Historical Fictionistas discussion

February is flying by and it's already time to pick our April group read.

In honor of the fact that in April I will be taking my very first vacation ever, our theme is going to be islands. All nominated books must be historical fiction that takes place on an island.

REMINDERS
-NO SELF NOMINATIONS- Any member who self nominates a book, will have the post deleted and the member will be removed from the group.
NOMINATION POST MUST INCLUDE: TITLE, AUTHOR, AND THE ISLAND SETTING OF THE NOMINATED BOOK - If any one of these three things is missing from the nomination post, it will not be counted.
EVERY MEMBER GETS ONE NOMINATION AND ONE SECOND - Please make sure you are clearly marking if you are nominating and/or seconding a book. Too much extra chatter in the nomination thread makes it difficult for the moderators to keep track of the books that need to be counted.
BOOKS IN A SERIES MUST BE READ IN SERIES ORDER -Book 4 in a series cannot be nominated if the group has not read books 1-3
For a complete breakdown of how the nomination process works, see this thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look over the bookshelf containing all of the past group reads. Past group reads cannot be nominated again - https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

I am nominating Island Queen by Vanessa Riley. The book takes place on various islands in the Caribbean.

I wish to nominate the novel "Mustique Island" by Sarah McCoy.



The novel takes place in Mustique during the 1970s, a time in which the island boasted of the likes of Princess Margaret, David Bowie, and Mick Jagger, all of whom owned property there.

This novel has a special resonance for me because I took a boating trip to Mustique (an island in the Eastern Caribbean) during the summer of 1988.

I’ll nominate The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford, also published under the title Secrets of the Sea House.

It’s a dual-timeline story set on an island in the Hebrides; the historical thread takes place in the 1860s.

I am nominating The Taste of Sugar by Marisel Vera. It takes place on Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War in 1880s.

I nominate The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See.

I nominate We Must Be Brave by Francis Liardet. It takes place in England during WWII.

I nominate The Mermaid of Jeju by Sumi Hahn which takes place on the Korean island of Jeju.

I will second the Island Queen by Vanessa Riley.

Brenda wrote: "I nominate The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See."

Hi Brenda,

We have already read this book. You can find the discussion for it in this folder: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

In the meantime, feel free to edit your nomination to a book we have not yet read.

Nominating Victoire: My Mother's Mother by Maryse Conde, set in the French Antilles!

I nominate Island of the Giants

island of the Giants is by Marc Houser and is about Easter Island. Maybe not strictly historical fiction… But it is the book about an island that I found fascinating. It’s also not strictly non fiction either. Will you allow it? It’s an extraordinary island and is very good read.

Island of the Giants published 2014

The Belle of Belgrave Square
I'd like to nominate Mimi Matthews, The Belle of Belgrave Square.

Margaret wrote: " island of the Giants is by Marc Houser and is about Easter Island. Maybe not strictly historical fiction… But it is the book about an island that I found fascinating. It’s also not strictly..."

Based on the little information I can find on this book it does appear to be non-fiction so it won't fit for this theme.

I'll nominate The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner. It's a multigenerational saga that takes place on a fictional island off of Sicily.

P.S. wrote: "The Belle of Belgrave Square
I'd like to nominate Mimi Matthews, The Belle of Belgrave Square."

This is the second book in a series. We have not read the first so this nomination will not be counted.

P.S. wrote: "The Belle of Belgrave Square
I'd like to nominate Mimi Matthews, The Belle of Belgrave Square."

Yikes. I don't know why this is in a different language. Sorry but the book is in English.

Gretchen wrote: "P.S. wrote: "The Belle of Belgrave Square
I'd like to nominate Mimi Matthews, The Belle of Belgrave Square."

This is the second book in a series. We have not read the first so this..."

Oh, that's right. Apologies. I should have nominated the Siren of Sussex.

Changed my mind, I'm nominating Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, it's set on Iceland in 1829 and is inspired by a true story about the last woman hanged for murder there.

I second Island Queen by Vanessa Riley.

I will second The Taste of Sugar. Looks very good.

I
Nominate The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sumley. This is about Iceland

The author of The tricking of Freya is [author Christina Sunley]

I will second The Island of Sea Women.

I second Burial Rites

Gretchen wrote: "February is flying by and it's already time to pick our April group read.

In honor of the fact that in April I will be taking my very first vacation ever, our theme is going to be islands. All no..."

I'm nominating A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James which is set in Jamaica

I second A brief history of seven killings. It’s been on my TBR list for years

I nominate “The Light Between Oceans,” by M.L. Stedman. It takes place mostly on a small island off the coast of Australia.

I am fairly new here, and would like to nominate “the Prince of Ireland” by Edward Rutherland.

“Rutherland portrays the major events in Irish history: the tribal culture of pagan Ireland; the mission of Saint Patrick; the coming of the Vikings; the making of treasures like the Book of Kelly’s; and the trickery of Henry II…”

With St Patrick’s Day coming up celebrating on a lush, green Island, and an historical novel I had been searching for quite some time, I thought I would recommend it.

I nominate The Exiles set in Tasmania, the island state off the south coast of Australia. It’s about women exiled to the convict state and local indigenous women who are exiled in their own land. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

I will nominate The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat

I second the Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley. Has strong review of this debut author.

I nominate Essex Dogs, the first non-fiction work by noted medieval historian Dan Jones. It sets place in France during Edward III's invasion and ultimately the battle of Crecy.

I nominate Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. It takes place on the island of Crete.

I’ll second Ariadne if it qualifies. I’d love to read it but is it historical or mythological (and is that a meaningful distinction under this group’s rules)?

I second the The Light Between Oceans!

Paquita wrote: "I nominate The Exiles

I think this has already been a monthly read [Sep 2021] but it looks excellent and I added it to my want to read list!

My Mother’s Secret

Andrew wrote: "I nominate Essex Dogs, the first non-fiction work by noted medieval historian Dan Jones. It sets place in France during Edward III's invasion and ultimately the battle of Crecy."

Andrew; thought you should know that Essex Dogs is historical fiction NOT non-fiction. Not sure if Moderator will allow it as the blurb says it takes place in France which isnt an island.

Abigail wrote: "I’ll nominate The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford, also published under the title Secrets of the Sea House.

It’s a dual-timeline story set on an island in the Hebrid..."

I second The Sea House

I'll nominate Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein. It takes place on Trinidad in the 1940s.

i nominate The Rose Gardener

List up to Msg 43
Island Queen - 2 seconds
The Taste of Sugar - 1 second
Burial Rites - 1 second
A Brief History of Seven Killings - 1 second
The Tricking of Freya - 1 second
The Light Between Oceans - 1 second
Ariadne - 1 second
The Sea House - 1 second
Mustique Island
We Must Be Brave

------cut off-----

The Mermaid of Jeju
Victoire: My Mother's Mother
The House at the Edge of Night
The Princes of Ireland
Hungry Ghosts

If your book is not included on the list it was either nominated improperly, did not fit the them, or it is a past group read.

Abigail wrote: "I’ll second Ariadne if it qualifies. I’d love to read it but is it historical or mythological (and is that a meaningful distinction under this group’s rules)?"

Having already read this, I'm going to allow it for this theme. I didn't think it was too heavy on the fantasy. It had a fair amount of "realistic" elements.

I second Mustique Island

I second Hungry Ghosts

I’d like to nominate The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. The story takes place in Cyprus. Sorry i don’t know how to link the title here.

The Island of Missing Trees.

I second We Must Be Brave