Historical novels, anyone?

[riadibera]

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Modern Library listed this as the 14th greatest novel of the 20th century. Personally, it should have landed way higher as it is both entertaining and consistent with history. But I guess the guys at the panel wanted something more socially relevant, instead of some comic, borderline fantastic retelling of some emperor's life.

[bothwell]

@riadibera: I agree with you 100%! I, Claudius is one of my all-time favorite book.

I've just finished Conn Iggulden's Khan Series.
Genghis: Birth of an Empire
Genghis: Bone of the Hills
Genghis: Lords of the Bow
Khan: Empire of Silver

All four books in the series are excellent and highly recommended.

I'm currently on his 3rd book of Empire Series about Julius Caesar.
1. The Gates of Rome
2. The Death of Kings
3. The Field of Swords

It's turning to be just as great as his Khan series.

Anyone interested, I can share kindle format of these books.

[C.I.C.C.I]

hardback
315 pages
copyright 1988
ISBN 1-55611-103-7

THE SIMEON CHAMBER - STEVEN PAUL MARTINI

1. Lost journal of Francis Drake

2. Parchment sent to Jennifer Davies came from Marguerite Pallone final request of Mrs. Davies.

3. Man with cane is Raymond Slade

4. Louis Davies is James Spencer

*** Goodyear Blimp that fell in in Daly City August 1942 and Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA ***

[bothwell]

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander.

This is a gripping story about the last days of the Romanov's captivity and their eventual murder by the Bolsheviks.

It is well-researched and well-written but also quite depressing because of what happened to the Tsar and his family.

It's worth a read.

[quick_ben]

By definition

"Historical fiction" is a story written by an author that is set in the past.

These following books are considered historical fiction because when the author wrote these the setting was in a past era from that of the time the author wrote it. These, by the way, are classics of literature.

The Three Musketeers and its sequels collectively known as the D'Artagnan Romances written by Alexandre Dumas (pere) in 1844, the setting is in the 17th century, 200 years from Dumas' time.

All Sir Walter Scott books including Ivanhoe and Rob Roy are historical fiction

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, set 50 years from date of publication
and
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane set 40 years earlier

are considered historical fiction also

As classics, they are among the best.

[CoolCucumber]

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander.

This is a gripping story about the last days of the Romanov's captivity and their eventual murder by the Bolsheviks.

It is well-researched and well-written but also quite depressing because of what happened to the Tsar and his family.

It's worth a read.

I have this book, too. Kaso I read it during the time their bones were discovered so medyo panira lang kasi in the book it says that there are/is survivors.

[Jonny]

Currently reading Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe Series. It's about a British soldier during the Peninsular Campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars.

[C.I.C.C.I]

hardback
290 pages
copyright 2009
ISBN 978-0-345-50533-0

HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET - JAMIE FORD



In the opening pages of Jame Ford's stunning debut novel, [I]Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,/I] Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes Henry back to the 1940's, when his world was a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who was obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship - and innocent love - that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel's dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice - words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

1. The lady who works as a clerk at the Post Office is Ethel Chen, future wife of Henry.

2. Recording of old Vinyl 78 record of Oscar Holden (THe Alley Cat Strut) was sent to Samantha by Keiko(Kay Hatsune) after being found by Samantha, fiancee of Marty, son of Henry.


As you play this record, I hope you'll think of the good, not the bad. Of what was, not what wasn't meant to be. Of the time we spent together, not the time we've spent apart. Mos of all, I hope you'll think of me....
*** Oai dekit te ursehii desu ***

[kimjs24]

The Red Queen's Daughter
very good read.

[C.I.C.C.I]

hardback
271 pages
copyright 2001
ISBN 0-87113-827-1

IMAGINING DON GIOVANNI - ANTHONY RUDEL



Set in Prague in 1787, Imagining Don Giovanni is the rich, sweeping story of three of history's most seductive artists --- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Leonardo Da Ponte, the poet and librettist; and Giacomo Casanova, the notorious lover --- working against the clock to create one of the world's most powerful masterpieces: the opera of Don Giovanni.

In the eleventh hour of Don Giovanni's production, Mozart and Da Ponte have halted all work in fundamental disagreement about its themes. Tempers flare but neither strong-willed man will back down, and no consensus can be wrought as the royally decreed date for the premiere looms. When all hope seems lost, the infamous Casanova appears on the scene with a flourish, full of salacious stories and surprising wisdom. The ideas he introduces into the conversation --- dangerous notions about personal liberty --- stir his collaborators' democratic enthusiasm, but also their fear. As he begins to influence the shape of the opera itself, professional and romantic jealousies between the men complicate matters even more as Da Ponte and Mozart anxiously jockey to protect their mandates in the rehearsal hall and in their respective bedrooms, Mozart;s wife, Constance, for one, with a devoted heart but a feisty spirit, is unabashedly fascinated by the elegant and understanding Casanova.

Winding through Prague's glittering society balls, rustic old-town inns, and a secluded manor gardens, a struggle of wills and desires
ensues. But it is the correspondence of an imprisoned French nobleman of questionable sanity --- the famous Marquis de Sade --- that finally cements the opera's destiny. The premiere, set against the lush background of one o the eighteenth century's most vital cities, is a crescendo of artistic passion, philosophical awakening, and renewed bonds of love. Anthony Rudel has mined a glorious past for this fast-paced and sublimely entertaining novel.

While the story of the premiere of Don Giovanni has been fictionalized here, the characters, the dates, and the delays are based in history.

Mozart, Da Ponte and Casanova were all in Prague during the weeks leading up to the premiere of Don Giovanni. However, only Mozart was there or the entire period.

Casanova did offer his assistance with the productions, and among the papers found in his library at Dux when he died were several pages of a libretto for the sextet in the second act.

[C.I.C.C.I]

hardback
337 pages
copyright 2008
ISBN 978-1-4391-9336-5



A CENTURIES-OLD MYSTERY.
AN "ACCIDENTAL" DEATH.
A CONSPIRACY THAT MAY END IN MURDER.

Former British Special Air Service officer Ben Hope is running for his life. Enlisted by Leigh Llewellyn—the beautiful, world-famous opera star and Ben’s first love—to investigate her brother, Oliver’s, mysterious death, Ben finds himself caught up in a puzzle dating back to the 1700s.

Though the official report states that Oliver died in a tragic accident, the facts don’t add up. The day Oliver died he sent Leigh all the files realted to his unfinished book on Mozart. As Ben and Leigh piece together Oliver's research, they discover that Mozart --- a notable Freemason --- may have been killed by a shadowy and powerful splinter group of the organization. In the hopes of coming closer to understanding what really happened to Oliver, Ben and Leigh set out to find a missing letter written by Mozart that may prove that the composer's death was really a murder. But after the receipt of a frightening video documenting a ritual sacrifice performed by hooded men --- and with armed assassins at their heels --- Ben and Leigh quickly hooded men, they realize that the sect is still in existence today and will stop at nothing to keep its secrets safe.

From the dreaming spires of Oxford and Venice’s labyrinthine canals to the majes*tic architecture of Vienna, Ben and Leigh must race across Europe to uncover the truth behind the Mozart conspiracy before they become its next victims.

In the tradition of Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown, Scott Mariani’s The Mozart Conspiracy is an electrify*ing thriller and the start of an exciting new series.

1. Benjamin Hope and Leigh Llewelyn are married.

2. Glass kills Leigh Llewelyn.

*** did Mozart die of acute rheumatic fever or was he poisoned by "aqua toffana" ? ***

www.mozartconspiracy.com

[stepehenyan@12]

kabibili ko libro sa thailand a famous historian. meron din ako pdf nito.

[F-A Soldier]

^I think this thread is specifically for "historical fiction", and I don't think Decline and Fall is a novel.

Kudos to you though, I don't know many that actually have the copy. I've read it a long time ago and I have a digital copy for a dollar in my reader to browse the later chapters from time to time (the only reason is the editions usually sold physically are thicker and I don't care for carrying books anymore). Gibbon's book is great, although since his writings a lot of changes in historiography and view (from archaeology, socioeconomic understanding rather than base political historicity which his view and traditional books are usually written).

[stepehenyan@12]

^
yaan mo na di ko na ma edit

[C.I.C.C.I]

in my "to-read" list

[C.I.C.C.I]

hardback
318 pages
copyright 2001
ISBN 0-06-018873-1

BEL CANTO - ANN PATCHETT



Somewhere in South America at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening until a band of gun wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots.

Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had ever known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

Ann Patchett has written a novel that is as lyrical and profound as it is unforgettable. Bel Canto engenders in the reader the very passion for art and the language of music that its characters discover. As a reader, you find yourself fervently wanting this captivity to continue forever even though you know that real life waits on the other side of the garden wall. Bel Canto is a virtuoso performance by one of our best and most important writers. It is a novel to be cherished.

[spoiler start]
1. Gen falls in love with Carmen.

2. Roxanne falls in love with Mr. Hosokawa.

3. Roxanne trains Cesar to sing opera.

4. Vice President has a soft-heart for Ishmael.

5. The terrorists are all killed, including Mr. Hosokawa.

6. Gen marries Roxanne.



[spoiler end]

[tokeneng]

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson - partially (ww2 scene)
The Emperor's General - James Webb
A Share of Honor - Ralph Graves

Common these among these 3: Set in WW2 Philippines

[CoolCucumber]

^Wow, ang galing ah!

[bothwell]

Men of Iron by Howard Pyle.

Set in 14th Century England.

Simple story but great. Just like watching a movie.

[Taga-dagat]

Counted ba yung Seabiscuit: A Legend ni Laura Hillenbrand?



And also, considered na bang novel yung Zodiac ni Robert Graysmith (since the move Zodiac was roughly based on this)?