Historical Fiction

Historical fiction. The name gives all the information we need to know about the genre: the plot takes place in the close or distant past and the story and/or the characters are fictional.

The term traditionally applies to works of literature (so, books) but there is nothing that prevents this genre to apply to other media, such as comics, movies and video games (think about Assassin’s Creed or 1602 by Neil Gaiman and Nolan’s Dunkirk, Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, etc.).

This genre is quite flexible; authors sometimes tell stories about social conditions or other aspects of the period; other times they tell the story of notable figures in this setting, other times they take the period and tell a completely fictional story.

The bottom line is that there are plenty of great stories that belong to this genre and I tend to enjoy the historical setting (especially when it appears to be well researched as I am not historian but I still like to get a better understanding of historical events), whether we are talking about historical figures or we are just taking advantage of the time and location to draft a beautiful story.

Going a bit into my past here, in high school we have an Italian literature professor who believed that historical fiction was one of the best ways for us students to experience the time we were studying; therefore and regularly she would assign additional historical fiction reads to give us a bit more dimension - often with a modern take - on the time period we were studying (and this included Arthurian literature).

Historical fiction, in western literature and in its modern version, is born with Sir Walter Scott (so much so that one of the most famous literature prices for historical fiction - in the UK - is called Walter Scott prize). The two novels I know him from are Ivanhoe and Rob Roy.  While I recently re-read Ivanhoe - and I truly struggled with the behavior reserved to Jews, truly and genuinely criminal, there is just no other way to say it - I am considering a re-read a Rob Roy in the next weeks to see how I react to historical fiction set in Scotland.

Other famous authors across Europe that began introducing the genre are Honoré de Balzac, Leo Tolstoy and Alessandro Manzoni.

Alessandro Manzoni, in particular, used historical fiction to comment on the events that were happening in the north of Italy at that time, the French invasion. The most notable work of his career (but not the only one), is [The Betrothed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Betrothed_(Manzoni_novel)), published several times, with different names and one of the first works of literature in what is today known as the Italian language.  While he did not want to complain about the French too openly, Manzoni wrote a story about the Spanish invasion of norther Italy a couple of centuries before.

Leo Tolstoy used the same tool with War and Peace and openly criticized France with his tome. This is also on my TBR for the year. I need to get a few books ahead of schedule and then dive into this beauty!

Returning to current days, there are also many subgenres of historical fiction, from romance (think about Diana Gabaldon’s [Outlander series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(book_series))) to alternate history (think about the show [The Man in the High Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_High_Castle_(TV_series)) on Amazon Prime) and, my favorite of all sub-genres, historical fantasy. Examples of this genre are Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - although in fairness, this is also an example of alternate history - and Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series (although I have not been focusing on the series in a while but there are news on this front later on in this post!).

Next to alternate history and historical fantasy, there are a couple of additional themes that always spoke to me when it came to historical fiction. One is more about the characters rather than the theme itself: soldiers.

Not only I love stories being told from a general’s perspective, such as Alexandros by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (in my opinion, the best retelling of Alexander the Great); but I also love stories told from the perspective of fictional characters and “regular” soldiers, such as Sharpe by Bernard Cornwell.

There are a couple more themes, tropes or elements of historical fiction that will always call to me.

Setting in Ancient Green and in the Roman Republic or Empire will immediately get my attention. There is something uniquely appealing to me when it comes to these historical periods of time, not only I spent time studying Ancient Greek and Latin (and the relevant literature) but they were quite advanced society all considered - despite having major flaws with a contemporary eye; and yet most of western philosophy, laws and culture is rooted in these times).

The other element that will always be appealing to me is stories about soldiers. I am fascinated by life in the army - it does not matter which army - and I genuinely enjoy understanding different perspectives into these lives that were often short and exposed to unimaginable violence.

Finally, I love stories that are immersive. Now this is a tricky one; first and foremost because it is a completely subjective parameter (and, what’s worse, this subjective parameter might change in time); and this element usually requires reading a few pages to know whether the story would be my cup of tea; and in some cases it does not land immediately. Yet, when I get the rhythm of it, they become some of my favorite pieces of literature in the world. Prime example of this is the Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. Dissolution, the first book in the series, did not stick with me initially and I had to re-read the first few pages in several occasions before it clicked with me and I could not stop reading this series until I caught up with the last release.

With this (long, yes, I know but I like to understand where my interests come from) premise at hand, I have a few ideas for the next inspiring stories in historical fiction that I want to explore. I believe I will have a bit more exposure to English history in the next months but that’s okay, there is plenty of significant historical events and historical figures that shaped European history.

The first author on my list is Hilary Mantel with her Thomas Cromwell trilogy. A man of common birth raised to the highest position possible, clever like few and dealing with one of the most difficult kings of English history (Henry VIII). This premise alone is fascinating and I cannot wait to dive into this story and experience first hand why Hilary Mantel deserves to be celebrated as a great story teller.

Another author that cover similar, if not entirely, the same period of time is Alison Weir with her series Six Tudor Queens. Each book is an independent publication really and it covers a different queen married to Henry VIII. And I am genuinely curious to learn more about the women that shaped this time, including one being the mother of Elizabeth I.

Still on English history - although Conn Iggulden has a much larger repertoire of novels that I am looking forward to dip my toes in - I am looking forward to the Wars of the Roses series. There are a few reasons I want to start from this series, including the fact that this royal battle for the throne is the inspiration of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Also, it is one of the few series the author made on a less known or blurrier - to me - story. So I am looking forward to reading all about this series and then move on to the rest of the vast catalogue of novels published by Conn Iggulden!

Dan Jones is a historian and, as far as I can tell, he wrote quite a lot of history books. He ventures into historical fiction with Essex Dogs. There are a couple of reasons why the book is on this list (and it is possible this is the first installment of a trilogy): first and foremost, I own it (and I need to be more conscientious about reading what I have available). But you might be asking how did I get to own it? Well, The Brothers Gwynne sign praises about this book and the Broken Binding (an independent book store that does quite remarkable work also in publishing special editions) published a (yes, you guessed it…) special edition of the book that looks amazing. On top of all of these reasons, it is a story of soldiers in one of the longest (and brutal) war in Europe, the Hundred Years’ War.

Also, on a relative yet significant note, if you love fantasy and historical fiction, on of the best channels to watch on YouTube is The Brothers Gwynne. Children of the author John Gwynne (whose work I love), they are well versed in many different aspects of literature, with an emphasis on fantasy and historical fiction. From what I gather, John Gwynne’s love for books and history rubbed off well on both Ed and Will and their channel contains great recommendations. Be weary about your TBR though; it will grow instantly.

Another author I want explore more of - meaning that I read his fantasy work, as Miles Cameron, but not his historical fiction work - is Christian Cameron, with his Chivalry series. Once I will be done with it, there are plenty of Ancient Greek stories I can read from him (including the Long War and Tyrant series)! Not to mention that he also comes highly recommended by the Brothers Gwynne.

With respect to Ancient Greece and Roman Republic/Empire, the authors I want to read more from is Valerio Massimo Manfredi (and I might even want to re-read Alexandros too!). He is a historian and has been publishing fiction for many years.

Another Italian author (although new to me!) that seems to produce quite interesting work - and in different time periods, - is Andrea Frediani. He wrote a series in the Roman Empire, following Julius Caesar’s murder, called Gli Invincibili. Yet, the story that I want to explore the most is /I lupi di Roma/, a story about the Orsini family when one of their members became Pope, Nicholas III.

Naomi Novik and her Temeraire series are on my radar for this year. I loved the first two books; I loved the concept, I loved the chemistry between the main characters and I felt this was a fascinating approach to historical fiction.

A few more authors that are on my radar - but I also hope that this list will expand over time, in a typical reader’s fashion, which is the exciting and frustrating part of being a reader.

Bernard Cornwell wrote many series so far. I have been enjoying all about Sharpe (including the setting which I did not know was going to be fascinating and it was!); I first knew him as the authors of the Warlord Chronicles, the retelling of King Arthur. And I loved everything about this series (it has been about 20 years since I read it the first time, so I feel that it is time to dive back into this world).

He also wrote The Last Kingdom series and several stand alone stories, such as Azincourt.

Another author, well known for his vast catalogue, is Ken Follett. I never finished his The Century Trilogy and I just want to dive back into this story. In fact, I want to read every single book in this series one more time.

Last but not least for this list, is Matthew Harffy. I read his Wolf of Wessex book and I felt in love with his ability to tell a good story, with great characters and companions and immerse the reader (me) in the world. Therefore, I want to read more of his catalogue, including A time for swords (a duology, as far as I understand) and  the Bernicia Chronicles.

So there are a few of the thoughts that go into my experience of historical fiction and some authors I want to keep exploring during the days, weeks, months, years to come. What about you? Do you consider historical fiction as one of the genres to go to? If so, do you have some favorite themes, historical period or figures that guide you in determining what you will want to read?