Why is American History Shunned in HF novels?

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Thu September 25th, 2008, 8:45 pm

I have it at home as well, but haven't read it yet!

JaneConsumer · Post by **JaneConsumer** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 1:27 am

Christ on a cracker the Tudors werent the only people in history.

Divia, Start writing! I would so love to say, I "know" her, when your books start selling like hotcakes!

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 2:53 am

I'm trying...I'm trying.

Workin on something now.

JMJacobsen · Post by **JMJacobsen** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 3:06 am

[quote=""JaneConsumer""]Christ on a cracker the Tudors werent the only people in history.

[/quote]

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who's been thinking that very thing!

JaneConsumer · Post by **JaneConsumer** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 5:40 pm

Christ on a cracker the Tudors werent the only people in history.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who's been thinking that very thing!

Divia said it first. (I'm big on proper attribution.)

It struck my funny bone.

Julianne Douglas · Post by **Julianne Douglas** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 6:08 pm

I know I've mentioned it several times already, but for those of you who like Revolutionary era fiction, try Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. It's the story of slavery in the colonies long before the Civil War. I'm learning so many things I never knew. Did you know that at the end of the war, the British transported shiploads of African Americans who had worked for them from New York to Nova Scotia, where they were promised freedom and land (although it doesn't appear most of them got it)? Fascinating stuff.

Catherine Delors · Post by **Catherine Delors** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 6:13 pm

I am totally out-tudored myself.

As for American-themed fiction, look at the new book on the Hemingses. Non-fiction, but fascinating anyway. I can't believe there's no market for good HF along the same themes.

Catherine Delors · Post by **Catherine Delors** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 6:16 pm

Your post came in as I was saving mine, Julianne. We were thinking along the same lines about the history of slavery.

And I am envious: you are a reader already, while I am still a lowly scribbler....

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 6:23 pm

I, too, loved Someone Knows My Name and highly recommend it.

There's an interesting backstory about why that title was chosen for the American market. I reviewed it from an ARC and thought how odd it was that the original title, The Book of Negroes, was mentioned nowhere on the publicity material, nor was it mentioned that it was a bestseller in Canada. I'd already owned the Canadian edition, which has a very different cover. It felt to me like its past history was being kept quiet, so I made a point of mentioning it when I wrote my review. Here's a piece I found afterward, written by Hill, on why the title was changed and his feelings about it.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri September 26th, 2008, 6:34 pm

[quote=""JMJacobsen""]I'm so glad I'm not the only person who's been thinking that very thing![/quote]

That's three