You know the drill. For space reasons, historical fiction starting with V-Z is on this page.
Historical Fiction
V
The Vanishing Point by Mary Sharratt
This is a tale of two sisters. One treats her sexuality as any man of any time would do: openly and without restraint of regard for social constructs. Her name is May, and this same sexual behavior has her unmarrigable in England and setting sail for Maryland to marry the son of her father's cousin. She regards this as an adventure though they have never met, and she is four years older than her soon to be husband Gabriel Washbrook. May has a younger sister, Hannah, who also does not fit into society because of the extensive medical education her physician father gave her. She stays in England to care for her aging father, but when he dies she heads off to join her sister in Maryland.
Only Hannah finds that upon reaching her sisters plantation that not only was the family's prosperity mentioned in her cousins letters false, but her sister is dead. Only Gabriel is left on the plantation, and he is half mad from grief, anger, and being totally isolated. Like Gabriel, Hannah is a born loner and her grief for her sister soon turns into love for her sister's widow. But still she has not received a satisfactory answer as to what happened to May.
This is a very well written book. The author has a lovely voice in her writing style. It is kind of a small, story and plot oriented novel, which was a relief after all the historical fiction novels I've read that tell people's whole life story with no desirable plot.
Chapters alternate as to the narrator (though it's all in third person except for the second to last chapter) which allows the story to unfold, and the mystery of May's death to be told in a very suspenseful manner. You won't find out what happened `till the end. I also quite liked the way the book was laid out-going back and forward in time from Hannah or Gabriel when they were together in 1692-1695 or May, Gabriel and Adele (the maidservant) when they were in 1689-1691.
I also liked, how for all their unusual (for the time) traits, Hannah and May pretty much were still stuck with what society excepted of them. There was no amazing feminist attitudes (which did not exists in this time) cropping up as in some other books with a strong female lead who turns into a crusader for women's rights. These were all normal people, and they fit into society as the time period dictated. They did deviate a little from the normal women of their time (adventures in the wilderness, wandering around woods on their own, dressing like boys), but in the end they still were women of the time.
Really the only things I didn't like about this book was that the devotion between Hannah and May was never really shown or explained, it was just implied that you would except it. I did feel that Hannah and May's feelings about the new world weren't as significant of a presence as they should have been, considering that they were in a totally new, very rough and mostly uninhabited world. Also I felt the love between Hannah and Gabriel was quite rushed at first and didn't develop to its full potential.
Other than that, it's a very good book. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.
Four point five stars.
For other reading on the early colonial days of North America check out "A Place Called Freedom" by Ken Follett, "Virgin Earth" by Philippa Gregory ("Earthly Joys" for the back story on that) and "Now Face to Face" by Karleen Koen (though you should read "Through a Glass Darkly first for the back story.)
Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory
In Virgin earth Phillippa Gregory finishes the story of the Tradescant's a family of gardeners and explorers who searched the world for rare and beautiful things and new plants that would thrive in England. The first book is Earthly Joys about John Tradescant the elder and this book is about his son.
Where John the elder was dutiful to the extreme, John the younger questions his worlds. The book opens with him on a ship to Virginia, trying to escape the grief that the death of his wife caused. In the new world he finds a young Indian girl to help him gather plants and becomes friends with and slightly infatuated though she is half his age. When he leaves Virginia he promises he will return and marry her, but when he returns home he finds that his father has died and left in their house a woman who he thought his son should marry and who would raise his children.
And so John is caught between two worlds. There is England his home, which is safe and predictable, and there is the new world, which awakened a life inside of him. But both are the point of upheaval, Virginia by the colonists who will not coexist with the natives, and England by the reformation. This conflict goes through the novel, as does another with similar themes. There is civil war in England. The king is executed and an elected government is in place. The people of England realize that the king is not divined, nor does he rule by divine right. He can be overthrown, even invited back.
This book exposes two profound human transformations in history. The change from rule of divine right to the rule of consent of the governed, and the transformation of the frontier of the earth into just another colony. The virgin earth of the title is literally the land and the mindset of the English people-and after this book it is virgin no more.
This is by far one of Philippa Gregory's best books. She does much better when writing about more normal people (as apposed to royalty) and normal, if somewhat extraordinary, lives. The book is believable and enthralling and truly expresses John's feeling that he is on the edge of the last new world (both real and political) that there will ever be.
Four point five stars.
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
I would like to say that I love Phillipa Gregory's books. I really do. She's a fantastic writer and researcher. But the way she portrayed Elizabeth in this novel was immensely disappointing to me. I thought her portrayal in The Queens Fool was leading to a good, non-conventional portrayal of Elizabeth. And then I read this book.
The Elizabeth in the Virgin's Lover is not all that smart. She is not self-sufficient. There is nothing in her character to suggest that she could rule a country on her own when the world was run by men. She is a weak, desperate woman who can't do anything if Robin Dudley isn't with her every minute of the day.
And Robin! Why does he have to be so power hungry? There is very little inkling in his character that he loves Elizabeth deeply, or even really cares about her beyond sex! All he cares about is being King!
Realistically I know that Robin must have had some aspirations to be king, but as a hopeless romantic I'd desperately wanted this novel to a more supportive version of the famous Elizabeth/Dudley romance. Instead it just made me feel sad and hopeless that their much celebrated relationship was anything more than a political ploy by an overly ambitious man.
That said this isn't a bad book. It's well written, well researched and well executed. I just didn't like the characters all that much. Three stars.
W
Western Passage by T. J. Hanson
I think everyone who lives in Oregon is a little bit fascinated with the Oregon Trail. Forth grade, if you go to school in Oregon, is spent totally studying the trail. You visit the nearest trail sites (which are everywhere), learn to make candles, and write fake trail diaries. It's a lot of fun, and ever since then I've been fascinated with the trail. Living across the river from Oregon city and going there everyday fuels that.
But I've only been able to find historical fiction about the trial written for kids and young adults. This always bothered me, because while those books written for kids may be great, they're not of an adult perspective on the great migration west. So I was thrilled when I found this book.
This is the story of Abbey, who I think is a fictional person. She endured tragedy while homesteading in Ohio and heads to Indepdence on her own to fulfill her dead husbands dream of going to Oregon. While I think the idea of a woman alone on the trail, even with hired help like Abbey has, is not historical accurate, this book is great. The descriptions are trail life is very alive and emotional, and I could really feel the emotions of the travelers as the first saw the great northwest. It is called great for a reason.
This book is very good and obviously well researched. I recommend it for anyone who loves historical fiction. I do wish I knew though if there ever was a woman who traveled without a husband or male family all the way to Oregon City, or if Abbey is a made up person entirely. I was always taught that any woman on the trail had to get immediately re married if her husband died, or if her father died and she was of marriageable age. The journey was too just much for people on their own, and woman, by the social conventions of the day, where not permitted to band together with other woman and go with friends as men were.
So I may never know if Abbey's situation was possible or not. The author obviously knows his stuff, so I'll defer to his expertness. The only thing I didn't like about this book is it really shows that the hope that Oregon City represented to travelers has just been hopelessly wasted by the economic depressing the city (well, town really) is currently in. Its not the authors fault in any way, but Oregon City is a pretty depressing place now.
Five stars for this wonderful book, that I've spent years searching for.
I also recommend along with this "Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847 (Dear America)" by Kristiana Gregory, which, even though it's a young adult book, is a great historical look at the Oregon Trail.
The White Mare by Jules Watson
There was a reason that it seemed the Romans conquered territory so easily. That was that the people who lived in Gaul, Britain and Germany were not united, and had to fight off the enormous threat of the roman army as individual tribes-so basically they had no chance.
This book is set in Scotland-or Alba as it's called in the book. Scotland was never really conquered by Rome-they just built a wall around it in the second century AD. But the White Mare is set before that, when Rome was still trying to conquer it.
Rhiann is a priestess of the goddess who has undergone a traumatic event. But she's also the Kings niece and is therefore bound by blood to produce the next heir for the kingdom of Epidii. Right as the king dies an Irish prince sails into her life and becomes her peoples champion against the threat of Rome. Then she married him (Eremon) in a total political match-meaning no romantic relationship- and they run around trying to unite the various tribes of Alba against the Romans.
There are some fantasy elements in the book, and the author admits she warped history to suit her needs-but I would still call this historical fiction.
This book is a little like a soap opera but that's what made it so fun to read. Something is always happening in it-there are no dull pages. Each character is firmly drawn and very alive and if their lives are more action packed and melodramatic it can be excused. You will be on the edge of your seat during the tense chapters and cheering for your favorite freedom fighters. You will feel the need to run to Scotland and hike in the heather and swim in the lochs. This is one fun book.
Five stars for the fun reading. I look forward to the sequel-which I ordered after reading the first chapter of the White Mare.
The White Raven by Diana L. Paxson
The White Raven is the classic love story of Tristan and Isolde, but it is told by someone who was slightly outside of the story. Her name is Branwen and she is Isolde's (spelled differently in the book: Esseilte) cousin and best friend and they were raised as sisters.
As the author points out in her ending authors note Branwen is essential to this love story. Esseilte is married to Tristan's (in this novel Drustan) uncle, the high king of Cornwall. But on the voyage from Ireland to Cornwall Esseilte and Drustan manage to drink a love potion accidentally and are forever entwined. (In this version Esseilte was trying to poison Drustan and herself because he killed her uncle, Branwen's father.) Anyway, the point is, none of it would have worked without Branwen to stand guard and make us excuses for the sometimes absent queen of Cornwall. She even has to take her cousins place on her wedding night so that the king, Mark, will think he married a virgin.
Only something happens. Branwen and Mark don't just consummate his marriage to Esseilte, they make the great marriage and become in a sense the green king and queen-living representations of the land and its forever servants. Of course, Esseilte doesn't know that. Branwen is also in love with Mark, but he doesn't know it wasn't Esseilte on his wedding night. And Esseilte and Drustan can't keep their hands off each other.
The situation is a mess and Branwen has to clean it up again and again. So her point of view is interesting, but I feel a little cheated on the romance-you get nothing really of Tristan and Isolde in this book because Branwen is telling the story. Her own love life is interesting-but this is one of the greatest love stories of all time and we get so little of it in this book.
Other than the political mish-mash in this book is impossible to follow. Too many old names that are hard to remember and track. The genealogy charts are no help what so ever.
Basically, three stars. Nice writing, but I'm still looking for a really good retelling of the tale.
Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier
While reading this book one scenario kept popping into my head. A group of children say all about eleven years old, goes on a walk to an abandoned field. Once there, they set up their own little world, totally cut off from adult supervision. The child among them most interested in law and rule is somehow removed. What happens to the truth in this group of children? Left all alone will they act as they should, with morals, or fall into a pit of desperation? Will the strong bully the weak and allow power to solely rule the people? What role with fairness, wisdom truth and standing up for what is right hold in this new world?
That sounds a lot like Lord of Flies (not that I've ever read it) but it's also what happens in this book, about Vikings. A settlement to a far off island, already peopled, heads in a terrible direction when those interested in peace are removed, and everyone left falls under the spell of blindly following the leader. This novels deals with truth, redemption, and quite a bit about faith. Specifically, when does blind faith, or trust, cross a line that prevents free thought? How far can we go in our faith to anything? How much does truth matter compared to trust and faith and keeping your word? This is also a fairly dark book, but reminds us that there is always light in truth.
Like all of this authors books the writing is beautiful. I felt this was a much more complicated novel then anything she's written before, especially with the subtext of the book. The plot also seems to be more complicated, even if it is a bit like something out of a fairy tale and thus fairly predictable. I did get annoyed with the latest in this authors never ending stream of amazingly wise, competent, beautiful and powerful 16 or 17 year old girls. An older heroine would be nice.
This made me think, so four stars. I'll read the sequel, but this will never be one of my favorite novels. I did learn a lot about Vikings, especially the faith element of the so called "berserkers", and the way their life of war was viewed.
World Historical Fiction by Lynda G. Adamson
I found this in my high school library and loved it so much I just bought a used copy of it. This is an index of most of the historical fiction books published for adults and mature young adults up to 1998. Admittedly, a lot more have been published since then. and the author counts period fiction as historical fiction, which is wrong.This is arranged by era and area and has a little blob about each book, the place it takes place in and the year it takes place in. I look forward to using it to find new books. Five stars.
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