The current issue of Booklist has a spotlight on Historical Fiction with some excellent lists and articles.
- Top 10 Historical Fiction 2024
- Top 10 Historical Debuts 2024
- Essential Historical Fiction in Graphic Novels
I also want to use this post to remind everyone about some other Historical Fiction Resources because it is a very popular genre and there are so many entry points for readers.
Let's begin with Becky created resources. Last week I gave my updated for 2024 Genre presentation. Below is a screen shot of my Historical Fiction slide. However, you can access the slides for all genres with links here.
I know I always bring up the backlist as a great resource, but a word of caution when it comes to backlist and historical fiction and I think the recent success of the Shōgun TV show illustrates it best. Shōgun the book was written by a white British dude after he was a POW during WWII and it shows in the book. The "white savior" aspects of this very detailed Japanese historical epic are very prevalent in the book. But this book is 49 years old. This is how books about other cultures got published back then-- with white, Western men writing about a non-white, western culture.
However, the TV show has updated the novel very well. It centers the Japanese characters as the main actors and John Blackthorne is not the hero, in fact, at the end of the show, we learn that he is seen as a nice distraction to the leaders. Because Japanese writers and actors have been centered, Blackthorne rightfully becomes our eyes into the foreign world we are entering and like us, the viewers, he learns from his experiences.
So beware when reading Historical fiction books, especially about non white and Western peoples and place that are more than 10 years old. Today's readers might notice problems.
And now some of my favorite FREE Historical Fiction resources both professional and reader driven:
- 25 of the Best Historical Fiction Books of the Last 10 Years via Book Riot
- Historical Novel Society (Writer's Association that gives awards)
- Reading the West (the left gutter has dozens more vetted sites)
- Goodreads Choice Winners for Historical Fiction for 2023 (reader driven list)
- Go to the main page for all 2023 winners to see past year's winners as well.
- RUSA CODES Reading List (Genre Books) winners for all years-- Historical Fiction is a category
- This one is especially useful because each year the library worker committee picks a winner-- gives readalikes for it (not from that year) and then a few runners-up (from that year). These are proven library patron winners.
And finally, bringing it back to Shōgun, please remember that when we are matching Historical Fiction Readers with their next good read, don't always assume they want the exact same historical time and place. So yes, Shōgun may lead readers to more Japanese Historical Fiction BUT, it also may lead them to other immersive, epic stories about other non-western places in the way past.
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