Historical fiction...
Since there hasn't been a new fannish5 set of questions this week, I'll answer the set from July 10: Name your five favorite works of historical fiction, and why you love them. I wanted to do this, because historical fiction is my favourite genre - rare these days, and quality historical fiction ever rarer.
A. Books:
- The Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett. Set in Europe, particularly Scotland, in the mid-sixteenth century. Anyone who doesn't know these are my favourite books hasn't been paying attention. I love them because they are historically epic; because they are funny and tragic and heroic; and because Francis Crawford of Lymond is the most compelling and brilliant bastard of a hero I have ever encountered.
- The Roma sub Rosa series about Gordianus the Finder by Steven Saylor. Detective stories set in late Republican Rome, each centering on a historical event. Good characters, good history.
- The Alexander books by Mary Renault, Fire From Heaven and The Persian Boy. The two books cover the life of Alexander the Great; the first is about his youth, the second about his conquest of the world as seen through the eyes of his Persian lover, the dancer Bagoas.
- The Lost Queen of Egypt by Lucille Morrison. I read this at twelve, and formed a passion for ancient Egypt and its history. It's a fictionalized account of the life of Ankhsenpaaten, wife of Tutankhamum and daughter Akhenaten. For me, then, it brought the picture of an Egyptian court to life before my eyes.
- Ariel by Andre Maurois. Another book which I read at 13 or so, which fed my passion for the English Romantic poets and their philosophies.
- The Lion in Winter, a 1968 movie starring Peter O'Toole as King Henry II of England, and Katharine Hepburn as and his estranged and imprisoned wife. They get together with their sons at Chinon for Christmas of 1183, and use wit to excoriate each other. The movie also had a young and beautiful Timothy Dalton as King Philippe of France, and John Castle as Prince Geoffrey. This movie fanned my love of the middle ages in general, and got me interested enough in the real, historical Henry II to read as much as I could about him. The path to twelfth century studies at King's College, London. It's based on a play by James Goldman, which I worked on for the Ottawa Ltttle Theatre's production. There was a remake of the movie in 2003, with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close as Henry and Eleanor, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Philippe - wonderful casting, that. I liked it very much as well.
- Becket. Once again we have Peter O'Toole playing Henry II, in a movie that is historically nonense in just about every way - but it's an interesting portrayal of conscience, church vs. state, and moral dilemmas. Of course I always thought Becket was wrong - how could he betray his friend? and oppose the state-building and national autonomy that Henry was fostering? Richard Burton won an Oscar for his portrayal of Thomas Becket, but mostly I, shallowly, liked him for his beautiful soulful eyes, his great voice, and his good costumes. Based on a play by Jean Anouilh.
- Dangerous Liaisons, with Glen Close as the Marquise de Mereuil and John Malkovitch as the Vicomte de Valmont, using the young innocents around them ruthlessly in their games of psychological seduction. A cute young Keanu Reeves plays the Chevalier Dancenay.
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), with Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh and Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I. Opulent, bittersweet, and deeply romantic.
- Marquise (2007), with Sophie Marceau as the mistress of the French playwright Racine. Sophie Marceau is gorgeous.
- Roar (1997) - Fantasy set in 5th century Ireland, with Heath Ledger playing a prince who fights the Romans.
- The Devil's Crown (1978) - The story of the early Plantagenets, with Brian Cox this time as Henry II.
- By the Sword Divided (1983) - a story about the English Civil war and a family torn apart by it.
- Brother Cadfael (1994) - murder mysteries in which the sleuth is an ex-crusader monk in Shrewesbury, based on an excellent series of novels by Ellis Peters. I confess: I don't like Derek Jacobi, and I didn't like him as Brother Cadfael, but I loved the setting and the stories, and Sean Pertwee as Brother Cadfael's secular friend Hugh.
- Poldark (1975) - Based on the novels by Winston Graham, about a landholder in Cornwall in the early 19th century, and starring the delightful Robin Ellis.