October 2010: What Are You Reading?

annis · Post by **annis** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 4:07 am

I see that Helen Hollicjk is turning her sights on a novel about Hereward the Wake (with a date of 2012 in mind). There's been quite a resurgence of HF about Hereward lately, though I do wish someone would write a novel about him which doesn't make Godiva his mother. It's pretty unlikely that she was, but because it's an appealing option (readers have actually heard of her), writers just blindly follow Charles Kingsley's lead.

chuck · Post by **chuck** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 4:47 am

Thanks annis for the mention.....The Wake has always been one of those interesting misty characters for me....Curious how Ms. Hollick will play him....Look forward to reading the novel....currently re reading Nora Lofts 1959 "The Townhouse....Yikes...I forgot about her vivid descriptions regarding the characters and their nasty plight during the 1380's England....Quite a good writer.....

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 10:32 am

Just about to start "The Ghost Writer" by John Harwood, a Halloween read for my other bookgroup. Not sure if it's HF yet!

JoshuaKaitlyn · Post by **JoshuaKaitlyn** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 12:12 pm

Getting back to more ancient times after a medieval/Stuart period. 'The Black Pharaoh' - Christian Jacq

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 3:40 pm

[quote=""JoshuaKaitlyn""]Getting back to more ancient times after a medieval/Stuart period. 'The Black Pharaoh' - Christian Jacq[/quote]

Who's in that one? I've never read it.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm

Sarah Dunant, The Birth of Venus. And to go to sleep to, 'Before European Hegemony: the World System A.D. 1250-1350' by Janet Abu-Lughod.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 5:28 pm

Speaking of Stuarts (although I mean England Stuarts, not Egypt)- does anyone have some good recommendations for books written about that time period or about the House of Stuarts?

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 5:57 pm

[quote=""Brenna""]Speaking of Stuarts (although I mean England Stuarts, not Egypt)- does anyone have some good recommendations for books written about that time period or about the House of Stuarts?[/quote]

Do you want them focused mainly on the royal house itself or just the period?

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 7:15 pm

The royals themselves preferably.

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 7:22 pm

[quote=""Brenna""]The royals themselves preferably.[/quote]

Fiction or nonfiction? For fiction, one of my favorites is Jude Morgan's The King's Touch about James, Duke of Monmouth. Susan Holloway Scott has written a novel about Sarah Churchill and several novels about various royal mistresses. Jean Plaidy, of course, has written a number of novel set during this period.