What to Read After Kostova's The Historian
Where to Find More Great Historical Mystery Novels
Finding new authors can be a difficult task for any reader, especially when you fall in love with one book and one author. When The Historian become a bestseller and mainstay in the world of popular fiction there was one problem: it was the author's only book. With its dark feel, focus on the mysterious Vlad the Impaler, and its globetrotting plot, The Historian is very compelling and thought provoking. But where do you do after you’ve finished it? Author Elizabeth Kostova may have written a tremendous book, but it is her only book to date. Here is a small list of authors and titles that any lover of The Historian will find equally as good, if not better, than Kostova’s bestseller.
Matthew Pearl
Like Kostova’s work, Matthew Pearl’s writing is based around historical figures that actually existed. However, instead of would-be vampires, Pearl focuses on the mysterious sides of well-known authors.
The Dante Club (Random House, 2003) Set in 1865 Boston, The Dante Club centers around a series of murders that have a strange resemblance to Dante’s Inferno. At this time four of the greatest literary minds in American history (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and J.T. Fields) come together to translate Dante’s great work into English. Soon all four men are forced to decipher what the murders mean. It is an excellent novel filled with true history and a 19th-century Boston that will keep you up at night.
The Poe Shadow (Random House, 2006) In continuation to The Dante Club’s dark atmosphere, The Poe Shadow takes place in 1849 Baltimore and is written in an eerie first person narrative of one Quentin Clark. The plot begins with the bizarre death of Edgar Allen Poe and follows Quentin’s quest to find the truth that Poe was murdered. The Poe Shadow is a strong novel filled with plot changes and deep character development as the voice of Quentin’s narrative slowly changes as the pages turn. A can’t miss novel for any Historian fan.
Katherine Howe
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (Hyperion, 2009) If Matthew Pearl and Elizabeth Kostova were to have a daughter it would be Katherine Howe. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is an exceptionally written book set in both the present time and in 17th and 18th-century New England. The book revolves around the Salem Witch trials and a young grad student trying to start her thesis. The story jumps back and forth to episodes that surrounded the leading up to and the aftermath of the witch trials, and how one family dealt with them. What sets this book apart is the main plot line. What if some of the women who died in the witch trials were actually witches? With real historical characters and believable artistic liberties, Deliverance Dane is a great hybrid of two great authors.
New Elizabeth Kostova Book
The Swan Thieves (Little, Brown and Company, January 2010) Come early 2010 Elizabeth Kostova will finally have a second novel under her belt. The Swan Thieves follows Andrew Marlowe, a psychiatrist, as he becomes entangled in the world of French Impressionism. He is tapped to help famous artist, Robert Oliver, after the painter has what appears to be a mental breakdown. Marlowe's journey to discover the root of Oliver's problems takes him all over the world as he tries to unravel the artists past. While the subject matter and characters are a move away from The Historian, Kostova's new novel is sure to please as her writing draws you into every character giving you deep back stories and an ever-changing setting.
Whether you have read these authors or not it is always a good idea to visit your local library or bookstore to help you find wonderful, new authors. There are always new voices to be heard.
Vlad the Impaler
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