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What’s going on in the world of historical fiction? Well, it’s mainstream now. Didn’t you know? I guess that does explain why it’s become more and more ubiquitous these past few years. Also, famous SFF author Neal Stephenson has a historical fiction book out, and you might just find some inspiration in the heroes of recent historical fiction releases. Let’s talk about all of that.
How Historical Fiction Became Mainstream—And Why
Esquire writer Sam Paul’s look into why historical fiction is everywhere now came out in 2023, but it’s still relevant over a year later. Historical fiction is everywhere you look these days, from Netflix to the bestseller list. Why? Well, Paul argues it provides a uniquely circumspect way of examining modern-day issues and concerns, especially when juxtaposed with what’s going on in the present. Historical fiction can also provide a break from our 24-hour news cycle of trends and current events.
Paul recommends Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon for a more in-depth look at how and why historical fiction has become so popular.
Neal Stephenson Returns to Historical Fiction
You might recognize the name Neal Stephenson for his ’90s cyberpunk classic, Snow Crash, or his more recent SFF novels, Seveneves and The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. Or maybe even as the inventor of the term “metaverse” (yeah, sorry, Zuckerberg, Stephenson did it first). But his newest book is all historical fiction.
It’s not his very first foray into historical fiction, of course. Cryptonomicon features dual storylines set in both the present and WWII-era England and The Baroque Cycle takes place in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Europe. In Polostan, he returns to surveying real-world science through a historical lens.
It’s shorter than a lot of Stephenson’s work, clocking in at a comparatively diminutive 303 pages compared to Cryptonomicon‘s 1,152. So, if you’ve ever wanted to take a dip into Stephenson’s writing, this might be a good place to start.
Inspirational Heroes of Historical Fiction
Anyone else in need of some inspiration at the moment? Searching out specifically “uplifting” historical fiction can be tricky since so much of it focuses heavily on war, tragedy, or hard times. But sometimes, don’t you just want to read something that leaves you feeling better at the end of the day? I know I do.