Assignment for September 26, 2017:
We complete a three-part arc in Historical Non-Fiction and top it off by reading Historical Fiction/Nonfiction duo on the same topic.
RESOURCES for 9/26/17: NONFICTION: Cords, Sarah Statz. The Real Story. 2006 Libraries Unlimited. P.149-153, 161, 164. Handed out 11/22/16; Biography, p.197-200.
FICTION: Johnson, Sarah. “Historical Fiction.” Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests. 7th ed.,Orr & Herald, eds., LU, 2013 p.85-92. Especially “Current Trends” (89) :Biographical Fiction.
Previous handout [Saricks on Historical Fiction from The RA Guide to Genre Fiction (2009) p.290-311] was given to the group in May 2010 & 2013)
The Benchmarks: Everyone reads Janet Wallach’s Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell, Advisor to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia. (1997) or Georgina Howell’s Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations (2008) NONFICTION BIOGRAPHY and Mary Doria Russell’s Dreamers of the Day. HISTORICAL FICTION.
NONFICTION HISTORICAL APPEAL SUMMARY – 11/28/17
The NE RART delved into three nonfiction historical subgenres—Defining Times, Microhistories, and Specific Settings. In addition, over the summer we read an historical fiction and an historical nonfiction pairing on the same subject/topic.
Here is the list of appeal that we found most important to readers Historical Nonfiction.
SETTING—must evoke time, place, social aspects; details should reflect the author’s research
STYLE–Narrative Flow—reads like fiction in that it has a storyline where the author’s use of language, setting, and focus all come together with an artful integration of salient details
SUBJECT—Reader’s interest drives choices
CHARACTER—closely related to setting. Seeing history through one or more characters gives the narrative a hook that allows readers to relate. Anachronistic characters are not tolerated.
PACE—closely related to style. Some readers want a slower approach with obvious researched detail; others want more integrated novel with the story line for a faster pace.
Thank you to Diane Giarusso, Tatjana Saccio, Beth Safford, Jessica Atherton, Jerusha Maurer, and Eileen Barrett for their contributions.
Leane Ellis December 6, 2017
HISTORICAL NONFICTION/FICTION DUO: SUGGESTIONS
This list is representative – not exhaustive. Feel free to invent your own pairing—find fiction and nonfiction on the same topic.
Benedict and Peggy Arnold–Allison Pataki’s The Traitor’s Wife (2014) FICTION
Mark Jacob’s Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold’s Plot to Betray America (2013) NONFICTION
Cleopatra—Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra (1997) FICTION
Stacey Schiff’s Cleopatra: A Life (2010) NONFICTION
Charles Dickens—Dan Simmon’s Drood (2009) FICTION
Claire Tomalin’s Charles Dickens: A Life (2012) NONFICTION
Alexander and Elizabeth Hamilton—Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman’s The Hamilton Affair (2016) FICTION
Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (2004) NONFICTION
Ernest Hemingway—Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife (2012) FICTION
Mary V. Dearborn’s Ernest Hemingway (2017) NONFICTION
Beryl Markham—Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun (2015) FICTION
Beryl Markham’s West with the Night (1942) NONFICTION
Mary, Queen of Scots—Phillipa Gregory’s The Other Queen (2008) FICTION
Antonia Fraser’s Mary, Queen of Scots (1969) NONFICTION
George Sand—Elizabeth Berg’s The Dream Lover (2015) FICTION
George Sand’s Story of My Life: The Autobiography of George Sand (1991) NONFICTION
Victoria Regina—Daisy Goodwin’s Victoria (2016) FICTION
Julia Baird’s Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire (2016) NONFICTION
Frank Lloyd Wright—Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank (2018) FICTION
Jennifer Fandel’s Frank Lloyd Wright (2017) NONFICTION
Elective Titles
Beth Safford
Charles Dickens: A Life – Claire Tomalin
Appeal Factors: compelling, sympathetic and closely observed characters, well-researched, atmospheric, detailed setting
This is an thoroughly researched and sympathetic study of a complex and not always likable man. The author previously wrote The Invisible Woman,” the story of Dickens’s mistress and their relationship, so she has an in-depth knowledge of the people involved. The characters are closely observed and vivid, and the reader shares both her respect for Dickens for his talent, philanthropy, and hard work, and her clear disapproval of how cruel he could be to his friends and family. He resented and punished his wife, who endured 11 pregnancies in 15 years, for the burdens of their large and troubled family as though he had no part in its creation! In addition to a detailed and evocative setting, which allows the reader to really sense Victorian England, in all its contradictions, Tomalin provides brief but through summaries of all his works for those of us who haven’t read him since college. I would highly recommend it for literature and/or history buffs.
Drood – Dan Simmons
Appeal Factors: character-driven, intricate plot, flawed characters, fast-paced, creepy, atmospheric
Drood is based on The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the novel Dickens had to yet to complete when he died at age 58. The highly unreliable narrator is fellow author Wilkie Collins, and it is hard to tell how much of the disturbing and dramatic events are actually happening and how much are the product of Collins’s drug-addled mind. Prior knowledge of Dickens, Wilkie, or their writing would be helpful but is not necessary because the author successfully conveys Dickens with all of his ego and recklessness and Collins, who is both his friend and follower, and who also resents him bitterly. The style is chilling and melodramatic. and the dark underbelly of proper Victorian England makes for a nightmarish setting. Recommended for horror fans as well as readers of British literature.
Leane Ellis
Daisy Goodwin’s Victoria (2016) for fiction and Julia Baird’s Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire (2016) for nonfiction
Author: Daisy Goodwin & Julia Baird
Appeal Factors: Baird: Sweeping breadth of life and times with context of era; Moving and Compelling strong female character; Engaging style and superbly researched. Goodwin: Strong female character coming-of-age; Sparkling dialogue, compelling cast of characters, well-imagined setting and time period, and dramatic, romantic tone.
The pairing I chose was Daisy Goodwin’s Victoria (2016) for fiction and Julia Baird’s Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire (2016) for nonfiction. After binge watching The Crown on vacation this summer, I was in the mood for more British monarchy. Both books captured the complexity of Victoria and the immense responsibilities of a young woman who becomes queen at the age of eighteen. While Baird’s version also included 200 pages of source notes and over four hundred pages of biography, it covered the entirety of Victoria’s life in great detail and panache. Goodwin’s book ended with her engagement to Albert and covers her earliest years sporadically. What Goodwin does well is take the “facts” that Baird weaves into an intriguing tale and uses them to generate a character-driven coming-of-age novel riddled with hyperbole and over-the-top drama. Goodwin is light and fun; Baird is heavy and serious. Both paint Victoria as warm and relatable, headstrong and determined. Baird does her best to undo the myths that have always surrounded Queen Victoria; and I feel she proved her points admirably. Goodwin shows the emotional growth of a young sheltered woman and introduces the potent woman Victoria would become. Goodwin takes authorial license and creates composites and reliable versions of historical figures—making the emotional truth more important for her purposes. I would read a sequel even with the high drama because it was highly entertained. Baird provided an accessible, fact-filled, moving ride through the 1800s and a crash course in the history of the British monarchy and Great Britain. I plan to binge the Victoria miniseries next!
I would suggest Goodwin to anyone who likes a good historical romance or coming of age novel, as well as strong historical female protagonists. Baird will appeal to any history lover of well-researched and lively biographies.
Jan Resnick
Genre: Fiction/Biography pairing
Vanessa and Her Sister – Priya Parmar
Appeal Factors: Pace: Fast; Characters: Complex, beautifully revealed; authentic, flawed; Story: Character-driven; Language: Lyrical, elegant, compelling, witty, richly detailed; Tone: Serene, atmospheric; strong sense of time and place; Frame: Bloomsbury London, 1905-1912
The focus of this insightful biographical novel is the Stephen siblings, primarily painter Vanessa and her younger writer sister Virginia (Woolf). Told through a series of diary entries, letters, telegrams, and tickets, the reader gets to know the Bloomsbury group as it evolved into a hub of culture and the risqué contrast to Victorian values.
Vanessa and Virginia are just beginning to develop as true artists against the background of Virginia’s instability and mental illness. The artists and writers in their brother’s circle provide a background as well as stimulation to their skills. They also provide context for their competition.
Thoby, the eldest son brings in most of the group as extensions of his college friendships. Vanessa, the eldest, is the anchor of the home, the planner, organizer, and when necessary, the rock for Virginia’s flights and panics.
The novel reads very quickly and smoothly as the author bridges between Vanessa’s imagined journal and letters, telegrams, and postcards written by the various members of the group. The characters are gradually revealed in all their complexity. A wonderful read accessible to those who know the writers/artists and those who would now like to. Highly recommended. LibraryReads Favorites 2015, New York Times Notable Books 2015).
Readalikes:
Michael Cunningham’s The Hours; Mrs. Engels by Gavin Mccrea; Susan Sellers – Vanessa and Virginia; Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh; Norah Vincent’s Adeline; Jo Baker – A Country Road, A Tree; Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise by Oscar Hijuelos; Nancy Horan – Under the Wide and Starry Sky; The Dream Lover – Elizabeth Berg; The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland; Tracy Chevalier – Burning Bright; Frida by Barbara Louise Mujica.
Genre: Fiction/Biography pairing
Virginia Woolf: a biography – Quentin Bell
Appeal Factors: Pace: Deliberate (print – small); Characters: Complex, well revealed; authentic, flawed; Story: Chronological; Language: Compelling, richly detailed; Tone: Strong sense of time and place; Frame: Primarily London, 1882 – 1941
Quentin Bell’s biography of his aunt Virginia Woolf was only the second published about her. Unlike later biographies, this is strictly historical avoiding the literary criticism included in other titles. The initial section of the book outlines the family biography and lineage. It briefly sets up the family history and gives a view of Virginia’s parents’ background and their impact upon her.
This volume includes: Volume 1 Virginia Stephens 1882-1912 (216p.); Volume 2 Mrs. Woolf 1912-1941 (314p.); 115 pages of chronology, appendices and indexes.
This biography feels massive but over a quarter of it is footnotes and other documents. It also includes photos. It is easily possible to read the narrative and skip the footnotes if the reader chooses. There are lots of names, places and dates for those who appreciate them, but the narrative is linear and clear. If the author plans to follow-up with information at a later point, it is clearly indicated. Bell was an historian having a clear respect for his subject, with, as a member of the family, access to all the personal materials about her as well as access to her husband Leonard Woolf.
The biography reads easily, though the amount of detail slows the pace. Virginia Woolf was a very complex woman at a very complex time. This history puts the Bloomsbury group in a context for the reader. Virginia Woolf is a sympathetic biography, but not an indulgent one. Recommended.
Readalikes:
Michael Cunningham’s The Hours; Susan Sellers – Vanessa and Virginia; The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland; Tracy Chevalier – Burning Bright; Becoming Jane Austen – Jon Spence; Jane Austen by Carol Shields; Douglas Gresham’s Jack’s Life (C.S. Lewis); Wodehouse by Robert McCrum; Julia Briggs – Virginia Woolf: an inner life; Ruth Gruber – Virginia Woolf: the will to create as a woman; Viviane Forrester – Virginia Woolf: a portrait; Hermione Lee – Virginia Woolf’s Nose: essays on biography.
Eileen Barrett
Circling the Sun / West with the Night
Author: Paula McLain/Beryl Markham
Appeal Factors: About a remarkable, accomplished, adventurous woman. Both books are well-written and capture your attention.
Beryl Markham was a remarkable woman. Born Beryl Clutterbuck in 1902 in Britain, she was a racehorse trainer, one of Kenya’s first bush pilot, and an aviator and author. During the pioneer days of aviation, she became the first woman to fly solo crossing the Atlantic from east to west.
Circling the Sun is historical fiction based on the life of Beryl. She was the neglected daughter of a mother who disliked colonial British East Africa, now Kenya. When Beryl was not yet five her mother returned permanently to England with Beryl’s older brother, leaving her behind with her father, a racehorse trainer. At sixteen Beryl marries, quite disastrously, but is granted a separation to train Lord Delamere’s horse (family friend and nearest neighbor (7 miles away). Beryl had been trained by her father and was a horse whisperer in her own right. Beryl became the first licensed female racehorse trainer in Kenya/Niarobi and rapidly became a successful and renowned figure among the racing community there.
Determined and beautiful, Markham is known as a non-conformist, even in a colony known for its eccentrics. She was married three times, along with a few affairs here and there. She took the name Markham from her second husband, the wealthy Mansfield Markham with whom she had a son, Gervase.
Largely inspired by Tom Campbell Black, with whom she had a long-term affair, Markham took up flying. She worked for some time as a bush pilot and as previously mentioned was the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic.
Author Paula McLain has done a wonderful job telling Beryl Markham’s story.
West with the Night is Markham’s 1942 autobiographical account of growing up in East Africa. I could not possibly say it better than Hemingway, “Did you read Beryl Markham’s book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer’s log book. As it is she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people’s stories, are absolutely true . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book.”
It is actually rumored that the book’s real author was her third husband, the ghost writer and journalist Raoul Schumacher, but we will never know and either way the book is well worth reading.
Northeastern MA Readers' Advisory Genre Study 