Historical Tour de Genre discussion

Historical Tour de Genre Challenge 2011

Welcome! Glad you found the topics button. It is very tiny and bit difficult to locate.

Charlie wrote: "Welcome! Glad you found the topics button. It is very tiny and bit difficult to locate."
Hi, I'm not very computer savy and couldn't start a blog if my life depended on it so I'm glad you put the instructions on GR for the challenge. I'll probably start with
Dragonfly in Amber since the Outlander books are so wonderful. I'm only 30% through the 880 page book on my Kindle, so I'll save the review for when I'm finished. But if anyone else is interested in beginning the series, start with Outlander. I will count it paranormal, I guess, since it has some time travel, or would you call that fantasy?

Couldn't wait until 2011. Finished DinA, so won't count for the challenge.

I was just perusing other challenger's and noticed many already had entries, so I guess I can count DinA.

#1. Dragonfly in Amber---paranormal hf.

#2. Hospital Sketcheshistorical fiction/Civil War--only 80 pages. Written by Louisa May Alcott who tells of her experiences during the one month she served as nurse in a makeshift Yankee hospital. I gave it 4 stars. There was too much silly old-time descriptions at the beginning, but I was touched by the anecdotes concerning the soldiers' lives, loves and deaths.

#3. Captive--historical romance. I gave this beginning to the Florida Civil War Series 4 stars. I learned that so many of the Union commanders got their training in random bloodletting from the Seminole Wars. Indians were considered less than human and soldiers were ordered to get them off the land in total. Whole villages were exterminated in hours. I've read 3 of this series and loved them all.

#4. RebelHF/plantation/war. I had to give this one 5 stars due to my inability to stop thinking about it. I began with frustration that this British guy would portray Southerners as so silly, arrogant, vaporous, vacuous, naive. Need I go on? However, the book just swallowed me up and I fully intend to read the other 3 Starbuck novels before this challenge is over. Stay tuned...

Oh this looks good. I am adding it my list!

Yeah -- there's another group (I think on GR) that is planning to read Civil War in Feb and this got nominated. I have read a couple of his books and enjoyed them.

JoLene wrote: "Yeah -- there's another group (I think on GR) that is planning to read Civil War in Feb and this got nominated. I have read a couple of his books and enjoyed them."

Charlie & JoLene, I just started the 2nd one, Copperhead, and it's great too. I'm entered in the War Through the Generations year-long callenge to read 11+ Civil War books over the course of 2011, but I love this genre so I will probably read more than that.

#5. Crestmont---classic HF, 340 pages.
If you like the old shows like Father Knows Best, you'll love this book. It is warm, clean and uplifting. The story surrounds the much-loved Crestmont Hotel and the family and employees who live there. An enjoyable relief from all the war and pestilence I've been reading lately.

#6. Mockingjay--Dystopian fantasy HF, 398 pages. I had a good cry as the Hunger Games Series ended with Mockingjay. A perfect gift book for all ages, I loved all 3 of these books. Based on a post-apolyptic government where "the Capitol" enslaves all other sectors of the former USA, except one. A cruel game that involves the death of 2 children from each sector every year begins the tale. I predict half of America will read this series at some point.

Luckngrace wrote: "#6. Mockingjay--Dystopian fantasy HF, 398 pages. I had a good cry as the Hunger Games Series ended with Mockingjay. A perfect gift book for all ages, I loved all 3 of these books. Ba..."

I also enjoyed this series --- read all three books in one week. I'm not sure that it is historical fiction though --- since it's set in the future :-D

JoLene wrote: "Luckngrace wrote: "#6. Mockingjay--Dystopian fantasy HF, 398 pages. I had a good cry as the Hunger Games Series ended with Mockingjay. A perfect gift book for all ages, I loved all 3..."

Thanks for your input, JoLene. Mockingjay is actually set in an alternate post-apocalyptic world. But I will do another #6 because I confess I don't think fantasy has anything to do with time period and don't understand what others accept as fantasy hf as I'm not too familiar with it. I'm also not looking forward to reading LGBT either and hope others aren't too critical about my choices for topics I don't understand but just want to fulfill challenge requirements. I read LOTS of books so if I make a few mistakes, I won't feel bad if those books are dropped for the final count.

If you discover other sub-genres and want to sub that is okay too. I know I haven't found or stumbled upon all the possibilities.

Luckngrace --- if you want historical fantasy recommendations, there are several novels by Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Lawhead that would be considered historical fantasy (although there is some debate about how fantas-ish they are). The Lions of al-Rassan is one of my particular favorites. Right now, I'm reading His Majesty's Dragon which is about the Napoleanic Wars featuring dragons.

JoLene wrote: "Luckngrace --- if you want historical fantasy recommendations, there are several novels by Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Lawhead that would be considered historical fantasy (although there is some de..."

I second the recommendations of Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Lawhead. Kay's Fionavar Tapestry series is outstanding, and Lawhead's Arthurian tales are well worth the time to read. :-)

Charlie wrote: "If you discover other sub-genres and want to sub that is okay too. I know I haven't found or stumbled upon all the possibilities."
Since I'm doing a lot of Civil War hf this year, I'll be dividing them between horror, plantation, romance, and possibly others. I might even find a political hf, christian hf (such as the work of Body and Brock Thoene). There are lots of possibilities.

Sounds great. I can put up book topics for those if you'd like. Just let me know.

That's so funny, I was reading through the posts and I too was going to suggest Novik's Temeraire series as an example of historical fantasy!

Outlander is one of my favorite books of all time! Are you enjoying the series?

I love the Outlander series. I've read 2 of them. Would #3 count for fantasy? If so, I may just go with that.

#6 Fixin' Things, a novel of women at Gettysburg--LBGT hf (Hilda, Anne, Jo)
Imagine 14,000 wounded and dead being thrust into your life in the space of a couple of days. You have no bandages, little food, only contaminated water. Your friends and neighbors try to help you to feed and care for this influx, but they have to contend with randy soldiers, disease and fatigue to the point of death, and mental breakdown as the situation becomes more and more desperate. The very land around you becomes unrecognizable. Read Fixin' Things to see how the women of Gettysburg coped. 4 stars.

#7. Copperhead is the 2nd in the Starbuck Chronicles series. HF--Horror. As Starbuck and Adam experience battles, torture, internal conflict, continuing strains to friendship and the necessity of making decisions that may ruin the rest of their lives, if the Civil War doesn't cut short those lives. I gave it 5 stars for detailed, well-researched history as well as fleshed-out characters who wrestle their own demons as well as facing the enemy as (sometimes) half-hearted soldiers. Witness resolve win out over obligation, loyalty or family honor.

#8. The Road to Paradise Island. Set from 1793 to 1894, I greatly enjoyed this mix of ghost story, travelogue, mystery and romance. I gave it 4 stars but should have made it 5 just because Victoria Holt is a phenomenal author. Her books were some of my first "grown up" books gathered from the Bookmobile in my little corner of the South where I could walk barefoot to my grandfather's general store where I climbed aboard the old van and picked my very own books, bowed over with 5 or 6 of these treasures that would occupy many a summer day. Ahhh...the memories.

Luckngrace wrote: "#8. The Road to Paradise Island--Steampunk HF, I think. Set from 1793 to 1894, I greatly enjoyed this mix of ghost story, travelogue, mystery and romance. I gave it 4 stars but should..."

I remember discovering Victoria Holt as a young teenager as well :-D

Luckngrace wrote: "#8. The Road to Paradise Island--Steampunk HF, I think. Set from 1793 to 1894, I greatly enjoyed this mix of ghost story, travelogue, mystery and romance. I gave it 4 stars but should..."

I'm curious as to why you classify this as steampunk. To me, that is a very distinct subgenre involving machinery, etc. (in the vein of Jules Verne, for instance). I think of Holt's work as Gothic romance in a historical fiction wrapper, so I'm interested in your thoughts.

Sharon wrote: "Luckngrace wrote: "#8. The Road to Paradise Island--Steampunk HF, I think. Set from 1793 to 1894, I greatly enjoyed this mix of ghost story, travelogue, mystery and romance. I gave it..."

I do not understand these titles very well and asked Charlie to explain steampunk and gaslight. She said steampunk was the time period when they still used steam power. That made gaslight self-explanatory. I'm glad I recently won the book Murder on Bank Street, which states on the cover that it is gaslight. I have always just read and enjoyed my books, never disecting for subgenres, but since we've been asked to try every kind, I'm trying to do just that and have entered the fray with a sense of experimentation. I invite you to read the book and let me know your thoughts.

#9. Vienna Prelude--hf Christian. I think I can be safe in calling Bodie and Brock Thoene's work Christian HF as they have several series, most centering around WWII and the birth of the Jewish nation. There is both Christianity and Judaism in their stories, but no preaching of either. Vienna Prelude is set in 1936 when Jews have not yet realized that life in Vienna will soon become next to impossible for Jews. They have taken flight from Germany with promises from both Austria and Hitler that Austria will be left alone. We all know how that turned out and this book serves to further open our eyes.

Luckngrace wrote: "I do not understand these titles very well and asked Charlie to explain steampunk and gaslight. She said steampunk was the time period when they still used steam power. "

I guess I was just further confused, so I decided to have a look at WikiPedia (I know it's not ideal, but it is a start). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk. It seems to apply primarily to sci-fi, but your mileage (as always) may vary. I will say that I have never seen Victoria Holt classified as steampunk before today, though.

#10: Marchby Geraldine Brooks--plantation HF. The fictional story of the Little Women father as he goes off to be a chaplain to soldiers of the Civil War makes for fascinating reading, as all of GB's books do (IMHO). Particularly interesting is the way she delves into the treatment of slaves and how they face life in the South before and during the CW. Having also enjoyed GB's Year of Wonders, I can safely recommend her work and hope to read all her books soon.

#11: Daughter of Fortune--classic HF. I'm going to have to reread this one; I just couldn't get into it. It went from beautiful writing of Hispanic themes to disjointed not-so-great writing. Might be I've just been reading a lot of GREAT stuff lately and this one just didn't impress.

#12: The Coffin Quilt: The Feud Between the Hatfields and the McCoys. I'm calling this one fantasy because of the mysterious "yellow thing" that is a harbinger of terrible events. I read this book in one night and found it to be AMAZING. All historical data is faithfully represented and simply mesmerizing. AR states there was more she could have put in but didn't, making me want to research the topic further. Written in hillbilly-speak, the superstitious culture of 1880s West Virginia/Kentucky was evident. The Civil War seemed to be the real genesis of conflict with events such as stolen hogs, attempted romances between the families and courts who favored one family or the other adding layers to the conflict.

Pride and saving face often seemed to be all a man had in his hard-scrabble life of hunting coons, making moonshine and rearing a family that might consist of a dozen children. Imagine if you were a man of the western part of Virginia going off to fight the Civil War as a Confederate only to be told that your home area had been split off into another state, called West Virginia, and had gone with the Union. Confusion reigned and men were killed as a result by their own neighbors.

There is much to be learned and pondered from the lives and deaths of the Hatfields and McCoys and this book is the perfect vehicle for that knowledge.

#13: Murder on Bank Street--Gaslight HF. Thank you, TdeG for this freebie. My first gaslight mystery, it was a smooth, fast read and I enjoyed the "Old Maid's Disease" theme. But, alas, I found it too predictable and guessed each wordy event before it occurred.

#14: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan--Classic Hunan Dynasty China, 253 pages. Have you heard of a time when mothers bound their 6 year old daughters' feet for 2 years, allowing all the bones to break as they were force-marched onto the one big toe. The end result was a total foot length of 4 to 6 inches, the smaller the better.

Life was so restrictive that women created their own written language to speak secretly to one another of their pain.

Girls were contracted to marry strangers and not allowed to move in permanently after marriage with their husbands or even to be fed a meal by him until she was 8 months pregnant by him.

Lisa See describes history, culture and superstition with equal facility but, her lessons on friendship and the worth of a woman are the real pearls of wisdom to be enjoyed and pondered.

Luckngrace wrote: "#14: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan--Classic Hunan Dynasty China, 253 pages. Have you heard of a time when mothers bound their 6 year old daughters' feet for 2 years, allowing all the b..."

I read another of Lisa See's books and really liked it. If you liked this one, you should definitely check out Shanghai Girls.

Thanks for your review!

Sharon wrote: "Luckngrace wrote: "#14: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan--Classic Hunan Dynasty China, 253 pages. Have you heard of a time when mothers bound their 6 year old daughters' feet for 2 years,..."

Thanks for the recommendation, Sharon.

#16. Nevada! 336 pages. This is a Civil War Western that I also characterize as politcal intrigue. As the two warring countries sought weapons and the funds to pay for them, Nevada became important as the major silver-mining state. England was trying to decide which opponent to befriend and who to furnish with the much-needed weapons.

Follow the silver train as adventure and romance reign. My only complaint is that the author wrote with only one voice--that of a schoolmaster. Western characters don't sound Western and British characters sound just the same as the Westerners. But the story-line was great!

#17. The Spring of the Tiger 356 pages (1979). I'm calling this one HF Mystery/Thriller even though some people think Victoria Holt only writes romances. There is some romance here but, the heart and soul of Spring of the Tiger is danger and adventure all the way.

Set in England and Ceylon, it delves into the life of a young girl who loses her priviledged life and is forced to live with strange relatives and then to marry hastily and unfortunately. With the marriage comes the move to a foreign land with its compounding of dangers. Overall, a totally satisfying read.

#18. Me & Emma296 pages. I designate this book as HF psychological horror.

Reading Me & Emma was like taking a bath in sandpaper. Descriptions of child abuse and wife battery are not entertainment for me. The twist on the ending saved me from giving a bad rating, even though the author wrote quality prose. I guess I'd have to say one shouldn't fault the author for writing a book that rips your heart out. God bless all the children living today in these circumstances and all the adults who bear the scars of the terrors from their own childhoods.

#19. The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre 352 pages.

This book has it all. It is chock full of interesting facts about an important incident that led to the American Revolution. It is easy to understand and can be read by children (IMHO), but doesn't talk down. It gives us insight into the thoughts and feelings of both the townsfolk and the British soldiers who had come to "protect" the colonies. It does much to rectify all the gabbing our liberal politicians do on their apology tours. In short, there is much to be proud of. Our forefathers were smart, courageous and loved freedom and independence. Pray that modern Americans can hold on to what they gave us.

I counted this book HF YA. It has lots of history and action with a touch of light romance.

#20. We'll Meet Again304 pages.

The title of this book makes it look like a sloppy romance, but it isn't. Set in WWII England and France, I found it to be mostly HF spy mystery. The boat lift at Dunkirk was covered as was the London blitz. Characters were likeable, but overall this book didn't measure up to other Philippa Carr aka Victoria Holt books. There was too much discussion of events previous to the story (earlier series book?) and bits that seemed lifted from other books (possible true war anecdotes?). I think every PC/VH book is worth the time but I preferred my #17 book, .

Romance was practically nonexistent in this one as protagonist waits for MIA soldier year after year and wonders, "Should I move on with Mr. X or Mr. Y or wait some more?"

#21. Enemy Women. 352 pages.

This is the horrific story of the border state of Missouri during the Civil War and how the war decimated the common citizenry. Because public sympathies were split, all were suspected of treachery and even the wives and sisters of Confederates were imprisoned without cause. One such prison was so delapidated, it collapsed with women (all under the age of 18) chained inside.

Union troops were undisciplined, raiding and killing at will, suffering no consequences. The population of the mountains of southern Missouri was greatly reduced by the end of the war from raids by both sides and their militias, imprisonment, starvation and disease.

Enemy Women made me think about all the soldiers we have in so many different countries and wonder how the people of those countries are dealing with a foreign occupation. Since we're supposedly broke, why not bring them all home, build protections around our own country and hunker down in isolationism as we did before WWII? It's something to think about.

#22. His Majesty's Dragon . 356 pages. HF Fantasy.

One of my favorite books so far this year. Delightfully adventurous without becoming dark, the dragon Temeraire makes me want a pet dragon of my own. His intelligence, loyalty and courage surpasses that of any of my friends and I long to ascend his back to pilot him over the treetops of North Carolina. Forgive me, but now I've got to run pick up the rest of the Temeraire series.

#23. Castle Dor . 288 pages. HF classic.

This book was finished by Daphne du Maurier finished after the original author died. I confess I did not like this one but I suspect it is my own fault. I haven't read enough of what I call ancient language to be able to read it with any kind of flow. I may try this one again someday.

#24. Roseflower Creek, 2E 240 pages. HF Christian YA 5 stars!

Roseflower Creek is a story written in the voice of a poor southern child as she describes the events leading up to her own death. She speaks with innocence, understanding and more Christian love than anyone this reader knows. Lori remembers the wisdom of her Meemaw as she faces each atrocity with bravery, courage and complete selflessness. Like many of today's children, she tries to fix the mistakes of the flawed adults in her life in her childish way, only making matters worse. Also like some of today's children, she keeps secrets and really trusts no one as she bumbles through horrific situations. Keep a box of Kleenex next to you while reading this one and give a copy to someone you suspect might not be appreciating their child as they should. And pray for the children.

Luckngrace wrote: "#22. His Majesty's Dragon. 356 pages. HF Fantasy.

One of my favorite books so far this year. Delightfully adventurous without becoming dark, th..."

Really glad that you liked it ---- I also wanted a pet dragon. I can't wait to continue the series but I have lots on the TBR pile for other challenges.

JoLene wrote: "Luckngrace wrote: "#22. His Majesty's Dragon. 356 pages. HF Fantasy.

One of my favorite books so far this year. Delightfully adventurous withou..."
Got a good deal on ebay for 3 more Temeraire books, but like you, don't know when I'll get to them.

#25. Galveston 384 pages HF plantation Civil War 1862.

Galveston explores the Civil War period as the US Navy tries to secure the Texas coast and prevent ships from running the blockade to sell southern cotton.

Main characters are carried over from the first 2 books of this series, and which focus on battles in New Mexico. I liked the characters, both north and south, but found the action slow until near the end. Historical facts were authoritative and interesting and hope to read the whole series eventually.

#26. The Black Tulip 288 pages HF Classic Holland, political intrigue

Set in 1672, the master Alexander Dumas weaves a tale of political intrigue built around the creation of the pure black tulip. It reads simply, like a fairy tale, but is a morality play, examining the frailty of man.

The love of the tulip and the challenge to create a purely black tulip to obtain a grand prize and acclaim made two obsessive men take entirely different routes toward their goal. One retains honor, the other began in earnest but became lost along the way.

The bigger picture features political intrigue as one evil man kills and manipulates men to achieve his goal of power over the people of Holland. Royal blood is shown to be anything but pure.

I read this book quickly and it gave me food for thought. What more can a reader wish for?

#27. Shadowlands 263 pages HF Biography, Christian, Romance

This is a book based on a play based on the life and late romance of C.S. Lewis, author of the classic Narnia series for children.

I found "Jack" Lewis endearing. He was an avowed atheist turned Christian who wrote many books on Christianity, taught, lived conservatively with his brother and traveled locally to make speeches on suffering to ladies groups and book signings.

Into this staid Englishman's life walks the brash American divorcee, outspoken, vibrant. Follows a great love story with many lessons on facing life and death with aplomb.

A movie of Shadowlands was made. Anyone who has seen it, please tell me what you thought of it. I wish there was a clone of C.S. Lewis out there for this reader. I think he would suit me "to a T".

#28. Silent in the Grave 512 pages HF Victorian GLBT

I was surprised at the GLBT focus of this book. It contained many mystery elements and kept me guessing right up to the end.

I purchased this book as a bundle with the next two in the Lady Julia Series. Despite the length, I didn't lose interest and look forward continuing with Lady Julia's adventures.