Author Keith recommends historical fiction faves
Historical fiction is one of the most popular genres going in books these days, with books in the genre dominating the bestsellers lists. Canadian author Ellen Keith, of The Dutch Wife fame, is a fan of historical fiction as well a writer of it, and recommends five titles that helped inform her: 1. Time’s Arrow, Martin Amis This 1991 novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, narrates the life of a German Holocaust doctor, telling the story in reverse order. It inspired Keith to play with chronology in her own war novel. “I was trying to think of ways of taking a subject that’s been done so many times — the Holocaust, or Second World War in general — and looking at how you can bring a different angle to it,” she says. 2. Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively “Parts of it are quite contemporary, but then other parts of it are very historical,” Keith says of the Booker Prize winner from 1987, also about Second World War. “It plays with structure, jumping around all the time … What I was so fascinated by, and what works so well, is that it adds so many layers.” 3. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant “What can make historical fiction really interesting is that it deals with not just large-scale history, and the facts, and events that have a huge impact on whole societies, but it also goes very personal,” Keith points out. “Everyone’s understanding of history is very personal to who they are.” This1997 novel from American author Anita Diamant focuses on Dinah, daughter of the biblical figure Jacob. 4. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier Similarly, Tracy Chevalier’s 1999 blockbuster book flips the story of the famed painting. “Throughout history, if we’re thinking of the Dutch Golden Age, we’re thinking about Vermeer from his perspective,” Keith reflects. “Who was this girl in the painting?” 5. Manhattan Beach, Jennifer Egan Keith says readers are clamouring for strong female protagonists, which creates a surprising problem.
“It’s a bit of a predicament, because up until very recently in history women’s voices have not been the prominent ones,” she says.
“It’s really challenging as a writer of historical fiction because you need to make the novel interesting … You have to push the boundaries a little bit, and I think in some ways that stretches what might have been realistic for the time period. She points to Jennifer Egan’s title, out last year, about a young female diver during the war.