Interesting piece by Antonia Senior in today's Times about the merits of historical fiction.
She maintains that more of it should be put on the school syllabus to encourage interest in the subject.
I would advocate employing enthusastic teachers to bring the subject alive along with more field trips. Battle Abbey is one of the best. You really get a sense of what happened in 1066.
But while we're on the subject I would recommend the Warrior of Rome series by Harry Sidebottom. He is a leading academic in the field of ancient history and his expertise informs his writing with an integrity that you rarely find elsewhere in the genre.
But what about you lot?
Posts
Yup, agree re Warrior of Rome. Conn Iggulden has written a cracking series about Caesar (and another equally good trilogy about Ghengis Khan). Jack Ludlow's done another good trilogy about Rome, but Iggulden's is a more entertaining read. And we share the same view on Bernard Cornwall's Azincourt. I was however left underwhelmed by Manda Scott's series on Boudicca. Am currently waiting for publication of Simon Scarrow's last novel in his Wellington and Napolean quartet.
ReplyDeleteHowever, would I have read these in preference to Sven Hassel as a 14 year old? Probably not - and I'm not sure Sven Hassel's books count as historical fiction...