Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This weekly shared “meme” has a different theme each week and is shared by many blogs. We’re aiming to come up with ten things between us each week so they won’t be in any particular order!
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. For a list of past and future Top Ten Tuesday topics and to find out more about Top Ten Tuesday, click here!
This week we share ten times in history we love to read about. For all our Historical Fiction reviews here on Tea in the Treetops, you can use our Historical tag. Have we missed any? Please let us know!
Top Ten Historical Settings We Love
1. Regency London and England
Of course, any historical list would not be complete without our old favourite, Pride and Prejudice. There’s something about the parties and balls, the ladies in their bonnets and the gentlemen in their top hats, the scandal and the awkwardness of romance at that time!
There are now plenty of other stories set around the time of Jane Austen’s tales, and I’m not just talking about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The recently released Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club features demon hunting in the early 1800s, and Garth Nix’s Newt’s Emerald adds magical realism to the mix. If you like time travel stories you might also like to check out The River of No Return, set in both Regency times and the present day.
2. Venice
Philippa and I loved reading Masquerade in 2014, but so far I haven’t seen any other books set in Venice in the mid-1700s! Can you recommend any? The Carnivale sounded like a lot of fun!
3. France
Kate Forsyth’s Bitter Greens tells several different stories, the main story being a retelling of Rapunzel. The meta-story outside of it is a tale of scandal in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. It sounds like a fascinating time!
4. The 1980s
Natasha says: “The eighties because it’s fun to reminisce, and Eleanor & Park because I love the mix tapes!”
5. World Wars
It’s not the most enjoyable time to read about, but the early 20th century makes an amazing setting for some heartbreaking stories. Among those I’ve read in the last few years include All the Light We Cannot See, set in France. The Beast’s Garden is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in Germany in the Second World War. A favourite of mine is Louis de Bernières’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, set amid the Italian occupation of the Greek Island of Kefalonia.
6. Ancient/Iron Age Britain
The dark ages in Britain were a wild time, where forests covered the lands and separate tribes ruled their territories. During last year I read Skin, a story of a young girl learning of the magic of her ancestors. It reminded me of another ancient British series I read a while ago, Manda Scott’s Boudica series, a much more gritty story but amazingly told.
7. The Roaring Twenties / Jazz age
The “golden age of the 1920s”, as told in The Great Gatsby and others such as Brideshead Revisited, or on the other side of fortune in A Moveable Feast.
8. Ancient Greece
Philippa has been trying to get me to read Sara Douglass’ Troy Game series for a while now, and while it is based on mythology, that still counts, right? We also recently read Legacy of Kings, based around the life of Alexander the Great.
9. Ancient Ireland
I loved reading the books of Caiseal Mor such as The Circle and the Cross about Druids, Harpers and the threatening Romans. More recently, Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy involves ancient Celtic mythology.
10. Asian history or influence
I find books with an ancient Asian influence fascinating, whether fantasy with Asian inspiration or actual historical fact. Unfortunately Richelle Mead’s Soundless contained barely enough Chinese culture to be classified as an influence, but there are plenty more to try. Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson is also fantasy, but the Chinese setting felt a lot more realistic to me. The Walled City is based on a real place in Hong Kong, and I’m told that Eon and Eona by Alison Goodman are very good. Unfortunately I haven’t read any of the actual Asian historical classics such as Memories of a Geisha!
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Anni
Anni lives in Brisbane, Australia with her young family. She loves everything fantasy and science fiction and believes sleep is really very underrated.
Nicole Luiken
I’m really looking forward to Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club as I quite enjoyed Eon and Eona.
For Venice… Dave Duncan has a fantasy series set there, first book is The Alchemist’s Apprentice, and the 4th book in Mary Robinette Kowal’s glamour series is also set there.
I’m also really loving Simone St. James paranormal mysteries, which are set between the World Wars.
And since you mentioned the 1980s… my novel Violet Eyes is set in a Historical Immersion there.
Angelya
Great suggestions, thanks Nicole 🙂
Lianne @ eclectictales.com
Great list! Regency England is such a fun period to set a novel in, especially romances. And agreed about the world wars, some of the most amazing novels I read were set in that period.
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Greg
Ireland, Britain and venice would be on my list too. I’d love to see more stuff set in Venice particularly, and the 1980’s with all the awesome music- we need more books set in that era. 🙂
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Tracy @ Cornerfolds
The one I’d most like to visit on your list is Ancient Greece (or Rome, really)! I would LOVE to be able to see it in person! Great list 😀
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Julie
Great selection! I love WWII. THE BEAST’S GARDEN has a gorgeous cover. It sounds interesting concept. I’m adding that to my list to check out. SOUNDLESS is in my TBR pile. I like the 1980s too, especially since I grew up during that time.
JJ
I love WWII fiction, some of my favourite books are based during that time period!
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Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies
Great list! I’ve been wanting to read The Beast’s Garden, but it doesn’t seem to be available when I look for it except as an audiobook. Can’t wait to see the movie version of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies! 🙂
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