Amazing Historical Fiction | My Ultimate Walter Scott Prize Longlist

[@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711]

Thanks for doing this. Some favourites of mine on your list like The Long Song, Once Upon a River and of course Cuddy and some to discover like News of the Dead.

[@katiejlumsden]

I think you'd find News of the Dead very interesting!

[@abhijeetkushwaha424]

Brilliant!! ❤

[@kompas29]

I am surprised there is no Emma Donoghue book!

[@jamesduggan7200]

Because I fear your tbr is becoming too thin, here are two music novels (you mentioned a fondness for the trope/genre): E. V. Yunque's ... Bill Bailey... A Symphonic Novel; and another old favorite of mine (and a historical fiction too!): A. Burgess' Napoleon Symphony. I used to chat with E V on AOL's BookShelf, and I was happy when this novel was a featured selection on BOMC (they did things differently back then, sending a little selection magazine each month, rather than a box of books). btw - Anthony Burgess was moved to write Clockwork Orange after learning he was dying of brain cancer. He wanted to provide for his family. However - obviously - he didn't pass, and went on to write several novels instead of continuing to write music.

[@thaiziono96]

Amazing video, Katie. "Half Blood Blues" goes to my WANT TO READ pile. In my opinion, music is a theme that really works well in Fiction. Sarah Water's books seems amazing, the cover is beautiful (6:20). The one I was very interested was "The Dictionary of Lost Words" by Pip Williams (13:30), Esme seems a very interesting character and it is a coming-of-age story, a genre I like a lot.

[@katiejlumsden]

They are such wonderful books :)

[@kompas29]

I've just read Act of Oblivion based on your recommendation and it is one of the best historical fiction books I've ever read. The fact that Robert Harris is the husband of Gill Hornby, another of my favourite historical fiction authors, is amazing!

[@Rosiemayj]

That's interesting, I need to get around to this one too

[@katiejlumsden]

Also, Gill Hornby's brother is Nick Hornby, who is another successful novelist. Imagine those family dinners 😅

[@kompas29]

@@katiejlumsden oh, yes, what a family!

[@cynthiaespinoza4514]

Thank you, Katie!! I loved this video and have to rewatch it to make sure to get the titles for my TBR. You're so amazing!!!🎉

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks so much :)

[@AmalijaKomar]

Robert Harris? Is he the same as the one who wrote Enigma?

[@katiejlumsden]

It is indeed.

[@jensreadinglife]

You make all of these sound wonderful! I have three of these books on my TBR shelf - The Luminaries, The Paying Guest, and Once Upon a River - and now I want to prioritize them. Thanks for highlighting all of these!

[@laracroft1829]

Thanks for this video. It’s great. I wouldn’t have minded to have all the 31 books you had before narrowing down your list.

[@Michelle-Loves-Books]

Thanks so much for this video. I've read _Now We Shall Be Entirely Free_ and I loved it. _Cuddy_ and _The Dictionary of Lost Words_ are now very high on my TBR list!

[@acratone8300]

Another nice presentation of so many books, far too many for me to read them all that appear on this channel. My interest picked up with the last three books. All of which greatly interest me. Thomas Hardy was a great man. And Cuddy sounds like it could be at least a minor masterpiece. I have a great interest in the ECW period. One of my favorite TV series was By the Sword Divided. I even own an Indian reproduction of a Civil War pistol with an English lock which predates even flintlock technology. It takes a very long time to load that monster. Too long for anyone to do much sustained mischief, LOL.

[@Tugboat_City]

Great list! Now do a TBR video about all the books from these lists that you haven't read yet but want to!

[@katiejlumsden]

Ooo there would be a lot!

[@brigittebeche4117]

I read ”the chosen” last year, I can only highly recommend it, it’s an extremely moving novel and we learn a lot about the Hardys’life. Very well written too. I am bound to read it once again, for sure.

[@launchedathousand]

Such a great variation of styles and subject matter. Quite a few of these I've been meaning to read for years and need to get too.

[@karenbethstrovas9135]

So interesting how many of these novels revolve around the craft of storytelling and the ways stories shift our lives in significant ways. Great list!

[@ReadingNymph]

I've always wanted to read The Luminaries, though it's so large I'm intimidated 😅 Some amazing books on here, added a few to my list

[@katiejlumsden]

The Luminaries is SO GOOD and really not as scary as its size makes it look 😅

[@larrymilliken288]

So many tantalizing books and I’ve only read two of them! Once Upon A River has all the elements of mystery, drama, and romance a very lovely story that engulfs the reader. The second was The Dictionary of Lost Words, which I believe, is partially based on the actual history of how the Oxford dictionary was created. Alice Loxton’s video The Secrets of Oxford’s Streets shows Dr. Murray’s post box on the curb adjacent to his home. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJTOZomFo7N_ZtU. It’s an amazing book that blends all the elements needed to keep the reader’s attention and interest. Thank you for this super interesting video, Katie!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks, Larry! I'll have to check out that video of Oxford.

[@elizabethmoloney6967]

Great video . I've read quite a few , thoroughly enjoyed and others on my tbr e.g Cuddy . Btw looking forward to your next novel ❤

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@Rosiemayj]

I've read 6 books on your list and they were all 5 star barring Mrs England, which I just thought was ok. I'm really looking forward to reading some of the other's including News of the Dead (I absolutely loved Cuddy!) and The Dictionary of Lost Words- have you read The Dictionary People, which was on the Women's prize longlist? I'm reading that at the moment, it is such a wonderfully written and fascinating account of how the OED was compiled by many different sorts of people.

[@katiejlumsden]

I haven't read The Dictionary People, but maybe I should!

[@Rosiemayj]

@@katiejlumsden I think you would really enjoy it!

[@staceydarlington5205]

Hi Katie! 😊😊😊