Favourite Historical Fiction of 2016 for Young Readers

This article is from the Irish Times last December but I neglected to post it so here we go. Last December the newspaper's were full of lists of best books of the year but they were for the most part all about books for adults. I was kindly asked my author friend E. R. Murray to contribute some thoughts on my favourite children's books from 2016 as were a variety of children's authors and booksellers. Of course being me I focused on the books that presented history to children, because obviously history is my thing. You can see the article in full at the link down below. Here however is my contribution. 

Lisa Redmond

For younger readers The Moon Spun Round is a collection of Yeats poetry, folktales and childhood writing stunningly illustrated by Shona Shirley MacDonald and collected by Noreen Doody while Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World is fabulous fun and full of facts, a great introduction to women in history. Fans of history aged 9 and upwards will adore the moving and wonderfully written Kings of the Boyne by Nicola Pierce and Arrivals by Brian Gallagher about Irish emigrants in Canada may be his best book yet while Caroline Busher’s debut The Ghosts of Magnificent Children is an assured blend of history and the gothic.

Young adult fantasy fans should track down Emily June Street’s The Velocipede Races, a steampunk adventure set in an alternate 19th century, and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, a time travel fantasy, while Catherine Johnson’s Blade and Bone pits a young black doctor against racial prejudice and the danger of the French Revolution.

Lisa Redmond is senior bookseller at Waterstone’s

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/our-favourite-children-s-and-ya-books-of-2016-1.2906266

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland combines historical fiction, science fiction and a touch of magic

LISA REDMOND

Renowned speculative fiction author Neal Stephenson and acclaimed historical fiction author Nicole Galland have collaborated on an intriguing project combining science fiction, historical fiction and a touch of magic. The result is The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., a wickedly funny novel about the endless possibilities of time travel. The achievement is no mean feat when the authors have had to combine not just ideas but genres. However it seems that for them the desire to tell a great story outside of any thought of genre made the collaborative process a great deal easier.

“Happily we were generally always on the same page about what made a good story and how best to tell it,” Stephenson and Galland reported. “We’ve found it to be a pretty natural marriage of minds, since the story itself is a merging of scientific speculation and various historical periods. When we were on a book tour we joked about inventing anecdotes of conflict or tribulation just so we’d have something interesting to say about our process. It was really pretty organic and we both enjoyed it.”

NICOLE GALLAND, PHOTO BY ELI DAGOSTINO

It certainly seems that the authors had a great deal of fun with the book. They have used a variety of narrative techniques in the novel in order to capture the voices of a number of narrators from different time periods and with differing personalities; these include letters, diaries, emails, circulars and even at one point epic poetry. I asked them why they chose this format. “Several reasons. It lets us short-cut through what would feel like a lot of exposition. We’re following the show-don’t-tell rule. Also, the medium is sometimes literally the message. Instead of (for example) lengthy descriptions of the bloated bureaucracy that develops in the contemporary setting, you see examples of that bureaucracy – emails, after-action reports, personnel files, PowerPoint presentation. It’s the equivalent of a film cross-fade. Also, it was fun.”

The central premise of the book is that magic and science are opposing forces and so cannot coexist. The authors chose 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, as the date when magic faded from existence; this is established through the research carried out by the main characters. I asked the authors why they felt this particular date was so significant. “The Great Exhibition of 1851 displayed, in one concentrated bit of space-time, the world’s greatest technological and scientific advancements – and therefore it makes sense that it would have an exponentially dampening (i.e. snuffing) effect on magic.”

NEAL STEPHENSON, PHOTO BY BRADY HALL

This is a big book and the authors have put a lot of effort into creating numerous characters, government departments and the thoroughly realised historical eras that the various time-travelling characters visit. These visits gave the authors ample opportunity for culture clashes leading to misunderstandings, danger and even changing the course of history. Because the possibilities for adventure are really limitless with time travel I was keen to learn of any planned sequels and spin-offs. “If you’re asking about a full-length novel sequel, watch this space.” However if you have already read the book and can’t wait for the sequel you will be happy to learn that the authors have created an online hub. “There are already a few online historical “equels” to D.O.D.O. (not a sequel or a prequel, but stories that take place “off-screen” during the five-year span of D.O.D.O.), and these can be found at the URL getbound.io. They are written by other writers but we’ve vetted them and like them a lot.”

About the contributor: Lisa Redmond is a writer, reviewer and lover of books. She is currently working on a novel about 17th-century Scottish witches. She blogs about books, writing and women in history.

This article originally appeared on The Historical Novel Society Website. You can read the original here.

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-d-o-d-o-by-neal-stephenson-and-nicole-galland-combines-historical-fiction-science-fiction-and-a-touch-of-magic/

Peculiar Ground By Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Peculiar Ground is the first novel from award winning biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett and it is a huge and ambitious tale set in one place with narrators and timelines spanning three hundred years. The novel opens with the voice of landscaper Mr Norris as he navigates his way through the vagaries of Restoration society as those who supported the King replace those who favoured Cromwell. Wychwood is witnessing its own restoration as the Earl of Woldingham and his family reclaim their lands from their cousins the Rivers. Mr Norris describes oppositions of class, religion, politics and values as well as the Fortescue’s tragic loss of their son. The loss of a child is echoed in the second section set in 1960s when we visit the Rossiters and the Lanes and there are further conflicts for those living at Wychwood as the villagers demand the right to roam and use the ancient pathways. While on the wider stage the cold war and the Berlin Wall are the news of the day. The novel is an intriguing study in landscape, manners, class and the changes in the English countryside it twists and turns through genres from family drama to ghost story to historical fiction never quite sure where it fits. While the story telling is well paced and the characters interesting the use of multiple narrators can drag the story down and convolute the tale. There are at times too many actors on the stage. A book full of interesting people and details but sadly it didn’t quite capture me.

Published by 4th Estate on May 18th. Thanks to the publisher and lovereading.co.uk for a review copy. 

The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick

Filled with romance, drama, mystery and intrigue The Phantom Tree is Nicola Cornick’s follow up to the hugely popular House of Shadows and once again the story is inspired by a real historical figure. The inspiration is Mary Seymour daughter of Katherine Parr; Henry VIII’s last Queen and her fourth husband Thomas Seymour. Mary’s mother died in childbirth and her father was executed for treason after which she disappears from historical records. Nicola Cornick uses this mystery of Mary’s life and death to weave an exciting tale of secrets, treachery and time travel. Alison is wandering the streets of modern day Marlborough when she sees a familiar face in a Tudor portrait. Although the shop owner is insistent that the portrait is of Anne Boleyn, Alison knows that it’s Mary Seymour and that it is a vital clue to finding out what happened to Mary and to her own son. The time slip tale is narrated by Mary in the Sixteenth century and Alison in the present day and is carefully handled as the secrets and stories twist and turn. With the help and occasional hindrance of handsome TV historian and writer Adam, Alison is determined to uncover Mary’s story. However, to do that she will eventually have to reveal her own secrets; her lost son; her chaotic childhood at Wolf Hall and her real identity. The two narrative threads are carefully handled and the story is a genuine page turner. Perfect for fans of Tracy Rees, Barbara Erskine and Kate Riordan 

Published by HQ

This review originally appeared in Historical Novel Review Issue 80 May 2017 and can be viewed here

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-phantom-tree/

Books to Watch out for in 2017 Part Two

There are always many more books that I want to read than I can afford or even have time to read. So here's another post about the books that are just out or coming soon and why you will want them too.

Just Published

The international bestselling author of The Historian returns with an intriguing new book published by Text Publishing in April. A young American woman Alexandra Boyd arrives in Sofia and has a mix up with a bag after helping an elderly couple to find a taxi, so she finds herself trying to track down the Lasarov family and thus begins an epic tale of Bulgaria; it's people, it's history, it's tragedy. Also what a stunning cover. 

This is a dark YA fantasy ideal for fans of Leigh Bradugo and Sarah J Maas. Tea comes from a family of witches but her abilities are different; so when she accidently raises her brother from the dead she is rejected by her own community. She is taken in by an older, wiser bone witch who trains her in elemental magic but dark forces are rising. Released in March by Sourcebooks in hardback this debut has had rave reviews.

Antonia Senior returns to the mid Seventeenth Century for her third novel which features Patience Johnson who believes she has a great destiny to fulfill. Her brother Will meanwhile has been appointed as lawyer to Oliver Cromwell. The Tyrant's Shadow blends romance, drama and political intrigue in an exciting and dangerous era. Published in April by Corvus.

Daniela Sacerdoti's new series sees her move to a new publisher; Headline, and it features another beautiful and atmospheric Scottish location. The first book in The Seal Island series is winning rave reviews and throngs of readers and I hope will bring this brilliant author to a wider audience. Out now in hardback with a paperback due in September.

Tanya Landman travels back to Roman Britain for her latest YA novel about runaway slave girl Cassia who does the unthinkable; crosses Hadrian's Wall to seek freedom. If you are a fan of Manda Scott's Boudica series or N. M. Browne's YA fiction then this is essential reading. Published in April by Walker Books.

Having enjoyed their previous adventures I am keen to discover what Frey and McGray get up to next. This latest instalment of the Edinburgh set detective series sees guest appearances by Ellen Terry and Henry Irving as a new production of the Scottish play comes to town.  Published in April by Penguin.

Set in 1361 as a new wave of plague visits England, this is dark, mysterious, historical fantasy. Perfect for me then. The paperback was just published in April by Headline.