Non Fiction or Fiction writing set in Belgium?
Feb 7th, 2006, 01:53 PM
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Non Fiction or Fiction writing set in Belgium?
Dear Travelers,
In anticipation of our upcoming trip this Spring we always enjoy reading either fiction set in the country or good non-fiction about history or histroical characters. Can anyone recommend some good reading about Belgium? Possibly some WW I history or historical fiction about Flanders or WW II history about the Ardennes?
Anything else?
Thank you in advance!
Maria
In anticipation of our upcoming trip this Spring we always enjoy reading either fiction set in the country or good non-fiction about history or histroical characters. Can anyone recommend some good reading about Belgium? Possibly some WW I history or historical fiction about Flanders or WW II history about the Ardennes?
Anything else?
Thank you in advance!
Maria
Apr 14th, 2006, 08:23 PM
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For some great factual historical fiction set in the medieval times when Bruges and Belguim was an important trading centre for Europe, try Dorothy Dunnet's fabulous 4 part series on the House of Niccolo. The books are Niccolo Rising, The Spring of the Ram, Race of Scorpions and Scales of Gold.
Although the main characters are fictional, the books are filled with real people who fill the history books. The storyline follows a poor boy who apprentices to a dye house in Bruges and his rise to fortune.
This series is what got me so interested in visiting Belguim!
Although the main characters are fictional, the books are filled with real people who fill the history books. The storyline follows a poor boy who apprentices to a dye house in Bruges and his rise to fortune.
This series is what got me so interested in visiting Belguim!
Apr 15th, 2006, 12:34 AM
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Maria, may I second dragonflydesign's recommendation of the Dorothy Dunnet series? Her books are complex, beautifully written, and full of vivid descriptions of the 15th-century world. One of the real-life figures was Anselm Adorne, a merchant banker of Bruges who had some very interesting dealings with Niccolo, the dyer's apprentice.
dragonflydesign, the Niccolo series ran to eight books in the end, so if you haven't found the remaining four yet, you have days of happy reading ahead of you. Enjoy Bruges, and be sure to visit the Jerusalemkirk, where you will find the tombs of Anselm Adorne and his wife Margiet van der Banck. Look, too, at the stained glass windows. The one with the unicorn depicts Anselm.
Anselm
dragonflydesign, the Niccolo series ran to eight books in the end, so if you haven't found the remaining four yet, you have days of happy reading ahead of you. Enjoy Bruges, and be sure to visit the Jerusalemkirk, where you will find the tombs of Anselm Adorne and his wife Margiet van der Banck. Look, too, at the stained glass windows. The one with the unicorn depicts Anselm.
Anselm
Apr 17th, 2006, 06:29 AM
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Have you also read the Lymond Chronicals series by Dorothy Dunnett - another fabulously compelling and absorbing series! Again taking place in 14th - 15th century Europe and with a great zing at the end of the last book
Apr 17th, 2006, 07:29 AM
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Although it covers events that extend well beyond Belgium, A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman offers a good look at western Europe during the 14th century. The Battle of the Golden Spurs, one of the first attempts at Flemish independence is discussed in some detail. The book is non-fiction, but reads like a novel.
Apr 17th, 2006, 10:46 AM
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A couple of thoughts:
The Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus is a massive novel set during the WWII occupation. It's quite controversial, both on the question of its literary merit and because of its views on the Flemish-French divide.
Resistance by Anita Shreve is a romantic novel also set during the WWII occupation. Shreve's novel are very popular. Frankly, I found this one pretty trite (and I found the supposed English-as-a-second language spoken by one of the main characters jarring and not linguistically logical), but it's a quick read and maybe you'd like it.
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild is about King Leopold II's unbelievably savage treatment of the Belgian Congo (which he held as his own private property) and the reactions against it. I highly recommmend it; although not set in Belgium, it does elucidate a period in Belgian history.
And two books that don't exactly fit your criteria, but are about Belgium:
The Factory of Facts is a memoir (thank goodness, not one of those I-overcame-my-dysfunctional family cliche ones) by Luc Sante, a writer who moved with his family from French-speaking Belgium to the US. It has a lot about national identity and character.
A Tall Man in a Low Land by Harry Pearson is a pretty funny work of travel lit about a Brit's holiday in Belgium.
The Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus is a massive novel set during the WWII occupation. It's quite controversial, both on the question of its literary merit and because of its views on the Flemish-French divide.
Resistance by Anita Shreve is a romantic novel also set during the WWII occupation. Shreve's novel are very popular. Frankly, I found this one pretty trite (and I found the supposed English-as-a-second language spoken by one of the main characters jarring and not linguistically logical), but it's a quick read and maybe you'd like it.
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild is about King Leopold II's unbelievably savage treatment of the Belgian Congo (which he held as his own private property) and the reactions against it. I highly recommmend it; although not set in Belgium, it does elucidate a period in Belgian history.
And two books that don't exactly fit your criteria, but are about Belgium:
The Factory of Facts is a memoir (thank goodness, not one of those I-overcame-my-dysfunctional family cliche ones) by Luc Sante, a writer who moved with his family from French-speaking Belgium to the US. It has a lot about national identity and character.
A Tall Man in a Low Land by Harry Pearson is a pretty funny work of travel lit about a Brit's holiday in Belgium.
Apr 17th, 2006, 03:33 PM
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dragonflydesign, the last four books in the Niccolo series are:
The Unicorn Hunt
To Lie with Lions
Caprice and Rondo
Gemini
I believe they are still in print. I loved the Lymond series as well.
Anselm
The Unicorn Hunt
To Lie with Lions
Caprice and Rondo
Gemini
I believe they are still in print. I loved the Lymond series as well.
Anselm
