Why I Read... Historical Fiction

My experiences with historical fiction began way back with one of the first books I ever read - Meet Samantha by Susan S. Adler. I was six years old, and my grandma had bought it for me at a yard sale. I instantly was enchanted by Samantha's fancy, Victorian life. I devoured all the books about Samantha (and got the doll as a present) and quickly went through all the other American Girls (although there are plenty of new ones now that I know nothing about!). I loved reading about other time periods - they seemed so glamorous and different from what I experienced in my day to day life.

Fast forward three or four years, when I discovered the Dear America series. I was in love with these books. First of all, for the longest time I thought they were real diaries. However, even when I found out that they were not, I was enamored with the beautiful hardcover books with ribbon bookmarks. Every month when book orders came out, I would get the new Dear America book. My teachers knew to tell me immediately if they bought one of the books for the classroom so I could be the first to devour it. I was obsessed. I might still be obsessed - I definitely just looked up a title I had never heard of in my library's catalog that I saw when I was looking for an image. Anyway, suffice it to say that historical fiction was my favorite. I was obsessed.

Then, I went through a little phase. I stopped reading it. Subconsciously, I think I began to see it as sub-par literature, perhaps because there are quite a few romance books that masquerade as historical fiction (not that romance books can't be enjoyable, but they aren't my cup of tea). I didn't read any historical fiction for about five years, with the exception of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (which everybody read). (Parentheses are my drug).

And for some reason, this summer, I fell in love again. So without further ado:

Why I Read Historical Fiction:

* The romance of the past. I'm not sure why, but there is something so elegant and vintage about reading stories of an era that has passed.

* Learning. After my fourth or fifth major change, my father voiced his concerns about my becoming an "eternal student" (and his perceived obligation to support my eternal student habits). Fortunately, in my sixth year of college, I might actually become employable soon. But I still love learning, and historical fiction books present learning in such a palatable format. Obviously, care must be taken to be sure facts are being presented accurately. However, historical fiction is a great tool for getting the general atmosphere of a place.

Recommendations

* Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran. I was swept up by this book. It tells an unfamiliar story of the French Revolution, and you will rollercoaster through several emotions as you read this book, if your experience is anything like mine.

* Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. This is another book that tells a rather unique historical story, the story of Lithuanians imprisoned by the Russian government and forced to work in Siberia for over a decade. This book is very quietly written but shocked me frequently. It is a very powerful story.

* Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Or, quite frankly, anything by Jennifer Donnelly. Her writing is fantastic and she weaves her stories into history seamlessly. So seamlessly, in fact, that I looked up a couple of her characters, wanting to learn more about them, only to discover that they were fictional. (I was very disappointed). Revolution tells two parallel stories - one is of Andi, a troubled girl trying to deal with loss and disillusionment, and one is of Alex, the French Revolution-era writer of a diary Andi discovers. It is a strange but intensely powerful story. 

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Coffee and a Book Chick. She isn't exclusively a historical fiction blogger, but I frequently add historical fiction novels to my TBR because of her reviews. She also gives some background information on authors, which is fabulous.