American Historical fiction?

Question

What is a good american historical fiction book? I have to do a book report and don't know what book to choose. Any book non war related would be great. I'm a little tired of those. Thanks!

Answer 1

Lol. nevermind. i didn't see the part about no War. you should try:

Sister Noon by Karen Joy Fowler

The Sweet By and By by Jeanne Mackin

Property by Valerie Martin

Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve

Answer 2

North and South by John Jakes is the first in a series set before, during and after the Civil War. It represents the different lives of a family in the South and one in the North. Though it doesn't avoid war, it isn't only about war, itself. It's very good.

Likewise, John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles is set around the time of the American Revolutionary War, but isn't only about war.  It is also a very good series.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a good story set during the American Depression.

James Michener wrote some interesting American historical novels like Centennial, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and Chesapeake.

There is also the young adult novel, Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes about Boston in the 1770s - including the Boston Tea Party.

There are quite a few novels centered around the Civil War era like Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (you don't actually follow the fighting, itself, but Scarlett O'Hara and those left behind when the men fought), Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (not about the war itself, but more a coming of age story about four sisters who are growing up during the Civil War and whose father is away fighting), The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (this one IS about the war, itself), The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (also about war) and many others.

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is set around the turn of the century (1900).

My Antonia by Willa Cather is about the pioneers; so is her O Pioneers! The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder is also about the pioneers.

There is also The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which is set in Puritan Boston in the 1600s.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London is set during the gold rush days in the Northwest and is primarily about the dog, Buck. It's rather brutal but very good.

I have not read this one, but it sounds interesting: he Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark by Frances Hunter.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry would be good if you like reading about the West.

Though her books are generally categorized as romance, Dorothy Garlock often writes American historical fiction set either in the 1800s or early 1900s (though I've read a few set in the 1700s). You might want to try A Place Called Rainwater by Dorothy Garlock (Oklahoma in the late 1920s).

You might also be interested in reading a book like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

If you enjoy mysteries, you may want to read Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series - it starts with Fer-de-Lance - which is set in New York around the 1920s. They are mysteries not historical fiction, per se, but you get the flavor of that era.

You could also read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, about the flapper era.

There are many more, but hopefully this will help.

Answer 3

Anything by John Jakes is good--avoid the North and South Trilogy if you don't like war.