Over the past few years I have read very little historical fiction, and yet it is one of my favorite genres to read.
This year I seem to be picking up a few more historical fiction books to enjoy.
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler is the fictionalized story of John Wilkes Booth's family. I know Fowler struggled with giving Booth any more attention than he has already received for the assassination of Abe Lincoln, but the focus on his family is thought provoking. This is a hefty book and took me a little time to get through, but it moves along fairly quickly, moving between various Booth family members. Although a work of fiction, I feel like I learned a great deal about this family. John was one of the youngest Booths, the family plagued with several children dying at a young age. Money problems were ever present, and their father was married to another woman who eventually came to the United States from England and then began to harass John's mother. The theater was something that the Booths were born into, and watching the way this was an integral part of their lives was also interesting. I've had a minor obsession with Abraham Lincoln since first grade and this look at Booth's life provides an interesting perspective.
The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers is an historical fiction novel that hits upon a topic I have not yet read about: the tobacco industry in the South. Maddie is dropped off at her aunt Etta's house while her mother tries to find herself a new husband. Maddie's skills as a seamstress are put to the test when Etta ends up in the hospital. There's a gala coming up celebrating the tobacco wives and Maddie will be sewing the dresses the women will wear. The tobacco industry is the backdrop to the entire novel, and when Maddie discovers that tobacco isn't the healthy substance the local doctor and president of the tobacco industry claim it is, she doesn't know what to do with this information. This one will have a lot of appeal for book clubs and because it is an easy read should attract a wide audience.
There are so many other historical fiction novels out there that I want to find time to read. While I love a good WWII novel, I'm also excited that these are both from a different time period.
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