5 Historical Novels That Will Broaden Your Horizons
Historical novels are capable of transporting us to another universe and to other eras. A good historical novel has the potential to take us out of our reality. This is the case because they introduce us to unfamiliar cultures, exotic dishes, unforgettable landscapes and endearing characters.
Historical novels are part of a narrative subgenre that recreates a historical period. And which presents non-fictional characters and events using fictional arguments. As in any other novel. This sub-genre was born in Europe in the 19th century. It is part of the field of Romanticism and quickly became popular worldwide.
We have produced a compilation of five historical novels evoking periods from prehistory to the Middle Ages, passing through feudal Japan and then Ancient Rome.
The Cave Bear Clan (Jean Marie Auel)
This is the story of Ayla, a girl who has been isolated from her tribe because of an earthquake. It must therefore survive and be accepted by another tribe. The problem is, this tribe is Neanderthal. For this reason, she can only be accepted by tribal members once after demonstrating courage. Before that, they try to hurt him.
This historical novel is the first book in the Children of the Earth saga published in 1980. Ayla’s story allows readers to feel prehistory. The moment that most allows them to feel like living in this period is the final phase of the Ice Age, when Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals lived in conflict, competing for resources and territories. .
The author did not only document the most important hypotheses concerning the first years of human existence. She also researched some theories about the survival techniques of our ancestors. Thus, the novel presents different hunting and collecting techniques, habits, constructive methods of the first societies.
Me, Claude (Robert Graves)
Among the historical novels, Moi, Claude is a classic. It is presented as an autobiography of Tiberius Claudius who was the fourth emperor of Rome in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The work relates in a certain way the times of the Roman Empire from the assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BC) to Caligula (41 BC). It is therefore a representation of the greatness, cruelty and perversion of many of the rulers of Imperial Rome.
This novel written by Robert Graves in 1934 is considered one of the best historical novels of the 20th century. This is due to the presentation of a multitude of situations involving different literary genres throughout history. It is a mixture of betrayals, disillusionment, humor, insanity and even battles. In this way, it presents in a very complete way the life and the key figures of a turbulent period of classical Roman history.
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follet)
This novel evokes the construction of a majestic Gothic cathedral. It tells the story of many characters who are directly or indirectly related to the construction of the temple. The novel presents the lives, the difficulties and the death of several generations, from the builders to the kings.
The novel written by the famous Ken Follet received great international success and gave birth to a trilogy. The author transports us to the Middle Ages of England, in a fascinating world of conflicts between kingdoms and dramas of the nobility. The storyline is hardly matched by other historical novels.
The perfume : story of a murderer (Patrick Süskind)
It is the story of a young man, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who has a prodigious sense of smell and who is obsessed with finding the perfect fragrance. Thus, he climbs the social ladder with determination and becomes a renowned perfumer. He creates fragrances with fantastic abilities that can generate moral states such as sympathy, love or compassion. However, to create these perfumes, he must murder young virgins in order to extract their bodily fluids.
This story, written by Patrick Süskind in 1985, takes place in 18th century France. It is a rather realistic description of the time. A period during which the magnificent smells of perfumes perfumed the French streets, just like the nauseating odors which drained from the sewers into the public roads. Perfumes were used by the high society living in the courtyards while the people had to endure the odor and the foul fumes daily.
Shogun (James Clavell)
It is the fascinating story of the meeting between the Western world and the Eastern world. This meeting is personified by an English sailor embodied by Shogun at the beginning of the 17th century. Over the course of history, the sailor develops. At first he is a prisoner without honor, then he becomes a samurai in the service of the great Shogun.
Thanks to this character, two worlds that everything opposes like Western and Eastern culture are reconciled. This becomes possible by accepting differences and respecting the Japanese philosophy and spirituality of the feudal era.
Shogun is a novel filled with adventure and philosophical reflections which was written by James Clavell and published in 1975. It is a novel particularly recommended for those who are in love with the Far East. And who want to know more about the life of the samurai.
Our thoughts Don’t miss out on the books we offer, because a good novel can help heal your emotional pain.
