Top Ten Tuesday: Historical Settings I Love

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish where we get a new topic for a top 10 list.

This weeks topic is right down my alley. I’m fascinated with History, hence why I’m a History graduate. I love getting to explore all these different time periods and learning about the social, cultural and political landscape that dominated their time and in turn helped shape our current landscape. Basically this weeks topic is my opportunity to unleash the history nerd. Enjoy.

These are the 10 historical settings I’d love to see explored in books.

1. The World Wars

There are several books that take place during this time period such as, The Book Thief. I absolutely love this setting. This period is horrific, brutal and tragic. What I love about books like The Book Thief is that they highlight this brutality and emphasize the fact that there are no real victors in war, there are only victims. There’s no glory only pain and death with casualties on all sides. 

2. Hawaii

Hawaii is on my priority visit destinations. The state is undoubtedly beautiful but there’s also a rich history to the islands. Culturally you have the influences of North America, Asia and the traditional Polynesian culture. On top of that, the state has also had it’s fair share of tragedy and hardships and I would love to see that being explored in books. 

3. The Vikings

I love Scandinavian history, in particular the Norse mythology. Typically the Viking Age covers the period A.D. 793–1066 and there are several topical events that can be explored here. I always think it’s important to remember that the Vikings are not just brutish raiders, they were a community that were in search of a sustainable location to settle. 

4. Arthurian Legends

I grew up on the Arthurian legends and a lot of the locations in the legends happen to be right on my doorstep. So, I feel a bit of a personal connection to these tales. Everyone that has read The Raven Boys knows about Owain Glyndwr’s alignment as a Mab Darogan (Son of the Prophet), the sleeping hero set to rise once again and restore Wales to its former glory. Well this legend, this myth was largely constructed with King Arthur’s legend. I absolutely love everything about this topic. 

5. The Picts

The Scottish highland enigma. This was one of my favourite topics in my degree because they are such a mystery. There’s not a lot known about the Picts and historians have always questioned the reason behind their disappearance; did they die out or did their disappearance tie in with the acculturation brought about by the Vikings. On top of that you have the wonderful stone symbols scattered around Scotland that are so fascinating. 

6. USA’s Civil Right’s Movement

This period is still very relevant to contemporary society. The discussion on the racial situation is still ongoing and still changing. I love this period because it highlights the power of ones voice. This movement sparked the need for change and highlighted the injustice and discrimination that plagued society.

7. Angevin Empire

This was my favourite topic at university. Henry II is such a fascinating character. He was a calculating political maneuver. This historical period has so many fascinating figures; from Henry the Young King, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Louis VII, Thomas Beckett, Philip Augusts etc. On top of that the chronicles of that time are very telling and equally as fascinating in their documentation of the events. 

8. Ancient Greece

This is the time period I would time travel to. Greek mythology is another favourite of mine and I would love to learn more about the classical antiquity period. 

9. Colonial America 

I don’t actually know a lot about this period. My main association would be to the witch trials and the Roanoke colony. I’d love to know more about this period and honestly the Lost Colony would be such a good book topic/setting.

10. Ancient Egypt

I love the hieroglyphs, the pyramids, the historical characters (Cleopatra etc). I love everything about this historical setting. 

Those are my ideal historical settings. Which period in time would you like to explore?