Stonehenge, by Bernard Cornwell (2000)

While waiting for my local library to gather all four volumes of Cornwell's Nathaniel Starbuck series, I picked up Stonehenge. Normally averse to pre-historic novels, but respectful of Cornwell's story-weaving skill, the book proved to be a worthwhile diversion.

Subtitled: 2000 B.C. (presumably for symmetry with the book's publication date), Stonehenge can't really be called a historical novel - it's more of an archaeological novel. Cornwell studied the research to date on the neolithic construction in England, which has resulted in quite a lot of information about the construction timeline, origins of the different types of stone, construction methods, possible uses of the various parts of the structure, etc. From this wealth of data, Cornwell invented an interesting tale of the late bronze-age: rivalries and conflicts between  tribal societies, leaders and religious traditions - in other words, the same kind of human drama that continues today.

The 5 criteria can't be applied to Stonehenge, so I'll just say that it was an enjoyable read, and far less speculative than most prehistoric tales. The story incorporates a lot of what archaeologists have deduced from the site's remains, in a much more entertaining way than plowing through a stack of journal articles.

The Sharpe series, by Bernard Cornwell

The prolific Bernard Cornwell began his "Sharpe" series of historical novels in 1980. The most recent was published in 2006. Waiting until now (although not intentional) allowed me to read them in chronological order rather than published order, which is quite different. Cornwell's website includes an explanatory list. Historically, the series begins in 1799 (Tiger) and ends in 1820 (Devil).

The stories follow the military career of the fictional Richard Sharpe, who rises through the ranks from private to colonel in the British army. Sharpe's units mostly serve under the command of Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. Notable digressions allow Sharpe to be present at Trafalgar with Nelson in 1805, and to meet Napoleon on St. Helena and Cochrane in Chile in 1820. The short novels share a title structure (Sharpe's xxx), several characters and a lot of descriptive detail so, rather than review individual novels, it seems better to talk about the series as a whole.

If there is one consistent criticism of the Sharpe series, it's that large sections of descriptive detail appear with little alteration in each of the novels. Through sheer repetition, it's unlikely I'll ever forget the process of loading and firing a cannon, flintlock musket or rifle of that era. Some readers are undoubtedly put off by the graphic and gory details of various types of wounds and battlefield sights, sounds and smells. Lest we forget - war is not pretty.

The five criteria:

1. Did the novel inspire me to further historical research?

Yes. I had not previously read much of the history of the Napoleonic Wars, and the Sharpe novels are a pleasure way to begin. The early campaigns in India, especially, were new to me. 
Score = 5

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Yes. For the most part, the battles depicted were actual battles; the campaign movements described are what actually happened, the military units and most of the commanders are historical. Only Sharpe, his circle of closest compatriots and female conquests (usually one per book) are fictional.  
Score = 5

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

Yes. As always with Cornwell, the attention paid to accuracy of historical detail is far greater than most "historical setting" novels. The inclusion of "Historical Notes" at the end of each novel clarifies the extent of artistic liberty taken.
Score = 5

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

Not sure. I haven't yet read biographies of Napoleon, Wellington, Nelson or any of the many other historical figures appearing in these novels, so I can't really say how much they are fictionalized.
Score = ...

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Yes. I'm always sad to reach the end of a Cornwell novel or series, but that has to happen eventually in historical fiction that actually includes the history.
Score = 5

Agincourt (2009) and 1356 (2013), by Bernard Cornwell

The Cornwell reading marathon continues with this pair of novels set in France during what we now call the Hundred Years War. Because of the proximity of dates and locations, I thought there might be some continuity of fictional characters from 1356 (date of the battle of Poiters) to Agincourt (1415). The fact, however, that the earlier novel describes the later historical event should have disabused me of that notion. I now realize that 1356 is actually the fourth novel in Cornwell’s Grail Quest series, featuring fictional hero Thomas of Hookton (the other three are The Archer’s Tale, Vagabond, and Heretic).

As the series title indicates, Thomas of Hookton’s adventures involve a search for various venerated Christian relics reputed to hold extraordinary power. The object of pursuit in 1356 is the sword wielded by Saint Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane to cut off the ear of one of those come to arrest Jesus (insert chapter and verse here). Cornwell’s mastery of and faithfulness to historical detail raises 1356 far above the level of other Christian mystery/intrigue/thriller novels like The Da Vinci Code.

Both of these novels are somewhat disappointing to a reader interested in the history. Compared to The Fort, with its skillful construction of fictionalized historical characters from their own writings, these two seem shallow and formulaic. The overarching historical theme seems to be an argument that the English longbowmen of that period were almost superhuman in mastery of their deadly weapon - enough to bring unlikely victory to the badly outnumbered English armies.

Still, these are very well-written and entertaining tales, if somewhat over-the-top in blood and gore. Fans of Cornwell's Sharpe series will enjoy Agincourt. 1356 has the added medieval mysticism of the Grail Quest.

The five criteria:

1. Did the novels inspire me to further historical research?

Yes, to some extent - mainly because these were my first novels set in the Hundred Years War. Some follow-up reading about the English longbow was interesting.
Score = 3

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Yes, but I would have liked more - including an explanation of the spelling change from Azincourt to Agincourt for the American edition.
Score = 3

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

Yes, although the abilities of the longbowmen were somewhat exaggerated for dramatic effect.
Score = 4

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

Probably - Cornwell is very conscientious. I don't yet have any straight biography to provide a comparison. The historical characters weren't deeply involved in the fictional story, so there wasn't much need to question their actions.
Score = 4

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Yes. Both Thomas of Hookton and Nicholas Hook are compelling lead characters.
Score = 5

The Fort, by Bernard Cornwell (2010)

Over three years ago, I read and wrote about a historical novel called Arundel, by Kenneth Roberts, set in what is now the state of Maine in the early days of the Revolutionary War (1775). In that novel, I learned a lot about a neglected chapter of that war's history, so I was excited to discover The Fort - another Revolutionary War novel set in Maine. Bernard Cornwell is a reliably excellent historical novelist, and The Fort is another well-researched and written novel from the prolific author.

I was surprised, however, to find no connection at all between the events described and the story of Arundel. For starters, The Fort is set four years later - near the end of the war. All of the main characters in Arundel had moved on to other theaters and one - Benedict Arnold - had even changed sides. Secondly, although the physical distance between the two stories was minimal, the remoteness and small population of Maine meant there was little communication between the scattered towns. Nothing that happened in Arundel led in any way to the events of The Fort. The only continuity I found was the ineptitude of the divided and contentious American military command structure - which was a major factor in the failure of both campaigns.

The Fort tells the story of the Penobscot Expedition, which resulted in a resounding British victory that nevertheless had little effect on the outcome of the war. The war drama, in Cornwell's capable hands,  is full of memorable characters - some of whom went on to become well known historical figures. Most prominent of all - from an American perspective - is Paul Revere, who served as an artillery officer in the Massachusetts militia sent from Boston along with a large naval force to recapture Penobscot Bay after the British sent an occupying force from their base at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The titular fort built and defended by the British forces was called Fort George.

Cornwell's specialty is graphic descriptions of historical battle scenes, but the verbal encounters among the various military commanders in The Fort are even more interesting. The fictional writing is interspersed with text from actual letters written at the time by the novel's characters.  

The five criteria:

1. Did the novel inspire me to further historical research?

Yes. In particular, the role of rebel privateers in the war warrants investigation - either in novels (if available) or in straight history. On the other hand, the Penobscot Expedition was such an isolated action that it doesn't really point to any lead-in or follow-up Revolutionary War events.

Score = 4

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Yes. The inclusion of many historical letters is just one of the ways Cornwell showed that he did his homework before writing. As always in a Cornwell novel, the descriptions of ships, weapons and tactics used, along with domestic details like food, housing and clothing  are interesting and well-researched.

Score =5

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

Yes. Inclusion of historical notes following a novel always scores points with me, and Cornwell is very good about explaining his sources and noting where he occasionally takes minor artistic liberties with events.
Score = 5

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

Probably, mostly. It's always risky for a novelist to use fictionalized historical persons as main characters, but the historical letters tend to back up Cornwell's depictions. Especially interesting is the fictionalized Paul Revere who, as Cornwell notes, is known to us today mainly as the heroic midnight rider in Longfellow's famous poem. The real man apparently did not always live up to that high standard - which should come as no surprise to readers of history. A point gets subtracted here just as a caveat about the inherent dangers of fictionalizing real people, but Cornwell's Paul Revere is certainly more accurate than Longfellow's, so one can argue that Revere's reality had already been distorted.  

Score = 4

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Yes. Happily, Cornwell is incredibly prolific and it will take quite a while to get caught up. Already consumed and awaiting a writeup is Redcoat, another excellent Revolutionary War novel.
Score = 5

Bird of Another Heaven (2007), by James D. Houston

The previous post discussed Snow Mountain Passage (2001), by James D. Houston. Six years later, Houston published Bird of Another Heaven. Not surprisingly, it has some similarities in style. Like the earlier novel, Bird uses a fictional present-day narrator to introduce the main fictional historical characters. Those characters' stories are self-narrated and/or related by the modern character. A diary is again used as a self-narrative device for one of the earlier characters.

Unlike Snow Mountain Passage, the contemporary character's real-time story is an important part of the overall narrative, and is skillfully used to pull the historical strands together into a reflection on the classic "what we've gained / what we've lost" discussion that makes the history even more compelling.

The present-day protagonist is a public radio talk show host named Sheridan "Dan" Brody. He knows that he is of mixed racial ancestry, but his father's early death and his mother's reluctance to talk about the past have left him without much information about his heritage. His quest to recover his family story is the plot device that pulls together all of the historical threads.

Bird of Another Heaven begins with a visit to San Francisco in 1891 by David Kalakaua, last King of Hawai'i. What was intended to be a brief visit turns out to be the final episode of his eventful life. From that beginning, the novel swings both to future and past. Dan eventually learns that his birth father's name was Sheridan Wadell, that he is a distant cousin of that Hawai'ian king, and that he also has native Californian ancestry along with his mother's Arkansas anglo heritage.

The story of how the blood of Hawai'ian royalty and a northern California Miwok village came to be combined in Dan Brody, and how his discovery of that heritage affects his present-time view of his place in the world, are the central themes of Bird of Another Heaven. Along the way, the reader learns about a number of historical events and characters, including the Swiss entrepreneur Johan "John" Sutter, who had to sail first to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to get from Oregon to California in 1838. While there, he hired a dozen Hawaiians willing to go with him to unexplored regions of the Sacramento River in Mexican Alta California and help build a new settlement among the Miwok. That wilderness settlement became known as Sutter's Fort, and evolved into the capitol city of the state.

This novel, like Snow Mountain Passage, gets straight "5"s on my criteria, so there's no need to go through the whole list. There's one thing I wish Houston could have done that would have made Bird of Another Heaven even more fun (for me and other fans of serial hist-fic). The one historical character with a significant role in both novels is John Sutter. Unfortunately, his appearance in Bird of Another Heaven is in 1838, while in Snow Mountain Passage, the year is 1846. That made it impossible to include, in the later novel, a reference to Sutter's role in the earlier novel, or repeat appearances by fictional characters. Sutter's kanaka mistress is a fictional character in Snow Mountain Passage, but no other Hawai'ians figure into the Donner Party story. The author may have had no desire to include such a self-reference anyway, since these two novels cannot be considered serial in any significant sense.  

      

Snow Mountain Passage (2001), by James D. Houston

I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to reading the work of James D. Houston, but better late than never. The scarcity of quality historical fiction about early California made my belated discovery especially exciting. Steinbeck is great, but short on actual historical people and events. After that, it's Ramona and Zorro. In addition, Houston lived in Santa Cruz as I do, and is one of the most accomplished local writers ever. Snow Mountain Passage (2001) was a large step toward filling the void of well-written California hist-fic although, sadly, Houston himself is no longer with us.

The central historical event of Snow Mountain Passage is the ill-fated 1846 westward migration of the Donner party, which became trapped by an early onset of winter and was forced to spend almost four months in the snow at the summit of its transit of the Sierra Nevada Range. Following  rescue in February of 1847, lurid tales of starvation, death and cannibalism made the story uncomfortable for many, especially for the survivors.

Houston tells the story mainly from the viewpoints of James Frazier Reed and his younger daughter Patty. Reed was one of the party's organizers and leaders, but was forced to leave after a controversial incident on the trail that resulted in the death of another man. Ironically, separation from the main party allowed Reed to cross the mountains before the heavy snows of October made passage impossible. Once he realized that the party was trapped, he spent the next four months attempting to organize a rescue, traveling all over northern California seeking help and support. Compounding the difficulty was the onset of the Mexican-American War, begun in June of 1846, that had taken most of the able-bodied men away to fight with Colonel John C. Fremont in the south.

Patty Read stayed with her mother, brother and sister in the main Donner party, and lived through that awful winter. In the novel, she remembers those events from the perspective of old age, living out her final years at her daughter's home in Santa Cruz (as she actually did). Patty's account of the desperate day-to-day ordeal in the mountains contrasts jarringly with her father's frantic quest to rescue her and the rest of the party.

The five criteria:

1. Did the novel inspire me to further historical research?

Yes.  I knew the general outlines of the Donner party story, but had never heard of James Read's rescue efforts, and how they were complicated by the war in California. This novel inspired me to read more about state history in that time, in addition to the whole westward exploration/migration period.
Score = 5

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Yes. While the Donner party - during the entire year of its trip to California - was almost entirely cut off from larger events, Houston did an excellent job of keeping their story firmly set in a larger context.   
Score = 5

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

Yes. Where Houston's interpretation of events might be controversial, he let the reader know that others had different stories. Patty Read's reflections come over 70 years after the fact, and she defends her father's actions while acknowledging the various rumors, theories and speculations that stubbornly clung to the tale of the Donner party over the years. The account of other historical events squares with what I've read elsewhere.
Score = 5

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

As much as it can ever be.  The usual caveat applies: this is a novel, and the historical characters are by necessity fictionalized. As far as I could tell, there are no purely fictional major characters in Snow Mountain Passage. Houston's skillful writing brings interesting historical characters such as John Sutter to life without violating the historical record.
Score = 5

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Yes. See the next blog entry - Bird of Another Heaven.  Score = 5

"Roma" and "Empire", by Steven Saylor

Several fine historical fiction writers have been working the Roman historical-detective sub-genre for the past two decades. I've enjoyed the exploits of recurring protagonists Decius Caecillius Metellus (John Maddox Roberts), Marcus Didius Falco (Lindsey Davis) and Gordianus the Finder (Steven Saylor). More recently, Steven Saylor has decided to tackle the broader sweep of ancient Roman history with two major novels: Roma (2007) and its sequel, Empire (2010).

Roma is a welcome addition to the already considerable wealth of historical fiction set in ancient Rome, because it begins at the beginning. Having never summoned up the fortitude to wade into scholarly tomes on the origins of Roman mythology, religion and tradition, I'm happy that Saylor has provided a very entertaining and well-researched fictional framework for such Roman idiocyncracies as the worship of Hercules, Vestal virgins, Lupercalia, the Stairs of Cacus and the Hut of Romulus. In the past, when those subjects came up in Colleen McCullough - or, for that matter, in Roberts, Davis or Saylor - I had to accept their strangeness without knowing the origins. For other readers who find themselves in the same predicament, read Roma and all will be explained.

Saylor uses the tried-and-true Michener structure for maintaining story continuity through hundreds of years of history: several fictional families descend through many generations, interacting with each other and with major historical events and persons along the way. The progression begins in the days when Rome was just a crossroads for the east-west travels of  coastal salt miners and the north-south route of Etruscan metal workers (c.1000 BC). From those pre-literate days, Roma continues up through the final triumph of Augustus over Antony and Cleopatra (1 BC). The sequel, Empire, picks up at that point and continues to the pinnacle of the Roman Empire under Hadrian.

The last two chapters of Roma get into some familiar history and characters: Sulla, Julius Caesar, Octavian-Augustus. Empire begins in territory made familiar to historical fiction readers by Robert Graves' I, Claudius novels. Saylor sails on (did I really just write that?) past Claudius into the reign of Nero, the chaotic "year of four emperors", the Flavians (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian - the Marcus Didius Falco milieu) Trajan and Hadrian. Nero and Domitian get more space and character analysis than other emperors of this period (and more sympathetic treatment than in Suetonius). After Trajan, the excellent Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar provides another fictional perspective on the last emperor of Empire.

Since all historical novels must now be trilogies, I assume Saylor is planning a third installment in this series, to cover the "decline and fall". I look forward to his take on Marcus Aurelius, his successor Commodus (the villain in the movie Gladiator), and maybe on to the final triumph of Christianity under the Constantinians (despite the best efforts of Gore Vidal's pagan Julian). Not much historical fiction in the middle of that stretch, so I'm hoping Saylor will shed some light. For a nostalgic final look at the very end of the western Roman Empire, I recommend the outstanding The Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears.

The five criteria:

1. Did the novel inspire me to further historical research?

Yes. I may even get into a few of the non-fiction works listed by Saylor in his "Author's Note" (as I've said before, I love it when hist-fict authors talk about their sources) 
Score = 5

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Plenty. I'm sure Saylor's main problem with such large expanses of time was deciding which stories to tell and which to leave out.

Score = 5

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

As much as possible, especially for the early chapters of Roma.  The very early history of Rome is shrouded in prehistoric legend, and Saylor constructs a very plausible narrative. In the later, better documented periods, nothing Saylor wrote clashed seriously with what I've read elsewhere. As a semi-serious student of architectural history, I appreciated Saylor's descriptions of some famous Roman structures: the first aqueduct, the Appian Way, Nero's Golden House, the Temple of Venus and Roma, and the Flavian Colosseum.
Score = 5

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

While some historical characters have fairly major roles in these two novels, their actions stick pretty close to the historical sources. Saylor did not try to get into their heads, in contrast to novelists like McCullough and Graves. 

Score = 5

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Can't wait for the next one.  
Score = 5 

Paris, by Edward Rutherfurd

Edward Rutherfurd is the closest thing we have to a reincarnation of James Michener, and he has said that he was inspired by Michener's historical novel style: weaving together stories of multiple generations of fictional family members representing different points in the historical timeline of a particular place. His latest takes on the City of Light - Paris. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed all of Rutherfurd's earlier novels, Paris is a worthy addition - a very well-written and well-researched novel of epic scope and impeccable historical research.

Unlike some of his earlier fictionalized place-histories, Rutherfurd chose not to begin at the beginning with Paris. Julius Caesar and the Parisii do not make appearances. The Franks only get a passing mention. Rutherfurd's Paris chronicle opens in the "Belle Epoque" year of 1875, delving back as far as 1261, where the relationships between the several fictional families are established (with a brief reference to the earlier tale of Roland, Abelard and Eloise).

Quite a number of historical characters get speaking roles in Paris, but are mostly limited to single scenes with one of the fictional cast. Henry IV, Richelieu, a young dauphin soon to become Louis XIV, Robespierre, Eiffel, Monet, Hemingway. All three Napoleons and their whole era are conspicuously absent, but the flow of the story is unaffected.

The greatest weakness of most historical fiction writers is character development, and Rutherfurd is no exception. His fictional Parisians are interesting and reasonably complex, but the need to give space to historical persons and events always shortchanges the fictional characters. They behave in ways that are quirky, illogical and irrational - in other words, completely human - yet most are not really satisfying because you don't get a feel for what makes them tick as people. Still, as historical novels go, the fictional characters are pretty good.

Overall, this an outstanding example of historical fiction at its best. The five criteria:

1. Did the novel inspire me to further historical research?

Yes. Even while reading, I was often compelled to take a break and consult Google Earth or Wikipedia to learn more about some detail of Paris history touched on in the novel.
Score = 5

2. Did the novel include enough history to make it an interesting historical story?

Yes. All of Rutherfurd's expansive novels are crammed with historical detail, but without ever becoming pedantic.
Score = 5

3. Was the depiction of historical events accurate?

Yes. I appreciated that, on the occasions where Rutherfurd chose a possibly controversial version of a story, he found ways to communicate that to the reader. An example was the French army mutinies of 1917, in WWI. Of course, the true extent of the mutinies was kept secret even in France until recently. In other cases, I didn't feel a need to fact-check details that had no effect on the story line - such as that fact that Henry IV smelled really bad (even by the standards of his time, apparently).
Score = 5

4. Was the depiction of historical characters accurate?

Yes, as far as it went. There were a lot of historical figures, but mostly walk-ons.  
Score = 3

5. Would I read another novel by this author, continuing in this historical period, with these characters (or new ones)?

Yes. I always look forward eagerly to the next Edward Rutherfurd novel. What's next, I wonder? Berlin? Rome? Vienna? Whatever it is, it will be well worth reading.
Score = 5