The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (this is not a read along)
I planned something, then I changed the plan
You guys… In classic ADHD fashion, I planned and wrote the below at the start of the year. As 2025 has progressed, I’ve realised that I actually don’t want to make one of my favourite books into a rod for my own back.
I do still want to share this post to illustrate, I suppose, the ADHD experience and that its okay to change your mind.
It’s the classic thing of having a brilliant hobby and then trying to monetise it so it becomes your work, often taking away the joy of the hobby.
Anyway, I will be rereading The Historian. I may or may not write about it, or make a video about it. Or ever discuss it again. I don’t need the pressure, but that’s not to say I definitely won’t do any of these things, I may yet feel compelled.
Do read on, because it is a brilliant book, and like I say I am reading it again. Sometimes we need a comfort read, and this is one of mine.
To you, my perceptive reader, I bequeath my history…
It's twenty years since genre defying The Historian was released. Apparently, said to have piggybacked on the success of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. To me, this book is WAY MORE than a piggyback. It combines so many things I love. Every time I read it, I get swept away in the travel, the history, the lore, and the characters.
It's dark academia before that term was even invented, it's a travelogue, it's a story on four layers of time, it's literally full of books and libraries, and the thread between all these things is Dracula.
If you are bookish, into libraries, research, history, travel, then I think you'll enjoy this. If you just fancy a story about Dracula, then it's probably not for you as it's not *just* that, he's not the main character of this story.
The Historian was released on 14th June 2005.
Here's some of my history from that time;
I was six months away from meeting my future husband.
I’d been to Rome with a friend and wanted to move there.
I was twenty-four; so young!
I was working for Chanel in Harvey Nichols, Manchester.
I’d moved back in with my parents after finishing university and trying, and failing, to live in London.
Where were you, and who were you in June 2005?
This will be my third time reading The Historian. I was introduced to it by my mum. She'd read it, loved it and knew how much I loved Dracula, so gave me her copy.
That paperback is pretty battered, so I recently picked up a second hand hardback edition.
Would you like to Read-Along with me?
The Schedule
We'll start in June, end in November.
We'll read about 4 pages a day, with a monthly update to discuss everything. That's around 28–30 pages each week.
I'll open a chat here on Substack, this may or may not take off, but it'll be there either way. Let's just see how we go.
I'll do a monthly post about what we've read that month. This won't be an academic analysis, more of a vibe check. This book is a sensory experience, so I'm leading with that for now.
Now, dear reader, this is a hefty book at around 240,000 words. For those of you that have read Wolf Hall, perhaps with
, it's around 30,000 words longer.I will say it's an easier read than Wolf Hall (and I do love WH). The language is modern and the way the story is told is more accessible. So, please don't let the fact it's a long book put you off. Let it absorb you, because it will, if you allow it.
Don’t forget to join the wait list for my next book!
