Who hasn’t wondered what [insert famous person’s name here]’s life was really like? Authors are no different; there are wonderful fictionalized biographies out there that richly imagine the lives, loves, and tragedies of many fascinating historical figures. Try one of these titles and enjoy the fun of experiencing someone else’s life for a while.
The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey
Take a peak at Fin de Siecle Vienna through the eyes of Emilie Floge, mistress and sometime model to Gustav Klimt. Their complicated, passionate relationship plays out amidst Vienna’s dramatic shift from cosmopolitan city at the turn of the century to the harsh realities of the war years.
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Learn about a young writer named Ernest Hemingway through the recollections and experiences of his first wife, Hadley. Paris in the ‘20s comes to vivid life, with all the glitter and hardships a struggling writer and his family experience.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The story of Henry VIII and his wives is well known and well told in many books, both fiction and nonfiction. However, not many authors focus on the part that Thomas Cromwell played in the events surrounding Henry and Anne Boleyn’s marriage and its aftermath. Mantel won the Booker Prize for this engrossing tale of royalty and political intrigue.
The Women by T.C. Boyle
The life and loves of Frank Lloyd Wright played out on a grand scale, often on the sheets of tabloid newspapers. Told from the point of view of Wright’s four great loves, the reader is drawn into the wild ride that was the influential architect’s life.
