Historical fiction

Lately I like very much reading historical fiction books. I can learn some parts of history and still can enjoy my reading. During my schooldays, I learnt a lot about Indonesian history and only a flash of the world's story; so it's nice to be able to know what happened in the other parts of the world long time ago.

Now I'm reading The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George, recommended by a friend. I must say that the book is very interesting and I plan to read another Ms George's book titled Mary Queen of Scots and The Isles. When I first received the book, I was glad to find that on the first 2 pages, a family tree of Henry VIII was included. The family tree helps a lot because there are too many characters in the book. Earlier this month, I watched A Man For All Seasons movie, a story about Sir Thomas More who lost his head because he refused to sign the Act of Succession which enabled King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England. (I hope to be able to see The Tudors series soon!)

Before the Henry VIII book, I read Zoia's Gold by Philip Sington. Zoia was closed to Tsar Nicolas but had to leave Russia after the revolution. She got help from a Swedish diplomat who later married her and hoped she could make her life meaningful. Zoia's Gold reminded me alot to Possession by A.S. Byatt. If in Possession two scholars in modern time try to dig out the life of two Victorian poets, in Zoia's Gold an art dealer does it for the auction's catalogue. The book was actually not bad and I liked the language. Unfortunately, I read this book after Shaman.

I liked very much The Physician by Noah Gordon, so I bought Shaman, the sequel. The story was about Rob J Cole, who had lost his hearing because of an illness, but determined to be a doctor. The story set in America around the civil war years. It was very rich and so after this, Zoia's Gold seemed quite slow.