Hot Topic: Biographical Fiction

BIOGRAPHICAL FICTION

Maureen Collins

/ Jun 15, 2017

Reading novels based on the life of an historical person gives the reader the best of both worlds - a glimpse into a past world based on facts, and a narrative in which the writer conjures up the person's life based on their own interpretation of the life in question. The genre differs from historical fiction in that the main character has actually lived as opposed to being fabricated.

Some examples from our collection are:

The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs

Lucia Joyce, talented daughter of Irish writer James Joyce, is making a name for herself in late 1920s Paris. Lucia falls for fellow ex-pat Samuel Beckett, which is unrequited. Emotionally fragile, Lucia visits psychiatrist Carl Jung, and is destined to live in her father's shadow.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

Mitza Maric is a brilliant student studying physics at an elite Zurich University. When she meets young Albert Einstein, it is a meeting of the mind and of the heart. They marry and work together, but is there room for more than one genius in a marriage?

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Mamah Borthwick Cheney falls in love with Frank Lloyd Wright when she and her husband employ the renowned architect to design a new home for them. Both Cheney and Wright leave their respective families to be together, which causes scandal in the society of Chicago in the early part of the twentieth century.

Dunstan: one man will change the fate of England by

Conn Iggulden

England is a nation divided, in the year 937. Dunstan of Glastonbury is raised and taught by monks. He became so well known for his love of learning that he was summoned to the court of King Athelstan. Dunstan later took Holy Orders and had influence at court with several Kings of England and the fate of an entire nation.

Circling the sun by Paula McLain

Beryl Markham was an aviator, horse trainer and adventurer in the glamorous and decadent world of British expats living in Kenya in the 1920s. Her relationship with Denys Finch Hatton and Out of Africa's Karen Blixen, changed the course of her life.

The Larnachs by Owen Marshall

The story of the relationship between Conny, William Larnach's third wife, and Larnach's son, Dougie. The socially restrictive world of late nineteenth- century Dunedin and Wellington comes to life, and a picture is painted of the period when Larnach's Castle hosted glamorous balls and festivities.