When are You Now? 2014 part one

I'm in 1867 in The Countess Conspiracy.

In 1C BC Rome with Cleopatra and Antony's children in Lily of the Nile.

I'm in the 17th century in Scotland with The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott.

I've just departed from England and France in 1699, where I've been with Countess Ashby de la Zouche in The Ambitious Stepmother. Entertaining light holiday reading.

1900 Africa, reading Footprints of Lion set in the Boer war following the the Granger-Acheson family.

I just left 1629 Denmark and the court of King Christian IV (in the novel of dubious sanity) who is obsessed with the contrasts between Music & Silence.

It seemed a very literary and layered historical fiction (I'm sure you could find plenty for essays covering it), but I found myself disliking most of the characters and not enjoying picking the book back up.

I'm just starting George Washington's Secret Six which I'm really looking forward to. American Revolution and spies, my two favorite things. I'm also reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to keep up with my son's literature class.

I'm in 1860 China in Flashman and the Dragon in the middle of the Taiping rebellion.

I am visiting my favourite "dalaigh", Sister Fidelma in 7th century celtic Ireland as she and her companion, Eadulf, solve another mystery in the story The Monk who Vanished

I'm in 1775 in the colonies of the New World just as the revolution is heating up with Jamie and Claire in A Breath of Snow and Ashes.

In 6C Briton, riding with Arthur in The Winter King.

In Victorian England, reading Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey

Does this count as historical? I'm in the 1920's finally getting around to reading Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis.

There's a lot of discussion of what historical fiction is. I think it's generally accepted that it is fiction based on an actual happening or event. In that sense, also the story takes places in the 1920's; then no, it's not historical fiction. Although, there are those who believe any work of fiction written at another time is historical fiction.

I am not anal about the writing being about a specific historical event ...it could have one in the background...but it should accurately reflect the life and times that the characters are set and (a personal peeve) the conversation language should not be modern slang

I finished up and quite enjoyed Michael Cox's The Meaning of Night: a Confession, a psychological thriller set in 19th-century England and written in the style of the murder novels of that era. At 700 pages, it's a commitment, but a rewarding one in my judgement.

With Amelia Earhart in Hawaii, January of 1935 as she prepares to be the first to solo across the Pacific.

In the 1840's with Echo Sackett in Ride the River

I'm in 1385 in London in A Burnable Book.

# 18-Sounds very interesting! What is the name of the book?

With four young men living their, lives, all from different backgrounds but all will be involved in WWI, in (The first of July) by (Elizabeth Speller.)

Unreachableshelf I just started this one too. How are you liking it?

I'm in Vespasian's Rome with Marcus Falco as he tries to rescue the cousin of his future love in The Silver Pigs.

>24 Beamis12:

It took me a little while to get into the hang of keeping names straight, especially since first person narration means not seeing that character's name very often, but once I got the hang of that well enough that I could stop checking the character list I started getting into it. I need more time to read it uninterrupted, though.

I would strongly disagree that historical fiction must be based on an actual happening. It is surely fiction set in the past--period.

27> There can be a vague historical reference somewhere in the book to set the period but to my mind a description of life and times during that period satisfies me.

I am in the prehistoric early chapters of Steven Saylor's Roma.

Also in 1385 England with A Burnable Book. Like others having a bit of bother keeping all the characters straight.

I spent yesterday in 1752 in Jamaica in His Heart's Obsession.

I spent yesterday in 1802 in Brazil and all over the ocean in Blessed Isle and this morning in 1750 off the coast of France in By Honor Betrayed. Now I'm in 1192 off the coast of Sicily in A King's Ransom.

Late 1400's, England, with The Last Wife of Henry VIII.

1700s with Edward Waverly in Waverly.

I am following a spinster Elizabeth Middleton from England who is now with her father in the wilds of New York in 1772 in the novel Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. I was not sure I would like this book as it is really a historical romance but actually it stands up fine. It is the first of a series where she meets Mohawks including Hawkeye and Chingachgook and falls in love with Nathaniel Bonner who is white but lives as a Mohawk.

Donati paints life during this time very well and the story is much more than a love story. You see the problems of a young woman trying to live her own life and not be just chattel for her father to deal with. You see a Mohawk/White relationship that is multi-dimensional. Just when the story seems boring and predictable Donati introduces twists that further your interest.

The book is quite long at about 800 pages and I am half way through it...not sure I will search out the next in the sequel but this one so far is a pleasant surprise.

I'm in 1892 in London in The Quick

Late 1400's, England with Queen's Gambit. It's not grabbing me.

>35 Lynxear: I've read a couple of Sara Donati books myself and was pleasantly surprised.

My mom passed away recently and I've been going through a handful of books she kept for more than 60 years. Just started one of them, The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas--first century Arabia and Palestine featuring the life of Peter. She used to write her own reviews in the front of her books. This one says, "Take time to study this book. It's a masterpiece." Looking forward to finding out what captured her attention.

I finished The Five O'Clock Cake by Joan Sawyer Bloyd. This is a self-published historical novel about life among the ranchers in 1920s Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, California, USA, the still-rural valley that my wife and I have lived in since 2008. It was fun to learn some more about the life and attitudes of the folks who lived here almost 100 years ago.

>38 gmathis: gmathis: Yeah, while this book is a romance novel it is not obsessed with it, or I would have put it down after 50 pages. The story and characters are well developed. I like reading about this time period in America.

I have just finished Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. I must say that given the romantic nature of the story in places, which normally puts me off as most authors decide that graphic sex is the way to go, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will seriously look for the next in the series.

#41-Sara Donati has a huge following. I read her years ago after reading Outlander. Two of Outlanders characters visit-Jamie and Clair Frasier. Outlander does has sex scenes so although its has a huge fan base, it may not be for you.

Third trip to Paul Scott's take on the British Raj in The Towers of Silence.

I am only on page 15 of The Physician by Noah Gordon. Mr. G. has not given up the time period yet, but I am guessing that it is post-Norman Conquest London. How far along the post-Conquest road I am is still to be determined.
Am also in 12th century England (World Without End by Ken Follett - plowing through the last couple hundred pages.

18th Century Ireland in The Journeyman by Elizabeth Yates. Really enjoying it.

>42 homeschoolmom: I am not anti-sex per se, it is gratuitous sex that becomes the main theme of the book that I object to. Many authors gravitate to such levels with time....Wilbur Smith is a good example IMHO...Pre-1995 books were researched well and amazing reads...more recent books are garbage by comparison.

I'm in the 1690s in Florence in Secrecy.

On a downer streak. Queen's Gambit didn't grab me and People of the River has way too much religious fantasy for my taste. May need to take a break from HF for a while.

>49 MarysGirl: I looked at your library and saw that you have read a couple of Jean Auel but you don't seem to have read the only good book in her series Clan of Cave Bear. Though I have not listed her books in my library here I have read all of her series except the last one. I loved her writing except for one annoying habit of hers....as the series grows and grows she writes less and less new stuff....her later books are mostly padded with flashbacks to her previous books. But Clan of the Cave Bear, being the first of her series does not suffer from this and is her best IMHO

It is New Year's Eve in London 1898, Alex Russel is going to a party at an unknown host's place. There is rumblings in South Africa of war. Life in Victorian England is good for the rich...but I have a feeling that this life of Mr. Russel will get more interesting very soon. The book The Burning Land is written by Emma Drummond...not a popular writer here but I found the book in a used book store, thumbed the pages and found her writing quite detailed and interesting, so I will give it a shot

I have just finished The Burning Land by Emma Drummond. The cover and description were misleading to me. I thought this would be a historical fiction writing with the Boer War figuring strong in the novel. In reality it is a very well written Historical Romance. Not really my type of book but it does give one the sense of what it might have been like to live in Victorian England. This is a novel that is more to a woman's taste than a man's. We get in the heads of the 3 main characters as they agonize over love's problems. The Boer war is very much a backdrop to this drama. In reading her background elsewhere it seems she is of a military family and I had hoped for more in the battle scenes such as they were...but that was not to be.

It was a not a bad read, but I doubt I will read more of her writing as romance is not (even though the few intense scenes were tastefully done) my cup of tea

>52 Lynxear: As I recall, Emma Drummond comes from a British military family and she describes the milieu extremely well, especially the incredible narrow-mindedness and snobbishness among the people stationed in India. She knows a lot about life in the British army and her descriptions of the Crimean campaign and the expedition against China look very convincing. But the romance stuff can be very hard to swallow.

53> I did not find her descriptions of the military aspects of her book very enlightening. Yes there is the snobbish aspects of the military but most of it that I saw was the gallantry of the military toward their English womenfolk and looking down their nose at the native populations (Alex excepted in this book). Her battle description and events leading up to them were sketchy...little more than men dying suddenly and the fog of war. No tactics and they were over in a page or two then back to the romance aspects.

She is a romance writer...full stop. As such, though it is not my taste in books, I found the book well written as opposed to trashy HR romance books. She certainly described insights into a Victorian woman's thoughts well (speaking as a non-woman)...the insights into a man's thoughts were less deep in my opinion.

As far as military historical fiction goes, she does not hold a candle to Bernard Cornwell, CS Forester, Herman Wolk and others. But these authors are not romance writers

I'm about to be stuck in the middle of the Sepoy Rebellion with that dastardly cur Harry Flashman in Flashman in the Great Game.

At the recommendation of a friend, reading The Winter Sea which threads together present-day romance with the endeavors of the Scottish Jacobites in the early 1700's.

>54 Lynxear: Agreed, she's definitely a historical romance writer whose protagonists are military people. Is there a subgenre for this?

Hahaha no, I don't think so

1400's, England, in Rochester Castle with Anne of Cleves, wife #4 of Henry VIII.

>50 Lynxear: How did I miss adding Clan of the Cave Bear to my library? Probably because I read it sooooo long ago. I've read thousands of books that I don't have listed in my library because I read them before the internet and regularly pass on fiction to friends and charities rather than keeping them (limited shelf space goes to my research books and all time favorites for rereading). I totally agree, that Cave Bear is the best of the lot. I read all but Auel's most recent. Each got weaker and weaker until I wanted to wall-bang the last two, so skipped her final book.

Currently rowing down the Thames in 1880's England with eccentric Oxford professors, students, a time traveler and To Say Nothing of the Dog. Needed a break and Connie Willis delivers a clever and funny tale. (This is a reread.)

> 60 MarysGirl : I share your frustration with Jean Auel. My interest started to wane after Valley of the Horses with the introduction of Whinney (the horse) and Baby (the cub lion). this book did have a lot of flashbacks but it did have solid new content too...but this new content grew less and less with each book and I have not (and probably won't read) her last book either. After all...the woman has invented basically everything from fire from flint and the wheel...Auel must have run out of discoveries for her main characters :)

I love time travel back into time books and will look for "To Say Nothing of the Dog" ... It sounds like a good read.

I see that this is the second of a series with Doomsday Book being the first one...have you read this book too?

Lynxear

I have read both, and they are excellent, but don't depend on each other.

Thanks I will look in my favourite used bookstore soon.

I found Doomsday Book it really is a Sci Fi book having won a Hugo Award. But we shall see how it rates on the historical aspects :)

Kindle: Tudor England with Catherine Howard: Henry's Fifth Failure and paperback: Biblical times with Joseph in Dreamers which is about 1600 BCE?

It has taken me 175 pages to start liking this book...were it not for LT ratings I would have given up on Doomsday Book

I'm in 1914 Wales in Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.

On Eastborn Avenue in New York City in the 1930s. "World's Fair" by E. L. Doctorow.

I'm in 1552 with Green Darkness by Anya Seton

The Countess Conspiracy sounds great. I'm currently reading A Respectable Trade by Phillipa Gregory which is fascinating and especially relevant to me as I currently live in Bristol.

I am off to the Boer War with Lieutenant Simon Fonthill in 1879. He has much to prove, having been branded a coward by a former commanding officer in the novel The Horns of the Buffalo by John Wilcox

I'm in WWII Egypt with Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

I am half way through The Horns of the Buffalo and Simon Fonthill has proven himself not to be a coward several times. His servant, Jenkins 352 is proving to be quite the companion. They are up in Zululand trying to assess the strength of the Zulu military. They are under the protection of a Mr. Dunn who is a friend of the King in Zululand. A very interesting book...so much better than The Burning Land by Emma Drummond. Less a love story and more on the conflict or rather at this point the potential conflict...though a love story is in the background but is not dominant as is the case in the latter book.

Excellent book to this point...a good "buddy" book between officer and servant.

Just finished The Horns of the Buffalo...enjoyed the book as whole and the descriptions of the Zulu and Zulu battles. Will definitely be reading of John Wilcox. Actually this is the first book of a series with Simon Fonthill...another great series to follow...look forward to reading the relationship with Fonthill and Jenkins 352.

1880 with The painted Girls in Paris!

I'm traveling between 1849 and 2009 in That Summer.

Was up and down the Mississippi and in Chicago in the 1890-1920s in Edna Ferber's Show Boat

It is 1543 and Matthew Shardlake is about to be on a trail of murders in the book - Revelation by CJ Sansom, my favourite historical mystery writer and sadly the last book to read in his Shardlake series...I will savour it.

Heading into the American Revolution in Echo of the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. A re-read in anticipation of book eight due out on the tenth

I am almost finished Hannibal: Clouds of War by Ben Kane. It is the third book in his Hannibal series. It grabbed me right away back into the story within the first few pages. Now I am nearing the end I'm not sure that this is the final book, there could be another one. I guess I will find out soon.

I finish reading Revelation by CJ Sansom...sorry to see this excellent story/mystery end. I gave it 5 stars. I have now read 100% of of his novels.

My next book is The Physician by Noah Gordon...it is the 11th century, This is the story of Rob Cole who starts as a young boy who eventually becomes a gifted physician. It starts in Britain but he travels the world as he grows. I read a sequel to this writing titled Shaman and loved the book so I am looking forward to this one...700 pages of small print...lots of reading ahead.

Lynxear

I've read both The Physician and Shaman and I thought The Physician was quite a bit better. You're in for a treat!

I just finished Rainbows and Rapture set in 19th century Texas and Mexico. Not my usual time and place, but I love the wit and humor of Rebecca Paisley's books!

I'm in early 1960s Washington/NYC, reading A Shade of Difference, the second in Allen Drury's "Advise and Consent" series of Cold War diplomacy novels.

>82 dkhiggin: Well you are not kidding about The Physician...what a great story. I am about 150 pages into this book of about 700 pages and I cannot believe at how detailed the story has become...character development perfect, scene development superb, flow of the story amazing and not even 25% into this book...Have you read the Last Jew or others that N. Gordon has written? I will definitely be searching for them

I'm in 1778 Philadelphia in Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon.

>84 Lynxear:
Yes, I read The Last Jew and I have The Winemaker on Mount TBR. I enjoyed The Last Jew, too, but not nearly as much as The Physician. It did introduce me to a time and place with which I was mostly unfamiliar.

I have found another source for identifying Historical Fiction novels. What I like is how it characterizes the novels by era and has subdivisions withing each era. In my opinion it is a companion to LT, not a replacement since there is no discussions and few reviews (none of those are by readers like us).

http://www.historicalnovels.info/

Take a look at this site and I think you will be amazed at the collection presented here (if you have not already found it) :)

Finished The Physician...If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Excellent book, highly recommended if you like historical fiction.

85-I'm working on my re-read of Echo. Finishing up two classes this week and then focusing on Jamie and Claire

Just finished Written in my Own Heart's Blood. In my opinion this is one of the best in the outstanding series by Diana Gabaldon.

Started Assyrian by Nicholas Guild and so far I like it alot. I haven't read much about the Assyrians and this is quite a detailed story...

Just started The Winemaker by Noah Gordon. It's set in late 19th century Spain.

I'm in England in 1592 with Dark Aemilia.

I'm in 1469 England and India with a rather strange book called The Kings of Albion.

I'm in the late 1840s England with Harry Flashman in Flash for Freedom. Looks like we might be about to take a little trip to America.

I put Assyrian aside for a little while. The book is ok but not a page turner in places and it is dragging right now for me.

So I found the next book in the Hornblower series - Hornblower and the Hotspur by CS Forester...what a great book!!! 2 days and I am almost finished it. It is 1802, Hornblower marries Mary but immediately is sent on blockade duty off Brest, France and the action never stops...no spoilers here but you won't be bored :)

Earlier today I was in Tyre c. 90 BC in a story in Rogues.

I am going on Crusade! I'm in the 13th century in England and the Holy Land with Brethren by Robyn Young.

well I finished the Assyrian...it had its moments but could not hold a candle to Hornblower and the Hotspur

I'm in Essex in 1830 in Night of Pleasure.

I'm in the late 1840's with that bad 'un Harry Flashman. He's unwillingly on board a slave ship off the coast of Dahomey and having a very bad time of it in Flash for Freedom.

Now I'm in Rome in 1494 in The Lion and the Rose.

Finally finished my re-read and now working on Written in My Heart's Own Blood during the American Revolution.

I am crawling in the sand with Lawrence of Arabia in August/1917, scooping out holes under the rails and setting mines to blow up a railway line in Palestine and disable or destroy a locomotive in the process in Empire of Sand.

Very easy read but not juvenile... I like the writing style of Robert Ryan very smooth, exciting and descriptive. The ratings on this book are all over the place...so far I think it deserves far more than the 3.06 stars that it has received so far.

>61 Lynxear: So sorry, I've been MIA for a couple of months--you know--life. As to Doomsday Book, it's very different kind of read from To Say Nothing of the Dog--much darker and SF. They don't depend on each other in any way.

I'm currently immersed in the sixties--which I don't count as "history" because I lived through it-- but I realize many younger folk will feel it's a long time ago!

>105 MarysGirl: Well if I come across her book I will thumb through it...looking at the reviews they seem similar to the Doomsday Book's reviews...lots of people like the book but it is a slow starter as well.

Yeah, 1960's fiction is when I was a teenager...I don't like to think I am rooted in history yet. It would be just Fiction to me

Larry Watson, who wrote my all-time favorite novel Montana 1948, has a new and marvelous read out called Let Him Go, set in 1951 Montana. The almost-five-star review is in my thread...post #279.

Just finished Empire of Sand, a highly entertaining but under rated book by Robert Ryan.

I am now running through swamp in 1903 with a woman who is escaping from something with hints of murder by her hand. Not sure where I am at this point but the dogs are on our trail and gotta move or we will be caught in the book Outlander by Gil Adamson

I'm with a few of you above - in Philadelphia, 1778. Deeply into Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon. That girl can tell a story!

I'm in 1846 in Seven for a Secret.

The Outlander by Gil Adamson was an awesome Canadian historical fiction book about a woman on the run from brothers of her husband, who died at her hand. It takes place in the mountains of British Columbia in the Crowsnest Pass in 1903 and incorporates the famous Frank Slide into the story....an impressive write for her first novel. You are in the woman's mind and see the world clearly through her eyes...love that type of novel.

Well from one satisfying read to another in Hornblower and the "Atropos" ...hands down one of my favourites in the series. I loved the opening when he is traveling with wife and child on a canal barge to get his new ship the Atropos...when an accident happens and he must man the tiller. So funny and thrilling as he struggles with this beast and keeps his wife at bay (she feels neglected) and it just gets better and better....a very fast read

I'm continuing with the Brethren series in the Holy Land with William Campbell on Crusade by Robyn Young in the late 13th century.

I have just found this page in the Gutenberg Project

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Historical_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29#First_Century

What a cornucopia of novels of historical fiction genre that you could NEVER hope to find...never mind buy.

I may change my opinion about getting an e-reader when I see this.

>113 Lynxear: Thank you for that link. I caved in to an e-reader because I wanted to download from Gutenberg, but obviously I haven't spent nearly enough time browsing the site.

Fighting King Alfred in 9th C England, but that may change soon in The Last Kingdom.

I'm at a poetry reading in the Rome of Domitian with Marcus Didius Falco in Ode to a Banker. Something tells me a gate crasher is going to get killed and our hero may get the blame.

I'm in 1879, Colorado in Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer.

I'm in 1806 in The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla.

I'm in Acre in 1799 resisting Napoleon's siege The Rosetta Key .

I'm in Scotland now, at the end of the 13th century, trying to fend off Edward Longshanks. Continuing on with Requiem by Robyn Young.

Just finished Madensky Square by Eva Ibbotson, I was in pre-WWI Vienna in 1911

I'm in 1900 New Orleans - Coming Through Slaughter.

The first episode of Outlander is available free online!

Premiere date is 9 August. Cheers!

I just finished (in one day) Hornblower and the Crisis. this was a great UNFINISHED novel as he died before it ended with only notes to indicate what he had in mind. What he did write was awesome though. Two short stories were added to flesh out the book...they were pretty good two but no where near the quality of the main story. {sigh} I wish he finished it.

I am going to start a Sister Fidelma mystery Suffer Little Children by Peter Ellis...I finally found the third book of the series

Just started The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth. (touchstones not working for the book). Long-listed for Man-Brooker. Set in England 2-3 years after the Norman conquest and written in something resembling English of the period. So far very grim and poetic. Surprisingly easy to follow the language; based on reviews I thought this would be difficult. I'm going to take it on holiday so I can appreciate the fine rhythm of the writing without interruption.

Thanks for the tip about the Outlander episode! I just watched it. Pretty good! Casting was good and it stuck to the book.

I don't subscribe to Starz; guess I'll have to wait for Netflicks to see the rest.

Now I'm in 1877 in Cambridge in The Suffragette Scandal.

I'm time traveling back a century in my home city--A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Just got into a better school, but I'm hungry all the time!

I am back in WWII Pacific Theatre (Phillipines) in Typhoon...we are on our way in a special forces team to liberate prisoners....Sounds like a Rambo book but pretty dry so far (30 pages in)

I gave up on Typhoon. You don't get involved in the story. It wants to be a novel but long stretches seem to be more of a documentary and when there is a storyline you seem to be in on the edge looking in. You don't follow one person, you don't get into the head of anyone...some grotesque actions on both sides,,,you are introduced to name after name and their background but you soon forget them

I am now starting another book The Thief Taker by T.F. Banks...so far so good.

I am in Regency England with two in one book from Mary Balogh — The Counterfeit Proposal and The Notorious Rake.

I'm also in Regency England with Venetia by Georgette Heyer

I'm slogging my way through magical early 19th century Britain in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell.

I'm in the middle of the Atlantic from Southampton to NYC on a ship in the 1930's in Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen.

>134 varielle:

Just wondering, why is it a slog? Poor writing? That one is on my Mount TBR, too.

Tedious and dull.

>137 varielle:

Hmmmm...given the size of my Mount TBR, maybe I should just put it back on PaperBackSwap, assuming I can get to it without collapsing the carefully stacked pile!

Thanks for the heads up!

Having said that, some people apparently love it. If you are an Austen fan, it's sort if that style with magic thrown in. Just not for me.

I finished The Thief Taker...not a bad mystery but a little lacking in description of the historical times (Napoleonic era London) I never really felt that I was there though, it was an interesting look at law enforcement in London in the form of "Bow Street Runners"

I am changing gears a bit and reading a western No Man's Land by Johnny Quarles but from the looks of it the time seems around the early 1800's...a black man running from a racist deputy moving into the west USA...reads decent so far.

I am reading something a bit different, too, in the Stockholm Octavo, set in Stockholm, Sweden in 1791. Interesting so far.

Although it's the middle of August I'm reading Sharpe's Christmas. Richard Sharpe is campaigning against Napoleon in Spain and has promised his men a beef dinner for Christmas. Although he doesn't mind slaughtering Frenchmen, he can't bring himself to shoot a young bullock with big brown eyes. Since the French are on the move the bullock and Sharpe may be spared.

>142 varielle: OMG where did you find this book !!! Sharpe's Christmas and Sharpe's Skirmish are the only books left in that series and I cannot find them anywhere.

Apparently my No Man's Land takes place in late 1800's...very good read for a western. I did not find out until someone died and the obit told you when. I reads like an older setting but no bother...IMHO it is a cut above most western novels

I had to order Sharpe's Christmas on line. It is actually two short stories Cornwell wrote for a magazine serial during the Christmas season and republished by the Sharpe Appreciation Society. He rewrote them with more detail prior to putting them into book form. I found mine through www.alibris.com. Wasn't expensive.

In nineteenth century England, on my way home to a country parish in North and South.

I spent yesterday in 1882 in Talk Sweetly to Me.

I'm in present day and 1945 on Okinawa with Above the East China Sea by Sarah Bird.

I'm in Cairo in 1915 in Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters.

I am REALLY enjoying No Man's Land. It is really two or three stories that eventually merge and Quarles does this so well. It is set in the 1890's as you find out as you read. If you like westerns, but are tired of reworked gun fighter plots, if you like to read from a historical perspective, if you like well developed characters (even minor characters) I highly recommend this book...I am 2/3 the way through and cannot put it down.

It is 1802 and I am in the English countryside with Jane Austen helping to solve a murder in Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron.

I'm in 1857 India, near Lucknow in Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald.

I am in north Boston in 1967 in John Irving's "Last Night in Crooked River."

>138 dkhiggin: dk, don't let me discourage you on Jonathan Strange. I've made it about 300 pages in and it's picked up a little. It's taken forever for the major characters to even cross paths, but now that they have it seems things are beginning to happen.

>153 varielle:

Thanks! It's so far down in Mt TBR, who knows when I'll get to it! By then, I may very likely even forget this conversation! :-/

I've posted my long-overdue review of The Golden Mean, a decent historical novel of Alexander the Great and Aristotle as teacher and pupil, in my thread...post #135.

I'm in 15th century France, reading 1920s German author Alfred Neumann's adventure, The Devil. (I couldn't find a touchstone so I made a hyperlink.)

In Maine, at the beginning of the American Revolution with Rabble in arms

I'm in regency London in Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander.

I am looking forward to reading this little read but highly rated novel on ancient Greece and Persia.... Killer of Men by Christian Cameron

I would highly recommend Killer of Men by Christian Cameron if you are into Ancient Greece and Persia....I am a 1/3 of a way through this wonderful book. There is a reason why this book has a rating of about 4.5 stars...it is so well written.

The story is told in the first person by a father talking to his daughter telling her his life story. It is sweet to see the author offer little asides to his daughter as he tells his tale. You sort of feel you and the daughter are seated on the floor with the old man seated in a chair giving his biography. Very good detail on life in those times too, as a peasant, as a soldier and now as a slave...

I am going to look for more books by this author.

Now I'm in 1904 in Think of England.

Just started The Accidental Bride by Jane Feather. It is set in the mid-17th century around the time of the English Civil War.

I'm now in the late 12th century in France, and eventually the Holy Land, with The Lute Player by Norah Lofts.

How did I reach this advanced age and never heard of Norah Lofts before? Just sad. She's a wonderful writer!

In the 1870's in Dodge City, KS with Doc Holliday in Doc by Mary Doria Russell. An enjoyable read so far.

It is 1780's, Ross Poldark has just arrived back to the Cornwall area of England following the American Revolution. His father has recently died leaving him only a rundown property with a played-out mine. He is disabled...his girlfriend has decided to marry another man. He is just walked into his father's house...door open, rats, chickens through the rooms and the only servants there are drunk and disgustingly lying in eachother's arms.

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham looks like an interesting read.

I have made it to 1849 Santa Fe with that horribly naughty Harry Flashman and a wagon train of trollops bound for California in the highly politically incorrect Flashman and the Redskins. He only wants to get home to sweet old England, but women, the law and almost all native American tribes are hot on his trail.

I'm in the 1480s in Notre Dame de Paris.

Just finished Ross Poldark an excellent read, nothing outstanding but a nice reflection or life in Cornwall, UK in the 1780-90's. This is the first book of a series...second book is something I will be looking for.

1878 on a U.S. naval Arctic expedition
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

I am in Paris, sometime between the World Wars, I'd guess (it's not made clear), learning about life in the high end restaurant kitchens of the City of Light, reading Idwal Jones' 1945 novel, High Bonnet.

I'm in Landsborough in the Gulf Country of Australia, 1950s, with In the Wet by Nevil Shute. He's a favorite of mine.

I've been reading some Regency romances lately...don't judge!

Finished Once and Always and Something Wonderful and currently reading Almost Heaven, all by Judith McNaught. Really enjoying them!

Not sure when this story takes place but it is some time in the 1800's in Australia, a story of a family whose father was an illegitimate son of a female convict living in the back country of New South Wales. - Outback by Aaron Fletcher - Thumbing pages I like the detailed descriptions...looks like a decent read

I'm in London in 1384 in Cup of Blood.

Just finished A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught. It was set in 1497 in England and Scotland. Very enjoyable!

Currently reading The Shining Mountains by Dale Van Every. It begins with Matthew Morgan setting out with Lewis & Clark to explore the Mighty Missouri in1804.

Just finished reading Outback by Aaron Fletcher, probably the best read of early days of colonization I have read. It does have the frustration of reading a James A. Mitchener novel in that you just start liking a character then they fast forward and the person dies of old age {sigh}. But as my review will say this is a very will written novel with excellent character development of its main characters, and painting of the settings/stories. It is a series and I was lucky to read the first one... I will definitely have fun searching for others by this author.... he deserves a wider readership than so far shown on this site.

I'm in 1911 in The Museum of Extraordinary Things, because the librarian has to read the book club books way early to have time to prep.

Just arrived in 19th C Paris to work with a famous sculture in Rodin's Lover.

I'm in London in 1830 in Master of Pleasure.

It is 666AD I am with Sister Fidelma trying to solve the mystery of a headless novice found in a well at the Abbey of the Salmon of Three Wells in southwest Ireland in The Subtle Serpent by Peter Ellis. In addition to her main mission, on her travels by sea to reach the Abbey there is an abandoned Gaul ship inside which she finds a bag with a book she gave a friend, Brother Eadulf in Rome.

Another satisfying read of Sister Fidelma's investigative talents.

I am in 2010 in One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis.

>181 mnleona: somehow I don' think a book set in 2010 qualifies as historical fiction

I'm near the end of Napolean because Richard Sharpe has invaded France and has a nasty head wound to show for his trouble in Sharpe's Siege.

I'm somewhere in the 1880's in Willa Cather's O Pioneers!. And I just found out my husband is there as well reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's The Bully Pulpit.

I'm in various places in France, rereading Ninety-Three.

I am not sure this is historical fiction or historical biography but it is the 1930's a young Japanese girl and her sister of a fisherman whose wife is dying have just been sold and taken by train to Kyoto which is a world away from their small fishing village in a novel titled Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden....40 pages in and riveted to the book.

Just left 1964 and a small village in Ireland when I finished An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor.

In both the past and the future. Connie Willis' time-travel fantasy, The Doomsday book is set in 2054 and the 14th century.

I am in the past and present with The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman. Present is in England and past begins in 1599 Turkey.

Rereading The Skull and the Nightingale.

I'm A Traveller in Time slipping in and out of Elizabethan England around the edges of the Babington Plot to rescue Mary Queen of Scots.

I'm in France in the 1880's as Camille and Auguste are just starting their fateful romance in my latest ER book, Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb. It's really a fascinating story.

Mare Island, Vallejo, California, 1903. Margaret Early is attempting to adjust to an entirely different way of life at a naval installation, having grown up on a farm near St. Louis, Missouri. The novel is "Private Life" by Jane Smiley. Interesting take on women's attitudes and behavior of that time.

I'm somewhere in Canada with Mary Boulton in 1903 as she flees her brothers-in-law. I'm reading The Outlander by Gil Adamson.

So far, it's a bit too "psychological" for me...

Maine in the 1880s with the Moosepath League and Mrs Roberto, the fearless and lovely lady ascensionist.

>194 dkhiggin: give the Outlander a chance...it will grow on you...I liked the book

I'm experiencing the Dreyfus Affair in 1890s Paris courtesy of Robert Harris' An Officer and a Spy.

>196 Lynxear:
It's getting better...but it will go in the PaperBackSwap pile when I'm done!!

>198 dkhiggin: you have one of those too... mine is a cloth shopping bag...when it gets full I take it to the local used book store. I did not take The Outlander back though, I kept it.

I'm rereading The Fallen Angels, probably for the last time. I think the eye-rolling has finally overtaken my enjoyment of this book.