Who can even remember that long ago?
Two Lauren Groffs and an Excalibur.
I just finished a book by Lauren Groff, who is leaning way into interesting, non-obvious narratives that take place several hundred years ago. I am here for this, Lauren!
So I’m going to tell you about that book, and then another Lauren Groff book, because, as I always say, it’s my newsletter. And I think you should read both! And then, a book that is special to my heart. Our theme this week is: Historical fiction set many hundreds of years ago.
Guess what! There’s an archive spreadsheet (that I really need to update) where you can see all my recommendations in one handy spot! If you’re a subscriber, you can have it!
🐻 The Vaster Wilds
Lauren Groff, 2023
No big deal or anything, but this is about Jamestown!
!!
Last year, I went to Jamestown for the day, learned all about the Starving Time, and then caught norovirus there and had my own disgusting experience, so I totally get it. This book follows the narrator who has a name but prefers not to use it (so cool) as she escapes the odious fort and tries to make it on her own in the punishing wilderness of Virginia.
This is not really a plot-heavy book, but it is just such a gorgeously written and as always, deeply researched one. Groff just has such a way with language and does not lose you in her 17th century ways—there’s some sort of witchery in her weaving English we can understand with words those gross never-bathing Elizabethans used. It’s mesmerizing. I never wanted it to end.
Recommended for: Those who like history and some tales of lice.
⛪ Matrix
Lauren Groff, 2021
Lauren Groff again! This novel precedes The Vaster Wilds by one novel generation, and is kind of similarly gross and cold and hardscrabble. But this time, we’re in the 12th century and we’re in an abbey with a bunch of nuns. These nuns are dead tired of the outside world telling them what to do, and their new recruit and then leader Marie is ready to haul them into a new age of absolute defiance.
My dear friend Emily has endearethed herself to me further by describing Marie as “that one giant lady from Game of Thrones,” and I can see it so clearly. Groff does some similar cool language weaving in this book, only differently. And better than I did in the sentence at the start of this paragraph. \Also, no male pronouns are used in this book. It’s neat.
Recommended for: Those who like history, Eleanor of Acquitaine, and gardens that at first grow like one solitary turnip but over time turn bountiful. That kind of thing.
🦉 The Once and Future King
T.H. White, 1958
If you’ve seen Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, then you know the plot of one part of this book—and that’s the vibe of that one part, too. A fun romp through the childhood of Arthur (or Wart) as he hangs out with Merlin. If you’ve seen Camelot, then you know the plot of another part—and that’s the vibe of another! A bittersweet love triangle between Arthur, Guinever, and Lancelot (sadly, no singing, but call me up and I will do it for you over the phone).
If you’ve seen Excalibur, then you know the plot of yet another part of this book! Heroic adventure stuff. Slow motion while riding horses and wearing armor while a chorus sings “Carmina Burana.”
The tone changes with each book within the book, which is really a multivolume series bound together. It gets more grown-up as Arthur ages, and by the time they’re searching for the Holy Grail it’s nearly a religious text, which I think is just genius. Some classics are classics for a reason, and I’ve read this about 10 times.
During the pandemic, Quartz gave us each $30 to buy ourselves something indulgent, which nowadays brings a tear to my eye. I mean, imagine. Anyway, I spent it on an early edition of this book! It’s pretty. I’ll re-read it soon. Thanks, Zach and Katherine!
Recommended for: Those who like humor and swords and owls, then romance and chivalry, then heroes and quests.
And now, a bonus recommendation!
Cassandra at the Wedding—Dorothy Baker, 1962
Recommended for: “Twins and the twin-interested, siblings pursuing wedding sabotage, neurotics, aimless youth, brandy soda drinkers, Greta Gerwig, if she’d like material for a spiritual prequel to Lady Bird.”
Recommended by:
! Tim has this great new Substack that you should subscribe to—his last one was about heists and capers of 2023. The last three books he loved were A Single Man, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, and Blood Meridian.If you’ve got a recommendation, by all means, give it to me! You can do so by hitting reply to this email, shouting your truth, and we’ll get it going.
That was the thirty-sixth EELS! As always, send any and all questions, feedback, and shouted book recommendations by hitting reply.
📚 Susan