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Here is the question we put before readers last week:
F.J.H. in Las Cruces, NM, asks: I am an aficionado of historical fiction (book form) from waaaay back. So, what do you think is the best novel in the genre?
And here some of the many, many answers we got in response:
T.M.M. in Odessa, MO: Your subject line suggests The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove (and Richard Dreyfuss). While I love that novel, I am going to cheat by going with a book series (actually two).
My favorite is the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. The central character is the black sheep of a Scottish noble family in the 1550s. Because he is not needed at home, he forms a mercenary company that leads him to being hired by different rulers.
My second favorite is The House of Nicollo which follows a Burgundian merchant in the late 1400s. Again, his merchant trips brings him to interacting with multiple areas of Europe and Africa.
What I like about both is that they do something that most world history classes do a poor job at doing7#8212;connecting what is happening in different countries at the same time. Unfortunately, most history courses do a segment on, say, the Holy Roman Empire and the Reformation, then another on the battles between the HRE and the Ottoman Empire, then another on the relationship (or lack thereof) between Scotland, England, and France. Very few history classes make clear which events are happening at the same time. In other words, a week in a history class may focus on the HRE in the sixteenth century with the following week focusing on England in the sixteenth century, but very few will, during the week on England, when discussing the reigns of Edward and Mary will go back and remind you that as England was dealing with [X], Spain and Austria were dealing with [Y], which influenced what they were willing to do with or to England.
L.A. in Waynesboro, PA: I personally think that Harry Turtledove is absolutely the master of the genre). So my quandary is, which book of his to choose?
My two "most favorites" would be: (1) In the Presence of Mine Enemies. The fact that it has a (somewhat) encouraging ending doesn't hurt. But it cuts so close to home in so many of the scenes that it is like a thriller. (I'm Jewish and had extended family members in the camps); and (2) Ruled Britannia. Turtledove has a way of making the reader feel like they literally are living in the time and place he is writing about, and gives us a "peek backstage" in Elizabethan England, showing us a possible version of Shakespeare's daily life. And yet the concerns of its writers and political figures aren't that far afield from ours—that writing, rehearsing and performing a controversial and potentially riot—causing play could lead to one's arrest, trial, possibly murder.
C.J. in Redondo Beach, CA: I've been thinking about the question of the week off and on for a few days. I guess it sort of boils down to how far back a book has to go to be considered "historical fiction" and/or how recent a book are we talking about.
One of the obvious candidates is Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, but set 40 years prior. In the same way, there's also A Tale of Two Cities, set around 60 years before the novel was released. Is that amount of time satisfactory?
Then the other question remains. I assume the request implied something more recent (say, written in the last handful of decades). I'm not super well versed since I tend to read nonfiction nowadays, but I'll throw out Lonesome Dove. Amazing book, even if a bit soap opera-like at times. The miniseries was aces too.
A.M. in Mexico City, Mexico: I love the book Alamut by Vladimir Bartol. It's the story of the Nizari Isma'ili order, better known as the Assassins. I enjoyed Bartol's writing style, as well as his examination of extremism and brainwashing (Bartol, an ethnic Slovene trapped in Mussolini's Italy, wrote it as a tongue-in-cheek commentary).
Also, it's the book that inspired the Assassin's Creed video game series (most directly, the first game, which takes place at the order's other castle in Masyuf).
D.E. in Baltimore, MD: Octavia Butler's Kindred is a great and dark read. Dana travels back in time, randomly and against her will, to her ancestors' plantation, both slave and owner. Butler is more renowned for (great) sci-fi novels, making Kindred a harrowing reminder of that horrid era of American history. Then again, her Parables series seems oddly on the mark these days...
F.L. in Allen, TX: Far and away, my fave historical fiction is the The Flashman Papers, a series by George MacDonald Fraser. The eponymous antihero (gleaned from Tom Brown's School Days, by Thomas Hughes) is a Victorian era womanizer, cheat, bully, and coward who gets pressured into serving Her Majesty. Somehow, he manages to find himself in nearly every British military fiasco (at Balaklava his flatulence frightens his horse into leading the charge of the light brigade), and several foreign engagements, including the U.S. Army's greatest military disaster, Little Big Horn (a.k.a. Greasy Grass). And he fights on both sides of the U.S. Civil War!
Although historically accurate, throughout the books the author adds footnotes saying things like, "Flashman was surely mistaken here as the garrison could only hold a hundred men or so."
For all his faults, Flashman (being a coward) is a pacifist.
A 1975 film, Royal Flash, with Malcolm McDowell, was released with less than favorable reviews (although I thought it was great fun, if a guilty pleasure).
B.F. in Nine Mile Falls, WA: My favorite historical fiction novel is Arundel by Kenneth Roberts. The story of Benedict Arnold's expedition against Quebec during the first winter of the Revolutionary War paints a completely different picture of the man that we remember as a traitor.
J.B. in Unterhaching, Germany: When it comes to historical fiction, I can recommend The Kindly Ones (originally Les Bienveillantes) by Jonathan Littell. It's about the Second World War, mostly the Eastern Front, from the perspective of a German officer. It's a thoroughly uncomfortable read, so maybe not a good idea if you're looking for escape from the current times, but a very impressive novel—it really shows the banality of evil.
J.D. in Cold Spring, MN: Like F.J.H. in Las Cruces, I'm a big fan of historical fiction. I enjoy stories that bring you into the lived experience of a historical period, preferably at the level of an ordinary person (no "great man" history for me!). I want to be transported into another time and place to live that experience myself.
With that, there is nothing better than the Patrick O'Brien Aubrey-Maturin novels. Read them (all 21 of them!) and you'll be transported into British naval life during the Napoleonic Wars. O'Brien's knowledge of sailing ships, naval tactics, and day-to-day life aboard Britain's 19th century navy is remarkable. He was a genius at character development, bringing out a complexity and depth in even the most mundane-appearing, ordinary seaman. Preserved Killick is a character for the ages!
(I enjoyed the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, an amalgam of several O'Brien novels, but it fell short in portraying the depth of O'Brien's characters.)
E.P. in Cumming, GA: In my opinion, the greatest historical novel is the 20-volume series of novels by Patrick O'Brian chronicling the lives of two friends, naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician/secret agent Stephen Maturin. They live in Nelson's navy during the Napoleonic wars. Reviewers compare O'Brian to Melville, Conrad and Dickens.
We are used to seeing puff quotes from reviewers on the covers of novels. Here's are a few to contemplate from the Aubrey/Maturin series: "The best historical novels ever written," New York Times Book Review. Or this one: "O'Brian's sheer literary elegance is dazzling," Chicago Sun-Times. Finally, my favorite: "The best novelist in the world," Chicago Tribune.
This is true desert-island stuff. If I were building my own five-foot shelf of books, O'Brian would occupy the first two feet. I urge any intelligent reader who wants adventure, erudition, insight and humor to get started today. Are you daunted by the prospect of reading 20 novels? I assure you, you will wish there were more.
E.R. In Port Royal, SC: Three "historical books" from "waaaay back": (1) Next To Valour by John Edward Jennings, published 1939 about the French and Indian War 1754-1763 and the early settlement in New England; (2) Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo, published 1978, about a Shoshone woman traveling with the Lewis and Clark expedition 1804-1806; (3) Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald, published 1981, history around the time of the Indian Rebellion in 1857.
R.T. in Arlington, TX: The historical fiction book that has had the most impact on me is The Source by James Michener. It covered the history of "Palestine" over 5,000 years, from the perspective of a single settlement/village/town/castle/archaeological site in Galilee. It was written in the late 1960s. I first read it in the 1980s and i reread it every decade or so. One of the few permanent members of my personal library. It should be required reading for anyone that intends to opine on the current Israel/Gaza crisis.
M.D. in Wakefield, MA: I am a lover of historical novels myself. When I was in high school my parents were trying to get me interested in reading new and inspiring novels other than books like the "Hardy Boys" series. My father encouraged me to read The Source by James Michener, a lengthy and challenging chore for me at the time. I became totally immersed in the work of archaeologists sifting through the different layers of the mound. As they sift the various layers one at a time, the novel shifts to those periods to build the history of Judaism. I have read most all of Michener's works (he is my favorite writer) and enjoyed them all. His writing style can be hard for some to deal with, and most of his books are quite long, but I get totally wrapped up in them. Try Michener and lose yourself if the past.
E.R. in Padova, Italy: A large portion of world's literature can be classified as "historical fiction", so it's very difficult to find a "best" book.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (published in 1869; the story of a few Russian families during the Napoleonic wars) is perhaps my #1 candidate. I also like Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago (published in 1957... in Italy, because the Soviet regime blocked its publication in the USSR; it's about a Muscovite physician during the Russian Revolution), and Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (published in 1980; sort of a detective story in a medieval monastery... but it's much more than that!).
J.D. in Sydney, NSW, Australia: The best modern historical fiction is obviously and unquestionably Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, about Tudor politcian and fixer Thomas Cromwell and his rise and fall under Henry VIII. Absolutely masterful writing that melds politics, history, religion and emotion. And if it's not Wolf Hall, then it would definitely be Bring Up the Bodies, which is the sequel. And if it's not that, then The Mirror and the Light, which concludes the trilogy. Those three are pretty much head and shoulders above all the competition.
If you want something about more recent history, Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong, about the First World War, is another lyrical piece of work that absolutely transfixes the reader with its emotional cargo.
For children, I would without hesitation recommend The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliffe. In Roman Britain, the Ninth Legion disappeared into Caledonia (Scotland) and was never heard of again. In the novel, the son of one of the centurions goes to try and recover the legion's eagle standard. It is a wonderful adventure story with a well researched background, and links in to a whole series of novels she wrote covering the end of Roman Britain and the beginning of the "Dark Ages," up to and including Arthur.
Finally, your suggested e-mail subject line hints at maybe alternate history. For that, I'd recommend the somewhat weird, but intensely enjoyable, Ash by Mary Gentle. I won't even try to explain it, but it's worth a look—the Duchy of Burgundy has survived, there is a Visigothic kingdom of Carthage, and the Pyramids of Egypt play a significant part. From Wikipedia, I have just learned that in the U.S., this was published as four separate books: A Secret History, Carthage Ascendant, Wild Machines and Lost Burgundy.
And finally, another alt history. I am currently halfway through Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford. A police procedural set in an alternative U.S. in a Jazz Age where native American cultures (some of them at least) have survived with some success, Cahokia is a state, and the clash of cultures is reaching an ignition point. Very enjoyable and very believable.
J.G. in Farmington, CT: I submit Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Thomas Cromwell was overdue for a reevaluation, and Tudor England, The New York Times's reviewer writes, is as "fecund [a] breeding ground of British historical fiction as the American Civil War is of ours." And yet Mantel's novel stands out, for depicting Thomas More as the actual tormentor of history, using flames and the rack to manufacture utopia ("not a place," Mantel's Cromwell notes, "that one can live"). And yet it is sympathetic to both its protagonist and his enemies, because all villains think they are heroes. It is lyrical, "spellbinding and believable," depicting ugliness and beauty in a society undergoing violent transition and molding itself anew.
I'll go further, if I may, to explain my choice. Historical fiction is appealing and successful in part because readers can't help but draw parallels between the past and the present, and certainly Cromwell has his fans today. Steve Bannon said explicitly that he was Cromwell to Trump's Henry, breaking rules and wrecking orders. But he was a pretender, a dilettante, if an obese reptile as disgusting as he could be called that.
No, the real Cromwell is Russ Vought. Like Cromwell, Vought is a radical in bureaucrat's clothing whose expertise is in who to tax and from whom to borrow in order to pay for things. But while Cromwell sought to expropriate Church influence and money for his sovereign, Vought seeks nothing more fanatically authoritarian than the neutralization of Congress, and therefore the people, as a center of power.
Some might lie that Vought is merely finding creative ways around legislative blockades for chosen policy ends. But the real end goal, telegraphed on Day 3 of this disastrous presidency, is the White House and OMB unconstitutionally usurping the power of the purse, the most important power Congress has.
As Georgetown law scholar Steve Vladeck memorably put it: "If presidents can impound appropriated funds at any time and for any reason, then there's not much point to having a legislature."
If successful, Vought will not have his head separated by an axe: he will be the most celebrated and reviled unelected power broker in history.
S.W. in New York City, NY: The Plot against America by Philip Roth. We are currently living this political nightmare with Nazis and anti-democratic forces in The White House. Another suggestion is The Angel Max by Peter Glassgold—it tells the stories of immigrants and the anarchy movement in America while giving the reader an authentic sense of the era.
S.B. in Los Angeles, CA: About 20 years ago, when I read Phillip Roth's, The Plot Against America, I was fascinated about how insidious and stealthy American society slid towards a fascist Nazi orientation with just a push from a fictional candidacy of Charles Lindbergh in the 1940 election. Little did I know we'd be actually living it now!
J.W. in Aston, PA: I love reading contemporary fiction, and my fandom of historical fiction also goes waaaay back. Most of them I enjoy while reading them, then instantly forget as I move on to the next thing. But some of them really stick with me. There are three books from recent years that have stood out.
First, In the Distance by Hernan Diaz. I was so riveted by this story, I missed my train stop. It was a Pulitzer finalist and is about a young Swedish boy who is lost in the U.S. in the mid-1800's, making his way back East in search of his brother. The boy cannot speak English, but manages to communicate with settlers or travelers that he comes across (usually headed in the opposite direction).
Second, Barkskins by Annie Proulx. She is one of my favorite authors, so I am biased. This story covers 300 years of immigration to North America, emerging cultures, with an ongoing theme of deforestation and its environmental and economic impact.
Finally, The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon, is based on Martha Ballard, a real-life midwife who lived in Maine in the late 1700's. This one is a mystery-thriller, but based on real events.
None of these are war stories, they do not cover specific historic events, nor depict male historic figures as main characters. Perhaps that is why they stuck with me.
L.C.G. in Portland, OR: A wonderful middle-grades children's book called Across Five Aprils. It's about a young boy during the Civil War. This adult middle-school teacher found it very moving.
M.S. in Newton, MA: 11/22/63 by Stephen King. One of the great novels of all time and details what life was like in the 50s and 60s in an extraordinary way. Its take on the JFK assassination is also unique and creates one of the great book endings ever.
D.R. in Chicago, IL: I have two suggestions: (1) I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. As a retired teacher, I often used this work and the BBC television series as an introduction to Roman history for my senior high school history class; (2) Not a novel, but Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. This is also a fun introduction to Roman history for both history and language arts students. My challenging essay question was: "How does this work differ from the actual history?"
C.B. in Highlands, NJ: I would say The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, published in 1982. It is the King Arthur tale retold from an entirely female perspective. It's also a deep dive into the Celtic religion and how Paganism was on the road to erasure. The novel goes into detail about the characters we rarely have more than a cursory knowledge of, and how each of them impact Arthur from boyhood to the man he became.
J.E. in Boone, NC: The best historical fiction novels are The Princes of Ireland, The Rebels of Ireland, and New York, all by Edward Rutherfurd!
C.S. in Flushing, MI: John Jakes' North and South does a good job of giving a more than passable look into the lead up of the Civil War with a delightful dose of tawdry. It and its subsequent books, Love and War and Heaven and Hell earned him the moniker "The Godfather of Historical Fiction."
M.M. in San Diego, CA: I've not read many historical novels because: (1) there's no such thing as "the good old days" and (2) novelists tend to romanticize the past. Also, capturing the cultural mindset of an era is difficult, and inevitably the protagonist will have suspiciously Enlightenment-influenced ideas and values, regardless of the period. That said, I did enjoy Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels as a good piece of fiction (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1975). Whether or not it is an accurate account of the Battle of Gettysburg and its main players, I really couldn't say...
M.S. in Highland Park, IL: My historical fiction recommendation is off the beaten path: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.
In it, we explore the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, Frida Kahlo, her lovers Diego Rivera and Leon Trotsky, and McCarthyism in depth. The characters are vivid, and Kingsolver is a lovely writer, though this book is a bit different than her usual tone, in that it is much less colloquial. The main character is gay and Kingsolver handles his sexuality in a manner which I, a gay man, resonate with. No other straight writer that I have found has done as well.
Truly, it covers an era of history that does not often get treated, but which is deeply relevant to the current national conversation.
D.S. in Layton, UT: Two personal favorites I read (for the first of many times) within a week of each other over Christmas break during my Freshman year of college. I was stressing, had papers due, just needed to take a mental vacation and boy howdy, these two tickets to my escape were all that I could ask for: Michael Crichton's The Great Train Robbery and E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime.
T.W. in Norfolk, England, UK: My favorite novel set in history is Credo by Melvyn Bragg (published in the U.S. under the title The Sword and the Miracle). It's set in the "dark ages" in the wilds of northeast England and follows the life of an Irish princess turned anchoress named Bega (who was to become a semi-mythical saint), and is set in and around the time of Bede and Saint Cuthbert. While not every reviewer's cup of tea, I found it evocative and a good taster for what life might have been like in those very hard times. It is set in the area of one of the lesser known of England's "Great Lakes" of the Lake District—Bassenthwaite, which happens to be one of the most serene places in England that I've ever visited, and I am resolved to retire there some day. While very little is actually known about Bega, what is known and the fictional narrative woven by Bragg definitely attracts interest in a part of the country steeped in myths and folklore.
B.W. in West Hartford, CT: My favorite historical novel is Drums Along the Mohawk. Even though I'm from the little village in which the very real battle at the center of the book was fought ("the bloodiest battle of the American Revolution") ,I never read the book until recently and was blown away by its character development and by the storylines. Very exciting read about a very important place and period during the American Revolution. Colonist against colonist, each side with their own set of native allies, in an early frontier setting in which anything goes in terms of violence. It was not a simple time, and this novel examines the period in ways I did not expect from a book written in 1935 (and a best seller for years). And it was made into a motion picture featuring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert that threw away the historical complexity for a simplistic embrace of a mythic American past.
L.S. in Greensboro, NC: I wouldn't pretend to be able to select the best historical novel, since there are thousands that I haven't read. However, I feel that the first three (chronologically, not in order of publication) of Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series, namely Burr, Lincoln, and 1876 were all excellent. The fourth one, Empire, wasn't too bad, either. The two more modern volumes were somewhat lacking in my opinion.
While perhaps not completely historically accurate, I thought Allen Drury's Akhenaten duology, A God Against the Gods and Return to Thebes were quite entertaining.
For those who like a dose of murder mystery along with their ancient Egyptian historical fiction, Agatha Christie's Death Comes as the End was quite good, too. Because she was married to a renowned archaeologist and actively participated on his digs, she is quite good on archaeological details. It is also interesting, as it gives the perspective of somewhat ordinary Egyptians, and has a lot of details of daily life at that time.
And I can't close without mentioning one of my all-time favorite authors, and arguably one of the greatest authors ever in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, Gene Wolfe, and his wonderful pair of novels about Ancient Greece, Soldier in the Mist and Soldier of Arete. They feature a soldier who has been robbed of his memory by an injury and therefore writes a meticulous accounting of his daily activities so that he can read and remember. While including fantasy aspects of magic and gods, they actually reflect the likely beliefs of people of that time.
M.A. in Park Ridge, IL: The greatest historical novel was written by the greatest writer of my lifetime: Gore Vidal. Which novel, you ask? Well, I prefer Lincoln, but a case could be made for Burr or 1876.
G.R. in Carol Stream, IL: For best historical fiction, i vote for the work of Geraldine Brooks. If i had to pick one, I would go with People of the Book, for the breadth of its imagination. Second place, Caleb's Crossing, for the imagining of the beginnings of Harvard University, which may or may not be with us for much longer.
I also want to mention The Weight of Ink, by Rachel Kadish, for the reimagining of Medieval Jewish Philosophy.
P.D.N. in Boardman, OH: Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. The other four books in the Kingsbridge series, The Evening and The Morning, A Column of Fire, The Armour of Light, and World Without End are just as good.
All seven of S.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake Tudor mysteries: Dissolution, Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation, and Tombland. Winter in Madrid, about the British need to keep Franco from siding with the Nazis, is equally good.
A.B. in Wendell, NC: I think one of the best is Lightning by Dean R. Koontz. In it, the protagonists fight against time-traveling Nazis. I must admit my own bias, Koontz is my favorite author, he beats Stephen King!
P.M. in Port Angeles, WA: I'll offer two stories by Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, both renowned over millennia. And, of course, Virgil's The Aeneid, which I once read in the original language. We might also include the Eddas of Norse mythology and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Closer to home, time-wise might be the Arthurian legend, or Beowulf.
Here is the question for next week:
T.L. in Minneapolis, MN, asks: As we all know, we're living in pretty extraordinary and difficult times. So I'd like to try to spread some love around.
Who do you look up to (whether famous or not) as a source of love and hope to help you to keep carrying on? And why?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Chin Up"!