Historical Fictionistas discussion

Hi!

I mostly love HF during WWII but as I’ve read so much of that I’d like to branch out to other times of strife. Some time period ideas listed in the title but I’m pretty open.
Civil War (U.S.), Industrial Revolution, the migration from mid-west to California, Spanish Inquisition, Other HF from across the globe.

Nothing with a sci-fy or dystopian twist.

Books I’ve enjoyed: Lilac Girls, Alice Network, Kommandant’s Girl, anything by Pam Jenoff or Ellen Marie Wiseman I’ve loved.

Here's a little-known one that I really liked, about Southern California in the early days of settlement by Westerners: When Water Was Everywhere by Barbara Crane. Also, from Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century, The Hummingbird's Daughter by Alberto Urrea, a descendant of the woman he's writing about.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about the Biafran war in the 1960s

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini about the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan

Fallen by Lia Mills, about the Easter Rising in Ireland

I second the recommendation for The Hummingbird's Daughter!

Others to try:
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende (slavery on French Haiti)

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird (female Buffalo soldier after the Civil War)

The Barefoot Queen by Ildefonso Falcones (Spanish gypsy community in the late 1700s)

News of the World by Paulette Giles (post Civil War Texas)

You might enjoy Claudia H. Long's The Duel for Consuelo and Chains of Silver, both of which look at the last days of the Inquisition in Mexico.

You probably know about Kate Quinn's and Pam Jenoff's later novels. But you may also like books by Hazel Gaynor and her sometime co-writer Heather Webb. Also The California Wife by Kristen Harnisch.

I'm interested in reading about Ireland (the Republic, not Northern Ireland), during WW2. It was officially neutral in the war. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Martha

Martha wrote: "I'm interested in reading about Ireland (the Republic, not Northern Ireland), during WW2. It was officially neutral in the war. Any suggestions?"

The first part of Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy is set in Ireland during World War II (it continues into the 1950s).

Fiona wrote: The first part of Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy is set in Ireland during World War II (it continues into the 1950s).

Thanks, Fiona!

Under the Udala Trees
This book takes place in the 60's so it's out of your WWII time preference. I think you will like it though. It takes place during the Nigerian/Biafra conflict.

Hi there.
Some Irish HF.
Strumpet City by James Plunkett. Set in Dublin during the 1913 lockout.

Several Joesph o Connor novels. Star of the Sea , Is the name of a ship bringing refugees from Ireland to New York in late 1840s.

It’s sequel Redemption Falls set in US Civil war , in which there is some cross over of characters.

And non-fiction
WW2 books, Codebreaker by Marc McMenamin The untold story of a Dublin librarian Richard Hayes, enlisted to track Nazi spy movements.

Guarding Neutral Ireland by Michael Kennedy. Story of men of the Coast Watching Service of Ireland , who maintained a coastal watch, and reported incidents to Military Services.

I hope you enjoy some of these recommendations. Linda