7 reasons to read history literature (if you still don’t)

Before you put aside the historical novel, think about what you can learn from reading about the events of the past.

“Wow, on the cover is a woman in a pretty dress. Damn, but I really don’t want to read anything like that.” If these thoughts crossed your mind as you wandered among unfamiliar titles in a bookstore, chances are the book you put aside with barely a glance at the cover is historical literature. But before putting it aside, stop for a while. First of all, authors rarely control what is depicted on the cover of their book. Second, the image is often irrelevant to the content. The cover, in which we see a woman from the back against the background of some blurry landscape, may be just a screen behind which hides the gripping story of a fearless journalist who married Hemingway and covered the Spanish civil war in the 1930s. [This is Martha Gellhorn – approx. Per.] Historical literature includes a wide range of works. There are books that offer you “dressed up in a beautiful dress” to escape from reality, and there are those books that explore the past in order to shed light on our present. When faced with the turmoil of the present, we should turn to history for lessons that we may or may not learn. Historical literature is the bridge between yesterday and today; it offers us a mirror in which we can see ourselves and understand that we are not very different from those who lived before us.

Here are seven reasons to give a book with a beautiful dress on the cover a chance.

You can learn something new about someone about whom you thought you knew everything.

Historical literature is constantly changing, thereby reflecting our rethinking of history. In novels published 40 years ago, a woman like Anne Boleyn – a constant favorite among fans of historical prose covering the period of the Tudor period – was positioned as an assertive lover who destroyed a long royal marriage. In today’s #MeeToo world, when we are faced with the toxic effects of gender politics and misogyny that have played a devastating role in Anne Boleyn’s life, she appears before us in a new light – she is an intelligent, but essentially helpless woman who is being pursued by a predatory king. to use his power to lock her in a cage.

You can discover someone you didn’t know about before.

Historical writers expand their horizons. Today, the themes of historical novels are very diverse – from the fall of the imperial dynasty through the eyes of an empress who managed to escape, to the story of an unknown resolute woman who spied against the Nazis. Or the book might be about the unsung heroines of the French Revolution. There are a great many topics for the plots of books in the genre of historical literature. Take a chance and read a book about something you didn’t know about before. What you discover may surprise you a lot.

Amaze your book club with a historic evening.

Historical novels provide another bonus in the form of describing details of the era during which the events of the book unfold. Instead of the ubiquitous cheese-wine for a book club meeting, transform the meeting into a style-specific meeting. Reading about Chanel? Put on pearls and serve a French-style aperitif. Let your imagination run wild and turn the meeting into a whole event. And by the way, don’t forget to invite the author of the book. Many of us would love to join your group of book lovers via Skype or Facetime.

You can escape into the past by studying the environment of the present.

Historical novels can show us that there are very few new things under the sun, and that everything we think about today has its echoes in history. Escaping into a book about the days gone by is not only exciting but also rewarding. Once you find that Hamilton’s daughter had a hard time meeting the person she fell in love with, you will feel better about spending a lot of time on dating sites. Even the most privileged people struggle when it comes to finding the right partner. Imagine sharing this information at your first dinner together. How can this fail to make a good impression on a date?

You can reinforce the claim that women were always ahead of their time.

Since historical literature is mainly aimed at a female audience, it is not surprising that women often play the main role in historical novels. And it’s better not to mess with these women – they organize a network of resistance, revolutionize the fashion world, break rules, break hearts. Despite the obstacles these women face, they either find workarounds or simply sweep away all the obstacles in their path. Enjoy it. Real women are not the young ladies in the Austin novels who sigh for the lord next door; real women, rolling up their uncomfortable sleeves, stubbornly go to the goal.

You can meet bad girls.

Who hasn’t thought about what it’s like to go all out or walk along the edge of the abyss? Well, okay, just take a look. Historical literature offers a forbidden pleasure – to change shoes in the shoes of the queen, who made a bloody massacre; or watch an insidious seductress who may turn out to be an enemy; or turn out to be a ruthless tycoon willing to give up all principles for profit. In historical novels, women not only go to their goal, but also do bad things in order to achieve it. And while the bad will never turn out to be good, it’s always fun to read about it.

You can diversify your usual reading.

Do you like family dramas? Do you love thrillers? In the historical literature, all this is also there. World War II novels are rife with tense moments. Novels about women of the royal court will satisfy your thirst for exquisite entertainment and dangerous adultery. We all love bagels, but if we only have to eat them every morning for the rest of our lives, it will be so boring. Don’t lead a boring life. You don’t have to throw away books of your favorite genres; just take a chance and dive into a historical romance to spice up your daily life.