Read with MLC: Historical Fiction

Welcome to August, and the eighth month of the 2024 Read With MLC reading challenge. This month's reading prompt is to read a work of historical fiction. What drives so many of us to explore the past instead of the present or the future? When Time Magazine(1) asked historical fiction great E.L. Doctorow what the difference was between a historian writing history and a novelist, he responded, "The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like." Experiencing a semblance of what our Cro-Magnon ancestors thought about, living through the American Civil War, dodging accusations during the Salem Witch Trials... These are the great experiences historical fiction offers us.

Here are some of MLC staff's favorite historical fiction:

The Clan of the Cave Bear
Jean M. Auel
BARD
I love this book. It even inspired me to learn how to use a sling! My grandfather, who also read the book, made me a leather sling to practice with when he discovered my new-found interest.
-Kristina Kelly, Public Relations Coordinator

King of the Armadillos
Wendy Chin-Tanner
This took place at a leper colony in Louisiana in the 1940s. It was an excellent read and I was surprised that leper colonies were still around!
-Alex Brower, Information Services Director

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Seth Grahame-Smith
MLC catalog
BARD
I read this on vacation years ago and it was a perfectly relaxing read.
-J.D. Burns, Patron Services Coordinator

The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah
MLC catalog
BARD
This is a tale of one woman’s struggle for a better life. In her way is a forced marriage, the Dust Bowl's devastation of the crops of her family's farm, and the Great Depression. These things impact every aspect of her life. It's bleak and heartbreaking, yet inspiring.
-Charlie Simpkins,

The Crucible
Arthur Miller
MLC catalog
BARD
To this day, The Crucible remains one of the tensest stories I've ever read. Reflecting on themes of community, faith, misinformation, and paranoia, this historic-fiction drama, which recounts the early days of the Salem witch trials, will have readers on the edge of their seat as they watch the trial unfold.
-Zach Burton, Cataloging Librarian

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
BARD
I was in my late teens when I first read this fictional account of a single day in the life of a man imprisoned at a Stalinist labor camp and I've read it many times since. Solzhenitsyn based the book on his experiences in a gulag in the 1940s and 1950s; it was published serially. I marvel at the complexity and resilience of the human spirit every time I read it.
-Elisabeth Scott

If you would like a suggestion or two for fiction books set during your favorite historic time periods, give MLC's BookMatch service a try. Fill out our short form letting us know your reading likes and dislikes, and we'll send you a list of recommended reads tailored to your tastes. Until next time, happy reading!

(1) TIME Magazine, 3/6/2006, Academic Search Premier

Elisabeth Scott
Reference Librarian