Historical fiction has always held a special place in my
heart and my book shelf. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that both my parents
were History majors, although neither pursued a career in History. Growing up
in India, we were never taught to love history in school. It was one of those
dreary subjects that you had to get through by committing to memory dates of
battles one never cared to remember. It never really served a purpose I thought. At home though, there were countless books on American History and Literature (one of my dad's interest) that it came in very handy during my Naturalization exam. After all not many immigrants had a 3 volume Carl Sandburg biography of Lincoln or an Atlas of the US Presidents or a collection of Walt Whitman poems for childhood reading material!
Fiction on the other hand was something I have always
enjoyed and reading “The Three Musketeers” was probably one of my earliest
forays into the genre of Historical fiction. This category has taught me more
history than the combined 12 years of schooling did, not because they portrayed
history accurately (far from it), but they told the story in a way that made me
want to learn more and sure enough when one’s interest is piqued one ends up
learning more. Ponniyin Selvan is another classic example. It was probably the
first novel in Tamil literature that I read out of my own free will, and
reading it made me go out and get Neelakanta Sastry’s History of South India.
So this month when I read “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel I should
say I have learned so much more about the Tudors than I care to admit. I knew
very little about the Tudors when I visited Hampton Court Palace 20 years back
other than the famous phrase “Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded,
Survived” that reminded us of the fate of Henry VIII’s 6 wives. Oh,
the things people do for a male heir! For
a person who doesn’t care for palaces, Hampton Court was the only one I
really
wanted to see (actually I really only wanted to see the maze in which I
gloriously got lost), thanks to another book – “Three Men in a Boat”
by Jerome.K.Jerome.
Back to Mantel’s book, I simply loved every word
that was
written. Having Cromwell as the protagonist and narrating the story from
his
point of view was plain brilliant! Very often history is told from the winner's point of view. Historical fiction on the other hand has the advantage of being able to retell history (within limits) from another point of view.
A well written historical fiction is
not very different from a Hitchcock movie. You know who the murderer is going in, but you still sit through the whole movie as the story is
told from a different viewpoint. In Wolf Hall you know going in Anne
Boleyn is going to be Queen, and no she won't be able to produce a male
heir, and she is going to be beheaded eventually but you are still
engrossed as the viewpoint is that of Cromwell's. I can’t wait to read
the sequel “Bring up
the Bodies” and the third part of the trilogy when it comes out. I am
also
eagerly awaiting the series on PBS this April.
History itself has now become a favorite category of mine. “People’s
History” by Howard Zinn ranks as one of my favorite books of all time. Recently
Ramachandra Guha’s works on India have also brought a new perspective of Indian
history to me.
“Path between the seas” by David McCullough was my
pick for OBOC-Panama.It is the account of the building of the Panama
Canal, and all the intrigue associated with it. The story of the French
failure and Ferdinand De Lesseps' fall from grace constituted the first half
the book. Those who lived by a canal (Suez) died by a canal (Panama). The
second half of the book was about the American role in the
canal.
Although a very long book, i absolutely enjoyed it. At the end of the
day the story was about human beings and their inflated egos, and their
colossal achievements and failures. Inability to accept defeat, to see
beyond party/country lines, to be open to new ideas - these are all
human traits that can have serious consequences especially when undertaking a
project of the size of the canal. The story of trying to control and
eradicate yellow fever/malaria in Panama is by itself worth reading. The
whole theory that mosquitoes were behind the illnesses was laughed at,
that it took many many years, and claimed many thousand lives before it got
accepted.
History
repeats itself they say. That ought to make history a valuable lesson for us.
Unfortunately its importance is not communicated well and/or is
completely lost on us. Maybe historical fiction is one way to kindle
some of the interest back into our lives. Now all we need is more re-telling of history from her point of view!
YAY--you wrote about two books I have read. Wolf Hall and In The Heart of the Sea.
ReplyDeleteI too loved Wolf Hall--I knew a great deal about the Tudors (had to...I was an English major after all), but still learned much. I also gained a new respect for Cromwell. I had the "natural" prejudice against him that "A Man for All Season" instilled in me. Because of that movie, I had admire Thomas More, but after reading Wolf Hall...not so much.
I found Hilary Mantel's "voice" in the book utterly amazing. Such a wonderful way of weaving the story. And, yes, do read Bring Up the Bodies. I am now waiting for the third in this trilogy. And I plan to watch the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall, coming soon.
As for In the Heart of the Sea--I read that with interest (Moby Dick, after all) and horror at the actual tale itself. I must admit, I was definitely rooting for the whale!
I recommend to you--if you have not read it--The Empire of Necessity by Greg Grandin. It is a wonderful assessment of how slavery came to be such a dominate force in history. And he tells much of the story woven around a slave uprising.
Since you frequently write about books I have not (yet) read, I had to chortle this time, and say--I READ THEM...or at least two of them.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write! You read books that I haven't read either so I value your recommendations (I started reading Louise Erdrich because of you). Will certainly look up The Empire of Necessity next
DeleteOh, I meant to ask--have you visited Hampton Court Palace. We were there most recently this summer--it was where our daughter picked to go for her birthday.
ReplyDeleteHaving been in quite a few places where "history happened" I really go a sense of history there. Almost expected to see old Henry VIII come around the corner!