We also had some amazing authors participating! See below for them and their books! The AMAZING Hannah also put together a master list on Goodreads of ALL the book that were mentioned! You can also check out her post here!
So I'm gonna do a quick recap and let you know what we were talking about. Erin led the chat with some questions and Hannah, Ellice and I all asked a question as well. I thought for sake of the post I'd let you know my answers and I'm hoping you guys can answer below via a comment in case you missed the chat!
SO! These are the questions Erin asked!!
What draws you all to historical fiction?
I love learning. At the heart of my love for historical fiction I love to learn about places and people and time that I don't know anything about. I feel smarter. And to be honest, we don't even need fiction half the time because the drama of history doesn't get any better. You ever read a book about The Tudors? Seriously!
What are the most important qualities you look for in good historical fiction?
Any setting or time period that interest me OR just the sound of a good story. Further than that, I need good character development, emotional connection to the characters, and a factual representation of the time. I don't know a lot but I would hate to read a historical fiction that completely deviates from the time period 'rules.' I do love a good alternative history a la The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen
What's your favorite era to read about?
Tudor England is the most obvious answer for me as well as The War of the Roses era. I LOVE anything to do with Russia specifically the Romanovs. I love anything set during WWII to see how their country was affected. Anything in Italy I'll basically read about. A lot. I love historical fiction A LOT!
Hannah asked...Which historical setting is your favorite to read about?
See above :)
I (obviously) asked...Who is your favorite historical hottie?
OBVIOUSLY my answer is Alexander Belov from The Bronze Horseman! If you haven't read this book for the love of all things literature read it!!
Ellice asked...If you could cast Jeremiah & Rosetta for a movie, who would it be?
I'm totally stealing Ellice's answer and saying Taylor Kitsch because he is perfect!! And Jennifer Lawrence just because she is my favorite actress :)
So we had many requests for a book recommendation list from the awesome humans participating in the chat!! So below I highlighted the books of the authors' participating, my personal favorite historical fiction books, and some historical fiction I have coming up to read as well as that was recommended to me by the chat!
Authors Participating Books & I Want To Read Thanks to Chat
Ariel Lawhon, author of The Wife The Maid The Mistress (the story of the 1930 disappearance of Justice John Crater and its consequences for the women in his life)
Lois Leveen, author of Juliet's Nurse (a prequel to Romeo & Juliet, told from the Nurse's perspective, forthcoming 9/23), The Secrets of Mary Bowser (the story of a freed slave-turned-Union spy in the Confederate White house)
Ariel MacArran, author ofAnother Man's Bride (troubled by visions, Isabella flees King Henry's court when rumors begin to swirl about her, only to be kidnapped by a man plotting rebellion against her Scottish cousin's husband King James)
Alex Myers, author of, Revolutionary (the story of Deborah Samson, the only woman known to have disguised as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War)
Mary Volmer, author of Crown of Dust (Disguised as a teenage boy, Alex's secret is threatened with discovery when she strikes gold during the California Gold Rush)
These all sound amazing!! I cannot wait to get my grabby hands on them!! Well, technically I already own Nicholas and Alexandra BUT STILL!!
Ariel MacArran, author ofAnother Man's Bride (troubled by visions, Isabella flees King Henry's court when rumors begin to swirl about her, only to be kidnapped by a man plotting rebellion against her Scottish cousin's husband King James)
Alex Myers, author of, Revolutionary (the story of Deborah Samson, the only woman known to have disguised as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War)
Mary Volmer, author of Crown of Dust (Disguised as a teenage boy, Alex's secret is threatened with discovery when she strikes gold during the California Gold Rush)
These all sound amazing!! I cannot wait to get my grabby hands on them!! Well, technically I already own Nicholas and Alexandra BUT STILL!!
My Favorite Historical Fiction Books
I hope you guys have a lot of books to fill your TBR pile now!
And if you missed the chat (or if you didn't and still want to answer) let me know what your favorite historical fiction books are!
ESPECIALLY your favorite historical hotties!
This post is everything.
ReplyDeleteSo as far as what draws me to historical fiction and what i look for in a historical fiction book - I can totally relate to the answers above. I love learning new about periods of history and therefore I look for a strong setting or story and I want good factual representation. Have you read Rose Under Fire? (I can't remember) I see Code Name Verity (and I loved that one) but I think I loved Rose Under Fire more! You should read it if you haven't! And the Maids of Honor series! I think you will like that too! :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoy reading historical fiction, though I've not read a lot of it lately. It's always interesting to me to see how these authors manage to take people, events and places from real life and weave them into a really compelling story. I love learning about time periods and famous names and big events in various countries though the things I read. It's just another additional perspective, and truth be told, it was historical fiction that made history really come to life for me.
ReplyDeleteI've read a few of the ones you've enjoyed (The Kite Runner, Code Name Verity, The Book Thief), but I totally fist bumped you (virtually) when I saw Memoirs of a Geisha! That's one of my all-time favorites, and I've reread it so many times. (And now feel a sudden urge to snag a copy to reread). It's such a fascinating story, and it's really compelling too.