Historical Fictionistas discussion

We're going to double up for our May 2023 Group Read. The May 2023 nomination is also going to be the June 2023 nomination.

For this round of nominations, all nominations are going to be a pair of books. One nonfiction and one fiction. Both books must be on related topics. All nomination posts must include 2 TITLES, 2 AUTHORS, AND AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THE TWO BOOKS ARE RELATED. Any post missing any one of these three things will not be counted.

REMINDERS
-NO SELF NOMINATIONS- Any member who self nominates a book, will have the post deleted and the member will be removed from the group.
NOMINATION POST MUST INCLUDE: TITLE AND AUTHOR OF BOTH BOOKS AND AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THEY ARE RELATED - If any one of these three things is missing from the nomination post, it will not be counted.
EVERY MEMBER GETS ONE NOMINATION AND ONE SECOND - Please make sure you are clearly marking if you are nominating and/or seconding a book. Too much extra chatter in the nomination thread makes it difficult for the moderators to keep track of the books that need to be counted.
BOOKS IN A SERIES MUST BE READ IN SERIES ORDER -Book 4 in a series cannot be nominated if the group has not read books 1-3
For a complete breakdown of how the nomination process works, see this thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look over the bookshelf containing all of the past group reads. Past group reads cannot be nominated again - https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

I am nominating The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield and In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters by Nancy Goldstone.

Both books feature Empress Maria Theresa and/or her daughters including Marie Antionette.

I nominate The Night Ship by Jess Kidd and Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny by Mike Dash

Both books feature the shipwreck Batavia

I would like to nominate the classic The Count of Monte Cristo and non-fiction The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Christo is based on the life of his father, and The Black Count is Tom Reiss' bio of the novelist's father.

Gretchen wrote: "I am nominating The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield and [book:In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and ..."

I would like to second Gretchen's nominations

Gretchen wrote: "We're going to double up for our May 2023 Group Read. The May 2023 nomination is also going to be the June 2023 nomination.

For this round of nominations, all nominations are going to be a pair of..."
I suggest (although it's 2-3 years short of the required 50 years for Historical Fiction) the Women's Prize longlisted Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy, a love story between a Catholic teacher and a Protestant, married, lawyer, set during the Northern Ireland Troubles, paired with Bear in Mind These Dead, by Susan McKay, a sensitive retelling of some of the stories of the victims of the Troubles, and their search for justice.

I would like to second Maybelle’s nominations.

I also support Maybelle’s nominations.

I nominate HORSE by Geraldine Brooks

Z.A. wrote: "I would like to nominate the classic The Count of Monte Cristo and non-fiction The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandr..."

I second this

I nominate this pair:

Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose by Alison Weir

The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women: A Social History by Elizabeth Norton

Both books feature the lives of women in the Tudor era.

I second Elizabeth of York and The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women

I’ll nominate Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie Barron (a mystery with Jane Austen as sleuth) and Byron's Women by Alexander Larman.

Maureen wrote: "I nominate The Night Ship by Jess Kidd and Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny by [author:Mike ..."

I second the nomination for The Night Ship and Batavia's Graveyard.

I’d like to nominate “The Lunar Housewife” by Caroline Woods, a great novel about journalism, sexism, and espionage in 1950s New York, and “James Baldwin: A Biography” by David Leeming.

There is a cameo of James Baldwin in “Housewife,” as well as Hemingway and other luminaries. I loved this book and its depiction of literary censorship in the 1950s. “Housewife” piqued my interest in Baldwin, who of course was affected by censorship (Giovanni’s Room is still banned in many spaces today).

I’ll second The Lunar Housewife and James Baldwin: A Biography.