Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught X 101 (examples: YA fantasy 101, feminist literature 101, magic in YA 101, classic YA lit 101, world-building 101).
After changing my mind a few times, I’ve settled on historical fiction as the subject of my imaginary course. I love historical fiction — the idea that we can learn about a particular time and place in history, experience something of what life might have been like, meet real historical figures, and appreciate all the ups and downs and dramatic tensions of really great fiction.
Of course, even within historical fiction, there are a wide variety of approaches and types. There are the novels that are super faithful to historical detail, and are fiction only in that the dialogue and interactions, based on historical records, are dramatized or imagined in some way. There are those that center on purely fictional characters, but place them in a specific era or at the scene of a well-known conflict or historical turning point. There are some that take a real or imagined supporting character (for example, a jester to the king) and retell history through this observer’s eyes. And there are some (near and dear to my heart) that take a historical setting and add a mystical, mysterious, magical twist to make them something unique.
(Actually, there are tons more examples of types of historical fiction than just these, but hey, it’s my Historical Fiction 101 class, and this is what I’m covering!)
Without further ado, here are the 10 (or so) historical fiction books that belong on my syllabus:
Starting with some 20th century classics of the genre:
1) I’d start my class with a trio of blockbuster novels from the 1970s, all of which created a huge pop culture impact at the time, and absolutely epitomize the idea of grand, sweeping historical fiction: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, Shogun by James Clavell, and Roots by Alex Haley. (Yes, three books — I’m cheating a bit.)
2) How can we talk about historical fiction without including James Michener? Talk about blockbusters! Michener’s works tend to be huge, multi-generational works tracing the history of a particular place by visiting multiple eras and connecting the dots from one decade or century to another. Two that I particularly love are Alaska and Hawaii, each of which literally covers millions of years, from the earliest geological origins of the area up through the 20th century.
Moving on to examples of historical fiction that are a bit more concentrated in scope — first, a few that capture an era through the experiences of a fictional character:
3) The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd, about a Scotswoman’s journey through love and scandal in the Far East in the first half of the 20th century.
4) People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, moving backward through time to trace the origins of a valuable Haggadah, with each time period brought to life through the people in whose hands the book rested.
5) I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe, a heartbreaking love story set during the Civil War.
Next, a few that take the eyewitness to history approach — in one case, a fictional character meeting up with some of the most influential political forces of the time:
6) Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell, making a riveting story out of a political conference in Cairo, with a spinsterish woman from Ohio witnessing history in the making at the side of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, and more.
And two others that portray unforgettable events or people through the eyes of real people from the time, imagining their narration or point of view, and shifting the narrative from the center of attention to a person normally in a supporting role:
7) Snow Mountain Passage by James D. Houston, telling the story of the Donner Party through the eyes of one of its younger members, Peggy Reed.
8) Wolf Hall (and Bringing Up the Bodies) by Hillary Mantel, a brilliant visit to the Tudor court, observing Henry VIII and his wives from the vantage point of Thomas Cromwell.
Finally, two books (or series) that excel at introducing the inexplicable into a historical tale:
9) The Winter Sea (and sequel The Firebird) by Susanna Kearsley, in which time slips and visions of the past bring contemporary and historical figures together. In fact, almost any of Susanna Kearsley’s books would make great examples of fiction that illustrates a particular historical period by adding in a mysterious or supernatural element.
10) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Surely you didn’t expect me to write about historical fiction without a big shout-out to the Outlander series? Take a time traveling voyager from the 20th century, introduce her to a practically perfect Highlander, and we get not just steamy romance, but an amazing history lesson that brings to life all the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of the 18th century.
What do you think — would you want to take my Historical Fiction 101 course?
What’s on your “101” list this week? Share your links, please, and I’ll come check out your top 10!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!
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Bookshelf Fantasies 
I love your topic!
I’ve actually only read Outlander -and only the first book at that- so I really have to start with some of these. I’ve never read anything by James Michener, but I’ll definitely look into that now. I’ve picked up a lot of recommendations thanks to this, so thanks 🙂
Great list!
Thank you! I ended up really like Michener after reading his Hawaii book before my very first trip to Hawaii — the whole experience was so much more meaningful to me when I could connect the places I visited to the stories I’d read. 🙂
I would definitely want to take your historical fiction class. It seems like I’d learn a lot! 🙂
Ha ha, thank you! I promise, not too much homework! 🙂
I don’t really read historical fiction so feeling a bit dumb when I look at your list! I have heard amazing things about Outlander though! I agree with ChrissiReads, taking your class would certainly teach me a lot about historical fiction! 🙂
Outlander is really amazing – I hope you check it out! Thanks for visiting. 🙂
I remember Michener and Clavell from back in the day – they were huge! I always wondered about Michener and his big doorstopper books- never read any but was intrigued by his attention to a geograpgic location in each one. Might be interesting now to take a look…
And Gabaldon’s stuff- while it’s not my thing, I’ve always liked the covers of those and the book titles. Very evocative. Great list- this would be a fun class!
Thanks! I’ve read Michener a few times now before going on trips, and it’s been such fun as a way to prepare for wherever I’m going.
YAY for Outlander! I love that series, it’s well written, and the historical details are mostly accurate, too. And I love that there are some fantasy elements included as well.
Great list 🙂
Thank you! Outlander really is one of the best things ever, isn’t it? 🙂
Ooooh interesting. I love a bit of historical fiction works. I am just starting the Dragonfly In Amber and I am enjoying it thus far. Great list 🙂
My TTT https://jazminjade.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/top-ten-tuesday-fantasy-101/
Oh, yay for Dragonfly in Amber! It’s such a good one – I hope you love it!
The Thornbirds! I remember lugging that giant book around with me while in high school. It was something else.
Someone just gave my daughter a copy recently, and even though she still hasn’t read it, my husband ended up borrowing her copy! I should probably reread it, except I’m afraid it would end up rekindling my inappropriate crush on Father Ralph.
Excellent & well-thought-out choices! My TTT
Thanks! This ended up being a really fun one to put together. 🙂
I’m so happy to see Wolf Hall made your list!
Check out my TTT and my Read This? Watch This! Tag.
It was such a great book! I ended up missing the mini-series, but maybe I’ll catch up this fall.
I would love to take your course! Great topic, and I love the diversity of your book choices. I havn’t read any of them, but they all sound wonderful. Especially pulled together in a collection like this. Great job!
Thanks so much! This ended up being a really fun exercise… even though I really waited until the last minute to even think about it! 🙂
What a neat topic! I haven’t read any of them but they sound fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
Check out my TTT here: https://greenishbookshelf.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/top-10-tuesday-books-on-my-syllabus-if-i-taught-classic-british-lit-101/
Thank you! I appreciate the nice comment!
Great list! Yay for many of these titles (Shogun, Wolf Hall, Book of the People, Thorn Birds) 🙂 I’m reading The Winter Sea right now and OMG, why didn’t I pick this book up sooner? ❤ it so far 😀
My TTT
I noticed that you were on a Susanna Kearsley kick! Once you finish The Winter Sea, make sure to pick up The Firebird. I love all of her books… sigh.
Awesome list. I love historical fiction, especially books set in WWII. And I cannot believe that I have never read Thorn Birds. Great topic!
Ooh, The Thorn Birds was probably the first historical fiction I read outside of middle grade and teen fiction! It’s really wonderful. 🙂
I loved it! Would definitely take your course!
My TTT: https://thesassygeek.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/top-ten-tuesday-ya-fantasy-101/
Ha, thank you! It’s such fun to think about.
I’ve had People of the Book on my shelf forever! And The Winter Sea has such a pretty cover. I found settling on a topic for this week difficult as well, but I like how your list turned out!
It’s funny you mention the cover of The Winter Sea — that’s one of the few books I bought absolutely because of the cover, and then luckily, it turned out that the book itself really appealed to me as well. 🙂 People of the Book is amazing. Thanks for stopping by!
I would be interested in taking your class! I haven’t read any of the books on your list but I might add a few to my TBR list. Especially ‘The Ginger Tree’. 🙂
The Ginger Tree is so good! It’s been at least 10 years since I first read it, but some of the details are still so vivid in my mind. Thanks for stopping by!
IS THAT I SHALL BE NEAR YOU?? Seriously, I’ve been wanting that book for ages! Is it good? I hope it’s good. 😀
Anyway, HF is a beautiful genre. I only read few of HF though, like Storyteller by Picoult, All the Light We Cannot See and some others. I want to read so much more. Amazing post!
I Shall Be Near To You is such a beautiful, amazing book. I actually have two review posts for it — one a guest review by a friend and one by me, with reasons to read the book. Loved it! (Plus, the author is super nice and participated in my online book group’s discussion of the book). I loved All the Light also, and still need to read Storyteller! Thanks for visiting!!
I can’t wait to read it! I’m going to check out your reviews, get ready for likes to come your way 😀 Thank you for replying!
Nice work. I am hoping that one day someone will allow me to teach a course on Western History, in which I solely use historical fiction to teach 3500 years of civilization. I would begin with the Ancient Greeks (Mary Renault’s Fire from Heaven), the Ancient Romans (Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series), Ken Follett for the middle ages, Hilary Mantel for Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel again for the French Revolution (A Place of Greater Safety). There are still a lot of pieces I need to fill in. I came across your post while searching online for a syllabus to help inspire me.
Sounds like a fascinating course! I would have loved learning about history through historical fiction back in my school days.