Welcome back to Book Break!
This video is all about the best new historical fiction.
So I think this time of year is just so perfect for historical fiction
and the world seems to agree
there's already so many great period dramas on TV
from A Christmas Carol to Call the Midwife
it just seems to be the best time of year to go back in time.
So in this video I'm going to tell you about the best new historical fiction novels of
the year.
So starting with the biggest historical fiction release of the year, Tombland by C.J. Sansom.
So this is the seventh book in C.J. Sansom's Shardlake series.
This one is set in Norwich during Kett's Rebellion
and it's also a murder mystery.
There is a reason why these books are so beloved,
this is historical fiction at its absolute most lively and dramatic.
Next up I've got The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood.
This is an absolutely beautiful book,
both in terms of that gorgeous cover and the book itself.
This is basically The Secret History but for art-lovers rather than classics-lovers.
So it's about a group of students at the Bauhaus Art School in the 20s
and all of the love affairs and friendships and betrayals
and tragedy that strikes during their time there.
And then we also have this other timeline decades later
where we check back in on how their time at the art school has affected them years later
and all of the secrets that are still bubbling under the surface.
Now, The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason.
This is so so beautifully written, but such a sad, harrowing book.
So this is about a medical student named Lucius,
who enlists as a doctor during the First World War.
And he's sent to this really remote field hospital where there's been a brutal outbreak
of typhus.
And it's just him and one other nurse
who knows so much more about the actual practical side of medicine than he does
because he's only a few years into his studies
and hadn't really dealt with any actual patients yet.
So he basically has to learn from her as he goes along.
And then one day an unconscious soldier is brought in from the snow
so severely mentally scarred that he seems beyond repair.
And the decisions that Lucius makes regarding this soldier
will haunt him throughout the rest of the novel.
Get the tissues to the ready, this one will break your heart.
And now another World War 1 book, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing by Mary Paulson-Ellis.
So this is about an heir hunter named Solomon Farthing,
who after an old soldier dies alone in a nursing home in present day Edinburgh
with no will but £50,000 sewn into the lining of his coat,
it's Solomon Farthing's job to track down who should rightfully inherit this money.
And delving into this mystery takes him all the way back to this story from 1918
with a group of 11 soldiers who were abandoned in a farmhouse billet.
So in 1918 we see what happens in the weeks leading up to the armistice
and then present day we see how the effects of that time have just rippled through the
generations
and all of the threads of the different timelines pull together so beautifully.
Now, jumping forward a little bit to World War 2
this is The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard.
So this is a very short, very gripping book
about the pivotal meetings that took place between European superpowers in the build
up to the second world war.
So it's about this very real, very important period of history,
but told as if it's historical fiction.
And it's almost a black comedy,
but telling this quite tragic story of how the actions of a few powerful men
led the world to the brink of war.
Now The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber,
I absolutely loved this book when I read it earlier this year.
This is set in Utah in 1888,
in a small Mormon community,
this town with just eight families.
And our main character Deborah is anxiously waiting for her husband Samuel to return.
He's been away travelling with work,
and he was expected back weeks ago,
and we're now entering this very harsh winter,
and so the chances of his safe return home are looking slimmer and slimmer.
So that's this constant really sad backdrop,
as Deborah just waits and waits for news that Samuel is OK.
But in the meantime, a stranger shows up one day and knocks on Deborah's door
asking for help hiding from the law.
And that's when this tiny town starts to feel very claustrophobic,
because how can Deborah hide her involvement in this crime
when every footstep leading to and from her house can be seen in the snow.
And then Blood and Sugar!
This is Laura Shepherd-Robinson's debut that came out earlier this year,
it's set in 18th century Deptford,
during the time of the British slave trade,
and it is a crime thriller
following Captain Harry Corsham as he investigates a conspiracy
that might just bring the British slave industry to its knees.
And Laura Shepherd-Robinson did a lot of research for this book
so there are horrors in here drawn straight from the real and terrible history of slavery.
And this author is absolutely one to watch
because her next book Daughters of Night is coming out next year.
There are a few overlapping characters from the last book
but it will be a standalone
with a whole new plot that this time puts women at the centre of the story.
So with all of those, 2019 was such a great year for historical fiction.
But it looks like 2020 might be even better,
so I'm just going to mention a few more to get excited about for next year.
So one that I have had the chance to read and absolutely loved is The Other Bennet Sister
by Janice Hadlow.
So this is a Pride and Prejudice retelling
but all from the perspective of Mary Bennet.
And all of your other favourite characters from Pride and Prejudice are back,
but you're seeing them now in a whole new light.
And poor Mary Bennet has always just been a bit of comic relief
but I promise by the end of this book you will adore her.
And another fab one that I've already had the chance to read and love
is The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey.
So this is set during World War 2
when the mammal collection at the Natural History Museum has to be evacuated
to keep it safe from the bombs being dropped on London.
So we follow a young woman named Hetty who has been put in charge
of moving the collection and looking after the collection
as it's housed at this mysterious manor house called Lockwood Manor
owned by the rather controlling and unpleasant Lord Lockwood
and his beautiful but troubled daughter Lucy.
So it's this rather gothic story as we explore what Lucy is so haunted by
and whether there is any truth to the rumours of ghosts and curses that the locals talk
about
and why the animals keep mysteriously moving in the night.
But it's also a love story in a just brilliant setting.
And then coming up later in the year will be The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi.
So this is based on a real historical thing that I had never heard of before
which is Sin Eaters.
So Sin Eaters were people who had been ostracised from society
and now had to consume these ritual meals after somebody died
to absorb the sins from that person.
So that the dead person could get into heaven
but the Sin Eater then had to carry those sins with them.
And this book is about one Sin Eater named May
and it's this alternate history that's kind of dystopian
and it sounds really dark and I am so excited to read it.
And finally, the big historical fiction release to look forward to next year
The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett.
So it's been 30 years since The Pillars of the Earth was released,
it's sold 27 million copies worldwide and started the Kingsbridge series.
And now, we're getting a prequel.
So The Evening and the Morning is set at the end of the Dark Ages,
and it's going to take us on this epic journey
leading right up to where The Pillars of the Earth began.
So which has been your favourite historical fiction novel of the year?
Do leave me a comment below letting me know
and of course give this video a thumbs up
and hit that subscribe button below for new videos every week.
Coming up next week, we've got our Christmas gift guide, so get excited for that one.
And of course in the meantime you can always follow us over on Instagram @bookbreakuk
See you next time!