Historical Novels & History Books

Marlespo...I am about 3/4 of the way through the Anya Seton book called "Katherine".  Picked it up because thought it sounded good and sadly my name is Katherine.  I can't wait to read her other ones.

There are only two authors that I will buy the hardbacks for and that is J.K. Rowling and Diana Gabaldon.  Diana Gabaldon is a fantastic writer.  Her books are about how a woman goes back in time to 1743 in Scotland during the time of the Jacobites and revolution.  She has written 5 books and they are all about 900 to 1000 pages long.  I love them!  I also love long books.  I think my DH is glad I have finished reading them because I would lie in bed at night reading and would have to nudge him and ask him how to pronounce some of the Scottish words she used.

My discription of he books isn't doing them justice but she is definitely my favorite author.

 "Diana Gabaldon is a fantastic writer.  Her books are about how a woman goes back in time to 1743 in Scotland during the time of the Jacobites and revolution."

Oh Ta for mentioning her!I couldnt think of her name or one of the books that she wrote  ;)but it was "Outlander" Its been sooo long since I read that book!
I was going to tell Caitlinn that her book was the only one that mixed the present with the future that I liked.I also dont like "romance" novels either,but this book had so much interesting history and you could tell that the writer really did her homework.Plus it was too long to be your typical "five and dime" romance books.
So here is another   for the book, KTurner  
 When I can,then I might try and start reading her books again since there are five now!

 "Diana Gabaldon is a fantastic writer.  Her books are about how a woman goes back in time to 1743 in Scotland during the time of the Jacobites and revolution."

Oh Ta for mentioning her!I couldnt think of her name or one of the books that she wrote  ;)but it was "Outlander" Its been sooo long since I read that book!

I loved the first two books of the Outlander series (Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber), but seriously lost interest after the first two (even though I've read them all).  I never really took to the characters of Brianna and Roger.

Gabaldon would give Jamie these one-liners at the end of chapters that would simply melt my heart.  Things like: "Claire, ye kill me with loving of ye."

BTW, Outlander is called A Stitch in Time in the UK.  Also, if anyone needs help with some of the Gaelic pronunciations, just give me a shout.

Diana Gabaldon books are:

Outlander (A Stitch in Time - in the UK)
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross

I believe there are two more still to come.  It took me awhile to get into Rober and Brianna but I think that they are going to be developed even more in the next book.  I must admit that I like historical romances but not the Harlequin type where it is based in England and the hero has a title...I actually prefer actual history and she seems to combine the two well.

I liked the first two Gabaldon books, but absolutely loathed Brianna...Roger is way too good for her, in my opinion!  So while I read the next two, I wasn't as crazy about them.
Brianna is supposed to be a friggin' historian but runs around Colonial America refusing to wear dresses and insisting she's going to be a single Mom?  Hello?  Anybody with half a brain knows what real, dire consequences could befall a woman like that at that time.  She's lucky she wasn't burned as a witch.  Moron.

Glad to see everyone has such low opinions of romance novels, btw.

Brianna is supposed to be a friggin' historian but runs around Colonial America refusing to wear dresses and insisting she's going to be a single Mom?  Hello?  Anybody with half a brain knows what real, dire consequences could befall a woman like that at that time.  She's lucky she wasn't burned as a witch.  Moron.

ROFL, you do slay me, SAF.  I knew there was some reason I didn't like Brianna.

That is pretty funny.  I guess when you think about it she is being pretty stupid.  Then when you also think about her searching out the guy (forget his name) that ended up raping her... I guess you are right she isn't very realistic for the times she is living in.

" Brianna is supposed to be a friggin' historian but runs around Colonial America refusing to wear dresses and insisting she's going to be a single Mom?  Hello?  Anybody with half a brain knows what real, dire consequences could befall a woman like that at that time.  She's lucky she wasn't burned as a witch."

         Thats the truth!

I loved "How the Irish saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill.  Had to read it for a history course book critique a few years ago, and really, really enjoyed it.  It's non-fiction of course, but a very enjoyable read.  Takes you all the way back to the Romans (and even earlier) and goes through the diverse and colorful history of Ireland and her people.  

I just finished The Year 1000: An Englishman's Year.  It was really good.  It goes through the Julius Work Calender for the year 1000 and describes what life was like.  A very fast read.  

If you have caught Terry Jones new series about Medieval life, it is written in a simular way.  It doesn't go into any depth, but a great overview.