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Anyone here interested in 1790s France and England?

annis
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Post by annis » Thu August 28th, 2008, 6:58 pm

It's going off the C18th theme, but talking about historical thrillers, I loved Patricia Finney's Gloriana trilogy, set in Elizabethan England and featuring spies David Becket and Simon Ames
1. Firedrake's Eye
2. Unicorn's Blood
3. Gloriana's Torch

On the Georgian England and Revolutionary France theme, I'd like to put in a word for Diana Norman's trilogy
1) A Catch of Consequences
2) Taking Liberties
3) The Sparks Fly Upward"
Plenty of adventure, dry humor, and period atmosphere. They also focus on women's role in C18th society.

scarletpimpernel
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Post by scarletpimpernel » Sat August 30th, 2008, 12:32 am

I can't believe Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel has not yet been mentioned.

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Sat August 30th, 2008, 12:41 am

Probably 'cause I haven't read it yet and only have vague recollections of the movie from childhood. It's on my ever growing list though. :o

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Sat August 30th, 2008, 4:40 am

[quote=""scarletpimpernel""]I can't believe Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel has not yet been mentioned.[/quote]

We used to have quite a big thread about Scarlet Pimpernel, so I am sure that we will get around to talking about it again!

scarletpimpernel
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Post by scarletpimpernel » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 3:31 am

Oh that would be cool.. :) I devour historical fiction, but never has anything been closer to my heart than TSP books.

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Catherine Delors
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To tsjmom

Post by Catherine Delors » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 1:24 pm

Thank you so very much! I am delighted to meet a fan of Gabrielle.

In fact, see my blog for a brand new release, The Black Tower, by Louis Bayard. A historical mystery set in Paris during and after the Revolution:

blog.catherinedelors.com/2008/09/01/an-interview-of-louis-bayard-author-of-the-black-tower.aspx
blog.catherinedelors.com/2008/08/29/the-black-tower-by-louis-bayard-and-an-upcoming-interview-of-the-author.aspx

Beautifully written, with great characters, historical and fictional.

I am also reading, enjoying, and reviewing as I go, The Duchess by Amanda Foreman.
blog.catherinedelors.com/2008/09/03/a-review-of-the-duchess-first-impressions.aspx
Last edited by Catherine Delors on Wed September 3rd, 2008, 1:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Volgadon
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Post by Volgadon » Thu September 11th, 2008, 6:56 am

I love that period. The Scarlet Pimpernel is great fun.

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sweetpotatoboy
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Post by sweetpotatoboy » Wed September 17th, 2008, 5:31 pm

I just remembered a great book set in 18th century France that I read a few years ago: Rasero by Mexican novelist Francisco Rebolledo.

Here's the Amazon page, where you can read some reviews of it. Really well written (and translated):
http://www.amazon.com/Rasero-Rebolledo- ... 029781754X

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Margaret
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Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
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Mistress of the Revolution

Post by Margaret » Mon September 22nd, 2008, 12:10 am

I've just finished reading Mistress of the Revolution and posting a review at http://www.historicalnovels.info/Mistre ... ution.html. What a great read! My favorite novels tend to straddle the boundary between literary and popuar - that is, they have exciting plots, but also strongly developed, complex characters and thought-provoking themes. This novel satisfies on all counts.

Catherine, my research on companion nonfiction for this novel led me to information about Olympe de Gouge, a champion of women's rights during the Revolutionary period. Of course, the fictional Gabrielle is quite different in many ways, but there are enough similarities that I wondered whether you were partly inspired by her story.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

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Catherine Delors
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Post by Catherine Delors » Thu October 23rd, 2008, 8:29 pm

Margaret, how is it I didn't get notified of your post? :confused: Oh well...
To answer your question about Olympe, oh yes she was an inspiration, along with dozens of other women (including myself, of course.) There were so many fascinating female figures at the time of the Revolution. So Gabrielle is a composite. Sometimes I did the reverse: take a real person and split her into different characters in the story. That's the beauty of fiction...

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