(no subject)

[sixbeforelunch]

I'm looking for three things:

One, novels set in America that take place before the 1850s and are in no way belonging to the "old west" genre. So, Colonial Period, American Revolution, War of 1812, etc. Things that don't involve being kidnapped by "Indians" would be preferred, though if anyone can suggest stories that manage to remember that Europeans were not the first people to set foot on the continent without using those cultures as nothing more than plot devices, that would be nice.

Two, historical romance novels set in either the same time period as above or in Restoration/Georgian/Regency England that aren't about the wealthy, influential, titled, etc.

Three, historical romance novels set in either America or England (same time period) that have CoC either has main characters or as fleshed out supporting characters.

I'm not looking for all three in one book, though if such a book exists, I would be interested in hearing about it. Also, the book doesn't necessarily have to be a Romance Novel in the strictest definition of the genre. Mainly I don't want something tragic and I don't want something that's too heavy.

Comments

[damned_colonial]

Fitting option 1 and 2: Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January" series are mysteries set in 1830s New Orleans with a main character of color.

In re: 2, when you say "England pre-Victoria" am I to take it you mean "19th century, pre-Victoria"? I can't think of very many in that era, but I have more that are much earlier.

I'm not sure whether the Sharpe series (military adventure stories) counts for your purposes -- he's a working class character as are most of the recurring secondary characters. (The series is mostly set outside of England, though, plus IMHO they're not very well written.)

Most other military/naval adventure series set during the Napoleonic period follow middle-class characters. Horatio Hornblower, for instance, is a country doctor's son. Admittedly the characters usually get richer and more influential over the course of the story, and even very junior officers are influential aboard ship relative to the majority of the crew.

[sixbeforelunch]

In re: 2, when you say "England pre-Victoria" am I to take it you mean "19th century, pre-Victoria"?

Actually, I'll take anything from the Restoration to Prinny's death. I've edited the post to reflect that.

Thanks for the suggestions. :)

[arch]

Okay, I have to recommend Catharine Maria Sedgwick's Hope Leslie, which was actually written in the 1820s but is set in 1643. It's basically a direct response to James Fenimore Cooper, and there's a fantastic Native character named Magawisca, and while it's still a little problematic in the ways that novels from the 1820s are, it is surprisingly feminist and equal-minded toward its many Native characters, so it holds up amazingly well. Here's the Wikipedia article, if you'd like more info, but the plot summary is super-detailed so you may not want to read it if you prefer to avoid spoilers.

[forodwaith]

Oh, I enthusiastically second the Benjamin January series. They're excellent.

And Sarah Donati has written a series set in post-Revolutionary War New York state. They've gotten good reviews from mainstream sources, but I haven't read them myself so I can't speak to her depiction of First Nations.