This week's topic is Settings I'd Like to See More Of. I am tweaking it slightly and instead making more of a Places I Like to Read About.
1. England, Scotland, Ireland
(Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Periods)
I write them this way, instead of as the UK, because my favorite periods to read about occur when they were three separate countries. Give me ancient people, the Plantagenets, Stewarts, and Tudors all day long - up until Elizabeth I's anyway because that spoiled brat is annoying as hell. I love this period the most, particularly the medieval world.
Newgrange, 2010
Stonehenge, 2009
2. Anglo-Saxon England
Newgrange, 2010
Stonehenge, 20092. Anglo-Saxon England
(Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Sussex, Wessex)
Anglo-Saxon England would have been a lively but dangerous place. I am particularly interested in Wessex and Mercia, but all deserve their own attention, as collectively they became what we know as England today.
3. Castles/Palaces
I love castles and am super lucky to have been to several:
Edinburgh Castle, 2009 - I'm inside St Margaret's Chapel
Holyrood, 2009 - Mom and I had so much fun running around Scotland for a few days
Stirling Castle, 2009 - Our tour stayed so long, they closed the gate. Oops! I must return to this one. There was a lot of restoration work going on so the actual castle was closed off. The inner-workings and surrounding buildings within the walls were still pretty amazing.
Windsor Castle, 2009 - This was a sub stop, due to Salisbury Cathedral being closed that day for some repairs. Most of Windsor was shut down also, due to QEII knighting people, so I did not get to go to St George's Chapel to yell at Henry for being such an ogre.
Blarney Castle, 2010 - I kissed the Blarney Stone. Not at all terrifying to hang upside down over the battlements of a castle.
Bunratty Castle, 2010
Malahide Castle, 2010
Dublin Castle, 2010 - The newest sections are obviously less interesting than the original Viking and Norman ruins, which we went underground to see. The door would've swung open, knocking down anyone trying to gain entry. It was absolutely stunning to see these beautiful ruins of the original castles.
Additionally, while traveling through Scotland and Ireland we saw several ruins, including Urquhart, which I must see up close when we return.
Edinburgh Castle, 2009 - I'm inside St Margaret's ChapelHolyrood, 2009 - Mom and I had so much fun running around Scotland for a few days
Stirling Castle, 2009 - Our tour stayed so long, they closed the gate. Oops! I must return to this one. There was a lot of restoration work going on so the actual castle was closed off. The inner-workings and surrounding buildings within the walls were still pretty amazing. Windsor Castle, 2009 - This was a sub stop, due to Salisbury Cathedral being closed that day for some repairs. Most of Windsor was shut down also, due to QEII knighting people, so I did not get to go to St George's Chapel to yell at Henry for being such an ogre.
Blarney Castle, 2010 - I kissed the Blarney Stone. Not at all terrifying to hang upside down over the battlements of a castle.Bunratty Castle, 2010
Malahide Castle, 2010
Dublin Castle, 2010 - The newest sections are obviously less interesting than the original Viking and Norman ruins, which we went underground to see. The door would've swung open, knocking down anyone trying to gain entry. It was absolutely stunning to see these beautiful ruins of the original castles.
Additionally, while traveling through Scotland and Ireland we saw several ruins, including Urquhart, which I must see up close when we return.
I really enjoy reading about 'daily life' in castles and palaces in the periods mentioned above. I find castle life for everyone, not just kings and queens, really interesting,
4. Roman Britain
I find as I get older I am not as interested in ancient Rome itself, but I love Roman Britain - especially when it concerns Boudicca.
Bath, 2009
Bath, 2009
5. The Five Boroughs
(Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan)
These three books will give you an idea of what I love about NYC, which is basically everything.
6. Ancient Lands of the Middle East
I really love biblical archaeology especially, but I am endlessly fascinated by so many of these lost civilizations still being unearthed today.
Happy Reading!
Sarah
I couldn't muster up anything for this one, but now that you mention #6....yeah, I'd LOVE to see more histories or historical fiction novels set in the middle east -- war novels from the Arab-Persian wars, stories of Egypt's conflict with Nubia, that sort of thing. The stretch from the Tigris to the Indus is staggering in its variety and historical importance.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I did my post a couple weeks ago (trying to be prepared and all for school starting up by getting several ready to just post), otherwise I would be mightily annoyed by the fact that this week's TTT link-up isn't posted on Jana's blog yet.
DeleteI am super into the Middle East, thousands of years ago. Persia is what gets me every time.
Well, at the time you posted, it WAS only Monday... :-p
DeleteStephen, you should look up "Christian Jacq" if you're not already aware of him. LOTS of Ancient Egyptian fiction.
DeleteStephen - TTT posts at 11:00 PM on Monday evening (Central time) ;)
DeleteCK - How does he do in citing sources? Some historical fiction writers are really great at this, listing the sources they drew material from. Others, not so much *cough*stop writing nonsense Philippa Gregory*cough*
DeleteNot sure about sources (the books I have of his are BURIED under some other stuff) but: Born in Paris in 1947, Christian Jacq first visited Egypt when he was seventeen, went on to study Egyptology and archaeology at the Sorbonne, and is now one of the world's leading Egyptologists.... So I'm guessing his KNOWS his stuff OK!
DeleteThat's cool, I will have to take a look at some of his stuff.
Deletewe're having great fun watching the Time Team dig up old Roman villas... magical...
ReplyDeleteIsn't it?? It never ceases to amaze me what is beneath our feet. Using Boudicca, again, archaeology digs have found the 'Boudiccan Layer' from when she burned Londinium to the ground. That we can see that, just in the soil...magical indeed!
DeleteSomething about Roman Britain and the Anglo- Saxon period, as well as medieval era, are endlessly fascinating to me. Even though I tend more towards fantasy I love good historical fiction in those areas as well. I'd love to read more early period Scotland stuff too.
ReplyDeleteRoman Britain is such a trip - going to Bath really was like being transported to a different era. It was so hard to leave, and I simply could not take enough pictures. It was magical.
DeleteSome great settings here!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I do have a wider range of interests, but these are consistently my most most favorites.
DeleteI love Roman/ Anglo Saxon Britain as a setting too, Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff) is one of my favourites. Scotland and Ireland were on my list too - don't forget Wales though!
ReplyDeleteI love reading about the Anglo-Saxons, and Alfred the Great. Scotland is my favorite country in the entire world. There are many places I still want to explore in England, but I don't think I would go back to Ireland again. I do want to go to Northern Ireland though, because I MUST see where they built Titanic before I die. Wales has never been a huge interest to me, though I do have a couple books about various leaders.
DeleteI don't seem to be able to stay out of Mercia - I'm working on my fourth novel set there and have a nonfiction book about it out too. My next book also goes to Mercia, but other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms too - watch out for it being released by Pen & Sword next year. So I'm keeping the Anglo-Saxon 'flag' flying!
ReplyDeleteYes!! I asked my library to order Mercia so I will finally be able to read it when it comes in. Since it has taken so long, I am giving it #1 priority over everything else as soon as I get my hands on it!
DeleteI've seen a lot of castles over the years in Scotland and northern England. I might need to dig out all my old photos and do some history posts at some point!
ReplyDeleteOh, please do! We had very little time in England, because our focus of the trip was Scotland. There are so many things left for us to do and see in England, and I can't wait to go back.
DeleteI love all those pictures and hope to someday visit castles in England and Scotland. I love castles and would love to see more books set in them.
ReplyDeleteYou must! They are breathtaking. I love Scotland so much, such a beautiful country. Ireland's castles are beautiful too. There are so many I want to see in England, I feel like all my vacation ideas revolve around my fave historial topics.
DeleteI love to read more books set in castles, too!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
I really enjoy the 'daily life in...' types of books. And I love castles, and history, and knights and all that good stuff.
DeleteI'd love to see all of theses places as well, especially more palaces!!!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/settings-that-id-like-to-see-more-of-ttt/
-Lauren
I hope you get to see many of them, they're beautiful. I find that I sometimes prefer the ruins, like Blarney, as opposed to a place like Bunratty or Malahide that is furnished and set up to look as it did then, or a home now. To me, ruins are the most beautiful.
DeleteYes to Ireland! I have a long running love of the country. Also yes to castles - I want to visit Romania just for all the castles.
ReplyDeleteThis is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Romania would be A-MAY-ZING. I liked Ireland, but also felt this deep, profound sadness when we were out of Dublin, in the countryside. I attribute this mainly to the sight of so many famine houses and pennywalls dotting the landscape. At times it felt like out in the country, Ireland was still in that horrible decade of famine in the 1840s. So much rich, sad history.
DeleteThanks - so many people think I'm nuts for wanting to visit.
DeleteAh, yeah, that would definitely put a damper on the visit. On the bright side, knowing all that the Irish have gone through and to see the country still thriving is a beautiful thing.
I don't think it is nuts at all! There are so many places I want to visit that are not necessarily considered 'vacation spots'. I definitely understand.
DeleteIt's easy to not think about when you're in Dublin, but once you're in the countryside it is a much different feel. The population went from 6-8 Million to about 3 million by the time the famines were over, and the country has never fully recovered, population-wise. Young people often leave, looking for jobs elsewhere. Even so,it is a beautiful country with so much to offer.
I like to go everywhere. Currently in Russia/Soviet Union. I read a novel this month set in current day Syria which of course was brutal. Review of that one coming soon.
ReplyDeleteDespite my disdain for Current Russia, I am really into medieval Rus and Kiev and seeing how Russia formed. I am reading a book about Vikings and they're now on to the Scandinavian Vikings who went East instead of West.
Deletei love forests...ya never know what's hiding in there...could be good, could be bad. :-)
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
That's the problem! Nothing good just hides in the forest waiting to jump out and say, "Hey buddy, how are you today?!"
DeleteOops! Great list, Sarah! I'm not wild about NYC but I love the others!
ReplyDeleteNYC is my #1 dream vacation spot in the US. I love the history so much, going back to New Amsterdam. I wish some of the that history still existed, besides just in the street names. But I am super looking forward to hanging out on St Marks, and the Village in general, and wandering around the boroughs.
DeleteI love books set in Ireland. I hope I get to go there one day!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do too, it is a beautiful place. We visited Ireland, but did not get to go to Northern Ireland, which bummed me out because I want to see where Titanic was built. I found that Dublin is as fun and vibrant as any capital city but the countryside feels a bit heavy and sad. There are so many remnants of those terrible famine years in the 1840s, pennywalls and famine houses, it's hard to see that history staring right at you, knowing that people died and were buried right where they'd been working, putting up those walls.
DeleteI so absolutely want more Scotland and Ireland in ALL the books. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Maggie! Scotland is my most fave country in the whole world. I love it so much, my daughter's middle name is Edin (pronounced Eden), from Edinburgh. I figured naming her 'Eleanor Edinburgh' was kind of mean)
DeleteI love Boadica! I'm "meh" about reading about New York, but I can definitely get behind the other ones!
ReplyDeleteShe is such a bad-ass. I always say that my daughter was lucky I discovered Eleanor of Aquitaine before Boudicca. So, I basically call her 'Boody' and Boudicca as nicknames and remind her to always be fierce like a mighty Iceni warrior queen.
DeleteHave you read any Edoardo Albert novels? Conrad Monk is medieval England comedy and Edwin is serious Anglo-Saxon Northumbria. Both well researched and very readable :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://litflits.blogspot.com/search/label/Edoardo%20Albert
I have not, thank you for the suggestions. I do get pretty particular about my historical fiction and want evidence of research!
DeletePoor neglected Wales! lol They have a fascinating history before being swallowed by England but it hasn't dimmed their nationalistic fire... :)
ReplyDeleteI've been to all of the Scottish castles/palaces you've listed, I grew up pretty close to Edinburgh. I've been to Windsor Castle and Stonehenge but the only Irish castle I've been to is Bunratty. I absolutely love castles and historical ruins. I spend a lot of time visiting them. :)
I do have a few books about early leaders from Wales, and I would absolutely be interested in non-fiction texts if you have any suggestions! I tend to like the history that is as far back as we can possibly know, the farther the better!.
DeleteI am so in love with Edinburgh. It was my mom's dream vacation to visit Scotland so I surprised her with a trip there in 2009. But that morning we landed, dropped our bags off at The Ben Doran, then went off to explore the city, the moment I stepped off the bus on the Mile I felt like I was home. I love it so much, I spelled my daughter's middle name Edin instead of Eden. I am supremely jealous about your proximity!
I'd love to see more of these things too! All of them. :)
ReplyDeleteThe day I went to Windsor Castle in 2011 it was closed too - can't remember why now...
Saaaaame. I love reading about them all so much.
DeleteWhat awesome photos!! Thanks for sharing <3
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was hard to choose just one of each castle especially, and Bath too. There were so many to choose from, I basically wanted to share by whole photo album, but I think that would be a bit much, haha. Thanks for coming by! <3
Delete