Historical Fiction - An intimate glimpse of the Past

Historical fiction is my favorite genre of book to read. There is something very unique about being transported to a place and time in the past.  Historical fiction provides an escape but also a window into the past. Reading about history can magically transport us to a time that had knights, or people travelling with a covered wagon, or a daring spy mission during the war, the possibilities are endless.  All of these wonderful adventures help us to learn more about the past and hopefully to appreciate the present even more too.

According to Goodreads, “Historical fiction presents a story set in the past, often during a significant time period. In historical fiction, the time period is an important part of the setting and often of the story itself. Historical fiction may include fictional characters, well-known historical figures or a mixture of the two. Authors of historical fiction usually pay close attention to the details of their stories (settings, clothing, dialogue, etc.) to ensure that they fit the time periods in which the narratives take place.”

There are so many incredible historical fiction books. As a young girl I became very interested in reading about the past, and I found books about World War II and the Holocaust extremely interesting. This was right around the time I began to consider my own personal Jewish background, so I felt a connection to the characters I was reading about. One of my favorite historical fiction books related to WWII is a book I read as a child called Alan and Naomi by Myron Levoy. It was a very moving book about a young jewish boy named Alan who befriended Naomi, a strange girl who had suffered in France during the war. For me this was the book that truly started my love for historical fiction.

Since that time I have read hundreds of historical fiction books and I even wrote a historical fiction short story that I self-published. 

One of my favorite quotes is by George Santayana. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  Reading historical fiction helps us to not only remember the past, but it helps us to understand the past, so hopefully we can learn from our mistakes.