It's Historical Fiction Month?

November is historical fiction month in Great Britain. Since I am somewhat of an anglophile, I thought I’d declare November historical fiction month here in the colonies as well. To celebrate, I’d like to suggest two historical fiction books I have read and enjoyed recently.

Charlotte Rogan’s debut novel, The Lifeboat, is set in 1914. Grace Winter, the narrator, has the distinction of being both a newlywed and a widow at the tender age of 22. Grace and Henry are married just four weeks when Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated, cutting short their visit to London and necessitating a hasty booking on the Empress Alexandra. When the ship sinks in a disaster reminiscent of the Titanic, Henry, a wealthy banker, somehow manages to secure a space on a lifeboat for Grace. 

The reader knows Grace survives as the opening chapter reveals that she and two other women from the lifeboat are on trial for murder. But the story of her survival is still just as traumatic and disturbing, uncovering the harsh truth that people deprived of food and shelter will revert to basic animal instincts for survival. The lifeboat is overcrowded, not meant for the number of survivors aboard, but who aboard will decide who lives and who dies? Is Grace actually the most reliable of narrators, given the revelations about her character during the course of the three weeks the lifeboat is cast adrift? Rogan artfully navigates between past and present to divulge the full story.  Survival is not always pretty, and women and men alike behave in socially unacceptable ways when survival is at stake. The Lifeboat provides plenty of fodder for discussion for book groups.

Chris Bohjalian combines both historical and crime fiction in his fifteenth novel, The Light in the Ruins. The story alternates between the beautiful Tuscany estate of the Rosati family, Villa Chimera, in 1943 and Florence in 1955.  Francesca Rosati, one of the surviving members of the family, is murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion in Florence in 1955 – her heart is torn from her body and displayed at the murder scene. Serafina Bettini, Florence's only female detective, works the case. Soon another member of the Rosati family is murdered, leading police to believe a serial killer is stalking the family. Serafina cannot help but wonder if the recent war holds the clues to solving these killings. 

Flashbacks to 1943 reveal the Rosatis living a life of relative comfort at Villa Chimera until the newly discovered Etruscan tomb on the estate attracts the attention of the Nazis in Florence. To add fuel to the fire, beautiful young Christina Rosati falls in love with a Nazi lieutenant, and soon the Rosatis find themselves trapped. The Nazis are no longer allies but occupiers, and the Rosati family is forced to turn host to Nazi officers; meanwhile a group of partisans hides in the Etruscan ruins. 

Serafina has her own traumatizing connection to the war; she suffered severe burning and scarring in a barely remembered incident. She hunts the killer at the same time she seeks answers to her own mysterious survival of the war. Bohjalian weaves together plotlines, characters, history and setting into an extraordinary suspense novel that explores the tragic human consequences of war.

Get into historical fiction this month. There are so many good historical fiction authors out there, and we can help you find them at Groton Public Library.

(I am reading The Never List by Koethi Zan right now.  What are you reading?)