--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ones that were relevant while I wrote…" description: "\"The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like \"Beloved\" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact, \"Ragtime\" by E.L. Do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/laila-lalami-25030_beloved_the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrot_198385.jpg" --- # The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were… ![“The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact, "Ragtime" by E.L. Doctorow, and "True History of the Kelly Gang" by Peter Carey.” quote by Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/laila-lalami-25030_beloved_the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrot_198385.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/laila-lalami-25030_beloved_the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrot_198385.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/laila-lalami-25030_beloved_the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrot_198385.jpg) > “The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact, "Ragtime" by E.L. Doctorow, and "True History of the Kelly Gang" by Peter Carey.” [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical fiction draws on real events to deepen narrative impact. **In simple terms:** History enriches fiction. Key Takeaway Use real history for depth. Themes history fiction literature Mood inquisitive analytical Type literary educational When to use this quote - novel writing - teaching - research - storytelling Key Concepts narrative truth cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - Which historical event would you fictionalize? - How do you balance fact and imagination? A Different Perspective Fiction may distort facts if not careful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Historical facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-facts/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Ragtime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ragtime/) ## Related quotes > [Everything in 'The Tudors' is initially based on my historical research, and the fact is that the most unlikely scenes were the ones which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hirst/everything-in-the-tudors-is-initially-based-on-my-historical-research/) [Michael Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hirst/) > [Shakespeare and his work will always be relevant. He wrote those pieces hundreds of years ago and we haven't really changed as humans, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dockery/shakespeare-and-his-work-will-always-be-relevant-he-wrote-those/) [Michelle Dockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dockery/) > [When I finished 'True History of the Kelly Gang,' I realised that Faulkner had not lost his power over me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/when-i-finished-true-history-of-the-kelly-gang-i-realised-that/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [Whenever I sing blues from the '50s or the kind of blues that you might have heard Eric Clapton or Duane Allman emulate, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdonald/whenever-i-sing-blues-from-the-50s-or-the-kind-of-blues-that-you/) [Michael McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdonald/) > [New Orleans had a great tradition of celebration. Opera, military marching bands, folk music, the blues, different types of church music, ragtime, echoes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/new-orleans-had-a-great-tradition-of-celebration-opera-military/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [What is scurrilously called ragtime is an invention that is here to stay. That is now conceded by all classes of musicians... All publication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/what-is-scurrilously-called-ragtime-is-an-invention-that-is-here-to/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [It is never right to play ragtime fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/it-is-never-right-to-play-ragtime-fast/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [Ragtime was a fanfare for the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/ragtime-was-a-fanfare-for-the-20th-century/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [One day the 'Maple Leaf' will make me King of Ragtime Composers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/one-day-the-maple-leaf-will-make-me-king-of-ragtime-composers/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [Ragtime was my lullaby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoagy-carmichael/ragtime-was-my-lullaby/) [Hoagy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoagy-carmichael/) > [Marching onward, marching onward Marching to that lovely tune Marching onward, marching onward Happy as a bird in June Sliding onward, sliding onward Listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/marching-onward-marching-onward-marching-to-that-lovely-tune-marching/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [Black musicians rhythmicized the contredanse, creating musical styles which evolved into the habanera (also known as the tango) and, later, ragtime, as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-sublette/black-musicians-rhythmicized-the-contredanse-creating-musical-styles/) [Ned Sublette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-sublette/) > [Syncopations are no indication of light or trashy music, and to shy bricks at 'hateful ragtime' no longer passes for musical culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/syncopations-are-no-indication-of-light-or-trashy-music-and-to-shy/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [Improvisation was the blood and bone of jazz, and in the classic, New Orleans jazz it was collective improvisation in which each performer, seemingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/improvisation-was-the-blood-and-bone-of-jazz-and-in-the-classic-new/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > ['Kiss Me, Kate' was my 'Ragtime' Tony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stokes-mitchell/kiss-me-kate-was-my-ragtime-tony/) [Brian Stokes Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stokes-mitchell/) ## More by Laila Lalami > [There is a insularity within American fiction even for adults. It's very tough for books in translation in the US.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-is-a-insularity-within-american-fiction-even-for-adults-it-s/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [ I \[read\] "The Book of Unknown Americans," which is by a friend of mine, Cristina Henriquez, and is about two Latino, immigrant families who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/i-read-the-book-of-unknown-americans-which-is-by-a-friend-of-mine/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“He needed time to adjust to real life, where heroes and villains could not be told apart by their looks or their accents, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/he-needed-time-to-adjust-to-real-life-where-heroes-and-villains-could/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [Every book leaves its mark on you. It might leave you hungry for that kind of book or you may be satiated, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/every-book-leaves-its-mark-on-you-it-might-leave-you-hungry-for-that/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [A name is precious; it carries inside it a language, a history, a set of traditions, a particular way of looking at the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/a-name-is-precious-it-carries-inside-it-a-language-a-history-a-set-of/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/in-some-ways-i-think-it-s-the-closest-that-we-come-to-the-truth-is-in/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“His anger took many shapes: sometimes soft and familiar, like a round stone he had caressed for so long that is was perfectly smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/his-anger-took-many-shapes-sometimes-soft-and-familiar-like-a-round/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [When I was a child, I was reading books filled with people different from me, all French, all foreigners. There was a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/when-i-was-a-child-i-was-reading-books-filled-with-people-different/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“It was a communion of pain, and no one in the city could pretend not to have heard it. The women had made witnesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/it-was-a-communion-of-pain-and-no-one-in-the-city-could-pretend-not/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“know now that these conquerors, like many others before them, and no doubt like others after, gave speeches not to voice the truth, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/know-now-that-these-conquerors-like-many-others-before-them-and-no/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [There are writers I return to no matter what I'm working on, writers like the South African J.M. Coetzee. He has an ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-are-writers-i-return-to-no-matter-what-i-m-working-on-writers/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [No one wrote better about the sin of pride, the corruption of power and the redemption of love. I will miss you, Gabriel García…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/no-one-wrote-better-about-the-sin-of-pride-the-corruption-of-power/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [ Few \[books\] get translated and the ones that do have trouble making it into the mainstream. It's more likely that Americans will discover another… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/few-books-get-translated-and-the-ones-that-do-have-trouble-making-it/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“Nothing new has ever happened to aq son of Adam, she said. Everything has already been lived and everything has already been told. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/nothing-new-has-ever-happened-to-aq-son-of-adam-she-said-everything/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) [Explore all 23 Laila Lalami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) ## More Beloved quotes > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) God > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/i-made-you-dear-and-all-i-make-is-perfect-please-come-close-for-i/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My beloved like a jewel on my crown, In my vast and blue sky you are like a full-moon. I wish to stay entrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjan-dey/my-beloved-like-a-jewel-on-my-crown-in-my-vast-and-blue-sky-you-are/) [Ranjan Dey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjan-dey/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Rest you well, beloved Jesus, Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King, In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/rest-you-well-beloved-jesus-caesar-s-lord-and-israel-s-king-in-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [My beloved friend - one of the most unique and charming personalities of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/my-beloved-friend-one-of-the-most-unique-and-charming-personalities/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [A lover goes toward his beloved as enthusiastically as a schoolboy leaving his books, but when he leaves his girlfriend, he feels as miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-lover-goes-toward-his-beloved-as-enthusiastically-as-a-schoolboy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I lost my dad when I was younger, and I know what its like to lose a beloved parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/i-lost-my-dad-when-i-was-younger-and-i-know-what-its-like-to-lose-a/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [My beloved dog defied treatment from the best and most expensive veterinarians, holistic practitioners, trainers, and animal communicators. He was simply beyond my ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-katz/my-beloved-dog-defied-treatment-from-the-best-and-most-expensive/) [Jon Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-katz/) > [Perhaps if only once you did enjoy The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love, Repentant, you would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/perhaps-if-only-once-you-did-enjoy-the-thousandth-part-of-all-the/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Browse all 1,440 Beloved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like \"Beloved\" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact, \"Ragtime\" by E.L. 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