Three new historical novel deals

Thought that these might be of interest to readers here...

Bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance, Philippa Gregory's THE WHITE QUEEN, for publication in 2010, followed by THE WHITE PRINCESS, and THE RED QUEEN, covering the War of the Roses period, again to Trish Todd at Touchstone Fireside, and now moving to Suzanne Baboneau at Simon & Schuster UK, by Anthony Mason (world).

BTW, Philippa Gregory discussed The Boleyn Inheritance on Barnes & Noble's online bookclub forums in February. The posts are still online.

Beneath a Marble Sky author John Shors's THE POET MAKERS, set in the South Pacific during WWII after a torpedo sinks a U.S. hospital ship and nine survivors manage to swim to a nearby island threatened by the traitor among them, by hurricanes and by the imminent arrival of the Japanese navy, again to Kara Cesare at NAL, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, by Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency (World English).

The Last Boleyn and the Elizabeth I mysteries author Karen Harper's WILL'S OTHER WIFE, the story of a Anne Whateley of Stratford, who married Shakespeare in secret less than a week before his shotgun wedding to Anne Hathaway, and who lived with him in London when his career was at its height, to Rachel Kahan at Putnam and Ellen Edwards at NAL, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Meg Ruley at Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA).

Galleys to grab at BEA 2007, Part One

I'd been watching the BookExpo America website lately for their autographing schedule, because they usually announce it in April, but didn't spot it until yesterday. It's hidden under Show Info and Features -> Autographing. Just like I did last year, I thought I'd post about the titles I'd planned on getting copies of at the show. Not all of these will be galleys, though. If the pub date is June 2007 or earlier, publishers will be giving away the finished book.

The Publishers Weekly issue that gives a preview of BEA is probably out now, but it hasn't crossed my desk yet. PW lists the high-profile galleys that publishers will be giving away on the show floor (quite literally - you have to grab them off the floor in an embarrassing sort of feeding frenzy) in addition to those available at the autographing sessions.

As I'm attending partly to find out about new historical fiction titles, these are the ones that caught my attention. (I'll also be picking up books and ARCs on behalf of my library, but I don't think you'd be interested in hearing about those.)

In the main autographing area, Friday:

Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Sanctuary. Second in the Victorian mystery series after Silent in the Grave (read my interview with Deanna here). From MIRA in Jan '08. I fully expect a headless woman cover.
Robert Barr Smith, Blood of the Eagle. "Race to uncover the secret of the murder of Hitler's mistress."
Cynthia Polansky, Far Above Rubies. "Holocaust novel based on true story of courage and survival." I believe this is a re-release.
Rick Atkinson, The Day of Battle. "The second volume of epic trilogy about the liberation of Europe in WWII." This is nonfiction, but I know some reviewers who'd love to read it.
Michael White, Soul Catcher. "A tracker, a runaway woman slave and the heart-rending journey home that will change them forever." A copy is going out for review any day now, but I wouldn't mind having my own. September, from Morrow.
Jennifer Donnelly, The Winter Rose. "A sweeping saga of an idealistic young female doctor who tends to the poor of Limehouse." I have the Australian edition already but need a copy to send for review. Out from Hyperion in Jan '08. It's about time. I picked up the galley of The Tea Rose at the first BEA I attended, in 2002. It was very good. Judging by the Australian edition, Winter Rose is quite the epic story (>700pp).

On Saturday:

Pete Hamill, North River. "A love story set against the backdrop of some of New York City's toughest streets." June '07 from Little Brown; my Booklist editor loved this one.
Katie Roiphe, Uncommon Arrangements. "Seven unconventional marriages in England at the beginning of the 20th century." Nonfiction. Bantam July '07.
William Martin, The Lost Constitution. "A thrilling race to find a lost draft of the Constitution!" May from Forge. This publisher has some great books and is very enthusiastic about them. Lots of exclamation points in their descriptions.
Robert Dunn, Meet the Annas. "Musical novel about a '60s girl group: romance, mystery, music." Coral Press, June.
Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing. "The final installment in the Gemma Doyle trilogy." A paranormal Victorian series for young adults. Random House Children's, Dec.
Lisa Sandell, Song of the Sparrow. "The tale of fiery, sixteen-year-old Elaine of Ascolat—who will one day be known as 'The Lady of Shalott.'" Scholastic, May. Another YA title.
Mitch Silver, On Secret Service. "This unique debut thriller links Ian Fleming's world of spies in WWII and today's headlines." Simon & Schuster, June.

And on Sunday:

Clare Clark, The Nature of Monsters. "An irresistibly modern sixteen-year-old heroine in London of the 1700s." Harcourt, May. Descriptions I've read make it sound creepy, but I'm curious.
Matt Bronleewe, Illuminated. "A rare-books dealer must unravel a secret that has been hidden in the illuminations of the Gutenberg Bible." Aug from Thomas Nelson, which means it has a Christian emphasis.

And we also have autographing at publishers' booths. For Friday:

Jenny McPhee, A Man of No Moon, Counterpoint. "A lush, cinematic novel set in post-War Italy."
Peter Melman, Landsman, Counterpoint. "A stirring, evocative epic novel of the Civil War." Blogged about this one a while back, and some of the author's students at Hunter College High School turned up to comment.
Anita Amirrezvani, The Blood of Flowers, Little Brown. "Dazzling debut set in 17th-century Persia." Am I greedy for wanting a hardcover when I already have an ARC?

Saturday:

Clare Clark, Nature of Monsters (again), Harcourt. Making note in case I can't make it to Sunday's signing, noted earlier.
Stephen Hunter, The 47th Samurai, S&S. "A shoot-em-up thriller combining the grittiness of 1945 Iowa Jima with the mystique of samurai culture." Yes, it does say "Iowa Jima" on the website. Spell-check gone bad, I think.
Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, St. Martin's. "The story of two families in Japan before, during, and after World War II."
Andrea Barrett, The Air We Breathe, Norton. "An exquisite new novel set during WWI by the National Book Award winner for Ship Fever."

A great makeover

Different title, different name on the cover. But they're the same book. Which do you prefer, the 1979 or the 2006 version?





For a synopsis, see Amazon. (Yes, I own copies of both.)

Monday deals

I don't think I've posted any historical novel deals in a while, so here are some from today's Publisher's Lunch.

Barbara Pope's CEZANNE'S QUARRY, a historical thriller that explores the cultural conflicts in provincial France through the murder of Solange, a young woman who has been graphically depicted in several of Cezanne's paintings, to Jessica Case at Pegasus, by Mollie Glick at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (NA).

Rose Melikan's THE BLACKSTONE KEY, set in 18th century England, in which a penniless, clever teacher is summoned to meet her rich, estranged uncle and becomes embroiled in a plot involving spies, smugglers, a pair of identical watches, puzzles, codes, an inheritance, and very real danger, to Trish Todd at Touchstone Fireside, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, by Clare Alexander at Gillon Aitken Associates (NA).

Historian C. W. Gortner's THE LAST QUEEN: The Story of Juana La Loca, based on the life of the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit the throne, to Susanna Porter for Ballantine, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in June 2008, by Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (world English).
[congrats, Christopher!]

Teacher of classical history at Lincoln College, Oxford Harry Sidebottom's FIRE IN THE EAST, KINGS OF KINGS and LION OF THE SUN, a trilogy of adventure novels of ancient Rome pitched as in the tradition of Mary Renault and Patrick O'Brian, featuring espionage, treachery and desperate, last-gasp, bloody warfare, and centering around a soldier who has risen to be a Roman General despite his northern barbarian origins, sent to the Eastern edge of the Empire to defend against the looming Persian threat, to Alex Clarke at Michael Joseph, in a significant deal, for publication in summer 2008, by James Gill at PFD.

Darren Craske's THE EQUIVOQUE PRINCIPLE, a dark Victorian fantasy about a man and his traveling circus who get embroiled in a series of grisly murders on the streets of London, the first in a trilogy, discovered online when the author posted the opening chapters on the writers' community forum, to Scott Pack at The Friday Project (world).

German and Spanish rights to Janet Paisley's WHITE ROSE REBEL, to Rowohlt and Espasa-Calpe, respectively, by Jessica Jefferys at Penguin UK.[Check out the forthcoming UK edition, too, and it's about Jacobites, not Yorkists... the subject is Anne Farqharson, a chieftain who led her clan into battle at Culloden.]

Read my book online for free

I'm too swamped to post anything of greater literary significance now (not that my book's insignificant, but you know what I mean). As an FYI, my publisher's offering free access to their Reader's Advisor Online database during National Library Week. Just follow this link, click on The Reader's Advisor Online, and choose "Historical Fiction" from the right-hand menu. Use the little arrows to choose the subgenre/subtopic you're interested in, and click Search to see related titles/annotations from the first edition of my book. The section intros are a little harder to find, but most of the text of my book's in here, somewhere.

The Daily Life through History database may be of interest, too. Free access lasts through April 22nd. Enjoy!

Adventures in medieval castle building

Reay Tannahill, Having the Builders In. London: Headline Review, 2006. £17.99, ISBN 978-0755333042. 279pp.

I've decided to stop grousing about my pile of review books because, in all honesty, so far in 2007 the novels I've been asked to read have been much more enjoyable than ones I've picked up on my own. This novel, an example of the latter, was an exception.

If you're familiar with Reay Tannahill's serious biographical fiction (The Seventh Son, Fatal Majesty) or her sweeping romantic sagas (A Dark and Distant Shore, In Still and Stormy Waters, etc.), then prepare to be surprised. Having the Builders In is a lighthearted, witty account of one medieval family's personal experience with home renovation. Tannahill goes out of her way to make comparisons between the late 14th century and today plainly obvious, but the novel is no less amusing for it. As anyone who's ever arranged for an addition to their house knows, the process can be stressful. You have builders entering your home, disrupting your regular schedule, and creating a racket at ungodly hours. Not to mention the interminable delays, which make you regret that you're paying the workers by the hour; disputes between management and subcontractors; and fears that you may have underestimated the budget.

Dame Constance de Clair, the 39-year-old owner - in her son's name, of course - of Vine Regis, a castle in England's West Country at the end of Edward III's reign, has all these problems and more. With her husband dead and her son, Lord Gervase, content to let her do as she wishes, she craftily sees a way to add an extension to her property. She agrees to give money to the local church to endow a chapel (to house yet another holy relic) if Abbot Ralph lets her use stone from the abbey quarries in her home construction. Then Lady Susanna, her son's naïve, pretty 15-year-old betrothed, arrives on the scene, pouting at not being greeted more warmly at her new home. Lord Gervase, not exactly an attentive fiance anyway, heads to London to pay homage to the new boy king, Richard II -- leaving Constance to deal with Susanna and her penchant for embarrassing social blunders. The family's valuables are disappearing, and they wonder if the builders are to blame. The master mason in charge of the renovation continually argues with the castle steward about proper construction methods. And then there are the accidents. Is someone trying to sabotage the project?

All of the characters are delightful, from the overly eager-to-please Susanna (from whose viewpoint, for the most part, we see the story unfold) to secondary ones like Hamish MacLeod, the Scotsman taken prisoner by Constance's late husband many years before, but who liked Vine Regis so much he decided to remain on staff. It's hard not to feel for Susanna, having to deal with a future mother-in-law who thinks she's always right (and usually is) as well as Gervase's two young daughters, one of whom is a real brat. Susanna wishes to be treated like the future Lady of the Castle, and you can almost understand why she slyly hints to Abbot Ralph that Constance might be wanting to found a nunnery sometime soon (which isn't true at all, but it makes for a very funny scene). Meanwhile, readers will get a real education in medieval castle building, and it's a fairly sophisticated process.

This isn't a long novel, but it's a fast-paced, lively read with a pleasantly unexpected ending. Give this a try if you've been reading serious historicals for a while and are in the mood for something different.

Another mystery solved

Fresh upon the revelation of the true killer of the princes in the tower, we have just learned about another exciting news development.

Readers have long been pondering the "headless woman" trend in historical fiction cover art. "I appreciate how publishers are attempting to accurately reflect the customs of the time by showing us women's fancy gowns and stuff," said one informed reader, who preferred to remain anonymous, "but what I really want to know is, where do all the extra heads go?"

As it happens, this issue has greatly concerned publishers as well. When asked, a representative from HarperCollins, who began the trend with their striking cover of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl in 2001, admitted: "Honestly, it is a big problem. We never knew it would come to this... and now we have all these spare heads sitting in boxes around the office. Our graphic artists have no use for them. Not to be too graphic - sorry - but they're starting to go bad."

Fortunately, a coalition of publishers have banded together to solve the problem. "As environmentally conscious individuals, we believe in conservation whenever possible," said a spokesman for Carroll & Graf, publisher of Hunger's Brides, the mammoth novel about the 17th century Mexican nun, Sor Juana de la Cruz. Additional American publishers have responded to the call. Due to their diligence, the "disembodied head" look is set to become a brand new trend.

Plans are in motion, for example, to reuse Mary Boleyn's missing head from The Other Boleyn Girl on the jacket art of Before the Sword Strikes, a breakout work of fiction about her sister, Henry VIII's tragic second wife. This epic stream-of-consciousness novel promises to reveal Anne's innermost thoughts during her final moments. "Much has been written about Anne Boleyn's life, but hardly anyone about her death," said the publisher. "And we know that readers want to know all they possibly can about her."

Still, despite the cautious optimism in the publishing arena, some issues linger. "Recycling issues aside, I don't see that anyone will ever have use for the missing eyes and forehead from our cover of Jane Harris's The Observations," a representative from Viking said. "We preferred to use a completely intact head for our cover of Margaret George's Helen of Troy instead."

Any freelance artists or enterprising readers who might wish to use these spare body parts (or pieces thereof) for their own designs, or even for collages or scrapbooking, should contact the Coalition for Reusable Cover Art through the owner of this blog.

Happy blogiversary to me, and other news

I should have noted this on my last post, but Reading the Past effectively went "live" on March 25, 2006. Now, about 22, 000 visitors later, we're at 187 posts and I don't know how many comments. Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone.

Penguin's fall catalogs for 2007 just went online, and sometime this weekend I'll be updating the usual forthcoming books page with all the juicy details. There are a number of historicals of note, such as Robin Maxwell's latest, at left, appearing from NAL in November. Maxwell's an expert on the Tudor period, and she seems to have mined the one part of Anne Boleyn's life not yet overdone in fiction: her youth (and sexual awakening) at the French court. This sounds like it could be a unique take, but apart from this, I admit to feeling Tudored-out, and I haven't even gotten to The Boleyn Inheritance yet. And with Alison Weir (per historicalfiction.org) and Margaret George both working on novels about Elizabeth I - though different aspects of her life, to be sure - I'm wondering whether there'll be anything new to read about there, either.

Other upcoming historicals: Ken Follett's World Without End, a sequel to his The Pillars of the Earth (October); S. Thomas Russell's Under Enemy Colors, "a sweeping novel of maritime mutiny" set against the backdrop of the French Revolution (September); Lian Hearn's Heaven's Net is Wide (August), a prequel to her Otori novels set in an alternate feudal Japan (I love this series); and Jennifer Ashley's The Queen's Handmaiden (October), the story of Kat Ashley's niece,who becomes a confidante to the young Elizabeth Tudor. It does look interesting, which makes me feel conflicted about my comments earlier, but if we have to have more Tudors - and it looks like we will - I'd rather read about people on the periphery of the court.

Things I can't read at the reference desk

... because I find these literature- and history-related pieces very funny. It can be embarrassing to sit and laugh at your computer screen when you're in a room full of people trying to study.

Sometimes I make my coworkers read these articles, just so it looks like there's more than one of us in on the joke.

Who reads what and why, from Car Talk.

What would happen if ancient Rome had the Internet.

John Bloom on book reviews, from the National Review back in May '02. I've been known to enjoy certain works of literary fiction, but this article about book reviewers' pet phrases is priceless.

I'd hoped to post more last week, but things like work and editing kept getting in the way. In the meanwhile, hope you enjoy these.

Older Anya Seton covers

These are all Fawcett Crest paperbacks from the 1960s (not '70s as I'd thought). Unfortunately, I couldn't locate my copies of Green Darkness, My Theodosia, and The Turquoise. I'd purchased all of these copies from a hole-in-the-wall used bookstore called The Printer's Devil that used to be located in Meriden, Connecticut. It was run by a red-haired woman who was a mad soap-opera watcher, because that's what she'd be doing whenever my dad and I would stop by. I bought many older historical novels there when I was in high school, and it was a sad day when it went out of business.

Anyway, this is what the older paperback covers of Seton's look like. I think most of them aren't bad, though some are designed to appear like romances when, according to today's definition, they are not. How many authors these days set epic novels in places as diverse as colonial Connecticut, 10th century Iceland, 14th century England, 1720s England and Virginia? And how many publishers would be as accepting of authors' desire to change the historical setting with each new book, if the authors wanted to?

Pretty covers

Over the past few years, Chicago Review Press has been issuing reprints of Anya Seton's best known historical novels, in addition to classic historicals from other authors. A galley for Devil Water, to be released in May, arrived in yesterday's mail, and the book is just gorgeous.

I'm seriously tempted to replace all of my 1970s mass-market paperbacks with these versions. All are trade paperbacks. Philippa Gregory has written new forewords to most (if not all) of them, introducing the novels' historical background and analyzing their impact on the historical fiction and romance genres. Gregory, unlike most authors asked to introduce novels, is quite honest about what she perceives as their flaws.

What do you think of these?

People Who Don't Know They're Dead, and other notable books

From The Independent on March 9th comes this story about The Bookseller magazine's annual contest for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. The 2006 shortlist contains some mighty amusing choices. (This post's title was last year's winner.)

The historical fiction field, unfortunately, can't boast many unusual titles. They're all rather normal and comparatively sedate. Looking at the list of historical fiction I compiled for 2006, these seem like the only real contenders: Carl-Johan Vallgren's The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, from HarperCollins last April, or maybe Gordon Dahlquist's The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, from Bantam US/Viking UK.

If anyone has better suggestions for this award, from 2006 or prior years, I'd love to hear them.

If only it were this easy

Check out the cover of the University of Nebraska Press's spring/summer 2007 catalog (warning, large PDF file alert) for a really cute cartoon.

If you're on dialup, there's a smaller version posted at the main U of NE catalog page.

The Ides of March, and an interesting dilemma

I haven't been blogging much lately for a couple reasons. First, I'm in the middle of deadline hell, with March 15th being the date in question. I have four reviews due that day, and one of the books is excellent, but slow-moving and only halfway read. It's also the deadline date for incoming reviews from May's HNR. Secondly, I've started making a concerted effort towards writing v.2 of my Historical Fiction series. I guess at this point it's fair to call it a series. (It won't be called a 2nd edition, because readers/libraries might be tempted to discard the first volume, believing the newer copy is meant to replace the older one - and it isn't.)

In working on the manuscript, I'm running into a familiar problem, one I also encountered while writing the first book. The books contain, basically, information and plot summaries/critiques of historical novels published over a given time period. The primary market is libraries in North America; secondly, general readers, researchers, prospective historical novelists, etc.

I mention this because it's not practical for me to include historical novels in my book unless a significant number of libraries own them. I use WorldCat to determine this (link goes to the public version, which is kind of neat to search). WorldCat, if you're not familiar with it, is an online catalog of library holdings worldwide. The overwhelming majority of libraries in North America have their holdings - or those of a shared library system they belong to - reflected in WorldCat. To me, a "significant" number of holding libraries is usually around 50... if fewer than 50-odd libraries for any novel are recorded in WorldCat, it's not worth including it, because library patrons will get frustrated that the book's hard for them to obtain.

(Yes, I know interlibrary loan exists, and it's a wonderful thing, but not all patrons want to wait - plus, my book's not meant to be a comprehensive guide to all historical novels ever published, only representative ones. Anyway.)

The frustrating part, though, is when I read/come across novels that are truly wonderful, but which only a very small number of libraries own. These are mostly small press titles, ones that have word-of-mouth popularity on Amazon and on blogs. I'm sure you know some of them. I'd love to include them in the book and help spread the word, but I can't. It's a Catch-22 of sorts, because they're often not in libraries simply because they're small-press titles and missed getting picked up for review by the major trade pubs like LJ, Booklist, PW, etc.

This has me thinking about a few different but related things. First, I wonder if many authors consider libraries as a market worth pursuing at all, because in some cases, these novels aren't even owned by libraries in the authors' home states/cities/towns. Many libraries will acquire novels by local authors even if there hasn't been significant (or any) review coverage. So why aren't those copies there?

On the other hand, because a lot of these smaller-press novels are word-of-mouth hits, I wonder if libraries need to make more determined efforts to acquire them, rather than simply relying on the traditional review venues. If you're a librarian reading this, do you ever purchase historical novels based on blog mentions, online reviews, Amazon recommendations, etc., or do you wait for a formal review to appear?

It seems to me there ought to be a way for these two solutions to meet in the middle. Not just for the very narrow purpose of my being able to include them in the book, of course, but so that these novels can be acquired by more libraries, and therefore reach more readers.

Four reviews in four days, and other news

The results of my four-day reading/reviewing marathon in early January are finally online:

• Sheila Kohler, Bluebird, or the Invention of Happiness
• Donald McCaig, Canaan
• Mark Slouka, The Visible World (do not read the Publishers Weekly review first; horrible spoiler)
• Michael Wallner, April in Paris

Unfortunately I can't read this quickly all the time, but then I was still on holiday break over New Year's. Other news bits:

Read more about Prince Michael of Greece's new historical novel Le Rajah de Bourbon (yes, it's in French), which "traces the swashbuckling story of [Balthazar Napolean de] Bourbon's first royal ancestor in India." Bourbon, an Indian lawyer/part-time farmer, is supposedly a long-lost descendant of the Bourbon kings. Time to brush up on my French.

The Boston Globe reviews Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor, but not without bringing to the table some prejudices on historical fiction. "Bodice-ripper argot"?

Israeli novelist Eva Etzioni-Halevy, author of The Garden of Ruth, speaks about researching and writing biblical fiction.

What was so great about Catherine? An older piece (complete with, um, tacky photo) from Salon.com about Virginia Rounding's Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power, which also discusses other "princess books" found on the display tables of your local bookstore.

Deals, deals, deals

The good news - I finished my Edward Rutherfurd readalike article a month early and handed it in. Editors seem to like it.

The bad news - February is a short month (duh, I knew this), meaning I have only another 15 days to get another assigned book read and reviewed. Just when I start thinking I'm ahead of the game. This ARC looks interesting at any rate; I've never read any Jonis Agee, but generally enjoy multi-period novels as well as family sagas.

This afternoon I've been going through the dozen or so Random House summer catalogs and collating the forthcoming books info for the HNS website, so those should be online in a couple hours if things go well.

For the moment, here are a few more deals from Publishers Marketplace and elsewhere.

Tasha Alexander's novelization of Universal Studios' upcoming film, THE GOLDEN AGE, the story of Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh, to Sarah Durand of William Morrow, by Anne Hawkins at John Hawkins & Associates.

Nicola Upson's AN EXPERT IN MURDER, set in the London theater world of the 1930s, to Walter Donohue at Faber, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2008, by Karolina Sutton at ICM.

Sarah D'Almeida's three more books in the Three Musketeers mystery series, to Ginjer Buchanan for Berkley Prime Crime, in a nice deal, by Lucienne Diver of Spectrum Literary Agency (NA).

Cesar Vidal's THE FISHERMAN'S TESTAMENT, a story of Christianity's earliest days, based on the theory held by some biblical historians that the apostlePeter was in Rome at the end of his life and was crucified there, as well as the original Spanish-language book, to Sue Brower at Zondervan, for publication in April 2008, by Diane Stockwell at Globo Libros Literary Management, on behalf of Silvia Bastos in Spain (World English).

Publishing director at Harper UK, Jane Johnson's CROSSED BONES, about a London woman who becomes obsessed with the story of a Cornish girl kidnapped in 1625 by Moroccan pirates, travels to Morocco to investigate the case, and finds romance and adventure there, to Allison McCabe at Crown, in a good deal, for publication in 2008, by Russell Galen at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency (US).

Lastly, not from PM but via an email from the author - Sandra Worth sold two novels in her "Roses" series to Penguin Putnam (no imprint given) for publication in 2008 and '09, respectively. Details on Lady of the Roses and Roses for a Queen from her website.

"That Christopher Columbus - he'll never amount to anything."

Is there a word or phrase to describe the throwaway comments historical novelists have their characters say, ones deliberately inserted to give readers a smugly superior feeling about their own historical knowledge? If not, there should be.

This has happened with a few novels I've read lately. With the current review book, the head of a London mental institution writes to a colleague, in 1896: "... this fad will pass as others have. There is no future in Freudianism." (It's a decent book, don't get me wrong, despite this bit of silliness)

And then there are the scenes I've read in some Tudor-set novels. It's almost stereotypical. Some gossipy English villager, cackling at the fall of Anne Boleyn, makes a prediction that "Nan Bullen's bastard daughter - what a shame she's a girl. She'll never amount to anything." The readers, of course, are gleefully laughing up their sleeves at such horrible ignorance. They know better.

In a previous read, we had a similar scenario featuring Caligula, presented as a spiteful, smarmy adolescent who surely wasn't destined to rule the Roman Empire, as one very minor character in the novel remarked. These comments may have been historically appropriate - Germanicus was the favored heir at the time - but the reader's foreknowledge of Caligula's eventual succession gives them added meaning.

These little asides nearly always draw me out of a story. Maybe because I don't want an author reaching out from behind the plot to congratulate me on what I know about history? These tactics feel too obvious, if that makes sense. Good for a chuckle, maybe, but not much more.

Ye olde historical novel meme

I'm kind of late to the party, but it's a slowish Friday night here, and I've already seen The Mask of Zorro once this week.

Straight Historical, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Historical Romance, or Time Travel?
Slight overall preference for straight historical, and historical romance probably least, but I read any and all of the above.

Historical Figures as Main Characters or Purely Fictional Characters in Historical Settings as Main Characters?
Doesn't matter at all to me. Hmm, now I'm sounding wishy-washy.

Hardback, Trade Paperback, or Mass Market Paperback?
Trade paperback, hardback second, mass market third. I like the feel of trade paperbacks, plus they're cheaper than hardbacks, and not as heavy to cart around.

Philippa Gregory or Margaret George?
Gregory, though I enjoyed George's Helen of Troy. Her Mary, Called Magdalene was too slow-moving for my taste. However, I still need to read the copy of The Boleyn Inheritance I got from Costco last month.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Amazon, overwhelmingly so. Before buying the Gregory (see previous question), the most recent book I'd bought at a brick and mortar bookstore was Robert Harris's Pompeii, which I think is from 2003. Excluding Half Price Books and other used/remainder stores. (I remember weird things like this; I still haven't read the Harris.) Having an Amazon credit card is a big influence.

Bernard Cornwell or Sharon Penman?
Penman, one of my favorite authors of all time, although I did like Cornwell's The Last Kingdom.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Probably Borders, at least for browsing, though Champaign has both of them. The only reason we go to B&N more often than Borders is because Mark doesn't like Seattle's Best coffee.

First Historical Novel You Ever Remember Reading?
I think this was probably Anya Seton's Katherine, if we're talking adult-level fiction. If you count YA, Patricia Clapp's Jane-Emily could be the one.

Alphabetize by Author, Alphabetize by Title, or Random?
None of the above. They're shelved by date of acquisition - not deliberately so, but it's how the shelves get filled. The photo at top left shows most of my acquisitions from mid-2006 to present. Click to enlarge.

Keep, Throw Away, or Sell?
I keep nearly everything, except books I really can't stand. Those get sold or donated to the library sale. This is why I have a storage problem.

Jean Plaidy or Norah Lofts?
I enjoy them both, though neither as much as I did 10-15 years ago.

Read with Dust Jacket or Remove It?
Remove it, because my cats like books too much to leave them alone.

Stop Reading When Tired or at Chapter Breaks?
When tired or otherwise distracted. Doesn't matter if it's in the middle of a chapter.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
The former, although I will read some fairytale-like fantasy novels.

Buy or Borrow?
I'm a bad library patron - I buy almost everything, and the books I do borrow, I often return late. Good thing I work there.

Posie Graeme-Evans or Pamela Kaufman?
Neither one, really.

Buying Choice: Book Reviews, Recommendations, or Browsing?
A combination of all three.

Dorothy Dunnett or Anya Seton?
Seton, as I've read nearly all of hers. Dunnett seems to be an acquired taste I've yet to acquire.

Tidy Ending or Cliffhanger?
Tidy ending, although I will accept a little ambiguity now and then.

Sticking Close to Known Historical Fact, or Using Historical Fact as Wallpaper?
Close to historical fact, and I suspect most readers of this blog will agree.

Morning Reading, Afternoon Reading or Nighttime Reading?
Nighttime, unless it's the weekend, and then it's all of the above.

Series or Standalone?
Standalone, but I will glom onto some series. Like Margaret Frazer's Joliffe mysteries, Anne Perry's William Monk series, and more I can't think of now.

Favorite Book of Which Nobody Else Has Heard?
Alison McLeay's Sweet Exile, which I mentioned in my Top 5 list a while back. I'd also say Brian Wainwright's Within the Fetterlock, except that many readers of this blog have likely heard of it.

Catching up on blogging

In my efforts to be way ahead of my deadlines for a change, this is my first chance to blog for a while. Seems everyone has a "life trumps blogging" post every so often, no? In the last week I've read three novels and written reviews for six. Vanora Bennett's Portrait of an Unknown Woman, which will get a full writeup in my May NoveList column, is my pick for the current season. To my mind it's comparable to Sharon Kay Penman at her best, and Penman's one of my favorite authors.

The snow's still hanging around, though it may hit 40 today, which means a muddy, slushy mess in our immediate future. This photo (taken by Mark) of our backyard over the weekend is pretty funny.

Some historical bits and pieces.

On her website, Joan Druett - author of the Wiki Coffin maritime mysteries set in the 1830s - offers a contest: who can find the most technical errors in the cover design of her latest, Deadly Shoals? Even if you're a landlubber like me, you can discover clues by reading the first chapter, which is online.

A couple Publishers Marketplace deals:

Author of THE BLOOD CONFESSION Alisa Libby's historical novel based on the life of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, to Mark McVeigh at Dutton Children's, by Esmond Harmsworth at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency (world).

I'm curious to see a YA treatment of Catherine "yours as long as life endures" Howard's life, but I assume an author whose last YA novel was based on Erzsebet Bathory is up to it.

Sheila Kohler's BLUEBIRD, OR THE INVENTION OF HAPPINESS, to Susan Allison and Jackie Cantor at Berkley, by Carol Lazare at Other Press.

This is good news about the paperback rights for this biographical novel of Irish-French aristocrat Henriette Lucy Dillon; the hardcover will be out in April. My review of Bluebird was out in the 2/15 issue of Booklist, though it's not on Amazon yet.

Snow day!

Here's our backyard, on a beautiful sunny Wednesday morning, and as you'll see, it's feeding time at the zoo. None of the footprints were made by humans. EIU's classes are cancelled again today (this never happens), so with no scheduled hours this afternoon, I've emailed in my intentions to take some time off. I'll still be working my usual Wednesday evening reference desk shift tonight, assuming I can get out of the driveway, but I don't expect much business. What's more, the library's closed Friday for Presidents' Day.

Early this morning I wrote my review of Sharon Ewell Foster's Abraham's Well, for HNR, and I've already started reading Vanora Bennett's Portrait of an Unknown Woman, for review for NoveList; it's excellent so far. Two more historical novels for Booklist review are en route, for publication in their April "spotlight on historical fiction" issue. I've also got at least two more books in the immediate TBR pile. But with all this unexpected free time, I plan to curl up on the couch and get a good amount of reading done.

Sidenote to any librarian reading this - I have a large number (maybe 30 at present) of non-historical fiction paperbacks for free giveaway to your library, in return for a receipt I could use for tax purposes. They're a mix of paranormal and erotic romance, contemporary mystery, and women's fiction, mostly. All brand new, unread, 2007 publications. My library has said "enough" because our paperback shelves are overfull, and I've already donated plenty to our book sale. If you'd like them, send me your mailing address and I'll have a large box in the mail to you soon (and every so often, if you want regular shipments). If more than one librarian replies, I'll divide the box up, or alternate between you. Thanks!