Mary recently conducted a survey about readers likes and dislikes in their Historical fiction choices. Here Mary shares her results with us. Interesting reading.
There will be questions at the end of the article :)
Welcome, Mary
From the World of Historical
Fiction
In late
March, I conducted a survey about historical fiction to uncover the preferences
and habits of those who do or do not read this genre. Why? Because I write
historical fiction. To my surprise, more than 800 people from different parts
of the world responded. The results and associated information are posted on my
blog, www.awriterofhistory.com .
I am
delighted that Carol – aka DizzyC – has graciously invited me to tell you a
little about the survey. Rather than boring charts and data, I thought I would
share a few highlights.
First, some general comments:
- THE PAST FASCINATES. Almost 75%
of respondents read more than 25% historical fiction.
- SEX: Women and men differ
significantly in their views of historical fiction.
- GOING ONLINE: Social media and
online sites play a very significant role for those consuming historical
fiction. Online sites are a preferred source of recommendations,
information and discussion.
- GEOGRAPHY: A reader’s
geographic location has little affect on preferences.
- EARLY HABITS: Those introduced
to historical fiction in childhood continue to read it at high volumes.
Why do people read historical fiction? The top three reasons are:
- To bring the past to life,
appreciating how people lived and coped in very different times;
- Because it’s a great story;
- To understand and learn about
historical periods without reading non-fiction.
What are your favourite types of stories? (1) Stories with a strong female character, (2) the life of a significant historical figure, and (3) the lives of lesser-known historical
figures. It’s worth pointing out
that men have a different opinion. The top three for men are: significant
historical figure, adventure story and story with a military angle. Love those
swords, ships and battles!
What about preferred historical time periods? Readers favour the 13th
to 16th century time period by a significant margin. The next
favourite is the 19th century followed by those readers who say they
choose widely from different time periods.
Who are your favourite authors? 601 of 805 individuals responded,
some noting a few favourite authors while others offered long lists of
favourites. Counting the names – a laborious process – resulted in the
following, where the middle column is the number of times an author was
mentioned and the right hand column their location.
Sharon Kay Penman
|
111
|
US
|
Philippa Gregory
|
75
|
UK
|
Elizabeth Chadwick
|
74
|
UK
|
Diana Gabaldon
|
66
|
US
|
Bernard Cornwell
|
58
|
UK/US
|
Ken Follett
|
37
|
UK
|
Anya Seton
|
35
|
US
|
CW Gortner
|
34
|
US
|
Alison Weir
|
33
|
UK
|
Margaret George
|
31
|
US
|
Georgette Heyer
|
31
|
UK
|
Jean Plaidy
|
29
|
UK
|
Michelle Moran
|
29
|
US
|
CJ Sansom
|
27
|
UK
|
Jane Austen
|
24
|
UK
|
Dorothy Dunnett
|
24
|
UK
|
Ellis Peters
|
21
|
UK
|
Susan Higginbotham
|
20
|
US
|
Tracy Chevalier
|
18
|
US/UK
|
Hilary Mantel
|
18
|
UK
|
Jacqueline Winspear
|
18
|
UK/US
|
Patrick O’Brian
|
17
|
UK
|
Deanna Raybourne
|
17
|
US
|
Sarah Dunant
|
16
|
UK
|
Colleen McCullough
|
16
|
Aus
|
James Michener
|
16
|
US
|
Helen Hollick
|
15
|
UK
|
Anne Perry
|
15
|
UK
|
Lindsey Davis
|
14
|
UK
|
Charles Dickens
|
14
|
UK
|
Mary Renault
|
12
|
UK
|
Rosemary Sutcliff
|
12
|
UK
|
Geraldine Brooks
|
11
|
Aus/US
|
James Clavell
|
11
|
UK/US
|
Edward Rutherfurd
|
11
|
UK/US
|
Sarah Waters
|
11
|
UK
|
Jean Auel
|
10
|
US
|
John Jakes
|
10
|
US
|
Lisa See
|
10
|
US
|
Wilbur Smith
|
10
|
UK
|
For the most part, these authors base their stories in long ago
periods, writing about well-known historical figures either in a central or
significant role. Many have written series or have concentrated on a particular
time period so readers know what to expect and are familiar with their main
characters.
What detracts from your enjoyment of historical
fiction? Participants
responded with enthusiasm to this question. Once posted, blog readers echoed
many of the same sentiments.
What are your favourite reading-oriented
websites, blogs & social media sites? The winners in connecting readers with books
share three attributes:
- thoughtful, trustworthy
information about books,
- opportunities for dialogue and
an exchange of ideas, and
- a community of like-minded
readers.
Category
|
#
of mentions
|
Goodreads
|
231
|
Historical
Fiction blogs/sites
|
218
|
Small
book review blogs *
|
145
|
Amazon
|
89
|
Facebook
|
71
|
Library
Thing & Shelfari
|
49
|
Author
blogs and sites *
|
43
|
Big
book review sites
|
38
|
Other
|
26
|
Genre
Sites *
|
24
|
Twitter
|
21
|
Publishing
& Industry sites
|
18
|
Library
sites
|
16
|
Newspapers
- online
|
14
|
Other
social media
|
13
|
Book
Chains
|
13
|
General
history sites
|
13
|
Indie
Bookstores
|
7
|
Do
not use
|
73
|
Highlights
· Goodreads, historical fiction blogs and
small book review blogs like DizzyC’s are the top three by a wide margin.
· Adding Library Thing and Shelfari to
the Goodreads number brings the category of interactive reader communities to
49.8%.
· In total, readers mentioned more
than 150 book blogs run by individuals or small groups.
Feedback:
I’d love to
have comments on the survey.
- Do these results resonate for
you as readers?
- What do you find surprising?
- As readers of DizzyC’s Little
Book Blog, what brings you online for information about books?
Please do leave comments below and I will pass these back to Mary.
Thank you.
As a fan of historical fiction i found this post and the survey apsolutely facinating and really interesting, for i am an avid reader who enjoys works by many of the author's listed. I think that many enjoy this genre for bringing back the past that is not only so different from modern-day but so diverse; with sword fighting for those who love action and drama, elegance for those readers who enjoy etiquette and full of details that show both past architecture, culture and way of living. Many of those listed on the online sites i am a part of including historical blogs and websites, that are a fantastic example of dedication to the past. I was suprised by how the sex of the reader contributes to the genre's popularity, and also how those readers who have read historical fiction at a young age are more likely to continue doing so (i have known some readers who only picked up a book on Tudor England and are now hooked). I look online about new books that may be of interest, author's websites.
ReplyDeleteThank you x
I enjoy getting lost in another time and place.
DeleteI love history and find historical fiction/romance fascinating.
It never ceases to amaze me the time and trouble authors go to in their research for historical fiction novels.
carol
Such an interesting survey. The results are fascinating - I like historical, but prefer contemporary/literary fiction.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visting and commenting, Diane :)
DeleteThanks for all your hard work in doing this Mary!
ReplyDeleteand thank you to all those who "voted" for me in the survey - much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteHelen
DeleteThank you for visiting and commenting :)
carol
Fascinating! Historical fiction is such a challenge for the author because people kept their hands to themselves back in the day. No smoking, winding hair around the finger, rubbing eyes etc! No actions to help matters and the dialogue along, apart from seriously restrained gestures. What did I find surprising? personally, I was surprised to see Goodreads way up there. As an author, I find it very difficult to use...but that's probably just me!
ReplyDeleteGina
DeleteI had not thought about it much, but now that you say...I also notice that general chit chat was kept to a minimum, too.
carol
Hi Gina ... a large % of participants were from the US which might have something to do with Goodreads popularity. I hope to do another survey with more balanced percentages from different parts of the world :)
DeleteIt's a very interesting survey and thank you for asking me to offer my thoughts. I've a wide taste in reading and do dip in and out of historical novels but the storyline has to be good. Phillipa Gregory is a favourite and I've also read all of Edward Rutherford's novels. Think it was to be expected that male readers would be more interested in historical 'action' novels. Regarding the chart on what detracts from the reader's enjoyment, I think if an author is presenting a novel to the general reading public then sometimes the plot has to be 'helped' along to make it more interesting. Certainly in Phillipa Gregory's The Queen's Lover which centred on Elizabeth I's relationship with Robert Dudley, the cause of death of Robert's wife Amy which left him free to pursue Elizbeth was in Gregory's Author's Note 'unresolved'. Gregory therefore stamped her own interpretation on the event. So I would say that although I understand that inaccuracies appear to spoil the read for the majority, unless it is something which most people could identify as being incorrect, a lot of readers probably would not even be aware. Certainly in this instance it didn't upset my read and it brought the novel to its conclusion very well.
ReplyDeleteI personally am happy for the author to help along a plot. I do like them to let us know that they have in the notes.
DeleteThanks for your comments.
carol
Jo ... could not agree with you more! As a historical fiction writer pointed out in a blog post, even historical non-fiction is often a matter of interpretation. One item readers disliked is having modern sensibilities take over the story - a different sort of historical inaccuracy.
DeleteThat survey is very interesting. I'm glad to see goodreads and bloggers are way up on the influencial list. I love both!
ReplyDeleteGoodreads is becoming more pop over here in the UK.
DeletePower to the bloggers :)
carol
I think we will see more and more of what people are calling 'social reading'. Readers sharing thoughts and opinions with other readers.
DeleteA really interesting survey. Goodreads seems to be a bigger phenomenon in the US than in the UK, though I think UK readers are catching up a bit now.I'd be really interested to know how many of the respondents were writers as well as readers - that will make a huge difference to the statistics.Some great writers highlighted in the list there - reminded me of some really good reads! Thanks for posting about this Carol and Mary.
ReplyDeleteDeborah,
DeleteThank you for your comments. Maybe Mary will answer the reader/writer question.
I do know Mary is in and out catching up on all the comments.
carol
Hello Deborah ... I should have checked back a long time ago and so, my apologies. Unfortunately, I did not think to ask survey participants whether they were also writers. I plan to conduct another survey and will include that question as it will change some of the analysis.
DeleteGreat survey though maybe not many surprises. It looks like historical novelists (Mary REnault, Anya Seton, Colleen McC)retain their appeal rather than going out of fashion as many contemporary fiction writers do - which I suppose is an obvious advantage to historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about that 'inaccuracies' problem - is it inaccutracies with the the 'plot' - we are talking fiction after all, or more the reader's eye for detail and knowledge that this particular dress/word/food is inappropriate to the time, which might detract from the reading experience - as someone who's been trying my hand at HF this is a constant worry!Ali B
Sounds exciting, Alison. Historical fiction would be something I would like to try to write, if I felt I had the talent.
Deletecarol
Hi AliB - inaccuracies related to historical fact, historical values, historical times and so on. Good luck with your writing.
DeleteInteresting survey, I love historical fiction and not surprised that the inacuracies annoy most. I like the idea of escaping to another time, though in reality I think I'd rather be living now. I enjoy goodreads website, and amazon for book information.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to go back in time but still have the best of modern day living
Deletecarol
Although I write contemporary fiction, I admire historical fiction. I so appreciate the amount of research that goes into making everything in the story authentic. Your survey and the results were so interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and commenting, Peggy
Deletecarol
Thanks Peggy ... I might run it again next year so hope that folks like you will participate :)
DeleteFascinating survey, Mary and DizzyC! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI was interested to see Jane Austen's name (I write modernisations) even though she makes only rare and passing references to historical figures, the main characteristic of this genre.
Also interesting to see that dialogue detracts from enjoyment - is this dialogue in itself, or 'inaccurate' dialogue, as in 'inappropriate for the time'?
Juliet
DeleteAs you know, I do enjoy your modern day adaptations of J A novels
carol
Hi Juliet ... many participants referred to getting bogged down in dialogue that reflects a long ago time. Others referred to dialogue that is too modern. I concluded that readers want hints of the time period in the dialogue they read without being overwhelmed by it. What do you think?
DeleteI read a lot more contemporary than historical. The historical that I read tends to be historical romance - Nicola Cornick, Joanna Maitland, Louise Allen, Mary Balogh, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood and perennial favourite, Georgette Heyer.
ReplyDeleteI see only GH made it into your chart, out of all of those, although I know they all sell well. Are people chary of admitting to enjoying the lighter end of the historical spectrum? I recently attended a day at the Historical Novel Society's conference in London and historical romance was hardly mentioned. Too light to be cool?
That is a shame, Sue.
DeleteMaybe it is like the chicklit label.
I am obviously not cool as I like to read historical romance and chicklit. I do have to admit I prefer the historical fiction to be close to history rather than the much lighter which only has a fleeting reference to history.
carol
Hi Sue ... I suspect that if I aggregated all the favourite authors classified as 'historical romance' we would see that this sub-genre is quite popular.
DeleteAs an historical fiction author and reviewer, information regarding where authors connect with readers is invaluable. I run a small (as in individual) historical fiction review, so know I now for sure my reviews do reach readers and have influence. I support Indie authors, so this is double good news.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I have a blog post which I update for readers every time I find a venue for readers to connect with authors. After all, without readers authors are lost.
Maybe it's my eyes getting old, but I didn't see what the purple represented in the graph. Inaccuracies is not surprising, but I'm curious to know what element merited a good chunk of the pie.
As an author, it was wonderful to have affirmation that I am going in the right direction with my social media, connecting and building relationships.
Oh, I see that too.
DeleteHopefully Mary can answer that one for you Darlene
carol
Hi Darlene ... the purple represents 'other'. My apologies for not making that clear.
Delete