Grace, write that novel! Now I feel I must make room for Kristin and Godric. May I also suggest The Ramsey Scallop, about youth on pilgrimage on The Way in the Middle Ages? My daughter and I read this when she was a sixth-grader and it has stuck with me for years.
The Cadfael series are good reads, and set in the first English civil war - the "Anarchy" of the early Norman era. Paul Kingsnorth's "the Wake" is on my to read list too, from just slightly earlier.
Knight with Armour, by Alfred Duggan follows an Anglo-Norman knight on the first crusade. It's one I've read a couple of times as it's got a very interesting perspective and the main character feels authentic in his attitudes even if it makes him less likeable to a modern reader.
I've also starting exploring the world of Arthur and his Knights. I've got this crazy idea for a fantasy novel that is set in a world loosely inspired by Arthuriana and classic Fairy Tales. Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain is also a massive influence. If you haven't read that series, you really should. They're delightful books!
Oh I hope you do end up writing your own Arthurian-inspired stuff, that would be so fun! I have read Lloyd Alexander, but a long time ago. I should return, thanks for the reminder!
Thanks! I'm starting to play around with ideas for the story and the setting. I'm working with a fiction-writing coach. Nonfiction seems to come more naturally to me, but I've always dreamed of writing a novel.
I love Buechner's Godric. I first read it probably in the spring 1999, and I've read it several times since. I definitely recommend it.
In the history of the novel, I think Malory's Morte Darthur deserves a nod. Vinaver's conclusion that Malory wrote eight different romances has been challenged.
It's not quite a novel as we would see one, but it is much closer than people used to believe. Malory plants seeds throughout about things like the Grail quest, the feud between the houses of Lot and Pellinore, and the fall of Camelot.
It meanders, but it's a pretty cohesive storyline of Arthur's reign.
Grace, thank you for these recommendations! I read Laurus a couple years ago and was captivated by the narrator's voice. This was no modern telling of a story about the middle ages. The characters' way of thinking through problems, the narrator's description of events, the perspective of the entire novel -- were medieval. As I think through the outline of my novel about the 1349 Black Death in London, I want the perspective to be immersed in the middle ages like that. Your book Jesus Through Medieval Eyes is proving very helpful!
This is going to sound like a really off the wall suggestion but I really enjoyed Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. There’s a framing story set in modern times but the bulk of the novel is set in a small German village in the 1300s and main character is the local priest. It’s sci-fi so I know that will turn people off but, like the best sci-fi, it’s really about much more. And I thought it did a really good job of depicting the medieval philosophical outlook on the world. Eifelheim https://a.co/d/b7hK5O5
I was hoping you'd mention "Laurus" by Vodolazkin! It has been on my list for a minute (I've read some of his other novels and will commend him without reservation). Since Vodolazkin himself is a Russian medievalist by formal training, I'm curious what you'll think of his approach and style.
As to Buechner, I guess I'll have to put him back on the list. I hadn't enjoyed "On the Road with the Archangel" one bit, but perhaps "Godric" will be a re-entry point.
Grace, thanks for the plug for the Lewis-Eliot articles!
I read Kristin Lavransdatter this summer and was really surprised by it. I had only planned to read the first volume (I falsely assumed they were somewhat standalone). I read the first pretty quickly, found I couldn’t stop, and then plowed through the rest. It’s an amazing series.
Oh this is so fun, I'm so glad I've read most of these and thoroughly agree with you!
But I can't believe I haven't asked you this sooner: for some reason I have a gapping hole of Arthurian legend. I don't know if I just skipped those classes in college?? Anyway, tell me what I should actually read. Mallory? The French guys? I don't want to read every single one, but the best??
Oh this is such a good question!! The must-reads, in my opinion, are Malory's Morte Darthur (which as I mentioned, Steinbeck actually really closely follows, which is fun), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the poems of Chretien de Troyes. There's so much out there, and other people might have other suggestions, but those are my personal favorites.
Grace, write that novel! Now I feel I must make room for Kristin and Godric. May I also suggest The Ramsey Scallop, about youth on pilgrimage on The Way in the Middle Ages? My daughter and I read this when she was a sixth-grader and it has stuck with me for years.
Haha, thank you. And you MUST make room for Kristin and Godric. I will make room for The Ramsey Scallop!
The Cadfael series are good reads, and set in the first English civil war - the "Anarchy" of the early Norman era. Paul Kingsnorth's "the Wake" is on my to read list too, from just slightly earlier.
Knight with Armour, by Alfred Duggan follows an Anglo-Norman knight on the first crusade. It's one I've read a couple of times as it's got a very interesting perspective and the main character feels authentic in his attitudes even if it makes him less likeable to a modern reader.
thanks for the recs!
I've also starting exploring the world of Arthur and his Knights. I've got this crazy idea for a fantasy novel that is set in a world loosely inspired by Arthuriana and classic Fairy Tales. Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain is also a massive influence. If you haven't read that series, you really should. They're delightful books!
Oh I hope you do end up writing your own Arthurian-inspired stuff, that would be so fun! I have read Lloyd Alexander, but a long time ago. I should return, thanks for the reminder!
Thanks! I'm starting to play around with ideas for the story and the setting. I'm working with a fiction-writing coach. Nonfiction seems to come more naturally to me, but I've always dreamed of writing a novel.
Hi! I took screenshots of every single recommendation and will be adding them all to my list! Thank you so much for sharing!
I *would*love to know why you call Don Quixote “bizarre”—I would affectionately refer to it as “ingenious,” “avant-garde,” and “captivating”!
Lol, it is all those things. I use bizarre very affectionately 😂
I love Buechner's Godric. I first read it probably in the spring 1999, and I've read it several times since. I definitely recommend it.
In the history of the novel, I think Malory's Morte Darthur deserves a nod. Vinaver's conclusion that Malory wrote eight different romances has been challenged.
It's not quite a novel as we would see one, but it is much closer than people used to believe. Malory plants seeds throughout about things like the Grail quest, the feud between the houses of Lot and Pellinore, and the fall of Camelot.
It meanders, but it's a pretty cohesive storyline of Arthur's reign.
I still think it’s too similar to a serialized chronicle to be properly called a novel, but it’s certainly on its way :)
Don Quixote feels quite different to me.
Grace, thank you for these recommendations! I read Laurus a couple years ago and was captivated by the narrator's voice. This was no modern telling of a story about the middle ages. The characters' way of thinking through problems, the narrator's description of events, the perspective of the entire novel -- were medieval. As I think through the outline of my novel about the 1349 Black Death in London, I want the perspective to be immersed in the middle ages like that. Your book Jesus Through Medieval Eyes is proving very helpful!
Thank you! Good luck with your novel!
This is going to sound like a really off the wall suggestion but I really enjoyed Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. There’s a framing story set in modern times but the bulk of the novel is set in a small German village in the 1300s and main character is the local priest. It’s sci-fi so I know that will turn people off but, like the best sci-fi, it’s really about much more. And I thought it did a really good job of depicting the medieval philosophical outlook on the world. Eifelheim https://a.co/d/b7hK5O5
Sounds super intriguing!
I was hoping you'd mention "Laurus" by Vodolazkin! It has been on my list for a minute (I've read some of his other novels and will commend him without reservation). Since Vodolazkin himself is a Russian medievalist by formal training, I'm curious what you'll think of his approach and style.
As to Buechner, I guess I'll have to put him back on the list. I hadn't enjoyed "On the Road with the Archangel" one bit, but perhaps "Godric" will be a re-entry point.
I like On the Road with the Archangel, but Godric is far better! I hope you like it.
Agreed! And I hope you get to grace us with your own novel one day (after we're done devouring your new book, of course).
I love a good Wishbone reference! :)
I have some new books to add to my endless TBR list. Thank you!
The feel of rushing home after school to watch Wishbone was indescribable 😂
I don’t trust people who write medieval fiction.
😳😳😳
😉
May I also suggest “The Cloister and the Hearth” by Charles Reade? I fear it is somewhat neglected these days.
The title alone sounds lovely, will check it out.
My favorite medieval-fiction picture book is Brother Hugo and the Bear, about monastic libraries. Which doesn't sound like it should be engaging and funny, but it is: https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Hugo-Bear-Katy-Beebe/dp/1681416239
I read my kids the Book of Boy a few years ago, and I loved it, probably more than they did. Pilgrimage, pardons, and a very strange narrator: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Boy-Catherine-Gilbert-Murdock/dp/0062686208/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=102PQCBDWNRW6&keywords=the+book+of+boy&qid=1694522500&sprefix=the+book+of+b%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1
Speaking of pilgrimage and pardons, this novel is wickedly funny and absolutely heart-rending. It's set on the cusp of the Reformation, more Renaissance than medieval, but when it deals with trafficking in saints' relics, it has to rely on medieval holdovers. So good. https://www.amazon.com/Relic-Master-Novel-Christopher-Buckley-ebook/dp/B00WRBQOG4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3126U2BO8FPWB&keywords=the+relic+master&qid=1694522607&sprefix=the+reluc+mas%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1
I've had my eye on Brother Hugo and the Bear but just have never bought it--will hastily acquire now that you've recommended :)
And that novel sounds right up my alley! Thanks for the recs!
I got lucky and found Brother Hugo in the library years ago, so I don't have a copy, but it's one we checked out multiple times.
Grace, thanks for the plug for the Lewis-Eliot articles!
I read Kristin Lavransdatter this summer and was really surprised by it. I had only planned to read the first volume (I falsely assumed they were somewhat standalone). I read the first pretty quickly, found I couldn’t stop, and then plowed through the rest. It’s an amazing series.
It really is. I will be chewing over those books for a while.
Catherine Called Birdy!!! What a blast from the past! I loved that book.
Oh this is so fun, I'm so glad I've read most of these and thoroughly agree with you!
But I can't believe I haven't asked you this sooner: for some reason I have a gapping hole of Arthurian legend. I don't know if I just skipped those classes in college?? Anyway, tell me what I should actually read. Mallory? The French guys? I don't want to read every single one, but the best??
Oh this is such a good question!! The must-reads, in my opinion, are Malory's Morte Darthur (which as I mentioned, Steinbeck actually really closely follows, which is fun), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the poems of Chretien de Troyes. There's so much out there, and other people might have other suggestions, but those are my personal favorites.