This week’s Weekly Geeks challenge is to convince a friend that historical fiction isn’t boring. Being a monster, a book reviewer, a crypt keeper and a haunter of basements and attics, it’s a natural that I would be intimately familiar with historical fiction. I have even reviewed an example of historical fiction here: The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers, and sooner or later I’m sure there will be more book reviews of this nature. I’ve also mentioned The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which I would recommend to anyone. However, to the real die-hard “I hate historical fiction” person I would recommend Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This book was so good that I still savor the memory of reading it. For the person who wants to read something hilarious, I would recommend To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, which is a fine historical piece dressed up to resemble a science fiction novel.
To be honest, however, I really appreciate fiction that was written in its own period and that as a result contains an indelible stamp of the time it was written in. One of my guilty pleasures is reading trashy pulp fiction from the 1960s. Mmmmmmm. In the ’60s, being trashy just seemed so natural.
Here are some books from my OTHER collection. Since the year they were published, some of these books have faded into well-deserved obscurity. In fact, it’s a pretty safe bet that all but two of these books are currently out of print. One of these books sparked an entire genre and is still studied in college classes today. At least one of them was written under a pen name by an author who became famous for writing other books. And then there’s Jim Thompson and Carter Brown. Check out these covers and the cover blurbs.
LOST, LONELY, BOYISHLY APPEALING – this is Beebo Brinker – who never really knew what she wanted – until she came to Greenwich Village and found the love that smoulders in the shadows of the twilight world. – Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon
CHESTER DRUM takes the oddest “trip” of his career – with a tall death-dealing blonde and an even taller dose of LSD. – Drum Beat Erica by Stephen Marlowe
MODESTY BLAISE – Men tremble at the sight of Modesty Blaise. Out of lust… and out of fear. Not only is Modesty a gorgeous hunk of woman, she is also one of the deadliest females this side of Mata Hari. – Modesty Blaise by Peter O’Donnell
RIVAL FOR A CORPSE – The sizzling brunette collected shrunken heads but she offered Al Wheeler five thousand dollars to bring her the live heart of her ex-husband. – The Passionate by Carter Brown
POP. 1280 – 1277 of the citizens were just plain folk – thieves, simpletons, cheats. It was those other 3 – Myra, Amy, and Rose – who made Pottsville the hottest town this side of the Equator – Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson
THE MORNING AFTER – For one thing, the room I was lying in was strange. The bed was strange, the lights were strange – even the telephone was strange. For another, there was a girl in the room. She was sitting on the window sill. She was wearing a slip. And she was nobody I knew. – Some Like it Cool by Robert Kyle
THE SHOCKING TRUTH – The probing, intimate novel that dares focus public attention on the low moral values of some men of medicine who mix professional practices with excesses in lust! – Doctors’ Women by Phillip Sorrell
THERE IS NO BLURB, unfortunately, but with a cover like this, who needs one? – Father of the Amazons by Pete Lewis
Whatever you do, don’t miss the pink mules on the cover of The Passionate.
As a bonus, all but two of these covers were illustrated by the same artist. Extra credit points go to whoever can name the artist. Well, I have basements to haunt and crypts to keep so I’ll catch you on the flip-side. Thanks for joining me for another Weekly Geeks installment.
I want to know: What’s your guilty reading pleasure?
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