By African American Fiction Writer Denise Turney

Historical fiction offers more than reading entertainment. Due to the depth of research authors invest in historical novels, these books offer a brief history of time. They educate, introducing bits of history that readers might otherwise not explore. If you’re an avid book reader, you may have noticed how much you’ve learned from reading fictional history books.

Much to Learn from Historical Fiction

No wonder historical fiction is popular. As host of the literary radio show, Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing dozens of historical fiction authors. These interviews are among the most listened to Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio shows. When I ask these writers how much time they devote to researching material for their historical fiction, I’m almost always surprised at the amount of time the authors devote to gathering material for these novels.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for these writers to spend weeks, sometimes months, at the library researching fashion, business trends, dietary choices, social behaviors, religious practices, gender roles and lifestyle habits that occurred during periods their books are set in.

And, if they’re not scouring through books, newspaper articles and magazines at the library, they’re digging through history facts online at home. This is what I did before I started writing on the suspenseful historical fiction novel, Spiral.

Spiral as Historical Fiction

Did I ever learn a lot about Memphis, Tennessee while researching for Spiral. I definitely learned how influential Beale Street was to the city, talk about a happening place. From being the home of the blues to Southern politics to nightlife to old time religion — it’s all in Memphis. Who knows? Maybe even authors gain when we research and write books that lean on real life events, rich history.

And, there are so many great historical fiction books. Among the best historical fiction are books like The Book Thief, Little Women, The Book of Negroes, The Red Tent and The Tutor.

It’s through these books that you can learn what it was like to live as far back as the 1600s. Other historical novels take you back to a pivotal time in world history. For instance, books like The German Midwife, The Secret Orphan and All We Left Behind take you to the heart of the unimaginable struggle children and adults experienced during the vicious war.

Skillful Fiction Authors

Also, the skillful way that authors of historical fiction weave humor, faith and personality into their characters keeps you turning the pages, keeps you learning. And it might not be until you reach the final page and put the book down that you realize just how much you learned about family traditions practiced during the period the story took place.

In fact, you could pull out key facts buried within historical fiction, including historical romance, and place those facts alongside dates, analytics and trends noted in nonfiction history books and see clear parallels. This brings up an interesting point. Are writers of historical fiction unsuspected history buffs?

Think about your favorite novels. How many of them share rich history? How many of your favorite novels, including books that don’t center around key history events, teach you about modern history as well as ancient history? Don’t you love reading these books? After all, there’s so much to gain and learn from these stories, not to mention the entertainment that you can walk away with.