TL;DR
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A Sixty and Me book column recommends five history-related titles across historical fiction, literary fiction set in the past, biography and economic history. The reviewer offers personal assessments, including caveats about length and historical detail; the piece is a reading guide, not a report of a new publication or event.
Sixty and Me’s “Historical Books on the Menu” surveys five books that approach the past through fiction, biography and nonfiction, offering readers a set of recommendations alongside the reviewer’s reservations. The selection ranges from Philippa Gregory’s Tudor novel The Constant Princess to books about a 19th-century sea voyage, Australia’s frontier and the economics of war.
The column begins by distinguishing among historical novels, creative nonfiction, nonfiction and academic history, describing these as forms that generally differ in how much interpretation and detail they offer. It focuses on the first three rather than reviewing academic works. The categories are the writer’s framework, not a formal classification applied uniformly across publishing.
Among the fiction selections, the reviewer describes Gregory’s The Constant Princess as a quick read about Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, and her life before and during her marriage to the English king. The column praises the historical details but calls the book “an okay, quick read,” noting that its blend of historical material and romance can be hard to separate.
Fiona McFarlane’s The Sun Walks Down is set on the Australian frontier in the late 19th century. The reviewer says its numerous characters and length may not suit every reader, while praising its descriptions of the landscape and climate. Two nonfiction selections focus on individual lives: Tilar J. Mazzeo’s 2025 biography of Mary Ann Patton, a captain’s wife who took charge during a dangerous voyage, and Mark Braude’s 2026 book about journalist Janet Flanner in Paris. The reviewer admires both subjects but says Mazzeo’s biography is overlong and the serial-killer investigation in Braude’s book distracts from Flanner’s story.
Five Routes Into the Past
The column’s value for readers is its range of approaches to historical subjects. Rather than treating history books as one category, it sets an accessible Tudor novel beside frontier fiction, biography and a broad account of conflict and national economies. That variety can help readers choose a book based on whether they want character-driven storytelling, a specific life or a wide historical argument.
The reviews also make clear that a recommendation is not an unqualified endorsement. The writer flags pacing, length and competing storylines as possible drawbacks, alongside the books’ strengths. For readers deciding what to pick up, those reservations provide a more useful guide than a list of titles alone. The column does not establish the books’ scholarly standing or independently verify every historical interpretation; it presents the reviewer’s response to them.
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How the Books Differ
The column groups history writing by the balance between documented fact and narrative reconstruction. It says historical novels can teach through entertainment, while creative nonfiction may fill in dialogue, motive or emotion. It describes nonfiction as sticking to facts and academic history as often adding competing theses and extensive notes. These are broad descriptions in the article, not guarantees about every book in each category.
The five titles also cover very different periods and subjects. Gregory’s novel, published in 2006, revisits the early Tudor court; McFarlane’s 2022 novel moves to 19th-century Australia. Mazzeo’s 2025 biography follows a woman aboard a sailing ship, while the books by Duncan Weldon and Braude are listed as 2026 releases. Weldon’s Blood and Treasure examines conflict from the Vikings to the modern era, and Braude’s The Typewriter and the Guillotine centers on Flanner’s Paris years in the 1920s and 1930s.
“An okay, quick read.”
— Sixty and Me reviewer, on The Constant Princess
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Limits of the Reviews
The source is a personal book column, not an independent fact-check or a formal literary review survey. Its judgments about pacing, accuracy and enjoyment are the reviewer’s opinions. It does not provide sales figures, publisher responses, author interviews or external scholarly assessments of the books’ historical claims.
The column also gives limited information about its own publication timing. It lists two books as published in 2026, but does not state when the article appeared or provide publication details beyond the title, publisher and year. Its discussion of Mary Ann Patton notes that surviving information about her is limited; the reviewer says Mazzeo stretches the biography, but the source does not specify which parts rely on inference. Readers seeking a detailed evaluation of historical evidence would need to consult the books and other reviews.
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Readers Choose Their History
The article closes by inviting readers to say which kind of history they prefer and name a favorite historical book. It does not announce a follow-up, additional reviews or a new publication. The next development described in the source is reader participation in that discussion; any further coverage is not specified.
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Key Questions
What is “Historical Books on the Menu”?
It is a Sixty and Me column that reviews five books connected to history, mixing fiction, biography and nonfiction with the reviewer’s personal assessments.
Which books does the column discuss?
The titles are The Constant Princess, The Sun Walks Down, Blood and Treasure, The Captain’s Wife and The Typewriter and the Guillotine.
Does the column recommend every book without reservations?
No. The reviewer praises elements of the books but also flags issues such as length, many characters and distracting storylines. Those assessments reflect the reviewer’s reading experience.
Does the article verify the books’ historical claims?
The source presents a reader’s column, not a fact-check or scholarly assessment. It does not document an independent review of the books’ historical evidence or interpretations.
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