Dear Lit and Flicks: Historical Fiction

Question:

Anonymous,

I think historical fiction can be interesting as a way to explore thoughts, ideas, and culture of a specific time in a new way. Many eras throughout history provide a fascinating setting for any story. I think as long as people know that what they are reading is not a factual account of what happened in real life, there is no harm in some creative embellishment or even complete fantasy in these kinds of books.

I personally enjoy narrative non-fiction because it tells history in a story format. Example: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. All the hard facts in the book are true, with trivial details embellished in order to tell the story in a narrative format. This way, I am still learning true history without reading a textbook style book. While flagrant inaccuracies would definitely bother me in this case, I don’t mind filling in the blanks a bit for the sake of flow.

So to conclude, I find that inaccuracies for the sake of storytelling do help engage readers and explore interesting alternative endings to history. The most important thing is that an author makes it obvious whether their mission is to teach accurate history or use historical events to tell a fictional story.

Sincerely,

Lit and Flicks