I really liked The Rise and Fall of DODO, and I was wondering if you all knew any other good books that portray aspects of culture through the perspective of someone sent into a past historical period, having to learn about how to survive and blend in. i would prefer something historically accurate, but it doesn't matter so much as long as the world building is good.
by shortcake-candle
13 Comments
The Bridge to Rembrandt, Rage Against the Machine or Timeless Passion
It’s a YA book, but _King of Shadows_ is really good. The main character is a youth actor preparing to play Puck in _ A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ and gets sent back to Shakespeare’s London.
Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove, woman who is a single mom and lawyer is sent back to the Roman Empire around second century CE. MC’a life is swapped for someone who lives there and she struggles to fit in when no one knows what happened to her. Details on ancient Roman cities, politics, way of life snd so on is really pretty good.
It’s a long series but Kate Baker’s The Company series, first book In the Garden of Iden. All the books are fascinating to me but it takes a couple of them to get into the idea of cyborgs who are placed through time to mine it for the benefit of a 24th century corporation. First book is Elizabethan England, second involves native Americans in I think is late 17th century Alta California in what is now Southern California, third book Hollywood before LA is really formed in 19th century, and so on. At various points humans from the 24th centuries travel back to work on one of the company’s projects in these various times. Historical detail is good.
1632
Timeline by Michael Crichton
Time and Again by Jack Finney. An artist is recruited to travel back from 1970s to 1880s as part of a government time experiment, ends up investigating a mystery. Yeah written in the 70s and some dated ouchy moments fifty years later, but I loved it and re-read it so many times growing up – bit of a slow burn, but I like that and it really goes into the details of the period for the immersive experience you’re looking for. Plot is more meh but that’s not the point.
Connie Willis’s time travel books, especially Doomsday Book and Blackout/All Clear.
11/22/63 by Stephen King. Such a great time travel book!
it gets mentioned all the time on here but 11.22.63!
Outlander fits this to a tee.
Plenty to keep you going as well as they are doorstops (planned to be 10 of them).
Got anyone not familiar it’s a 1940s nurse who goes back to 18th century Scotland (then travels to France and the American colonies).
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
The Ministry of Time would be my rec that’s not already on here!
(It’s kind of backwards for what you’re asking, but I don’t know how to say that without spoilers…I’m sorry!)
Time travelers almanac. It’s a story collection.