--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all, that's why we read historical…" description: "\"After all, that's why we read historical fiction-to be transported to another time, and to be astonished at ancient people's lives and traditions, just..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/michelle-moran-12105_ancient_after-all-that-s-why-we-read-historical_2229702.png" --- # After all, that's why we read historical fiction-to be… ![“After all, that's why we read historical fiction-to be transported to another time, and to be astonished at ancient people's lives and traditions, just as they would probably be astonished at ours.” quote by Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/michelle-moran-12105_ancient_after-all-that-s-why-we-read-historical_2229702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/michelle-moran-12105_ancient_after-all-that-s-why-we-read-historical_2229702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/michelle-moran-12105_ancient_after-all-that-s-why-we-read-historical_2229702.png) > “After all, that's why we read historical fiction-to be transported to another time, and to be astonished at ancient people's lives and traditions, just as they would probably be astonished at ours.” [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) ## 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 transports readers to past eras, allowing awe at ancient lives and reflection on our own. **In simple terms:** Stories let us experience other times. Key Takeaway Read historical fiction to broaden perspective. Themes history fiction empathy culture Mood wonderful thoughtful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - education - creative writing - museum c - travel planning Key Concepts narrative transport temporal perspective social comparison Questions to Reflect On - What era would you visit? - How does past culture inform today’s choices? A Different Perspective Modern readers may project present values onto the past, distorting understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Another time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-time/) [Astonished Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonished-ancient-5011585/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Transported](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-transported-5011584/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Historical fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-fiction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Read Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-historical-1211826/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Astonished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-astonished-2308551/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [What really disconcerts commentators, I suspect, is that when they read historical fiction, they feel their own lack of education may be exposed; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/what-really-disconcerts-commentators-i-suspect-is-that-when-they-read/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When I lived in China, there were no libraries. My mother bought books for me, and they were mostly the classics. I read 'Peter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-fritz/when-i-lived-in-china-there-were-no-libraries-my-mother-bought-books/) [Jean Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-fritz/) > [“The Eternal may meet us in what is, by our present measurements, a day, or (more likely) a minute or a second; but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-eternal-may-meet-us-in-what-is-by-our-present-measurements-a-day/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I can't read historical fiction because I find the real thing so much more interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/i-can-t-read-historical-fiction-because-i-find-the-real-thing-so-much/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [“History was my favourite subject at school and in my spare time I read historical novels voraciously from Heidi to the Scarlet Pimpernel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-was-my-favourite-subject-at-school-and-in-my-spare-time-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I love to read history books, which is where I get my ideas. 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So, you know, if I lose another time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/nobody-can-ask-me-more-when-i-try-all-my-best-all-the-time-no-so-you/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) > [I saw Len Hutton in his prime, Another time, another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/i-saw-len-hutton-in-his-prime-another-time-another-time/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [I would’ve liked to have been Poussin, if I’d had a choice, in another time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cy-twombly/i-would-ve-liked-to-have-been-poussin-if-i-d-had-a-choice-in-another/) [Cy Twombly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cy-twombly/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) ## More by Michelle Moran > [But we are all sorry when loss comes for us. The test of our character comes not in how many tears we shed but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/but-we-are-all-sorry-when-loss-comes-for-us-the-test-of-our-character/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [Her beauty might fascinate men, but it was difficult to charm them when she stood mute. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/her-beauty-might-fascinate-men-but-it-was-difficult-to-charm-them/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [Now you are no longer a giggling child, smiling at whoever comes along. You are a woman with power. Learn to control your smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/now-you-are-no-longer-a-giggling-child-smiling-at-whoever-comes-along/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [“Nefertiti!" I shouted. "Meritaten!" How could they both be gone? Where could they be? 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The Palais-Royal has become a veritable den of iniquity,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/customers-away-the-palais-royal-has-become-a-veritable-den-of-iniquity/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [...she refused to leave anything to someone else that she could do better herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/she-refused-to-leave-anything-to-someone-else-that-she-could-do/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [And when that time comes, let's hope your friends outnumber your enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/and-when-that-time-comes-let-s-hope-your-friends-outnumber-your/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [I wonder if our names determine our destiny, or if destiny leads us to choose certain names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/i-wonder-if-our-names-determine-our-destiny-or-if-destiny-leads-us-to/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [You can't change the desert. You can only take the fastest course through it. Wishing it's an oasis won't make it so...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/you-can-t-change-the-desert-you-can-only-take-the-fastest-course/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [Why does life carry some people on the crest of the wave while others drown beneath the water?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/why-does-life-carry-some-people-on-the-crest-of-the-wave-while-others/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [“such a short time. I am about to tell our barker,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/such-a-short-time-i-am-about-to-tell-our-barker/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [“I would not exchange my leisure hours for all the wealth in the world. -Comte De Mirabeau”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/i-would-not-exchange-my-leisure-hours-for-all-the-wealth-in-the-world/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [“Everything looks new, but then that is the nature of science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/everything-looks-new-but-then-that-is-the-nature-of-science/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [“I let myself be led out, but at the doors of the Great Hall, I turned. 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I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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