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Why is historical fiction such a popular genre?
- MLE (Emily Cotton)
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3565
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
- Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
- Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
- Location: California Bay Area
[quote=""fljustice""]That's what first struck me about the question. I've always thought of HF as a niche genre attracting a distinct minority of readers. I went to Google to see if I could corroborate my hunch and didn't find much. The closest I came was this set of statistics from RWA 2009:
(source: Simba Information)
* Romance: $1.36 billion
* Religion/inspirational: $770 million
* Mystery: $674 million
* Science fiction/fantasy: $554 million
* Classic literary fiction: $462 millionThese are sales not number of books published or sold, but HF isn't broken out. It is certainly a sub-genre in romance, mystery and fantasy. I'm not sure what "classic" literary fiction is. Austen and Dickens or any literary fiction?
[/quote]
Those numbers are fascinating. I knew romance drives the trade book business, but I had no idea inspirational was number two. Maybe we should have an HF inspirational section?
The other problem with those numbers is, what category does inspirational romance go? There's a LOT of that in the inspirational genre, and as I am no fan of genre romance, it colors my view of inspirational generally. Is it counted twice?
We have a historical romance section on the forum; also, straight HF books like EC's to Defy a King are shortlisted for a romance award. So how much of that $1.36 billion romance number is actually Historical Fiction? After all, any writer who covers a chunk of history in their novel would be hard-pressed to avoid a romantic element-- that's how the species continues.
Some answers in those numbers, but more questions.
(source: Simba Information)
* Romance: $1.36 billion
* Religion/inspirational: $770 million
* Mystery: $674 million
* Science fiction/fantasy: $554 million
* Classic literary fiction: $462 millionThese are sales not number of books published or sold, but HF isn't broken out. It is certainly a sub-genre in romance, mystery and fantasy. I'm not sure what "classic" literary fiction is. Austen and Dickens or any literary fiction?
[/quote]
Those numbers are fascinating. I knew romance drives the trade book business, but I had no idea inspirational was number two. Maybe we should have an HF inspirational section?
The other problem with those numbers is, what category does inspirational romance go? There's a LOT of that in the inspirational genre, and as I am no fan of genre romance, it colors my view of inspirational generally. Is it counted twice?
We have a historical romance section on the forum; also, straight HF books like EC's to Defy a King are shortlisted for a romance award. So how much of that $1.36 billion romance number is actually Historical Fiction? After all, any writer who covers a chunk of history in their novel would be hard-pressed to avoid a romantic element-- that's how the species continues.
Some answers in those numbers, but more questions.
Romance is such a tricky genre to categorize, everyone has a different opinion as well as a different definition of bodice ripper. I go nuts when people judge some of those older books by their covers, surprisingly a lot of them have little sex at all, and more history then your *everyday romance reader* would care for. Clearly some people consider female written HF to be romance if there's a strong love story.We have a historical romance section on the forum; also, straight HF books like EC's to Defy a King are shortlisted for a romance award. So how much of that $1.36 billion romance number is actually Historical Fiction? After all, any writer who covers a chunk of history in their novel would be hard-pressed to avoid a romantic element-- that's how the species continues.
As for my use of *everyday romance reader*, even that's subject to interpretation. I mean no insult whatsoever, but there are readers who prefer the wall paper variety and complain when they get say a Roberta Gellis and there's too much historical info. But, the same goes for HF. There are wall paper historicals with pretty dress up characters and then there's the Penmans, etc. To each his own.
NOTE: I am not knocking the wall paper HF's, to each his/her own preference in reading so please don't bash me again. As long as you're reading that's the important part.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be
...is the only place I want to be
[quote=""Michy""]Did someone bash you? That's not nice.
And besides, you haven't said anything wrong.[/quote]
Ack, I am tired or I would have clarified. The basing wasn't here, no worries.

Ack, I am tired or I would have clarified. The basing wasn't here, no worries.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be
...is the only place I want to be
[quote=""MLE""]T
We have a historical romance section on the forum; also, straight HF books like EC's to Defy a King are shortlisted for a romance award. So how much of that $1.36 billion romance number is actually Historical Fiction? After all, any writer who covers a chunk of history in their novel would be hard-pressed to avoid a romantic element-- that's how the species continues.
[/quote]
Just to clarify that in the case of the RNA main award, It's not so much for romances where the love story has to be the main focus, but it's for mainstream fiction of any genre that has a broader romantic element. Philippa Gregory's Other Boleyn Girl was a past winner (although she says she doesn't write romance), Susan Kay's Phantom. Rosamund Pilcher (can't remember title). Dorothy Dunnett has been a shortlisted author (didn't win). It's meatier stuff than pure romance. There is a separate prize for the novels that have the romance fully up front.
Totally agree with the conundrum of how you separate out the material.
We have a historical romance section on the forum; also, straight HF books like EC's to Defy a King are shortlisted for a romance award. So how much of that $1.36 billion romance number is actually Historical Fiction? After all, any writer who covers a chunk of history in their novel would be hard-pressed to avoid a romantic element-- that's how the species continues.
[/quote]
Just to clarify that in the case of the RNA main award, It's not so much for romances where the love story has to be the main focus, but it's for mainstream fiction of any genre that has a broader romantic element. Philippa Gregory's Other Boleyn Girl was a past winner (although she says she doesn't write romance), Susan Kay's Phantom. Rosamund Pilcher (can't remember title). Dorothy Dunnett has been a shortlisted author (didn't win). It's meatier stuff than pure romance. There is a separate prize for the novels that have the romance fully up front.
Totally agree with the conundrum of how you separate out the material.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4322
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
I think a lot of books have a love interest in them, whilst not officially being classed as a romance. I like that in a book. Well, it is what makes the world go round......
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
- Kveto from Prague
- Compulsive Reader
- Posts: 921
- Joined: September 2008
- Location: Prague, Bohemia
Is it popular really? To me it seems more of a subcatergory of other genres. HF can almost always be "something else" as well. And the only people I know who like HF are on this site.
I like HF because I like history and I like learning about history. So I read NF history but sometimes that lacks the story or personal connection. HF is a bit like teaching while entertaining for me.
thats all i can think of.
I like HF because I like history and I like learning about history. So I read NF history but sometimes that lacks the story or personal connection. HF is a bit like teaching while entertaining for me.
thats all i can think of.
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
[quote=""Kveto from Prague""]Is it popular really? To me it seems more of a subcatergory of other genres. [/quote]
That's how I think of it. You can have a historical novel belonging to any of the standard genres. Sometimes I think there is more in common between a contemporary and a historical in a given genre, than between two historicals in different genres.
But in any case, the whole 'genre' thing is a distraction and often more a disadvantage than a benefit. Sure, many novels are written very specifically to match well-trod parameters of a given genre for commercial reasons - and habitual readers of that genre are happy with that: they know what they're getting. But so many other novels are just written to be great novels and could theoretically be categorised in many different ways or in none.
That's how I think of it. You can have a historical novel belonging to any of the standard genres. Sometimes I think there is more in common between a contemporary and a historical in a given genre, than between two historicals in different genres.
But in any case, the whole 'genre' thing is a distraction and often more a disadvantage than a benefit. Sure, many novels are written very specifically to match well-trod parameters of a given genre for commercial reasons - and habitual readers of that genre are happy with that: they know what they're getting. But so many other novels are just written to be great novels and could theoretically be categorised in many different ways or in none.
- Madeleine
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 5815
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: "The Postscript Murders" by Elly Griffiths
- Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
- Location: Essex/London
[quote=""Kveto from Prague""]Is it popular really? To me it seems more of a subcatergory of other genres. HF can almost always be "something else" as well. And the only people I know who like HF are on this site.
I like HF because I like history and I like learning about history. So I read NF history but sometimes that lacks the story or personal connection. HF is a bit like teaching while entertaining for me.thats all i can think of.[/quote]
I think that sums it up perfectly
, and is the best way to learn something. I liked history at school but it was a bit dusty, just loads of facts; some major events, like the Irish Potato Famine, were only given a couple of paragraphs in our books
!
I like HF because I like history and I like learning about history. So I read NF history but sometimes that lacks the story or personal connection. HF is a bit like teaching while entertaining for me.thats all i can think of.[/quote]
I think that sums it up perfectly



Currently reading "The Postscript Murders" by Elly Griffiths
- Margaret
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2440
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
- Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
- Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
- Location: Catskill, New York, USA
- Contact:
Totally true. It's why I don't think of historical fiction as a genre, although it can be useful sometimes to treat it that way. But you just can't classify two novels as different as, say, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon and Alfred Duggan's The Conscience of the King as the same genre, even though they're set in roughly the same time period.You can have a historical novel belonging to any of the standard genres.
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