I belong to a Facebook group called Friends and Fiction [excellent group if you love to read] and a lady posted on there about finding a first edition of the book Roots, by Alex Haley. It got me to thinking about books that have changed my life.
There are basically three ways to learn about history.
- Read a textbook or nonfiction book
- Live through historic events
- Read Historical Fiction
For my money, Historical Fiction (HF) is the best way to learn. The best books in that genre put the reader inside the mind of someone living in the past. I've traveled the world, in many different time periods, because of Historical Fiction. If I could teach History I would have students read HF novels because they teach so effectively if they are well written.
Here are some of the books that forever changed me because of the writer's skill at putting me right inside that time period, seeing the world through the eyes of a character. It's one thing to read about something. It's quite another thing to vicariously live through it. I can tell my children all day long about the events of 9/11/01 but I don't know if I have the skill to really convey how it felt to live through that terrible, eerily quiet day, not knowing if our country was under attack and we all might be facing imminent invasion or even death.
Books have incredible power. Here are a few that changed my life.
Roots, by Alex Haley, 1976
I was in high school when the book was originally published, and I read it very quickly after watching the miniseries on TV. Haley skillfully told the story of his ancestor who was captured in Africa, Kunta Kinte, who endured the Middle Passage and lived as an enslaved person, suffering through horrors that are hard to imagine nowadays. The book opened my eyes to something that had just seemed sad when I studied it in History class. Reading about human beings being treated like property gave me as much insight as any white person can have into that terrible time. Some of my ancestors owned slaves, which is a terrible and tragic thing. I wish I could travel through time and make that right, but unfortunately I can't. All I can do is try to raise children who judge people by their character, not color, as Dr. King so eloquently stated. Since both my children have dated non-white people I like to think I did something right.
This is a book that deserves to be read by everyone, of every race. Understanding what happened is crucial if you want to call yourself an educated student of History.
The Winds of War, by Herman Wouk, 1971
My father loved History and he tried to teach me about World War II but I always found everything about the topic really boring, until I read this book. The book came out in 1971 and my parents both read it. I saw the massive book in our bookcase and didn't want to ever read it, but while home from college my junior year I had nothing to read and I started it. I quickly found myself entranced by the story of the Henry family. The father, Pug, has access to world leaders like FDR and Churchill, but we also learn about the lives of his grown children and their spouses and children. One of his sons married a young Jewish woman so there is a fair amount about the Holocaust. When the miniseries came out I was really disappointed but only because in my head everything looked so different -- which is why it's a mistake to read a book before watching the movie or miniseries. The sequel, War and Remembrance, was also quite good.
The Mists of Avalon, by Marian Zimmer Bradley, 1984
I loved this retelling of the Arthurian legend through the eyes of Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister. It explores the time in England when Paganism was being banished and replaced by Christianity, which was not an entirely good thing. The ability to use herbs and plants to heal was lost, for one thing. It started me on the path of questioning traditional Christian beliefs, and wanting to have an open mind about all matters of faith. This is from the Prologue:
When I lost my dad to cancer I was 33 and I started questioning everything about orthodoxy and exploring the idea of death as simply another state of being. My belief system started to change, but in a good way. This book started it all, years before Dad died, and I highly recommend it.
I have never really tried to write a book that could strictly be classified as HF but my book Return to Marietta is set between 1923 and 1933. I hope I conveyed accurately what it must have been like to live in that era, but who knows. My one fantasy novel, Heart of My Own Heart, combines time travel and takes place from the time of Queen Elizabeth I to today, so I did a lot of research and I hope I did a good job there.
