Historical Fictionistas discussion

Doctorate of Historical Fiction

The purpose of the PhD in historical fiction is twofold: 1) to ensure a broad exposure to foundational works of historical fiction and 2) to specialize in a topic of particular interest (think dissertation without the giant paper :-D

Reminder: Unless noted, all works for the PhD degree are works of historical fiction.

This is the third part of the 2013 HFU challenge. You must complete all BA degree and Masters tasks before you will be awarded the Phd degree. Please consult the general rules in the BA thread .
You may use the same reporting thread for the more advanced degrees.

Task Requirements

Authors
Read 1 HF book from 3 different author from this list of Historical Fiction Masters; (NOTE: works by these authors that are not HF will not count. HF works under a pen name will count); this will be a total of 3 books read.
• James Clavell
• Dorothy Dunnett
• Howard Fast
• George MacDonald Fraser
• Robert Graves
• Georgette Heyer
• Louis L’Amour
• Norman Mailer
• James Michener
• Patrick O’Brian
• Jean Plaidy
• Mary Renault
• Sir Walter Scott
• Anya Seton
• Irving Stone
• Sigrid Undset
• Leon Uris
• Gore Vidal

Historical Fiction "Classics"
Read 3 books from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List. A link to this list can be found here:
HF Reading List

Dissertation Topic
You will chose a topic for your dissertation and read 7 books related to that topic. At least 5 of the books must be works of HF, you can read up to 2 works of non-fiction related to your topic. The types of topics that you may chose are:
• Focus around a specific historical event like a war or discovery of America
• Focus around a specific country or geographic area through various time periods
• Focus on a specific (most likely royal) family (like the Tudors)
• Focus on a nationality like the Romans or the Vikings
• Focus on a particular century (or defined time period like the Dark Ages)
• Focus on a particular sub-genre of historical fiction (as described in the master’s program)

Minor Topic
You will chose a different topic area from the list above and read 3 books in that area. One of the books can be a work of non-fiction.

When reporting the disseration topic and minor topic, please explain the topic areas that you have chosen.

Awesome! It's going to take me longer than a year to get through to the end of my PhD :)

Under "Authors" do you 3 books by 3 different authors for a total of nine or 1 book by 3 different authors?

Holly, I understood is as "Read 3 HF books - each by a different author ..."
ie 3 books, 3 different authors - i.e. 3 books in total - I stand open to correction?

Yes, only three books in total, each by a different author.

It should be noted that you can read the same author for the author task and the classics task (but not the same book :-))

Will you accept The American Immigrant and Pioneer Experience as my dissertation topic?

Yes -- I will accept that...

Will you accept Time-Slip for my dissertation?

Pulling together the books to fit the tasks for all 3 parts of this challenge is almost as much fun as reading the books.

No surprise here - if approved, my dissertation topic will be historical mysteries set in the Victorian era and the minor topic WWII.

I would like to read Those Who Love by Irving Stone for the author challenge. The first edition on GRs has 0 page count. Can I use the second edition which has 662 pages so as to qualify for the minimum amount?

Yes to April and LemonLinda.
Glad that you guys are having fun with it.....

You don't have to get your dissertation topics approved by me if it fits nicely into one of the listed types of topics.

Wow, great tasks JoLene!!

Hi JoLene, for this dissertation topic
• Focus around a specific country or geographic area through various time periods
Must one choose only one time period (e.g. Victorian) or can one read through various time periods, e.g. one book per century?

no ---it's says through various time periods, meaning different centuries.

Is this.a 2013 only challenge? If so, then all three degrees are to be done in a year? Yikes!

Sandra wrote: "Is this.a 2013 only challenge? If so, then all three degrees are to be done in a year? Yikes!"

My question exactly. What is the time frame? I plan to do it on my own if I can't get it done in the time frame required. This is way too much fun. Thanks Jolene.

I have a question. I'm doing my BA in Literature. Since joining this group and one other I have become addicted to HF. My plan was to get the BA in Lit, then a BA in History and move on to masters and now the doctorate.That's four degrees. I'm thinking of changing my Lit BA to History BA instead. Can I do that?

HF BA? What do you mean? And thanks, Jolene, for these great challenges!! I feel giddy inside just thinking of them!

Sandra wrote: "HF BA? What do you mean? And thanks, Jolene, for these great challenges!! I feel giddy inside just thinking of them!"

I meant History.

We have set this up as a year-long challenge meaning that all three degrees are to be done in one year. However, we will not delete this challenge at the end of the year so if you want to continue, your threads will still be around. I can't guarantee that I will be monitoring and reviewing on a timely basis.

You can change or earn both BA degrees if you would like.

I am on vacation in Europe and my not have Internet access all the time, so there may be delays in answering questions.

JoLene wrote: "I am on vacation in Europe and my not have Internet access all the time, so there may be delays in answering questions."

Thanks Jolene and have a wonderful trip.

Everyone, if I give you approval for a book, please note the post number in your reporting thread. With more than 100 participants, I can't always remember :-D.

One of the authors I chose is Anya Seton. I was planning to read her Green Darkness. 199 people have listed it as HF and most of it is set in the 16th century, however, it also includes time travel and is listed as fantasy. Will that count or should I select another book by her instead?

I will allow any sub-genre for the historical masters.

Thanks. This is, however, for the doctorate not the subgenres for the masters. Will it still work? I was using it for a selection from one of the specified authors - Anya Seton.

Yes, I understood.....Seton is on the historical masters list. I was saying that I will allow any historical fiction sub-genre that a "historical master" has written. I just wasn't clear ;-)

Good. Looking forward to it.

I am trying to decide on a dissertation topic. My undergraduate area of emphasis was Medieval Europe. Of course, the Medieval Period or Middle Ages have several different time periods. What dates would you accept? I was thinking 1000 to 1400. I know that the Italian Renaissance began in the 14th century but a little overlap is difficult to avoid. Would it be okay to use various countries in Europe during this time period or would you prefer me to stay in one country? Thanks

Since this isn't really a degree, you can define the period. I'm fine if you want to do several countries within the same time period

JoLene wrote: "Since this isn't really a degree, you can define the period. I'm fine if you want to do several countries within the same time period"

Thanks-now I can read all those historical novels that I could not use as research before but were so enticing!

Ok so my dissertation is Time-Slip and The Reincarnationist series has two of its books listed in HNS as Time-slip.

Can I get approval for #4 The Book of Lost Fragrances? To continue the support, when you type in The Reincartionist in the add book/author link, all five books are listed.

I am asking because you relly have to read the description, look at the listing in the more section, and have read some of the series to know that it is Time-Slip HF. You can't just look at the catagories.

@april, I will accept it

JoLene wrote: "@april, I will accept it"

Yea, thanks!

April wrote: "JoLene wrote: "@april, I will accept it"

Yea, thanks!"

After all that, I had to move it.

The Book of Lost Fragrances was in the Historical Thriller in HNS and so I moved it to the Masters level (because I wanted to drop a book) and added The Map of Time for Time-Slip PhD.

Thanks anyway.

JoLene, my daughter gave me a book recently that she knew I would be terribly interested in reading. It is called Letters in the Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears. I need to get a ruling from you on if it qualifies as historical fiction under the definition used here.

The book is actually set in 1976 when a young girl in Hong Kong has a box of letters delivered to her. The girl had been smuggled out of China when she was 5 by her mother to escape the situation in Communist China under Mao. The letters (which were actually like journal entries of her mother's) which detail her (the mother's) life from the beginning of Mao's reign down through when she smuggled her daughter out to ensure she would not be killed by Mao as he believed that 10% of the people were counterrevoltionaries. Her mother's father was an artist and scholar and so he was in danger under the cultural revolution. Also, Chen Wen-shan (the girl of the story) is living with her great-uncle in Hong Kong who had escaped early in the Mao years because he had been a military leader under Chiang Kai-shek. He gives a lot of detail of life before Mao and before he fled.

Most of the actual historical fiction piece of the novel is actually set in a time older than the 50 year rule, but part does cross into the early 60's.

I would really like to read this book and have it count toward my PhD. I am extremely interested in this one because my degree is in Political Science and my specific training is in diplomacy. In 2009, I was selected to go with a group of people to go on a diplomatic tour of China, focusing on education (I have been a child advocate my entire adult life). I spent about 6 weeks in China and Hong Kong and learned a lot about Mao and the results of his "Cultural Revolution," etc.as I interacted with the people there. I would be so interested in the other insights this book will give me...along with the special memories it will bring back to me of a special time in China. I came to love the people there and the rich history and culture of the country.

Anyway, please let me know if this book can be used as HF. A majority of the story meets the time specified, but it does cross over the line a little in the end.

@Cheryl, very cool experience. If over 50% of the story meets the 50 years rule, than you can use it.

Ok, so Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue are marked Time-Slip in HNS and Science Fiction/Time Travel and HF in Goodreads.

BUT Emerald Green, the final book in the trilogy, is not in HNS but also marked Science Fiction/Time Travel and HF in Goodreads.

Can I get approval for Emerald Green for my Time-Slip dissertation?

@April, yes you can use it.
I have Ruby Red sitting on my shelf :-)

Jolene, I have completed requirements for the HFU PhD. Please check
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Message 3.

Thanks. I loved this challenge. It was so much fun!!!

JoLene,

Today I finished the requirements for the HFU PhD! I am so very excited to be able to say that I was able to make it all the way through the PhD!

I wanted to express appreciation to you for this challenge...specifically the list of authors to choose from as well as the list of classic historical fiction under PhD. I have discovered a couple of writers that I have never known about before, but am now looking forward to reading more of in the future. Why had I never heard of Georgette Heyer before this year? I love Jane Austen and I thought her writing is a brighter, happier version of Austen's writing.

Participating in the BA, MA, and PhD exposed me to so many new pieces of history. I just cannot say enough about how much I have enjoyed this. I do look forward to a more relaxed speed of reading when I am not trying to get so much done in a year's time.

Anyway, here is the link to my completed PhD list. (My dissertation topic was Christian Historical Fiction and the minor topic was Civil War.)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Wow! Congrats Cheryl!

Cheryl wrote: "JoLene,

Today I finished the requirements for the HFU PhD! I am so very excited to be able to say that I was able to make it all the way through the PhD!

I wanted to express appreciation to you ..."

Congratulations, Cheryl, what an incredible feat!

This is wonderful, Cheryl, congrats!!

I finished my PhD!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

#13

April wrote: "I finished my PhD!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

#13"

Congrats April!!

LemonLinda, Cheryl and Cheryl A are out first PhD's.....Congratulations!!

Wow congrats LemonLinda and Cheryl!!! I still half a book left to go.

Thanks, JoLene. I am sure this has taken a lot of time and extra effort, but I did and I am sure others did as well get a great deal of enjoyment from this challenge.