did look through t..."
Ive been after anand's books for awhile now. I hear theyre very good. also Hope Muntz story of the Golden Warrior is good as I recall but a bit dated maybe

Paula wrote: "Terri wrote: "Nate wrote: "Hey, that Anand series looks good Mark. I'll keep an eye out for it at my bookstore. Terri: I'll get that Rathbone sooner or later. I know it'll show up somewhere. I did ..."

The Golden Warrior

Paula wrote: "Terri wrote: "It is my understanding that Helen Hollick's I Am the Chosen King aka Harold the King is a stand alone? That while one can read the prequel (the one Eileen just mentioned) the reader d..."

I didn't think The Forever Queen was a romance at all. Not a bodice ripped open anywhere in it!

More of the story of her life, which did include some romance, but not much of it.