What Makes a Good Novel

I have read mysteries, romance novels, science fiction, dramas, and fantasy, but none can compare to a historical fiction novel. To many people history seems boring and dull, but to me I can’t seem to get enough. Historical fiction allows you to see events in history in a way that you cannot see by reading a textbook, and actually makes you feel like you are a part of the story.
Every time I read a historical fiction novel I feel like I am actually witnessing that event in history. Every time I read Phillippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl, I always end up crying when Anne Boleyn gets executed. If a novel can evoke this sense of emotion, then you know it has to be good.
Another thing I look for in Historical Fiction novels is that the characters always try to bring themselves higher on a social level. Mistresses of Louis IV all had one thing in common; they were not born into nobility. Madame DuBarry was not born into nobility, she came from a whorehouse, and yet her affair with a monarch was controversial among the court of Versailles. All of these women, who pushed to get ahead into nobility, had some sort of power. I love these types of characters, since they are usually the most interesting to see develop as you read. A large majority of characters aren’t monarchs themselves, but a lot of historical fiction is in fact based on monarchs. There are at least a dozen books on Henry VIII, telling the same story, saying how cruel he was to his wives, while if you look at him from his wives’ perspectives, they provided a very different story. This shows that not all historical figures are as they seem, and the smallest characters in a book are sometimes the strongest. This is why I prefer the novels that are from the perspective of a lover rather than a monarch. If a book can have strong, characters, even if you don’t agree with the characters’ motives, then it can only make the book stronger and much more engaging to the reader.
Historical fiction novels have had a far more profound effect on my view of history, than any textbook, mystery, or romance novel I have read. Every time I pick up a historical fiction novel, I feel like I am becoming a part of that history.