A passion for historical novels

By Lee Hyon-soo

I am passionately fond of historical novels, which convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of past ages. For me, historical novels serve as a time machine by which to travel to the past in diverse locales.

A Chinese historical novel titled “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” has been and still is very popular in Korea. It was written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century.

In my youth I read its Korean version many times, and I was fascinated by the heroic acts of its main characters. I also read many Korean historical novels written by celebrated authors such as Lee Gwang-su and Park Jong-hwa.

After I came to Canada in my early 30s, I started to read historical novels in English. Critics credit Sir Walter Scott with the creation of the genre in English in the early 19th century.

I enjoyed his masterpiece “Ivanhoe” which, set in 12th century England, tells the tales of medieval chivalry, romance and glory. I also read English versions of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” and Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” among other European historical novels.

My favorite contemporary historical novelists are Gore Vidal, Leon Uris, James Clavell and James Michener. I have devoured almost all of their works. On the off chance that you have not heard of them, I would like to share with you what I know about them.

Gore Vidal authored “Julian,” “Burr,” “1876,” “Lincoln,” and “Creation,” among other works. Not only was he a great storyteller, but he was known for his terrific sense of humor. His novels are filled with witty aphorisms. Whenever I came across humorous passages in his novels, I paused to relish them.

Leon Uris wrote “Exodus” which is a moving story about the founding of the State of Israel, “The Haj” which is about Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland, and “Trinity” which addresses the chronic conflict in Northern Ireland.

James Clavell authored many enthralling novels about Asian countries. “Shogun” is a dramatization of Ieyasu Tokugawa who established Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. This feudal military dictatorship ruled Japan until Meiji Restoration of 1868.

“Taipan” is about merchant princes who dominated commerce in the colonial Hong Kong. “Noble House” depicts Hong Kong in the 1960s. “Whirlwind” is about Iran caught up in a revolution in 1979. “Gai-jin” describes the lives of the foreigners who dwelt in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate era.

James Michener won Pulitzer Prize for “Tales of the South Pacific” which became the basis for the Broadway and film musical “The South Pacific.”

He went on to write epic novels about many countries, namely, “The Source” (Israel), “The Caravans” (Afghanistan), “Covenant” (South Africa), “Poland,” “Mexico, etc. His novels about America include “Hawaii,” “Centennial,” “Texas,” “Chesapeake,” and “Alaska.”

Michener’s historical novels were based on detailed historical, cultural, and even geological research. So meticulous was his research that I thought that he was assisted by a team of professional researchers.

But in his autobiography titled “The World Is My Home” he disclosed that he did all the research by himself. He also said that when he wrote novels about foreign countries, he lived a few years in the country he was writing about in order to gather information and consult with local experts.

All of the historical novels mentioned above became best-sellers worldwide. It is fun indeed to read historical novels in which fascinating stories unfold about bygone days.

In addition, we can learn a lot from informative historical novels which are based on solid historical facts.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Toronto, Canada. His email address is tomhslee@hanmail.net.