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The Best New Historical Fiction
A female pope, a Japanese sleuth, stolen treasure, and a deal with the Devil—six sparkling new works of historical fiction that will replace your nixed trip to Bermuda with some time travel.
If the recession has nixed your trip to Buenos Aires and left mind-travel as your sole getaway option, these six scintillating historical novels will transport you without security checkpoints or flight delays.
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Three Rivers Press. 432 pages. $15.00.
First stop: the Dark Ages and Donna Woolfolk Cross’ Pope Joan. The perennial book-club favorite has gotten a makeover (and an upcoming film) in this new release, but the chaos of Europe’s spiritual upheaval still permeates this story of a woman who rises to power as the church’s only female pope. Don’t expect incense and choirs: Joan survived a Viking massacre and she’s steely, wily, and determined to triumph despite her status in a hierarchy where her gender is forbidden.
The Convict's Sword by I.J. Parker. Penguin. 432 pages. $15.00.
Skipping ahead to 11th-century Japan, there’s the brutality-beneath-the-silk of The Convict’s Sword, I.J. Parker’s sixth installment in her Sugawara Akida mystery series. The scenario is lush and the plot fast-paced; Parker has a truly conflicted hero in her lead detective, who must unravel the enigma behind a promise he made years ago to a dying friend. This historical reads like a modern thriller, due in great part to Parker’s keen wit and ability to immerse us in the dazzlingly unfamiliar.
Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett. William Morrow. 464 pages. $25.99.
Then, dust off your velvets, because we’re headed for 15th-century England in Vanora Bennett’s Figures in Silk. Feuding sisters have become a fiction staple, but Bennett evades the cliché, presenting us instead with opposing sides of life during the War of the Roses. While the prettier sister chooses the evanescent luxury of a king’s bed, the darker, more interesting sister muscles her way into the silk commerce and a secret affair with a man who could be her downfall. Bennett captures the peril of an era when heads rolled and the grit of two women seeking to survive on their own terms.
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant. Ballantine Books. 432 pages. $25.00.
From England, plunge into the glories of 16th-century Italy and the opulent world of Sacred Hearts, where a strong-willed girl with an angelic voice is forced to take the veil, and whose determination to escape the convent at any cost sets off a series of cataclysmic events that forever changes the isolated peace the nuns’ have made with their fate. Sarah Dunant, author of the international sensation Birth of Venus, conjures a heady brew of passion and faith, once again revealing a hidden part of the Renaissance we rarely see.
Stealing Athena by Karen Essex. Anchor. 464 pages. $15.00.
Cross the Mediterranean and enter two eras: ancient Greece and the 19th century, delving into the controversial Elgin Marbles with Karen Essex’s Stealing Athena. Priceless artifacts of the Parthenon which were carted off to England, ownership of the Marbles is contested to this day, and Essex alternates between the elegant philosophy of the courtesan Aspasia and the whalebone-encased view of Lady Mary Elgin, offering a portrait of distinct societies tainted by misogyny and the illusory value of objects.
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Doubleday. 544 pages. $26.95.
Finally, end your trip in the macabre panorama of 1920s Barcelona, where bizarre architecture festoons a city pulled between its genteel past and mechanized future. After the explosive success of The Shadow of the Wind, author Carlos Ruiz Zafón delivers a narrower, spookier look at the price of obsession in The Angel’s Game, as told through the eyes of an ambitious young writer whose desire for the unattainable leads him to self-destruction and a Faustian pact with his enigmatic publisher.
Plus: Check out Book Beast, for more news on hot titles and authors and excerpts from the latest books.
C.W. Gortner’s novel The Last Queen (Ballantine Books) was a Marin Independent Journal bestseller and is being translated into eight languages. His next novel, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici will be published in 2010. He is a regular contributor to the Historical Novels Review. Visit him here or at his blog.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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I love IJ Parker's work. Look forward to the new one.
Yeah, IJ Parker's mysteries are amazing--unique and totally transportive.
Her last one, ISLAND OF EXILES, was possibly the best yet in the series--hopefully CONVICT'S SWORD continues that trend!!
Thank you. I think you'll like CONVICT'S SWORD. It's my favorite.
Thank you. That is very kind.
Great reviews- I'll definitely be reading Sacred Hearts and Angel's Game.
Daily Beast you rock with all these reviews - keep em all coming!!!!
great choices...oh how i love great historical fict...I remember hearing about Pope Joan years after Catholic school and wondering about her story...and why we didnt get that one in religion class! lol!
Pope Joan is an awesome book. I happened to pick it from the library while I was working on a research project involving the Carolingians (for the uninitiated, that would be Charlemagne's dynastic descendants). What a surprise to come across the same people whose work I had been reading as characters in a historical novel! Cross does an excellent job of plumbing the depths of an otherwise little-known period.
I'm Donna Woolfolk Cross, author of Pope Joan, and I want to thank you, Sempronia (not to mention the wonderful writer Mr. Gortner!) for the kind words about Pope Joan. I went to no small amount of trouble to "get it right" with regard to the 9th century setting, so I'm delighted to get Sempronia's "seal of approval", as she has researched the same period.
On another note: anyone who's ever dreamed of attending a movie premiere might want to check out my "walk the red carpet" offer at www.popejoan.com--a chance to be with me and my family at the opening of the movie version of Pope Joan. I was on-set during the filming, and I think it's terrific!
Excellent reviews, short and sweet. They make me want to read every single book. I'm with Mjrose -- keep `em coming!
They all look like good reads to me. A lot of summer entertainment - for when we're not writing ourselves. But reading good literature is part of writing. Probably about time I let my keyboard cool off for a little while and read a good book by the pool. I think The Angel's Game looks like something I'd like. I prefer 19th century American, which is the era of my new (and only) novel takes place. Hey, C.W., any good suggestions? Susie Schade-Brewer
This is I. J. Parker. My very special thanks to Christopher Gortner. Reviews are always particularly meaningful when they come from fellow authors. I'm very grateful and flattered that you chose to comment on my new novel.
I'm a little late. First my computer crashed and then I had some problems getting registered and posting. Let's hope this works. :)
I'm I.J.Parker, and I'm very grateful indeed for the lovely review. Thanks so much, Christopher. It always means so much more coming from a fellow author. And special thanks also to djmont and mWalterson. Hearing from readers like you validates my work.
Thank you.
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