And here they are, my nominations for H(D)HG - in no particular order. (I'd thought to put them alphabetically, but with three of them sporting so many names, it just wasn't possible.)
1. Edith Pargeter aka Ellis Peters aka John Redfern aka Joylon Carr aka Peter Benedict (1913-1995)
(image from Mysterious Press site)
2. Barbara Mertz aka Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Michaels (1927 - 2013)
(image from Amelia Peabody website)
3. Rosemary Sutcliff (1920 - 1992)
(image from Rosemary Sutcliff blog)
4. Eileen Mary Challans aka Mary Renault (1905 - 1983)
(image from Wikipedia site)
What do you think? Any seconders? And who would you nominate as Honorary (Dead) History Girl(s)?
Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.
Silver Skin.
No, I think you've caught my favourites right there. (If we could have a Dead History Boy I'd nominate Parke Godwin, the American writer who did such a good job of bringing legendary British heroes such as Arthur and Robin Hood to believable life.)
ReplyDeleteWould definitely second Elizabeth Peters - her Amelia Peabody books are such fun! It's a very long time since I read Rosemary Sutcliff or Mary Renault, but I remember enjoying them both very much as a gel.
ReplyDeleteExcellent choices! I would put Dorothy Dunnett at the top of my list - she has an MBE for services to literature. Hilary Mantle slightly reminds me of her style but Mantle is the apprentice working in the corner and Dunnett is the master of the canvas.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sadly, of a few weeks ago, Roberta Gellis, who was utterly brilliant at the art of historical romance. Her research was superb, her characters always vibrant and of their time, and she always left this reader with an ache for more.
My vote would have to be for Mary Renault; her book, The Last of the Wine, literally changed my life! My top history boy is Patrick O'Brian, who is her equal but in the Napoleonic period at sea!
ReplyDeleteI love Sutcliffe, Peters (I have ALL the books) and Renault. How about Margaret Irwin, anyone remember her?
ReplyDeleteGreat post Joan! And I was thinking of writing about Peters this month! x
ReplyDeleteThanks for secondings and nominatings - and Catherine, I'm really looking forward to your Peters post!
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for Dorothy Dunnett, and for Margaret Irwin, who was responsible for my teenage infatuations with Robert Dudley and Prince Rupert. And Diana Norman (aka Ariana Franklin), Anya Seton, Georgette Heyer .....
ReplyDeleteGeorgette Heyer, of course! How could I leave her off! As a teenager, I adored The Scarlet Pimpernel; though now - having read Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety- I find her interpretation of the French Revolution rather loathesome.. and Marguerite Blakeney, divinely tall, with her tiny feet, must have been somewhat out of proportion!
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to say about Irwin is how well she writes. I learned a lot about style from her.
ReplyDeleteSecond all of those, and would like to nominate Cynthia Harnett who also did marvellous illustrations for her books. I loved The Woolpack, and especially The Load of Unicorn :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Leslie for Georgette Heyer! Though I have read and enjoyed the others too.
ReplyDelete