Today kicks off Wicked Wednesdays, which is much more tame than it might sound at first. Wednesdays will now be the day when I blab about guilty pleasures and oh-so-pleasant vices, broadly conceived.
Today’s topic: books about scholars!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved books about intrepid academics who leave behind the dusty archives of the day-job, only to find themselves embroiled in the midst of heart-pounding adventure. It is, perhaps, wishful thinking on some level. As a PhD student in sociology with a (un?)healthy obsession with historical archives, I harbor the hope that one day, my pursuit of knowledge might take me on a voyage or two of my own.
When it comes to literature, I find that academics make wonderful protagonists. By nature, they’re curious, intelligent, and good at digging for clues. Better yet, they don’t quite know how to stay away from potentially dangerous objects, because, y’know, the drive for knowledge is all-consuming. They also have the potential for fish-out-of-water hilarity — just think of what happens when a staid and stodgy scholar is yanked out of her comfort zone (classroom, library, well-furnished office) and thrust into life-threatening danger.
Here are my top 5 favorite books starring academics:
5. A Wizard in Rhyme, Christopher Stasheff
Christopher Stasheff’s A Wizard in Rhyme series was one of my first books I read featuring a scholarly protagonist. The books fell into my hands during my freshman year of high school, passed along by my friend Ella once she learned that I was a fellow fantasy lover. The main character, Matt, is a English PhD student working his way through a thorny dissertation when a series of strange runes leads him into an alternate universe, where speaking in rhyme is the key to wielding magic. With a brain filled with poetry and verse, he finds himself an unlikely hero, inadvertently battling the forces of evil in order to free an imprisoned queen.
Stasheff’s novels are filled with humor and adventure, along with a dash of romance, which I love. My only regret is that Stasheff seems to have abandoned the series; the last book published was The Feline Wizard, in 2000.
4. Spell of the Highlander, Karen Marie Moning
Right, I admit it: I have a huge weak spot for romance novels involving harried, overworked academic gals (this has nothing, I repeat, nothing, of my own personal fantasies bound up in this, I swear). Moning, who writes some of the best bodice-rippers starring brawny, kilt-wearing, Scottish alpha men, earned my undying love and devotion when she wrote Spell of the Highlander, featuring anthropology PhD student Jessi St. James.
Jessi’s world changes when she accepts a package sent to her dissertation advisor: a strange mirror that just happens to house a ninth-century Scottish Druid who is, of course, sex on legs. This book is not about scholarly hunts for knowledge (unless, er, you count carnal knowledge?), but my list would be sadly incomplete without it. 😉
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, Katherine Howe
I stumbled upon this book in the bargain section of my local Borders during its going-out-of-business sale. I’d never heard of it before, but the blurb hooked me immediately with the magical words “Harvard graduate student,” “Salem witch trials,” and “unearth[ing] a rare artifact of singular power.”
Connie Goodwin, Harvard graduate student and main character, discovers a strange old key hidden in the bookshelf of her grandmother’s abandoned home. The key contains a slip of paper with the name “Deliverance Dane” written upon it, and Connie finds herself obsessed with uncovering this mysterious woman’s identity. Her search is ultimately bound up with her own family’s history and her identity, and involves plenty of digging about in archives, along with more than a few brushes with danger.
As an aspiring scholar-novelist, I was quite happy to learn that Howe, who has a PhD in American and New England Studies herself, began writing the book while studying for her doctoral qualifying exams. She also drew on her own family history for inspiration (her bio notes that she “is a descendant of Elizabeth Proctor, who survived the Salem witch trials, and Elizabeth Howe, who did not”).
2. A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
I’ve mentioned Harkness’s book in the past, but it deserves fuller mention here. This might be my new favorite book about an academic; in this case, a historian of science who happens to also be a witch. In Harkness’s world, daemons, witches and vampires live cheek-by-jowl with ordinary humans, and try quite hard to remain inconspicuous. The main character, Diana, is a reluctant witch. After her parents, both powerful witches, are murdered when Diana is 7, she made the choice to turn her back on witchcraft and live life as a “normal” person. When she encounters a magicked alchemical text at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, however, her life turns upside-down. The book contains secrets sought after by all three of the non-human races, and she’s the only one who can access them.
A Discovery of Witches is the first book in a series, and I am DYING (dying, I tell you) to read the rest. One of my colleagues has informed me that Harkness is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College; she currently teaches history at the University of Southern California, which makes her (like Howe) my ultimate hero, the scholar-turned-novelist.
1. Possession, A.S. Byatt
A list like this could never be complete without A.S. Byatt’s Possession. I’ve written about Possession before, and I will most likely keep on writing about it, because this is probably my favorite book ever, hands down.
The novel tells the story about Roland Michell, an English literature postdoctoral researcher who stumbles upon an unpublished letter by Randolph Ash, the poet whom he studies, to an unidentified woman. His need to know the intended recipient of the letter leads him (of course) on an unexpected journey. Allied with Maud Bailey, an icy but intelligent fellow scholar, Roland races to learn the hidden story behind the letters before [ins] can discover it.
I love Posession for many reasons, in part because it is such a magnificent tapestry of genres. Byatt herself has described it as “a parody, not of Sherlock Holmes, but of the Margery Allingham detective stories I grew up on. It should learn from my childhood obsession, Georgette Heyer, to be a romance, and it could learn simultaneously from Hawthorne, Henry James’s predecessor, that a historical romance is not realist, and desires to ‘connect a bygone time with the very present that is flitting away from us.’” It includes a dash of adventure and quest, letters and poetry. It is perhaps the most cerebral of the novels on the list, with frequent allusion to semiotics, textual analysis, and literary critique, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Anyone else have a soft spot for the “adventuring academic”? Are there other types of protagonists you enjoy reading about?
November 9, 2011 at 8:09 am
Oh great choices here Lena and a couple I need to check out 🙂
Raelyn Barclay recently posted..Romance
November 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Whoo-hoo! Glad you liked the picks, Raelyn.
November 9, 2011 at 10:28 am
Oh dear, seems like I’ve found a lot of books here for my (already bloated) Amazon wishlist. I have to admit I haven’t read too many books with academics as heroes – but I think some of these books could definitely turn me onto it. And as a perpetual academic such as myself, I don’t think it’ll be a difficult conversion.
November 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm
It’s scary how fast that TBR list can pile up, isn’t it? If you get a chance to read any of these, let me know what you think. 😀
November 9, 2011 at 12:07 pm
I definitely need to check those out. Thanks, Lena!
November 14, 2011 at 8:45 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Fabio!
November 9, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Lena, girl for an intellect, you Rock!
There are many facets to you. Thank you for sharing your favorites.
I can see that I’m going to have to read “Possession.” That looks interesting to me.
Thank you Lena also for commenting on my post. It’s always encouraging!
I wish you the best with NaNo!
November 14, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Karen, you are so awesome! Possession, as I mention above, is definitely my favorite. So complex, with two wonderfully poignant romances, and lots of great poetry. Let me know what you think if you get the chance to check it out — I love chatting about my favorite books. 😀
November 9, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Just what I needed, more books to add to my TBR list. TY!
asraidevin recently posted..Row80 11-09 Check in
November 14, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Haha, I do what I can!
November 9, 2011 at 2:21 pm
I read Harkness’s novel about four months ago and I loved it. And I’m sure it’s classed as a work of literary fiction. The only criticism I have is that the author placed herself between the reader and the protagonists a wee bit too much. I knew it would appeal to people with an academic background. However, a little judicious editing of the author’s occupation would have quickened the pace, there were times I muttered ‘get on with it’ I sort of got what the author did and how clever she was the first time. I’ve read a couple of reviewers who agree with me but they still give it five stars. The writing is fantastic.
I would certainly buy the other two in the All Souls trilogy. The next one is called Shadow of Night and is available in the summer of 2012. I believe it travels back in time – and I wonder what our Kristen would say about that!
Great Post!
Christine recently posted..Catch the Wind of Change in Publishing – The Reader
November 14, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Christine, I’ve been wondering about whether or not the book is literary fiction. I’ve seen it show up on quite a few fantasy lists, but you are right — there is quite a bit of ‘scholarly voice’ going on. I don’t know how I’ll wait till 2012 for the next one, though.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
November 9, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I keep hearing good things about A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. I’m going to have to check it out soon.
Matt Larkin recently posted..Where’s the Phoenix?
November 14, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Yes, yes, you must! And if you get the chance, let me know what you think. 😀
November 9, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Sex on legs…yep. Gonna have to check that one out. 🙂
Myndi Shafer recently posted..Only Human: Guest Post by Ginger Calem
November 14, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Yes! I love reading books that make me feel smart and all, but sometimes all I want is to get lost in a good bodice-ripper, with a yummy sort of sex-god-guy. I am easy to please. 😀
November 9, 2011 at 3:32 pm
I’ve been wanting to read A Discovery of Witches–you’re review is reminding me to bump it to the top of the list! Thanks Lena!
Coleen Patrick recently posted..Fictional Dilemmas
November 14, 2011 at 8:50 pm
You’re quite welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
November 9, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Terrific list, Lena! I love strong female protagonists of all kinds… Have to agree with you that brains = sexy cool. 😉
August McLaughlin recently posted..Show to Tell
November 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm
It’s so funny — I’ve realized recently that I almost exclusively ready books about strong women. There’s something so inspiring about them, and something really energizing and exciting about seeing ladies who can hold their own in action.
November 9, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Thanks for this, Lena! The Byatt, Moning and Howe books are also in my favorites pile. Will now have to put the two others on my list. Great post!
November 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Thanks so much, Alicia!
November 9, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I confess, I haven’t read any of these yet but they all sound so interesting. And now they’re on my TBR list! Thanks for the great suggestions, Lena!
Sheila Seabrook recently posted..Discovering Amanda Hocking’s Hollowland
November 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm
You’re quite welcome. Glad you enjoyed the post!
November 9, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Will certainly be checking those out. Thanks for the post! :o)
November 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm
No problem. Thanks for swinging by and reading, Molly!
November 10, 2011 at 6:23 am
I am not a fan or Romance or Fantasy novels, but two of those really stuck out to me and sounded so interesting that I’m putting them on my list. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and A Discovery of Witches both intrigue me because I like the sound of the character journey and the family relationships. Those are the two main things that pull me in novels. I do also like a little mystery, but I usually solve it pretty quickly, so the relationships and the journey are what keep me reading. Thanks for the suggestions!
Emma Burcart recently posted..Why can’t I get my butt out the door?
November 14, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Emma, if you’re interested in family relationships, then both those books would be great choices. Howe’s book really digs into the genealogy of a family of witches, and examines the relationships between mothers and daughters specifically. Harkness also does that, albeit in a different way.
Thanks for stopping by!
November 10, 2011 at 11:13 am
Wonderful Wicked Wednesday selections! I have the Deliverance Dane book in my collection of TBR. Glad to have a first hand account that it’s worh waiting for.
Thanks for the post Lena.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
November 14, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Oooh, I would love to know what you think of the Deliverance Dane book. I read some mixed reviews on Amazon before I dove into the book, and I’m actually glad I ignored them — I enjoyed the book much more than the negative reviewers did, it seems.
Thanks for stopping by!
November 10, 2011 at 12:31 pm
What a great list! You know I LOVE Karen Marie Moning, and now I have some others to check out too. 🙂
Jenny Hansen recently posted..Using The 12 Stages of Physical Intimacy To Build Tension In Your Novel
November 14, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Jenny, it is my goal in life to try and stick at least one KMM book in every ‘favorites’ list I write. They’re all just so good!
Thanks for swinging by!