--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I really hate the term 'historical novel'…" description: "\"I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me of bodice-rippers. But I'm hooked on research, and I really, really enjoy it.\" — Hannah Kent" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/hannah-kent-4646_books_i-really-hate-the-term-historical-novel_313606.png" --- # I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me… ![“I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me of bodice-rippers. But I'm hooked on research, and I really, really enjoy it.” quote by Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/hannah-kent-4646_books_i-really-hate-the-term-historical-novel_313606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/hannah-kent-4646_books_i-really-hate-the-term-historical-novel_313606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/hannah-kent-4646_books_i-really-hate-the-term-historical-novel_313606.png) > “I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me of bodice-rippers. But I'm hooked on research, and I really, really enjoy it.” [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She dislikes the label 'historical novel' because it feels like cheap romance, yet she loves the depth of research and the story. **In simple terms:** Dislikes the term but enjoys the research and story. Key Takeaway Embrace research even if the genre label feels limiting. Themes history genre research literature personal taste Mood frustrated enthusiastic reflective Type critical personal When to use this quote - writing a novel - reading historical books - marketing books - academic research - creative writing Key Concepts historical fiction genre perception authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How does genre labeling influence your reading choices? - Can you separate content quality from marketing tags? A Different Perspective Label may affect readership expectations and marketability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) ## Related quotes > [Young adults that actually read are reading bodice rippers and best-sellers and me. And Horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/young-adults-that-actually-read-are-reading-bodice-rippers-and-best/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [What people actually refer to as research is really just Googling. I already have a complicated relationship with research. It used to be going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-mulroney/what-people-actually-refer-to-as-research-is-really-just-googling-i/) [Dermot Mulroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-mulroney/) > [With my research, I really need absolute confirmation of what actually happened, direct physical connections to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/with-my-research-i-really-need-absolute-confirmation-of-what-actually/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Science fiction is the WikiLeaks of science, getting word to the public about what cutting-edge research really means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/science-fiction-is-the-wikileaks-of-science-getting-word-to-the/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [It's not research if you're really interested in what you're reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/it-s-not-research-if-you-re-really-interested-in-what-you-re-reading/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [There are so many different ways to develop a character - physically, mentally, spiritually and all of that - but the research was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-cornish/there-are-so-many-different-ways-to-develop-a-character-physically/) [Abbie Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-cornish/) > [“Wow, when you research, you really research, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/wow-when-you-research-you-really-research-don-t-you/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [When I find research really rewarding is when one piece of information gives you an idea for a story. That's when it's great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/when-i-find-research-really-rewarding-is-when-one-piece-of/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Exploratory research is really like working in a fog. You don't know where you're going. You're just groping. Then people learn about it afterwards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/exploratory-research-is-really-like-working-in-a-fog-you-don-t-know/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [I love market research because you really have an idea of what your consumers are looking for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-love-market-research-because-you-really-have-an-idea-of-what-your/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [The novel since its origins has been the privatization of history... the history of private life ... and in that sense every novel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-emilio-pacheco/the-novel-since-its-origins-has-been-the-privatization-of-history-the/) [Jose Emilio Pacheco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-emilio-pacheco/) > [My first book was a historical novel. I started writing in 1974. In those days, historical novels meant ladies with swelling bosoms on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/my-first-book-was-a-historical-novel-i-started-writing-in-1974-in/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Today, we are fortunate that the historical novel has reached such extraordinary heights of technical mastery. The ability of society to connect with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/today-we-are-fortunate-that-the-historical-novel-has-reached-such/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [If someone had told me in high school that one day I'd write an historical novel, I would have rolled my eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-horan/if-someone-had-told-me-in-high-school-that-one-day-i-d-write-an/) [Nancy Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-horan/) > [I'm not entirely sure what a historical novel absolutely has to be, but you don't want a reader who loves a very traditional historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dutton/i-m-not-entirely-sure-what-a-historical-novel-absolutely-has-to-be/) [Danielle Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dutton/) ## More by Hannah Kent > [“I prefer a story to a prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/i-prefer-a-story-to-a-prayer/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“Of all the names, one is a mistake. One is a nightmare. The stair you miss in the darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/of-all-the-names-one-is-a-mistake-one-is-a-nightmare-the-stair-you/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [I applied for funding to embark on an overseas field trip in Iceland, and spent six weeks there happily holed up in the national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/i-applied-for-funding-to-embark-on-an-overseas-field-trip-in-iceland/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“Those who are not being dragged to their deaths cannot understand how the heart grows hard and sharp, until it is a nest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/those-who-are-not-being-dragged-to-their-deaths-cannot-understand-how/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“I might have starved to death. I would be mud-slick, stuffed to the guts with cold and hopelessness, and my body might know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/i-might-have-starved-to-death-i-would-be-mud-slick-stuffed-to-the/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“Illugastadir, the farm by the sea, where the soft air rings with the clang of the smithy, and gulls caw, and seals roll over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/illugastadir-the-farm-by-the-sea-where-the-soft-air-rings-with-the/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“The thunder kills the unhatched birds in their eggs.’ ‘Peg”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/the-thunder-kills-the-unhatched-birds-in-their-eggs-peg/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“cradling dead bodies in its cage of burnt beams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/cradling-dead-bodies-in-its-cage-of-burnt-beams/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [The treachery of a friend is worse than that of a foe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/the-treachery-of-a-friend-is-worse-than-that-of-a-foe/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“Some folks are born different, Nance. They are born on the outside of things, with skin a little a thinner, eyes a little keener…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/some-folks-are-born-different-nance-they-are-born-on-the-outside-of/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“It was not hard to believe a beautiful woman capable of murder, Margret thought.As it says in the sagas, Opt er flago i fogru…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/it-was-not-hard-to-believe-a-beautiful-woman-capable-of-murder/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [My dad would tell me bedtime stories, and he used to always leave them open-ended and finish at a crucial point with the words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/my-dad-would-tell-me-bedtime-stories-and-he-used-to-always-leave-them/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [So lonely I make friends with the ravens that prey on lambs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/so-lonely-i-make-friends-with-the-ravens-that-prey-on-lambs/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [You know you're going to have a good day when your morning begins with breakfast in the same room as Carrie Tiffany, David Vann…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/you-know-you-re-going-to-have-a-good-day-when-your-morning-begins/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [“Some folks are forced to the edges by their difference. (...) But 'tis at the edges that they find their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/some-folks-are-forced-to-the-edges-by-their-difference-but-tis-at-the/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) [Explore all 108 Hannah Kent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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