Reading for knowledge through fiction

[Billy]

I think, like others here, that it is possible to learn from some historical fiction. Some that come to mind would be Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome and the books that followed this. I know she did extensive research before writing these books, but at the same time she reminds us that it is a work of fiction, not an histroically accurate history text. I first read this novel while studying Ancient Rome. I started in second year and was a bit behind. My lecturer suggested this novel so that I could figure out who was who and what they did. It was great to help me in that sense.

Leon Uris and James. A. Mitchener also write some good historical fiction, but like anything it is always important to remember that facts take on the perspective of the one writing about them.

For books written during a specific time period I think we can learn a lot. The context of a novel is always important. What the author writes about may be nonsense, but the things they say and their expectations give us an idea of the mentality of at leastone person who existed ion those times. Gender roles, fashion, ideals, the role of the family - all these things can be explored in a novel written by a person from another historical period and thus knowledge can be gained from the novel, if not concrete historical knowledge, definitely some social knowledge of the times.

 

[Scottishduffy]

I have recently got into historical fiction.

I take it as a decent way to expand my general knowledge base. Knowledge regarding the time period and the larger events of particular books. Of course, I look for books that are not overly fictionalized.

The book I recently read, I followed up by doing some research online about particular facts. I am fairly decent at picking out historical inaccuracies since I had a good knowledge of History to start with. However, when I read these books it usually prompts me to go online a spend several hours looking for actual information and research.

Currently, I am interested in reading about the Romanovs. I find Russia in that period quite interesting. I also will be getting a book titled Bound For Canaan which is about the underground railroad. If anyone knows any interesting history books. reccomend them.

 

[StillILearn]

I adore historical fiction. I'd buy a box of Froot Loops if it had a photo of Elizabethan I or Henry VIII printed on it, then I'd throw away the Froot Loops and read the box. I've been like this since childhood.

I'm currently reading my first Philippa Gregory, and I'm having a grand old time, although you wouldn't believe the liberties she takes with historical fact - f'rinstance, she has Bloody Mary's husband, Philip of Spain, madly in love with Elizabeth.

I'm going to give this book to my granddaughter in the hope that it will establish a small crack in the walls of her literary boundaries; right now she pretty much reads fantasy only for pleasure. Interestingly, her grandfather (on the other side) has traced their family back to Elizabethan times in England, so maybe this will do the trick. I always tell her that she strongly resembles the young Queen Elizabeth I - which she does!

Aside: I see that Alison Weir has a new book out about Queen Isabella of Spain.

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I really love historical fiction. I have been reading a lot of books in that genre since I joined the forum and have loved them all. I guess it's the blending of fact and fiction that really draws me into reading them.

I agree with majority of the people who have replied in this thread, that you can learn a lot form historical fiction, but you just have to be careful about the author's credibility. Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series is one example of highly informative, enjoyable historical fiction books. From what I gather, she did a lot of research into that period of time before embarking on the series, and I believe that it is clearly displayed in the books. There are of course a few sketchy areas in the book (including the fact that the main characters seem to have invented every piece of apparatus that enabled civilised people to eventuate ), but it is obvious to the reader that things like this are purely fiction, and are written for the enjoyment of the reader.

So yes, I do believe that you can learn from historical fiction books. This is a major reason why I like them, actually, because they have the substance of a small non-fiction book, but I find them to be a lot more entertaining.

 

[Kookamoor]

I have never enjoyed Historical Fiction in the past, but maybe I'll give it another try. My mother has a *huge* Georgette Heyer collection - does this count?

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of reading a non-fiction book with a allegorical tone to it. Some writers can take subjects that I haven't the least interest in and really draw me in. Most importantly, however, it must be accurate and I must trust the source. I don't like reading a book for knowledge and questioning the facts. Pierre Berton is a classic example. I read his 'Joy of Writing' and it made me pick up some of his non-fiction texts as a result of that - I especially liked the Yukon story and The Last Spike. Although I haven't read them cover-to-cover, I like his writing style a lot and I think I'll buy the latter at some point just to have on my shelf and pick up when my mind is hungry.

 

[SFG75]

I'm new as well to historical fiction. While I do think you can "get away with it," your knowledge will only help you to appreciate the given work even more. Gore Vidal's Burr or Lincoln are great examples of this as both works feature a lot of historical figures and stories(some true, some not) Mario Puzo's The Family is also a great work about the Borgia family and mentions interesting people as a side note such as Niccolo Machiavelli and Savanrola.

 

[mehastings]

I enjoy historical fiction. A few of my favorites are Small Island by Andrea Levy and The House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre.

However, I'd never use one of these books to "increase my knowledge" about something historical. Although these authors do a better job of researching than Dan Brown, they are still writing fiction. They use only the parts of history that are important to their plot and usually from one or two perspectives. If I find something that interests me in a historical novel, I then go out and research it on my own.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

While liberties can be taken with the historical accuracy of the novels, I think it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to read from such proposed perspectives. Also one might find themselves interested in something new which will cause them to seek out actual history text books to discover the true account of what actually happened.