In a recent Boston Globe article, practicing psychologist Nancy Harris writes:
“When daily headlines are replete with domestic violence and international strife many readers turn to historical fiction to remind them that they are not alone in the struggle to survive during difficult times.?Historical fiction allows readers to enter the lives of others and see how they endured painful moments in history. We momentarily become both witness and participants in an era that may be foreign to us, but discover that people today react to violence and oppression with the same fear, anger, hatred, and love as did earlier generations. As a psychologist, I believe these novels have the capacity to inspire hope and resiliency. It may be that exploration of the sights, sounds, and events of past eras, helps us to imagine how to negotiate the strains of current real-life situations.”
These are same the reasons that I write historical novels. Making sense of the past gives us much needed perspective on our present.