Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction longlist

 



Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week''s theme is Weird or Funny Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book (Submitted by Astilbe @ Long and Short Reviews). Now I have googled my share of things over the years. This week alone I have googled how long it would take to get from Positano to Naples as you do!

Often when I read historical fiction I find myself googling things, and recently the longlist for the 2024 Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was announced so I thought I would share the list for this weeks Top Ten Twelve Tuesday post.  You read that right. There are twelve books on the longlist and I am sharing them all because it was too hard to decide which two to leave off.

I do host the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge here. It's not too late to sign up. You can find all the details here





The New Life by Tom Crewe - Set in 1890s London



A Better Place by Stephen Daisley - Two brothers from New Zealand are sent off to fight in WWII







Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein - Set in 1940s Trinidad

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers - Tells the story of St Cuthbert across the centuries from the 7th century to now




 
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie - A story of two real women from history coming together in Norwich in the 15th century


My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor - A Catholic priest who lives in Rome rescues people from the Nazis. This is the one book on the longlist I have read and I really liked it!







Mister Timeless Blyth by Alan Spence - a biographical novel written in the form of poetry and zen. Could be interesting


In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas  - Two interlinked stories set in the same town in Canada. One of the stories is about the Underground Railroad.






Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain - Set in London in the 1950s and 60s.

Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson - A story about the Highland clearances







The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng - 1920s Malaysia featuring W Somerset Maughan as one of the characters.


The Fraud by Zadie Smith - Based on a true life trial from the 1800s and includes figures from history such as Charles Dickens


As I look at all of these I have to say that not all that many of them scream historical fiction to me!!

Have you read any of them?

7 comments:

  1. I've looked at this list and, while interesting, most of these look too bleak to me. I like the Cuddy cover and I am mostly likely to read that one because I have visited Durham Cathedral where it is mostly set. I might wait for the paperback- I don't think I would read it fast enough for the library!

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    1. I think Cuddy is the only one to have been reviewed for this years Hist Fic Challenge - so far at least.

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  2. The Fraud sounds interesting.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

    Astilbe

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    1. I can definitely understand how it would end up on a prize list.

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  3. These all look like good reads.

    Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.

    Lydia

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  4. I've read four of the books on this list - Cuddy, Music in the Dark, For Thy Great Pain and My Father's House - and they were all good. Of the others, I'm most looking forward to reading The Fraud and The House of Doors.

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  5. Oh. I need to check out this list more thoroughly. I end up reading a lot of historical fiction and love it.

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