Gideon's Angel was fantastic fun. But if you've read the preamble to my review, you'll see that I got rather distracted by the idea of real history, and how we teach it.
As an English tutor when I'm not reviewing books, a large part of my day job involves finding ways to get the kids I work with interested in reading and writing, and that's rarely as easy as it seems. Few can see past the stress and the pressure of exams, because that's what the curriculum is all about: a grade at the end of the day. On the one hand, I have to help them get a good one; on the other, it'd be easier if a few more of them gave a flying fuck about the subject.
That said, I sympathise. When I was in their position, more years ago now that I'm completely comfortable admitting, I was never particularly interested in history. I got my grades, but I didn't much care about the subject one way or the other.
That probably had a lot to do with my dreary teacher, because in recent years, I've realised I could have been. Should have been, even. History can be absolutely fascinating—as demonstrated by Gideon's Angel—but only when taught properly. And as Clifford Beal argues in the guest post I'm proud to post below, where there's a will, there's a way.
***
I’ll be truthful. I started my writing profession grounded purely
in stone-cold reality. Defence journalism, articles for history magazines, and
finally, a book about a little-known Anglo-American pirate named John Quelch
who lived in the early 18th century and whose case set legal
precedent.
It was that sense of adventure, of the mysteries of what
had gone before, that drew me into switching over to write historical fiction
and fantasy. I have always read historical fiction. And for me, history was
always very much alive, all around us, and always a source of discovery.
As a
child, I remember a near endless series of fiction books called
Childhoods of Famous
Americans, published by the now defunct Bobbs-Merrill company but now
back in print. I would devour probably one a week. They were written from the 1930s
onwards and when I discovered them in the sixties, they were just as exciting.
These books were instrumental in taking larger-than-life historical figures,
somewhat dull as taught in the classroom, and making their experiences relevant
to me, as a kid. So too did television often trigger a trip to the library.
Watch Henry Fonda barking orders in the
Battle of the Bulge on TV? Check. Then I’d go and read the book. It was
axiomatic for me then and probably for a lot of people my age.
I’m not so sure that’s the case any more. It appears today
kids are taught “modules” in history where they dive deep into ancient Egypt
one term and then WWII the next. They know nothing in between and end up with an
unconnected series of historical waypoints that have no relevance or meaning. [All too true!—Ed.] Give me chronological teaching any day.
So here’s an idea: get kids into
learning history again by teaching it as a subject that tells “how we got to
where we are” and supplement it with narrative, both real and fictitious. If
historical fiction can excite young people to take more interest in the actual
events of the past—and their impact on the world today—then overall education will
benefit and we might actually get a few more historians (and novelists) to
enjoy reading in the future.
But what does this all have to do with historical fantasy or alternate history genre
fiction? OK, cause and effect gets a bit weaker here I admit, but even
speculative fiction can engender serious thought about who we are. And what
might have been. Maybe if a kid reads H.G. Wells he’ll develop an interest in
the Victorian age—or planetary science. For me, I’m chuffed to bits that I can
combine my two great pleasures that are history and fantasy, have fun creating
it, and give others the escapist pleasure in reading it.
***
Many thanks for that, Clifford!
So, folks... thoughts? What say you to a bit of fiction with your fact?
