My Top Seven Historical Fiction Novels

Inspired by the post over at Anna's Book Blog on her top ten favorite historical fiction novels. Here are my top seven favorite historical novels:

1. Hand of Isis by Jo Graham.
   The amazon.com blurb:
   

   Set in ancient Egypt, Hand of Isis is the story of Charmian, a handmaiden, and her two sisters. It is a novel of lovers who transcend death, of gods who meddle in mortal affairs, and of women who guide empires.

   
   I love the mix of history and fantasy in this series of Jo Graham's novels.
2.  Black Ships by Jo Graham.
   The amazon.com blurb:
   

   The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling, to earthquakes, to flood, to raiders on both land and sea.
   
   In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings.
   
   When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure -- to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny.
   
   In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

   Black Ships is set in the same world as Hand of Isis, but covers the time-period just after the Trojan War.
3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
   The amazon.com blurb:
   

   In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, an “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s written a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on the fan and compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together they endure the agony of footbinding and reflect upon their arranged marriages, their loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace in their friendship, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their relationship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
   
   Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a captivating journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. Now in a deluxe paperback edition complete with an expanded Random House Reader’s Circle guide and an exclusive conversation between Lisa See and her mother, fellow writer Carolyn See, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel is, as the Seattle Times says, “a beautifully drawn portrait of female friendship and power.”

   I've read this book a couple of times now, and seen the movie, loving it every time.
4. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
   The amazon.com blurb:
   

   The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two– the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander–survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavian’s sister, the siblings cling to each other and to the hope that they will return one day to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian’s family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings and desires deep within their own hearts.
   
   The fateful tale of Selene and Alexander is brought brilliantly to life in Cleopatra’s Daughter. Recounted in Selene’s youthful and engaging voice, it introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian’s kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian's bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian’s handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia’s sardonic son and Marcellus’s great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian’s watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals.
   
   Selene’s narrative is animated by the concerns of a young girl in any time and place–the possibility of finding love, the pull of friendship and family, and the pursuit of her unique interests and talents. While coping with the loss of both her family and her ancestral kingdom, Selene must find a path around the dangers of a foreign land. Her accounts of life in Rome are filled with historical details that vividly capture both the glories and horrors of the times. She dines with the empire’s most illustrious poets and politicians, witnesses the creation of the Pantheon, and navigates the colorful, crowded marketplaces of the city where Roman-style justice is meted out with merciless authority.
   
   Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra’s Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene, a young woman of irresistible charm and preternatural intelligence, will capture your heart.

   I really need to re-read this one actually. The blurb is calling out to me again.
5. 
   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
   The amazon.com blurb:
   

   Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another...
   
   In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743.
   
   Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

   I remember reading this one for the first time over ten years ago. It was a book I picked up on a whim from a charity-sale table, and once I started, I couldn't put the book down. Then I discovered there were sequels...Except, I was about to go away for a month so couldn't borrow them from the library until I got back. Oh, the wait.
6. 
   Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz
   The back cover blurb:
   

   What magic can stop Adolf Hitler - History's most evil Black Magician?
   
   Modern War
   The year is 1940
   Hitler's Germany is about to employ the secret arts of evil witchcraft to destroy England. What can stop them?
   
   Ancient Weapon
   It is the mission of John Graham, colonel in British Intelligence, to stop the onslaught of evil with an extraordinary strategy that defies all the rules of twentieth-century warfare: Unite the different witches' covens throughout England, drawing upon powers that reach back through dark centuries, in a ritual of awesome sacrifice on the first night of August, the magical Lammas Night.

   An older book that's well worth the hunt if you like historical fantasy.
7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
   The amazon.com blurb:
   In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.
   
   We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.
   
   I've only read the book once, but it's stuck with me ever since.

I'd meant for this to go to a full ten books, but I'm reaching a point where they wouldn't truly be my favorites any more, only books I've thrown in to fill out the list.

Books Read In July

The round-up of the books I read and reviewed over the month of July. Plenty of fiction of all sorts here this month, and I actually got one of the books for my Pre-Printing Press Challenge read.

In reverse order, from the most recent review:

Beowulf - Howell D. Chickering
A snippet from my review:

There's a majesty and dignity to Beowulf that makes it an amazing read, and even the modern English cries to be read out loud. I did find though, that after Beowulf's return from killing Grendel's mother, I lost the thread of the poem and really had a hard time picking it up again...

...This is probably a very good edition for any student of Old English and of the history of the fifth to eleventh centuries in Europe. It's definitely worth the read, and not just because of the place that the poem holds as one of the earliest poems in the English language.

Aerie - Mercedes Lackey
A quote from my review:

The final book in Mercedes Lackey's Dragon Jouster series, Aerie made a satisfying conclusion. It was a quick read, with some very interesting twists, including to things we already thought we knew, such as the relationship being set up between Kiron and Aket-ten. Is that relationship as much a foregone conclusion as we thought?...

...Unlike the previous two books, where I wasn't certain if I'd read them when they first came out, I'm absolutely positive I hadn't read Aerie before. Like the other books in the series, Joust, Alta and Sanctuary it's a book suited for everyone from teens to adults of any age. There's nothing too graphic in it either, and some thought provoking ideas as well.

Sanctuary - Mercedes Lackey
A quote from my review:

...Either way, it was a very good read, although I did find it somewhat typical of Mercedes Lackey's young adult suited stories. I think I've noted it before, but the Dragon Jousters books are a set that would be quite well suited for either teens looking for more fantasy and for adults of any age who love dragons and fantasy novels. If you're a fan of Mercedes Lackey and you haven't read these books, you should give them a try. They're not exactly high literature, but they are (as are all of her books) a fun, although quick, read.

Alta - Mercedes Lackey
A quote from my review:

These books: Joust, Alta, Sanctuary and Aerie are perfectly safe for teens as well as adults, reminding me of the Owl trilogy (Darian) and the Heralds of Valdemar set (Talia), which are also by Mercedes Lackey, in terms of writing style. Also, the ages of the characters are similar to those of many teen books, although it's not explicitly stated anywhere.

Although part of a series, I found that Alta came to a satisfying conclusion of its own. None of this "middle book" stuff where either nothing happens, or the conclusion is left for the final book. Alta almost stands on its own, although there is plenty left for the following books to explore.

Joust - Mercedes Lackey:
A snippet (or two) from my review:

Joust is the first book in the Dragon Jousters series written by Mercedes Lackey, and it takes us back to the slightly young adult nature of some of her earlier books. I'd feel quite comfortable recommending this series to someone venturing out of the teen books into the adult ones, if they liked fantasy novels.

Anyway, Lackey has done something a bit different with this series: She's used ancient Egypt as her model for the lands, religion and civilization of Alta, but especially of Tia. It makes the books both familiar and alien at the same time, I found, as I recognized the source, but I'm not overly familiar with it.

The Serrano Connection - Elizabeth Moon
A snippet from my review:

It's really neat the way she mixes high and low technologies, such as horseback riding and space-flight, and it's all done in such a way that it fits together. The one doesn't seem out of place in the world of the other at all.

Honestly, I think that if you liked the Vatta's War series, also by Elizabeth Moon, I really think you'll like these two books. Now, I am trying to hunt down the next books in the series so I don't have to wait until September to continue reading. Hopefully the library will have them (or be able to interlibrary loan them to me) along with Trading in Danger, the first of the Vatta's War books.

The Hand of Isis - Jo Graham
This was honestly, my favorite book of the month.
A quote from my review:

We all know the story of Cleopatra, at leas the basics, how she was the lover of Caesar, and then of Mark Antony, and how she committed suicide after he was defeated by Octavian. Given that, we know more or less how the story is going to end. By half way through Hand of Isis I was wishing that somehow the characters would find a way to change what we know from history in order to have a happy ending, even though I knew it wouldn't happen.

Jo Graham wrote characters that just came alive right off the page, from Cleopatra to Dion, their friend. There's no difference from the famous characters to the minor. They all got fleshed out and made real. Quirks, joys, disappointments, they're all there and all part of the characters' lives. Even the cities and temples I could see, hear and smell, even taste as I read.

The Ash Spear - G. R. Grove
A quote from my review:

G. R. Grove has set this series in the generation or so just after the time of King Arthur, and located it mostly in the Welsh and northern regions of the British Isles. However, from there the story is quite different from most of the Arthurian period stories I've read, which made for a refreshing change: Gwernin, who is both the main character and the viewpoint character is no warrior or leader, but instead is an apprentice bard with a healthy appreciation for the mystical (not to mention the practical).

Also, there is much more of a pagan presence throughout The Ash Spear than I've seen in some of the other stories of the period. However, it works, and I think, that fact is probably fairly historically accurate too, although I'm no expert on the period. Again, it is a refreshing change.

By Heresies Distressed - David Weber
A snippet from my review:

David Weber is well up to his ususal standards in writing interesting characters and exciting events. Even the "bad" characters are three dimensional and complex in their motivations. The way Weber writes, he hints at future events (most of the time) but doesn't give things away, so the reader is always wondering what's going to happen until it actually does...

...This is a series that's turning out to be just as good as David Weber's best known series about Honor Harrington, although it's very different. I've seen a few comparisons with the Dahak series as well.

Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden
A quote from my review:

Told from Sayuri's perspective as she looks back on a long life as a geisha, Arthur Golden has written an engaging, detailed book from which I found that I could see the scenes he described. His descriptions are vivid, and the characters real (if not always likable). He has even included the fiction of a translator's note at the beginning of the book, adding another layer of verisimilitude to the picture Memoirs of a Geisha forms of Japanese life.

This isn't my typical book reading choice, but I was looking for a change of pace from fantasy and ancient history. I'm glad I did get it. Were I inclined to rate books here, this would be a definite five star novel!

The Swan Maiden - Jules Watson
A snippet from my review:

Jules Watson, the author has created a vivid and realistic (although magical) world which the reader can almost touch, hear and smell. That's one of the things I really liked about the book, the feeling that there was more to the world, and that there were other worlds touching on this one. Every life is interconnected and has it's place...

On the other hand, there were times when I found the story to be a bit slow moving and I found myself skimming for a few pages. Not enough to mar my enjoyment though.

Incubus Dreams - Laurell K. Hamilton
A snippet from my review:

...I also found quite quickly, that compared to Skin Trade I could really understand the complaints I've seen in other reviews of the recent books in the series. The crime factor was almost pushed to the background in comparison to the metaphysics and sex, especially the sex. Add to that the loose end of the family that wanted their son raised...

On the other hand, Incubus Dreams sets up some of the situations in later books with Malcolm and his vampires, including The Harlequin, so the lack of resolution in that case is key.

Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden

Memoirs of A Geisha
Arthur Golden
Vintage Canada
Copyright Date: 1997
9780676971750

The amazon.com description is:

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

Told from Sayuri's perspective as she looks back on a long life as a geisha, Arthur Golden has written an engaging, detailed book from which I found that I could see the scenes he described. His descriptions are vivid, and the characters real (if not always likable). He has even included the fiction of a translator's note at the beginning of the book, adding another layer of verisimilitude to the picture Memoirs of a Geisha forms of Japanese life.

This isn't my typical book reading choice, but I was looking for a change of pace from fantasy and ancient history. I'm glad I did get it. Were I inclined to rate books here, this would be a definite five star novel!

Although I found the first two chapters slow going, I quickly got into this book and found that I couldn't put it down, ending up reading until far to late at night for the last three nights. I had to know how Sayuri was going to deal with the characters around her: Pumpkin, Auntie, Mother and Hatsumomo, not to mention the various clients she had.

I know very little about Japanese culture so I have no idea of how accurate the book is and how much has been romanticized for fiction. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out if Sayuri had a happy ending or not. She certainly had an eventful life, with the Second World War smack in the middle of it.

According to the author's note at the end of the book, Arthur Golden did quite a bit of research before and during the writing of Memoirs Of A Geisha, including a number of interviews with a geisha.

That's another thing Memoirs Of A Geisha did. It made me think of the Second World War from the Japanese perspective. I'm used to reading and thinking about the European portions of the War, but less so about the Japanese/Pacific aspect.

At times while I was reading, I got the impression of Sayuri's way of life being a dying one. As I said though, with no knowledge of Japanese culture, I have no idea if this impression is the correct one. It was certainly an interesting life she led, and by the end of the book, I rather got the feeling that had I gone to New York, and looked around, I would have seen her on the streets just as she described herself, even though the book is fiction. That's how real the author managed to make her.

I'm curious. I know that Memoirs Of A Geisha has been made into a movie, but I haven't seen it. How does it compare with the book?

Mailbox Monday - July 6

Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. is one of my favorite memes to read. It's interesting to see what books people are getting each week.

Anyway, my haul from last Monday to today is the following:

G. R. Grove's The Ash Spear. An E-book that I got through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program. This is the first time I've managed to get a book through either the Early Giveaway or the Member Giveaway, so that's a landmark of sorts.

The Ash Spear is set in 6th century Wales, in the generation or so following King Arthur. It's the third book in the series, following on Storyteller and Flight of the Hawk. I haven't read either of the first two books. The Ash Spear does make numerous references to the events of the previous books, but I'm finding that I can guess as the events from the context in the current book. Regardless, I'm definitely enjoying it a lot.

The remaining books of the week I bought:

This one turned up actually in the mailbox while I was writing up this post (I ordered it a couple of weeks ago):
Making A Living In The Middle Ages by Christopher Dyer
It's an ex-library book, but aside from the stickers, you'd never know it. No yellowing, no broken spine and no creases. I think I got excellent value here. This is a book which a number of people have recommended as well, so I'm definitely glad to have gotten it.
The jacket blurb says:

In this masterly survey, Christopher Dyer reviews our thinking about the economy of Britain in hte middle ages. By analysing economic developments and change, he allows us to reconstruct, often vividly, the daily lives of people in the past. The period covered here saw dramatic alterations in the state of the economy; and this account begins with the forming of villages, towns, networks of exchange and the social hierarchy in the ninth and tenth centuries, and ends with the inflation and population explosion of the sixteenth century.

This is a book about ideas and attitudes as well as the material world, and Dyer shows how people regarded the economy and how they responded to economic change. We see the growth of towns, the clearance of woods and wastes, the Great Famine, the Black Death, and the upheavals of the fifteenth century through the eyes of those who lived through these great events.

Changes were not always planned or directed by the rich and powerful, but arose from the uncoordinated ambitions and actions of thousands of ordinary people. Making a living in a changing world presented peasants, artisans and wage workers, as well as barons and monks, with dilemmas and decisions. The lives of those individuals were also subject to impersonal forces, such as climate, but the author emphasizes the choices that were made.

This book will guide readers through the controversies of the impact of the Vikings and the Norman Conquest, the importance of population growth, the fourteenth-century crisis and urban decline. Dyer deals with issues in social history which had an impact on the economy, such as family structures, social control and social protest. He uses the evidence of archaeology and the landscape as well as the more conventional records. Clearly and robustly written, this book sets a new standard for the understanding of medieval life.

The rest of the books:
Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden
I'd never read this book before. However, now that I'm past the first two chapters, I'm finding that I can't put the book down. My guess is that I'll have it finished today or tomorrow.

The amazon.com description is:

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

Charmed Destinies, an anthology of stories by Mercedes Lackey, Catherine Asaro and Rachel Lee.
This is not a new book, but a newly released edition of a book from 2003, something I hadn't realized until after I bought it.
The jacket description:

Three classic stories of timeless love and tantalizing fantasy…
Counting Crows by New York Times bestselling author Mercedes Lackey
In Lady Gwynnhwyfar's dark, lonely court, her only ally was noble Sir Atremus, a warrior willing to fight for her honor. But would her powerful spell capture his heart—or tumble the kingdom into chaos?
Drusilla's Dream by USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Lee
Every night Drusilla Morgan dreamed of courageous and handsome Miles Kennedy. Their quest: to battle evil and find true love. Yet when the sun rose, would Drusilla's fantasy man become a reality?
Moonglow by Nebula Award–winning author Catherine Asaro
In a world where kings married for magic, Iris Larkspur was required to wed the prince—despite the spell that kept him deaf, mute and blind. Healing her bridegroom would take a power greater than any she'd ever known—one only two bonded hearts could provide!

The Lost Capital Of Byzantium by Steven Runciman
I've been to Mistra, the subject of this book, although it's been a few years. As a result, since it was somewhere I wish I'd had more time to explore, I had to have the book, so I could learn more about it. This, by the way, was not the sort of book I even remotely expected to find in my local bookstore.

The jacket description:

Clinging to a rugged hillside in the lush valley of Sparta lies Mistra, one of the most dramatically beautiful Byzantine cities in Greece, a place steeped in history, myth, and romance.

Following the Frankish conquest of the Peloponnese in the thirteenth century, William II of Villehardouin built a great castle on a hill near Sparta that later came to be known as Mistra. Ten years later, in a battle in northern Greece, Villehardouin was defeated and captured by the Byzantine emperor. The terms for his release included giving Mistra to the Byzantine Greeks. Under their rule, the city flourished and developed into a center of learning and the arts and was a focal point for the cultural development of Europe.

Sir Steven Runciman, one of the most distinguished historians of the Byzantine period, traveled to Mistra on numerous occasions and became enchanted with the place. Now published in paperback for the first time, Lost Capital of Byzantium tells the story of this once-great city—its rise and fall and its place in the history of the Peloponnese and the Byzantine empire.