Showing posts with label historical fiction book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction book. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

In search of historically accurate romances

No, this isn't a rant; it's more of a plea.

I'm in the middle of my book chapter on historical romantic fiction, specifically the section dealing with the historical romance subgenre, and am having trouble finding examples of romance novels set in certain places/periods. I'm looking for titles published between mid-2004 and now (well, up through mid-2008 - my deadline) in which the author takes reasonable care with historical accuracy. "Wallpaper historicals" have their audience, but this is a guide for historical fiction readers, and I'm not interested in them here. I'm also limited to novels that libraries are apt to own (which means mainstream and library publishers only, for the most part).

The time periods for which I have little or nothing: England/Europe during the Elizabethan period/Renaissance (I know about Susan Carroll's Dark Queen series, but have her in the "romantic historical" chapter); World Wars I and II and other 20th century settings; early America; early modern Europe (basically 1650-1900); medieval England and Europe. Actually, I have a handful of medieval romance novelists down already, but I don't want to miss anything or anyone major. I'm aware that these time periods aren't exactly popular nowadays, but...

Suggestions on other periods/places welcome, too. I've noted an absolute ton of Regency novelists already, but if there are any authors/novels I should be sure to include, please let me know.

Not sure how many responses I'll get, if any, but I figured it was worth a shot. Meanwhile, I'm going to hunt through my back issues of Romantic Times for titles I've missed.