The Genre of Historical Fiction
There are 3 types of people: those who like fiction, those who like nonfiction, and those that read both. If you're like me, reading non-fiction feels like a chore. Why? Let's face the fact: it's real, and not everything that happened is interesting (some books are downright boring).
However, we all need a dose of reality, and because fiction books are well, fiction, they can't bring that to us. Sure, there are truths here and there, but who sees a dystopia with five factions? (I'll do a post on fiction later). And that's where historical fiction comes in to play.
The book is based around events in history while providing fictional characters that give a sense of adventure that we desire. Sometimes they tweak the history a bit by creating a new character and inserting them in the real person's place, allowing for creativeness in story line. Life Behind the Wall by Robert Elmer provides an example of this.
Don't like history? That's okay. I still think you can find a great book out there in the genre. I'm more than willing to recommend books to anyone.
There are books such as The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer that bring out historical issues in an interesting light or even The Inferno by Dante Alighieri which brings up several characters from history. Options of reading for historical fiction are somewhat broad in my opinion. (For Chaucer's book, there are some sections that I would not encourage anyone to read. If anyone is interested in reading it, I will tell them. Other than those, the two books are very good reads and I recommend them.) The Canterbury Tales and The Inferno fit into more than one category.
Historical Fiction provides a good sense of reality while still giving a sense of action or adventure. I know it has helped me a lot move out of the "fantasy" zone. No matter who you are, there is an enjoyable book for everyone.
Happy Reading!
However, we all need a dose of reality, and because fiction books are well, fiction, they can't bring that to us. Sure, there are truths here and there, but who sees a dystopia with five factions? (I'll do a post on fiction later). And that's where historical fiction comes in to play.
The book is based around events in history while providing fictional characters that give a sense of adventure that we desire. Sometimes they tweak the history a bit by creating a new character and inserting them in the real person's place, allowing for creativeness in story line. Life Behind the Wall by Robert Elmer provides an example of this.
Don't like history? That's okay. I still think you can find a great book out there in the genre. I'm more than willing to recommend books to anyone.
There are books such as The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer that bring out historical issues in an interesting light or even The Inferno by Dante Alighieri which brings up several characters from history. Options of reading for historical fiction are somewhat broad in my opinion. (For Chaucer's book, there are some sections that I would not encourage anyone to read. If anyone is interested in reading it, I will tell them. Other than those, the two books are very good reads and I recommend them.) The Canterbury Tales and The Inferno fit into more than one category.
Historical Fiction provides a good sense of reality while still giving a sense of action or adventure. I know it has helped me a lot move out of the "fantasy" zone. No matter who you are, there is an enjoyable book for everyone.
Happy Reading!
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