Historical Novels
Compiled and Indexed by Richard Seltzer B&R Samizdat Express - November 11, 2004
ISBN: 0-931968-99-2
Genre: Literature
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - January 10, 2005
Novels are normally classified as 'historical' for one of two reasons: it was written by a modern author about a past time, or it was originally written as a contemporary novel but the passage of time has caused it to become a novel about a past era. In either case, historical novels provide readers with insights into the past. Not only do these novels bring historical events to life, but they also provide a glimpse at the daily life, social organization, and belief system of our ancestors intertwined within the overall framework of the fictional story.
In his Historical Novels CD collection, Richard Seltzer has assembled a fantastic collection of historical novels from time-honored classics such as A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens to lesser known, but equally outstanding books, such as Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. In all, there are more than 340 books, all in plain text format, contained on this single CD. While the vast majority of the books are in English, you will also find a nice selection of books in French.
This collection supplies readers with an extensive library of historical novels that will delight them for years to come. It is also a treasure trove of classic novels that most high school and college students will discover are required reading. This CD collection is also an outstanding value as it is currently selling for a mere nineteen dollars.
The vast array of books contained in this collection is far too extensive to list here. However, you can find a complete, up-to-date list of all the books in this collection, as well as information on ordering the CD, online at: http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat/historical.html. To give you a brief taste of the variety of books contained in this collection, here is a list of a few of my favorites from this CD:
Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott
Master of Ballantrae, by Robert Louis Stevenson
War and Peace (in English), by Leo Tolstoy
The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope
La Chartreuse de Parme (in French), by Stendhal
The Algonquin Maid, by G. Mercer Adam and A. Ethelwyn Wetherall
Les Miserables (in English), by Victor Hugo
Ayesha, by H. Rider Haggard
Unknown to History - a Story of the Captivity of Mary of Scotland, by Charlotte Yonge
On the Trail of Pontiac, by Edward Stratemeyer
The Three Musketeers Saga, by Alexandre Dumas
Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson
The Pathfinder, by James Fenimore Cooper
I'm sure that you'll have as much fun and enjoyment choosing your favorites from this collection as I did!
On a side note: All the books in this collection can be easily opened in almost any word processing program or web browser. The CD itself, however, will only work on a Windows PC. All the texts in this collection are provided in a plain text (ASCII) version and are therefore very accessible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. In addition, included on this CD is a copy of the freeware copy of ReadPlease 2003, a text-to-speech software program that will read the text of the books aloud to you. Also included is a trail version of the commercial version of this program, called ReadPlease Plus.
Related Reviews:
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy.
One of the first 'masked' hero stories, this story follows Sir Percy Blakeney, a.k.a., the Scarlet Pimpernel, as he rescues French aristocrats from Madame la Guillotine. (Large Print)
The Jester, by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.
Set in 1096, this follows Hugh de Luc as he joins the First Crusade. Upon his return to France, he finds his son dead and his wife imprisoned. To save her, he disguises himself as a Jester and infiltrates the corrupt ducal court in which she is being held. Besides the audiobook version of this books, this edition also ships with an Audio E-book version of the book that can be read with the EaseReader DAISY reader. (Audio)
