Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Historical Fiction

I'm one of those people who loves reading about history. But I have a problem with history. Almost never does it ever end in a neat and tidy way. Preferably with a bow tied on it. Because history isn't a story; while there is a beginning, a middle, and an end to events, well, they might not be satisfactory ends. That's where historical fiction comes in! Historical fiction is like a balm. While there might be historians out there who rail against history being warped or what have you, it's not JUST about the history and the what ifs and the might-have-beens. It's about reading about past lives, becoming a part of that past. Stories are a way for you to forge this connection. But this shouldn't be confused with books written in another time about that time. Like Jane Austen writing about her world isn't historical fiction, but Georgette Heyer or Lauren Willig writing in the future about Austen's world IS historical fiction. Because a key to historical fiction is that distance, that step back that adds that little bit of omniscience to the writing. Plus hearing the writers modern voice capturing another time makes it somehow more real, more relatable for us modern readers. But the universal truth of us modern readers? We like to sneak into the past between the pages of a good book.

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