Top Five Tuesday was originally created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm, but is now hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. To participate, link your post back to Meeghan’s blog or leave a comment on her weekly post. I found this on Davida's Page @ The Chocolate Lady.
- 2012 And here is a list of all the topics for the rest of the year.
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This week’s topic is Books Set in a Specific Time Period.
I just had to go with one of my favourites: The Tudors. There was just so much going on. It's always exciting. I have chosen some fiction and some non-fiction books by some of my favourite authors about history and historical fiction. If you know more that are worth reading, please, let me know.
Peter Ackroyd is a great writer, he just knows all the little details and can put them together so that you get the feeling, you have been there. All the problems the Tudor's encountered, how the Anglican church started, what the problems were etc. Whilst the author focuses a lot on the reformation in this edition, there is also a lot about Henry VIII's successors and how the island carried on after his death.
Follett, Ken "A Column of Fire" (Kingsbridge #3) - 2017
This is mostly the story of the fictional Willard family. There is a Romeo and Juliet plot, villains and heroes, Catholics and Protestants, Queens Mary I, Elizabeth I and King James I of England, Mary Queen of Scots, the history of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, the Spanish Armada, the Gunpowder plot and many other political events. This book has it all.
This is mostly the story of the fictional Willard family. There is a Romeo and Juliet plot, villains and heroes, Catholics and Protestants, Queens Mary I, Elizabeth I and King James I of England, Mary Queen of Scots, the history of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, the Spanish Armada, the Gunpowder plot and many other political events. This book has it all.
Mantel, Hilary "Wolf Hall" (The Wolf Hall Trilogy #1) - 2009
This is such a great novel about Thomas Cromwell and all the other people that played an important part in the life of probably the most interesting king among all the kings of England, Henry VIII. Hilary Mantel tries to look behind the curtain of the throne, of the court, of the royal family.Rutherfurd, Edward "London - The Novel" - 1997
The author describes the history of this fantastic town through the lives of about half a dozen different families. He manages to let you live their lives and learn about the development, the achievements, the shortcomings of life between BC and now. But you don't just get to know the families but also their famous contemporaries. You get to meet Chaucer and Shakespeare, all the different kings and queens of England and Scotland, Sir Christopher Wren, a lot of bishops and other important clergymen. So, this is not just about the Tudors but they build an important part of the book.
There is so much information here about the six ladies who were married to Henry VIII as well as a lot about the king himself and the children. You get a complete picture of the Royal Tudor family, not just the Tudors but all their contemporaries, the European Royal families, the people and families of influence a the time.
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๐คด๐๐ธ Happy Reading! ๐คด๐๐ธ
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I liked that Alison Weir book!
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing how good Alison Weir's books are. I'm going to have to look into them.
DeleteHonestly...I used to love her books but when she decided she doesn't have to cite sources or provide footnotes or any kind of documentation anymore, I quit reading her books. It was disappointing. No matter how long one is a historian, sources must be noted.
DeleteThanks, everyone.
Delete@Lark. I like her books, as well. Always very interesting, though I doubt that they are all accurate. But they are nice to read as a novel.
@Lisa. As I said to Lark, they are nice novels. And you do learn about the Tudor period.
@Sarah. I totally agree with you. I have come to dislike books that don't give any information, be it about the characters or the timeline or on language etc. But I still love reading her books.
Nice selection of books for this weeks topics.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa. I read plenty of books on the topic so that I had lots to choose from.
DeleteOne of my favorite dysfunctional families!
ReplyDeleteExactly, Sarah. Books about them are always exciting.
DeleteLove the topic. There are so many great books set in this time period. I loved Wolf Hall also--who know that I could come to care about Thomas Cromwell so much!
ReplyDeleteI've read Rutherford's London twice, maybe even thrice--it's my favorite of his books.
I like the Follett series but have never actually read Column of Fire, though I do have it. Must correct that.
I also have Alison Weir's book but haven't read that one yet either.
Sounds great, Jane. Given that you like two of the books on the list and also the Follett series, I am sure you would like all of them. Oh my, so many books. so little time.
DeleteThe Tudors are fascinating, but I am a little bit surprised over the number of books about them. The interest for them does not seem to decline.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised, Lisbeth. It's like the stories about the present royal family, everyone wants to read about them, even if it's not true. ;)
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