Fuzzy History: Learning History through Fiction

Below is a list of forthcoming historical fiction. Click the book cover image to pre-order the novel at Amazon (U.S. site). Fuzzy History receives a small commission for referral purchases. Alternatively, use the resources in Find Books to locate of pre-order options.

Devil’s Brood by Sharon Kay Penman, 7 October 2008 (U.S. release), 5 February 2009 (U.K. release). The third book in the Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine series covers the final years of their marriage, including the first rebellion of their sons, the Young King, Richard I and Geoffrey, Eleanor’s imprisonment, the Young King’s death, and more.

The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick, 2 October 2008 (U.K. release). This is the story of Roger Bigod and Ida de Tosney as they struggle to hold on to their family and lands under the tumultuous reigns of three kings – Henry II, Richard I and John.

Crown in Candlelight by Rosemary Hawley Jarman, 1 November 2008 (U.S. release). Biographical fiction on Katherine of Valois, covering her life with Henry V of France and Owen Tudor. Reprint.

I, Jacqueline by Hilda Lewis, 1 November 2008 (U.S. release). Biographical fiction on Jacqueline of Hainaut. Reprint.

The King’s Grey Mare by Rosemary Hawley Jarman, 1 November 2008 (U.S. release). Biographical fiction on Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV. Reprint.

Blood Royal by Elisabeth McNeill, 1 December 2008 (U.S. release). Product description: Nathan, a pedlar and seller of embroidery threads, first sets his eyes on Mary Queen of Scots as an infant being crowned at Stirling Castle. He follows her life, being one of the many who are drawn to her, and becomes more closely involved in her life than a mere pedlar could possibly imagine.

After the Lies by Mandessa Selby, 17 December 2008 (U.S. release). A love story during the Indian wars in Texas in 1873.

Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore, 9 December 2008 (U.S. release). Historical mystery set in 1764 in Boston.

The Virgin Queen’s Daughter by Ella March Chase, 30 December 2008 (U.S. release). Speculation surrounding an illegitimate child belonging to Elizabeth I.

People of the Thunder by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, 6 January 2009 (U.S. release). Product description: By 1300 AD, the Sky Hand people had crushed and enslaved the Albaamaha people and built their high-walled capital, Split Sky City, to dominate towns up and down the Black Warrior River. Great armies are on the march, and a cunning new leader, Smoke Shield, has risen. He will lead the Sky Hand people either to stunning triumph or to bloody doom.

Twelve by Jasper Kent, January 2009 (U.S. release). An army captain under Alexander I discovers intrigue and treachery in a band of Wallachian mercenaries during Napolean’s invasion of Russia in 1812. Twelve is the first in a series of 5 novels that span Russian history from the Revolution of 1917 to the first World War. Excerpt.

The Antigallican by Tom Bowling, January 2009 (U.S. release). In June 1794, the first major naval engagement of the Napoleonic Revolutionary War takes place between British and French ships. The story centers around the French frigate, The Hortense, which is commanded by Republican Admiral Jan Van Stabel and on its way to deliver corn to the French.

Fire and Sword by Simon Scarrow, 8 January 2009 (U.K. release). The third book in a quartet focusing on Wellington and Napoleon.

Roanoke by Margaret Lawrence, 27 January 2009 (U.S. and U.K. release). “Roanoke tells the story of two Queens and two continents, linked by one of history’s most fascinating unsolved mysteries: What Really Happened to the lost colony of Roanoke?” (High Crimes Mystery Bookshop)

More Resources for Forthcoming Historical Fiction

• Historical Fiction at Amazon
• Historical Novel Society
• Forthcoming Books for 2008 (part 1)
• Forthcoming Books for 2008 (part 2)
• Forthcoming Books for 2009

Similar to Black Ships (review), Lavinia comes to light through Virgil’s Aeneid. But it picks up the story where Black Ships ends – with Aeneas’s marriage to King Latinus’s daughter, Lavinia, after defeating the enemies of Latium.

Lavinia, who never speaks in the original Aeneid, visits a sacred cave where she meets the shade of the dying Virgil. He tells her of what is to come – of Aeneas, the coming battles, her future child and more. You know the end of the story – or you think you do – before Aeneas arrives. But you don’t know how it ends.

Even though the story isn’t new, I found it compelling. Le Guin’s style of writing sucked me in and I put the book down only twice before finishing it. I wonder, though, if I had read the Aeneid and knew the story well, if I would have found it as compelling. I think so, especially since Le Guin gives voice to Lavinia, but I’ll never know for certain.

I especially appreciate the author’s end note, which is more of a historical essay. Here, Le Guin explains why she chose to re-tell the last part of the Aeneid. She talks about the geography of the region and the sources she used to pinpoint the locations in Lavinia. She also discusses what parts – or rather, what emphasis of the original Aeneid – she minimized and why.

While both Lavinia and Black Ships are great reads, perhaps especially for people like me who never had the opportunity to read the Latin Aeneid, I enjoyed Lavinia a bit more. Perhaps it’s just the romance of Lavinia’s story; perhaps it’s the writing of a more seasoned author. I don’t know. But I simply did not want this book to end. Rating: Very Good+ (Click the image above to purchase the novel from Amazon. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for the referral.)

I started reading historical fiction in college. I was a dual history-Spanish major (later changed to American Studies-Spanish) and a number of my professors sought to capture students’ interests through assigning readings that included novels. I read Kenneth Roberts, John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos, Lillian Hellman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dashiell Hammett, William Faulkner, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev and Nikolai Gogol, amongst others. Many of these authors, of course, did not write historical fiction. Their subjects were contemporary. But because the books capture the times so well, many now (and when I read them) serve as historical fiction.

While I read historical fiction off-and-on for years after leaving college, I didn’t pick it up again regularly until about 2 years ago. Now it’s as if I’m trying to make up for lost time. I’ve kept notes on what I’ve read during the this time. I’ve also written numerous book reviews as a consumer at sites, such as Amazon and HistoricalFiction.org. I’ve participated in relevant discussion forums at these sites as well as at LibraryThing and PaperbackSwap.

To say I enjoy talking about historical fiction is, well, obvious. This, then, is one reason for launching the blog. My other reasons include:

• To maintain a better organized and searchable record of what I’ve read and what I thought of it.
• To prepare what librarians call a pathfinder to novels about specific events, places or people in history. In libraryland, a pathfinder is a guide to a topic, typically limited to resources within the library’s collection. Today, they often include resources, such as specialized databases and Web sites, outside the collection.
• To share my knowledge of research and the used book trade to help others find good historical fiction as well as scarce out-of-print titles.

Finally, by way of introduction, I’d like to explain the title I choose for this blog. Those familiar with fuzzy logic may already have guessed. History depicted in a novel may be true, false or somewhere in between. This theme of historical accuracy will appear time and again in my blog posts; hence, the title Fuzzy History.