CALEB CARR
The Alienist and its sequel The Angel of Darkness are set in 1896 New York City and they are not for the faint of heart. Carr admits his twin obsessions are violence and childhood. Childhood is a time of great bravery and its cruelties reverberate for a long time. Carr now lives in the Lower East side neighborhood that is the setting for The Alienist. Living there keeps him angry, he says.

WALLACE STEGNER
Known as the “Dean of Western Writers,” Stegner filled the first half of the 20th century with tales of American life seen through the eyes of ordinary people. Stegner’s passion was the land and he served as a Special Assistant to Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall. Crossing To Safety & Angle of Repose are popular book discussion choices.

PAT BARKER
A British University teacher of economics and politics, her trilogy of novels about World War I was inspired by her grandfather’s experiences fighting in the trenches in France. Regeneration, Eye in the Door & Ghost Road are set during the War. Another World is set in contemporary times, but is overshadowed by the memories of an old man who fought in the First World War.

CHARLES FRAZIER
Civil War in America; a wounded deserter from the Confederate Army is trying to find his way home. Cold Mountain won much acclaim; now we have Thirteen Moons, another story of a wanderer seeking his place in the uncharted wilderness of 19th century America.

WILLIAM STYRON
Styron hit the hot spots of our history with Confessions of Nat Turner (slavery) and Sophie’s Choice (holocaust.) Race, class and personal guilt imbue all his writing, including The Long March, his account of being in the Marines during the Korean War.

ROBERT HARRIS
If ancient history piques your interest, try the thriller Pompeii. It’s a mystery unfolding as nature’s threat intensifies. In Imperium, Harris turns our attention to ancient Rome and the rise of Cicero. He also wrote Fatherland, set in an alternative world where Hitler has won the Second World War.

THOMAS FLANAGAN
The bloody course of Irish history from the 18th to the 20th century is brought to life by Flanagan in his trilogy. Year of the French, Tenants of Time & End of the Hunt, in which the impact of historical events shines through everyday life from farmer's hovel to manor hall.

AMITAV GHOSH
Glass Palace is set in colonial Burma and India and shows the evolving history of the region during the Second World War and India’s struggle for independence, as the colonized peoples figure out their aspirations and disappointments.