Tag: historical

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Books Recommendations

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

About The Forgotten Garden
Published: 2008
Book Tropes: Foundlings, Time Hops, Family Secrets, Mysterious Houses, Australia
Recommended for fans of: Susanna Kearsley, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, Possession by A. S. Byatt, The Thirteenth Tale by by Diane Setterfield

Forgotten Garden was the first book that I decided to read from my Fall 2021 Reading List — since that was the book most people recommended! It turned out to be a very engrossing read, and managed to get me out of my reader’s block.

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Miscellany

A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson

Midsummer Tempest Poul Anderson

Book/ Series: A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson (Operation Otherworld Series Book #3, but can be read as standalone)
Published: 1974
Book Tropes: Alternative English History/ Fantasy
Recommended for fans of: Shakespeare (esp. The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream), R.L. Stevenson (esp. The Black Arrow)
Awards: 1975 Mythopoeic Award

Some time back, LibraryThing recommended A Midsummer Tempest for those who like Shakespeare’s plays, steampunk, the old adventure classics and medieval English history. I’ll second that recommendation, as long as you are certain that this blend is exactly what you’re looking for.

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Books Memes To Be Read Books

Red Letter Days: Six Epistolary Books

Letters Postcards

It’s time for #6degrees. Start with the monthly read, add six books, and see where you end up. The 6 Degrees of Separation Meme is hosted every month at Books are my Favorite and Best.

Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher is the book for August 2021. Which makes me take on the very obvious route of epistolary books. Not my favorite format, but here’s the list for six books on red letter days.

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Books

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
Published: 2008
Awards: Locus Award (2009)
Book Tropes: Roman mythology retelling/ Trojan War

Lavinia was the last bride of the Trojan hero, Aeneas. Aeneas was immortalized in Virgil’s ancient epic (29-19 B.C.), but Lavinia barely got any mention other than as the shy, blushing princess of Latinium. Lavinia is angry with Virgil for that. Virgil and Lavinia end up having a conversation across Time about this oversight.

The end result is that Virgil realizes his poem didn’t do her justice. He focused on women like Camilla and Dido and Creusa, but left out Lavinia! After all, when the Trojans (led by the notorious Paris of Troy) were completely battered by Melenaus’s Spartan army, it was Lavinia who gave them shelter in her homeland.

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Books

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

My Lady Jane

My Lady Jane! A better title would have been Teens Messing with Henry VIII’s Succession Plans. Lady Jane Grey is a rather tragic figure in English history: ruled England for only 9 days before she was beheaded by her cousin Mary Tudor in the Tower of London. (And then Mary was overthrown by her half-sister Queen Elizabeth.)

The authors decided to give this an alternative history spin, with magic and humor. This is how the succession feud should have gone on. The split between the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England became the split between Eðians (people with shapeshifter abilities) and the non-Eðians.

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Books Miscellany Music & Poetry Watchlist

Monthly Wrap-Up: May 2021

May 2021 was a slow reading month for me. I blogged much more than I read, which was unusual, but all thanks to the wonderful Wyrd And Wonder challenge. The link has all the posts for that challenge, most of these being SFF rec lists, but one standout read was Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi.

Aside from that, here’s a wrap-up for the month.

Lang Leav’s The Universe of Us

A very short book, with poems of varying length. These are all love/ heartbreak poems, but I think we can view them from a non-romantic lens too. I’m sure we’ve all had friends and loved ones with whom we had a parting, Lang’s poetry would ring true for those relationships as well. Rating: B–

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Books Recommendations

The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner

I had vague memories of the first 3 books of The Queen’s Thief series, which I read way back in 2006. I think I’d listened to the audiobooks, which I hadn’t liked very much, because the narrator made the characters sound too old.

When Mythothon #4 came up, I realized that this 6-book series would manage to chop off several prompts from that challenge. And that’s how I started off on this clever and wonderful adventure. A strange, miraculous thing about this series is that each book can be read as a standalone, but when the books are read together, the sum becomes greater than the whole.

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Books Starred Recommendations

Throwback Thursday: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange.
Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.”

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke

Ironically, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is the exact reverse of this contemplation. It is the downhill path that a magician’s ambition must inevitably take him. If you are looking for a finger-biting adventure into the hearts of men, look no further.

The book is based on an alternative history of England, when magicians once used to rule the land. The most illustrious of these was John Uskglass, or the Raven King. For some unknown reason, Raven King wrapped up his Faerie courts one day and vanished. With him, magic disappeared from England for centuries.

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Books Starred Recommendations

Mask & Dagger Series by Teresa Edgerton

Edgerton Goblin Moon

Books 1 & 2: Goblin Moon / Hobgoblin Night by Teresa Edgerton
Genres / Tropes: 18th Century Alternative History, Fantasy, Alchemy, Search for Atlantis and Philosopher’s Stone, Zorro-like Vigilantes
Published: 1991 / 2015
Similar Books: Sorcery & Cecilia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, Books by Georgette Heyer, Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells, The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Rating: 10 of 10. Highly Recommended.

The Plot:

Two alchemists try to raise a dead magician who may know how to make the Seramarias Stone. Two women try to flee a vengeful fairie halfling and her troll minions. A secret glassmakers guild plans to raise a submerged Atlantis-like island. A half-mad, sleepdust-addicted Zorro-like vigilante risks all to expose black magic cartels and the slavers’ trade. And no one can make sense of the homunculus and the golem out in the world. Clearly, a lot happens!

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Art & Illustration Books Index Starred Recommendations

Throwback Thursday: A Few Old SFF Favorites

I was looking at some of my older reads, and rounded-up a few that I’d really liked. So here they are, and may be if you’re looking for new things to try out, you’ll discover a few gems here.

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