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Gifts for Historical Fiction FansHistorical Novels to Delight the Connoisseur
It's easy, isn't it? Just wrap up any historical novel and put it under the tree, right? Wrong! There are as many styles and genres of historical fiction as there are of contemporary fiction. You wouldn't give a copy of Jack the Ripper Returns to the reader who devotedly rushes out every six months for the latest installment in Honey B. Sweet's "Beloved Bunny" series. So don't give Wolf Hall to someone whose preferred fare is Westerns. Browse a bit on his or her bookshelves (most readers will be pleased you're taking an interest). Are they packed with hard-boiled mysteries? Are they stuffed with as many nonfiction history books as novels? Are they spilling over with love stories? Is a particular historical period emphasized? Is this a reader who likes to collect all the series novels written by certain authors? Ask a few questions when you're chatting about books. You might get a roll of the eyes if you ask what a person's favorite book is – most dedicated readers can't tell you, because there are so many wonderful books to choose from - but this question can still get a good discussion going. Other questions might be: What were your favorite books when you were a teenager? How has your taste evolved since then? What book changed your outlook on life? What's the last book you read that you really loved? It can be even more illuminating to follow up the answers by asking, "Why?" 
Armed with more precise information, you have a better chance of choosing a book your giftee is as thrilled with by page 215 as when it's first unwrapped. Newly published novels make great gifts. But you might also consider sniffing out an obscure, hard-to-find title from a lesser-known author your giftee especially admires, or a rare first-edition copy of an old favorite. And if your budget is limited, used bookstores are full of inexpensive treasures that will say to your giftee, "You're the kind of special person who knows the time and thought I invested in finding just the right book for you are more important than how much money I spent."If your own bookshelves are overflowing and you need some extra buying power for the holidays, Powell's Books makes it easy for you to sell your excess books to them via their online "Sell Us Your Books" page. Enter the ISBN numbers of the books you want to sell, and they'll let you know instantly online which books they'll buy at what price. If you accept their offer, they'll cover shipping costs and pay you either with store credit or in cash via your PayPal account. Below are some gift ideas from categories of historical fiction that each have a dedicated following of readers. Perhaps among them you will find just the thing for your historical novel fan, or maybe they will spark your imagination and lead you to a gift that, inspired by thoughts of your special someone, only you could have thought of. Jump to: Romantic Historical Novels Romantic historical novels have more substance to them that the typical "historical romance." These are novels with memorable characters whose stories have depth and originality to them, and which genuinely illuminate a particular period of history. Jane Austen was a wonderful writer (not a historical novelist, actually, since she wrote about her own time) whose work is still widely read and appreciated. A dedicated Jane Austen fan probably already owns copies of her most admired novels, but if they are tattered paperbacks that have been loved to death, she might be thrilled to receive a beautiful, new hardcover copy of one of her favorites: Pride and Prejudice, the story of Elizabeth Bennett and the insufferable (but oh-so-desirable) Mr. Darcy; Sense and Sensibility, about the romantic difficulties of the two very different Dashwood sisters; Persuasion, the story of Anne Elliot's second chance at happiness, years after she spurned the penniless naval officer she truly loved; or Emma, about a good-hearted but over-enthusiastic matchmaker surprised by her own heart. For Austen fans whose libraries are already well supplied, you might consider the send-ups Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (see review) and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters - provided, of course, your giftee has a sense of humor at least as good as Jane Austen's! Most Austen fans also enjoy the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer, whose work was inspired by Austen's novels and adopts a sparkling, comedy-of-manners approach, but whose stories are built on original characters and original storylines. These are decidedly not "bodice-rippers" and are decorous and reserved enough for readers who prefer not to follow the characters into the bedroom. Like Austen, they use period language which some readers especially relish (but others find difficult). Sourcebooks has new trade paperback editions of many of Heyer's novels with lovely period artwork on the front. Arabella is charming (see review), but there are a myriad of these to choose from. You might like to browse the selection of Heyer's Regencies in Sourcebooks editions at Powell's Books. More overtly sexy are Diana Gabaldon's tremendously popular "Outlander" novels about a time-traveling twentieth-century woman and her husband, an eighteenth-century Scot involved in the Jacobite Rebellion. Outlander (titled Cross Stitch in the U.K.) is the first book in the series (see our review); An Echo in the Bone, the seventh in the series, was just published in September 2009 (see review) and Powell's has signed copies available. See the Eighteenth Century page for a complete list of Outlander novels in order. Splurgy options might include a copy of the original 1991 first edition Some especially well-written 2009 novels featuring love stories include: Jeffrey Hantover's The Jewel Trader of Pegu (see review), Sandra Gulland's Mistress of the Sun (see review), and Cathy Marie Buchanan's The Day the Falls Stood Still (see review). These are all bittersweet tales with poignant endings. Men aren't the only readers who relish a good tale of warfare in centuries past, but many male readers do particularly enjoy these. They range from patriotic tales that celebrate the heroism of a nation's founders or defenders, to grimmer tales emphasizing the fear, mud, pain and horror of battle and the dubious nature of war's benefits. In either category, part of the appeal of these novels is their message that an ordinary human being can face even the toughest life-and-death challenge and not merely survive, but emerge as a wiser and better person. The American Revolution is a popular settings for patriotic novels. Howard Fast's trio of novels, April Morning (about the Battle of Lexington and Concord fought on the eve of the Revolution) Bunker Hill (about the battle of the same name in 1775) and The Crossing (about Washington's crossing of the Delaware River for a surprise attack on a superior force of Hessian mercenaries on Christmas Day 1776) are classics of their kind, easy to read, more viscerally exciting than intellectually challenging, and glowing with American patriotism. April Morning was published in 1961 and Bunker Hill, the most recent, was originally published in 1994 as Seven Days in June. A newly published novel along the same lines is To Try Men's Souls, published October 2009 by co-authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. Gingrich and Forstchen's novels have been praised for their well-researched historical detail. They also wrote Gettysburg, a 2003 alternative history novel imagining how the course of the Civil War might have changed if the Confederates had won that battle, and its sequels in their Civil War trilogy, Grant Comes East (2004) and Never Call Retreat (2005). Going back further in time, naval warfare during the Napoleonic Wars is well represented in fiction, typically with series novels featuring the rise of a sailor as he aspires to and then achieves a position as captain of his own ship. C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, written from the 1930s through the 1960s, remain popular, and are still being discovered anew by readers who came of age after they were first published. (See the complete series in trade paperback at Powell's Books.) Fans of Patrick O'Brian mourned his death in 2000, realizing it brought an end to his Aubrey/Maturin series, which begins with music-lover Jack Aubrey taking command of his first ship, an old brig that has seen better days, in Master and Commander. If your giftee is missing some of the twenty novels in the series, completing the set might warm his (or her) heart. (See the complete Aubrey/Maturin series in hardcover at Powell's Books.) Perhaps no other novelist of naval warfare has met the standard set by these two, but many have won their own enthusiastic fans – see the Napoleonic page for complete lists, most in chronological order by setting, of these nautical series. Knights-in-armor novels used to stress romance and adventure, but they have become more sober in recent years. Bernard Cornwell, whose "Sharpe" series is already a classic of series novels of warfare, published Agincourt this year in the U.S. (and in 2008 in the U.K., titled Azincourt, the battle's French name). This stand-alone novel, impressive for the authenticity of its recreation of not only the Battle of Agincourt (the famous battle of Shakespeare's "Henry V," fought on St. Crispin's Day) but of the thought processes of its fifteenth-century characters, is likely to appear on my "Best Novels of 2009" list (see review). It's not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but definitely for those who want to gain a vivid understanding of what warfare was like in the late Middle Ages. Has your giftee memorized all the lines in the "Lord of the Rings" movies? Is this someone who dresses up as a witch, wizard or werewolf to answer the doorbell on Halloween? Karen Maitland writes creepy fantasy novels grounded in horrifyingly realistic medieval settings. The Owl Killers just came out in the U.S. market at the end of September 2009, and some readers have not yet have discovered her 2008 debut novel Company of Liars, marketed as a Canterbury Tales read-alike, but really nothing of the sort – it's an eerie tale of the plague, an unseen wolf and an uncannily, frighteningly wise girl-child (see review). Many readers are drawn to the romance of fantasy, but historical fantasy novels have become grimmer in recent years. A reader who prefers a gentler style might be intrigued by Kij Johnson's two fantasy novels set in medieval Japan. Fudoki and The Fox Woman feature, respectively, a cat-woman and a fox-woman. Also appealing, for readers who like long novels and a literary style that blends fantasy elements with a highly realistic setting, might be Luis Alberto Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter, about an illegitimate, sixteen-year-old Mexican girl who wakes up from a dream in 1889 to find herself with extraordinary healing powers. Many readers follow one of the dozens of extensive historical mystery series. The newest in a favorite series, or a missing novel for your giftee's almost-complete set, is sure to be a hit. Find out the author of your giftee's favorite series, which book is missing, and then look it up in the search box on the home page. Mystery series novels are listed in the appropriate section by time and place, in order of publication. Clicking on the title of any book on this site (provided it's linked – the vast majority are) will take you to its listing at Powell's Books or Amazon.com. The most enthusiastic readers of historical novels usually prefer novels that are well-researched and present a vivid, authentic portrait of the time and place in which they are set, from details of dress, food, manners and technology to the characters' habits of thought. Some of 2009's newly published novels are exceptionally well researched - reading them may seem like a form of time travel. Many shed light on particular historical turning points that ultimately helped bring the modern world into being and on the historical people involved in these events. Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (see review) is a superb political novel revolving around Thomas Cromwell and his rise to power as Henry VIII struggles to end his marriage to Katherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. It won the 2009 Booker Prize for good reason. Readers who like complex, thoughtful and psychologically perceptive novels of ideas and character will love this one, although readers who look first and foremost for a brisk, easy-to-follow plot may not make it through the first 50 pages. Also on the literary side is Madison Smartt Bell's Devil's Dream, about General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a whip-smart slave-trader who rose from lower class origins to become one of the Confederacy's best military commanders (see review). The winter tales in Helen Humphreys's short story collection The Frozen Thames are highly recommended by our reviewer Susan Gillmor (see review) and just the thing for reading with a toasty fire at one's feet and a cup of hot buttered rum warming the hand not needed for turning pages. If you give this one, you could pair it with Ian Currie's nonfiction book Frosts, Freezes and Fairs: Chronicles of the Frozen Thames and and Harsh Winters in Britain Since 1000 A.D. Both well-researched and well-written, Linda Proud's A Tabernacle for the Sun (see review) is the best novel I know of about the beginnings of the Italian Renaissance. It's not available in the U.S. and has to be ordered directly from Godstow Press in Oxford, England. Its rarity in the U.S. will make it a very special gift for any reader interested in Renaissance Italy – but order early to allow time for overseas shipping. Readers who enjoy the time-sweep novels of James A. Michener are sure to enjoy the novels of Edward Rutherfurd (I prefer them, actually, finding his plots a bit meatier and his characters more fleshed out). His latest, New York (see review) just came out in November 2009. Some other novels, each with it's own particular appeal, which I highly recommend are The Wet Nurse's Tale (see review), a Dickensian novel about a woman whose profession as wet nurse to other women's babies conflicts with her ability to care for her own child; The Scent of Sake (see review), an absorbing tragedy about a nineteenth-century Japanese woman who takes charge of her family's sake brewery despite superstition and societal prejudices against women; and The Greatest Knight (see review), a meticulously researched story of the knight who served Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their sons, finally made available in the U.S. in 2009 by Sourcebooks. In the season of Christmas and Hanukkah, historical novels set in Biblical times are especially welcomed by many readers. Delilah by India Edghill was just published on Thanksgiving Day 2009 (see review), and its sumptuous setting in the land of the Philistines suits the festive atmosphere of the holiday season. The Muslim in your life - or anyone interested in learning more about the early years of Islam - may enjoy Kamran Pasha's Mother of the Believers, about Aisha, the Prophet Muhammad's favorite wife (see review). There are some interesting choices for pagans, too. One that I'm curious to read is Clysta Kinstler's The Moon Under Her Feet, which portrays Mary Magdalene as the priestess of a goddess religion. Browse the Biblical and Ancient Middle East section of the Ancient History page or the Middle East page for more ideas.
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Any fan of historical fiction will likely be touched by a gift that says the giver noticed this passion, even if the particular book that emerges from the wrapping paper isn't a big winner, but it's easiest to evoke that sudden smile that says, "Wow!" if you devote some energy to figuring out what type of historical fiction your giftee most loves to read.
in hardcover, or a complete set of 