{"id":392,"date":"2022-11-25T13:03:55","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T13:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/?p=392"},"modified":"2022-11-25T13:03:56","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T13:03:56","slug":"ellies-historical-fiction-recs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/ellies-historical-fiction-recs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ellie’s Historical Fiction Recs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To celebrate the publication of The Dazzle of the Light<\/em><\/a>, Georgina Clarke\u2019s new novel inspired by London\u2019s notorious 1920s crime syndicate the Forty Thieves, Ellie from VERVE is bringing you six more unmissable historical reads to sink your teeth into this winter\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little<\/em><\/a> by Edward Carey<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The origin story of Madam Tussaud you never knew existed! Set in the late eighteenth century and accompanied by dozens of vivid illustrations, Little<\/em><\/a> takes you from the poverty of pre-revolutionary Paris to the grandeur of the royal court. It\u2019s mischievous, macabre and incredibly moving; perfect for fans of A Tale of Two Cities <\/em>or Tim Burton\u2019s movies. (See also: The Swallowed Man<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Carey\u2019s weird and wonderful retelling of the \u2018Pinocchio\u2019 parable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottled Goods<\/em><\/a> by Sophie Van Llewyn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A fascinating and truly unique novella-in-flash that explores the communist regime of Nicolae Ceau\u0219escu in 1970s Romania through the lens of folklore and magical realism. Full of wonderful imagery and written in short chapters that are each just a couple of pages long, it\u2019s the ideal book to pick up when you need five minutes to decompress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marriage Portrait<\/em><\/a> by Maggie O\u2019Farrell<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As immersive and richly-detailed as the painting at its centre, The Marriage Portrait<\/em><\/a> whisks you away to Renaissance Italy and into the heart of the Florentine court. Inspired by Robert Browning\u2019s \u2018My Last Duchess\u2019, O\u2019Farrell\u2019s novel combines coming-of-age drama with domestic suspense and a murderous conspiracy. Warning: you\u2019ll be itching to visit Florence after this! (See also: Hamnet<\/em><\/a> \u2013 another of O\u2019Farrell\u2019s fabulous, literary-inspired novels.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delayed Rays of a Star<\/em><\/a> by Amanda Lee Koe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Koe\u2019s clever, cinematic narrative takes its inspiration from a 1928 photograph which put three very different women centre-stage: future Hollywood icon Marlene Dietrich; the world’s first Chinese-American film star, Anna May Wong; and notorious director Leni Riefenstahl. We follow this trio as their lives spiral and intersect across Europe and America, exploring politics, power, complicity and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harlem Shuffle <\/em><\/a>by Colson Whitehead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Family saga meets the classic heist novel in 1960s New York. Whitehead tackles themes of race, class and masculinity but still manages to keep you emotionally connected to the characters and fully invested in their criminal exploits, all the while maintaining the edge-of-your-seat suspense that\u2019s the hallmark of a successful thriller. Not to be missed. (See also: The Underground Railroad<\/em><\/a> \u2013 and the brilliant TV adaptation directed by Barry Jenkins.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga<\/em><\/a> by Prof Bernhard Schlink<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A powerful meditation on memory and morality which spans from the late nineteenth to early twenty-first century. After Olga falls in love with Herbert, their relationship is shaped by societal prejudice, cross-continental travel and the tumultuous events that will mark German history forever. The book is interspersed with letters that will have you rooting for Olga and her stubborn devotion. Perfect for fans of Schlink\u2019s bestseller The Reader<\/em><\/a> (or its Kate Winslet film adaptation!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To celebrate the publication of The Dazzle of the Light, Georgina Clarke\u2019s new novel inspired by London\u2019s notorious 1920s crime syndicate the Forty Thieves, Ellie from VERVE is bringing you six more unmissable historical reads to sink your teeth into this winter\u2026 Little by Edward Carey The origin story of Madam Tussaud you never knew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":0,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":402,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions\/402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}