Five or Flop: the Best (and Worst) Historical Fiction Has to Offer

We're bringing the family back to Friends and Family: Erin's mom, Pam, joins us with a book from her book club, The Frozen River! Are feminist themes, a real historical document, and a shocking ending enough to thaw our hearts? Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or...

While we travel back to ancient Egypt this week for a murder mystery, Kate C. joins us this week as our guest and Agatha Christie expert! Where does this book rank on her list of books read? And will we be watching an adaptation of this one? Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of f...

Previous guest Diana returns to discuss a book she's read before: The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave! We travel to France to discuss the famous dancing plague, as well as feminism, race, class, and bees. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. Leave us a...

For the second episode (and first book) of season five, guest host Kelly joins us on a journey to space with Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere! All of us have personal histories with TJR and the space program, so tune in for a fantastic discussion! *Thank you for bearing with us through some of this episode's audio problems! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical ficti...

We're back, baby! Season five is here, and our theme is Family and Friends. We're reading historical fiction recommendations from our number 1 fans! In this episode, we're taking the stage and reading our first play: The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson. Erin's cousin Elizabeth is joining for the discussion, and she's got a special connection to this one! Listen to learn more. Five or Flop is a...

For the last bonus episode before season five begins, we're watching The Handmaiden, the Korean adaptation of Fingersmith! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @fiveorflop_pod for all th...

We're back to movies, watching the musical version of The Color Purple! Somehow, Whoopi Goldberg is still here? Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @fiveorflop_pod for all the latest up...

Over the seasons, Grace and Erin have read a lot of award-winning novels, from the Pulitzer, to the Booker, to the... British Fantasy Award? Now, it's time to decide who deserved the honor! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. Leave us a review and give us a...

For our first bonus episode following Season Four, we're diving back into The Letter cinematic universe and watching the Bette Davis movie! Do we recommend it? Well, that's up to interpretation. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. Leave us a review and give...

It's the big season finale this week, and we're reading The Color Purple! We look back on the highs and lows of the season, but first we have a discussion about how classics age and what to do when an author betrays the themes of their most famous work. Here is the article Grace cites: Fact and Fiction in Alice Walker's The Color Purple, by Jacqueline Jones . Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to...

We're walking a thin genre line in today's episode - come with us as we explore Jews Queers Germans by Martin Duberman! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twitter, Insta...

We're discussing our two favorite topics this week- pacing and plot twists- as we read Fingersmith by Sarah Waters! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram...

We're excited to introduce a new subgenre to the pod this week with our first mystery novel! Find out the person, place, and weapon in this week's episode on Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Rea...

We're crossing decades and oceans this week, and juggling tons of real-life historical figures: we're reading The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a review and give us...

We're two-thirds of the way through Season 4, and this week is a big one: we're reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides! The book covers a lot of ground, we have a lot of thoughts, and the historical accuracy section is a lot longer than usual! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of...

Cantoras, Part 2? Grace and Erin disagree over this week's book, Under the Udala Trees, but we're excited to return to an era we previously visited in Season 2! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a revi...

This week, we tackle our romance pick for the season: A Lady for a Duke, a classic historical romance with an LGBTQ+ twist! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twitter, I...

Erin's back from Ireland with another plane story, Grace's AC is on full blast, and we have a new book and a new era on deck: Cantoras by Caro de Robertis, set in 1970s Uruguay! Note: Erin was correct in the episode! The Thirty Names of Night did win the Stonewall Book Award in 2021. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be readi...

It's a special week, not only because we're reading Daughters of the Deer, but because we are joined by a special guest host: Jen! Will this episode be streamed more than Love in the Time of Cholera? Let's find out! The queer indigenous language source cited by Erin in the historical accuracy section can be found here: https://queerlanguage.com/2018/12/20/queer-indigenous-language-and-identity-nor...

We're off to Ireland (and so is Erin) this week, reading The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue! Hopefully, Erin doesn't catch the Spanish flu while she's there. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a rev...

This week, Erin confronts an old enemy when we read Mary Renault's The Persian Boy, the second in her Alexander the Great trilogy. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a review and give us a follow on Twi...

In this episode, we're headed to both Syria AND Little Syria with The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar! We hope you like birds, because there certainly are an unprecedented number of them. Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four...

We're back this week with another audiobook and another Grace and Erin disagreement: it's Arthurian legend time, and we're reading Gwen and Art Are Not in Love! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Four is Reading Rainbow. Leave us a revi...

Five or Flop is back, and with the help of a special guest, we're kicking off Reading Rainbow with Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon! Are we more excited to discuss a book set in DC, or an adaptation starring Jonathan Bailey? Listen and find out! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale...

It's the final bonus episode of Season 3, and it's a special one- we're watching two half-hour long short film adaptations of So Far From Home and Cleopatra! Five or Flop is a podcast dedicated to the best and worst historical fiction has to offer. Each week we'll be reading a new book and rating it on a scale of flop, fine, or five. The theme for Season Three is Back to School. Leave us a review...