--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've all faced the charge that our…" description: "\"We've all faced the charge that our novels are history lite, and to some extent, that's true. Yet for some, historical fiction is a way into reading hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/saul-david-19270_books_we-ve-all-faced-the-charge-that-our-nove_2171675.jpg" --- # We've all faced the charge that our novels are history… ![“We've all faced the charge that our novels are history lite, and to some extent, that's true. Yet for some, historical fiction is a way into reading history proper.” quote by Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/saul-david-19270_books_we-ve-all-faced-the-charge-that-our-nove_2171675.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/saul-david-19270_books_we-ve-all-faced-the-charge-that-our-nove_2171675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/saul-david-19270_books_we-ve-all-faced-the-charge-that-our-nove_2171675.jpg) > “We've all faced the charge that our novels are history lite, and to some extent, that's true. Yet for some, historical fiction is a way into reading history proper.” [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) ## 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 bridges entertainment and factual history, serving as an entry point to deeper learning. **In simple terms:** Historical novels can spark interest in real history. Key Takeaway Use fiction to explore historical topics. Themes history fiction education reading engagement Mood inspirational educational Type literary historical When to use this quote - book clubs - school curricula - personal study - museum tours Key Concepts narrative historical accuracy cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - Which historical novel changed your view of the past? - How do you verify historical details? A Different Perspective Fiction may distort facts; balance with research. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Historical fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-fiction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-history/) ## Related quotes > [Writing fiction is very different to writing non-fiction. I love writing novels, but on history books, like my biographies of Stalin or Catherine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/writing-fiction-is-very-different-to-writing-non-fiction-i-love/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [The slave narratives, there is a wealth of research there, because you are hearing stories from the first person account, and that's a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurnee-smollett-bell/the-slave-narratives-there-is-a-wealth-of-research-there-because-you/) [Jurnee Smollett-Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurnee-smollett-bell/) > ['Good wine needs no bush', and if there were need to urge the reading of history it would be proof that history is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/good-wine-needs-no-bush-and-if-there-were-need-to-urge-the-reading-of/) [Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/) > [Although age has its normal limits, it may be extended by two things-the study of history and by travel. Reading history broadens one's perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmud-tarzi/although-age-has-its-normal-limits-it-may-be-extended-by-two-things/) Mahmud Tarzi > [“Our life is like a journey…’ – and so the journey seems to me less an adventure and a foray into unusual realms than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annemarie-schwarzenbach/our-life-is-like-a-journey-and-so-the-journey-seems-to-me-less-an/) [Annemarie Schwarzenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annemarie-schwarzenbach/) > [I was not a great student at the University of Chicago. I think that is - the record will bare me out. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-was-not-a-great-student-at-the-university-of-chicago-i-think-that/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Reading history, one rarely gets the feeling of the true nature of scientific development, in which the element of farce is as great as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gross/reading-history-one-rarely-gets-the-feeling-of-the-true-nature-of/) [David Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gross/) > [Reading history while you make history can teach you a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/reading-history-while-you-make-history-can-teach-you-a-lot/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I'm tired of reading about history, I want to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/i-m-tired-of-reading-about-history-i-want-to-make-it/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/my-reading-of-history-convinces-me-that-most-bad-government-results/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am not a historian, but I find myself being more and more fascinated by history and now I find myself reading more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-not-a-historian-but-i-find-myself-being-more-and-more-fascinated/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [After all my years of playing soldiers, and then of reading History, I have almost a mania to be in the East, to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/after-all-my-years-of-playing-soldiers-and-then-of-reading-history-i/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [But really, for me, I tried to find first-person accounts. I tried to read stories from men and women who had survived slavery because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurnee-smollett/but-really-for-me-i-tried-to-find-first-person-accounts-i-tried-to/) [Jurnee Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurnee-smollett/) > [On my reading of history people who want to bring us the best are usually the people we ought to be afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/on-my-reading-of-history-people-who-want-to-bring-us-the-best-are/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [“One of the chief values reading history, this is the author, is its capacity to "provoke renegade thoughts".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-roberts/one-of-the-chief-values-reading-history-this-is-the-author-is-its/) [Andrew Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-roberts/) ## More by Saul David > [Even a moderniser like Alexander II - who emancipated the serfs in 1861 - had no intention of devolving real power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/even-a-moderniser-like-alexander-ii-who-emancipated-the-serfs-in-1861/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [By 1917, thanks to the new munitions factories and the women that worked in them, the British Empire was supplying more than 50 million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/by-1917-thanks-to-the-new-munitions-factories-and-the-women-that/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [If getting a contract was relatively straightforward, writing fiction was far harder than I could have imagined, and there were moments during the long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/if-getting-a-contract-was-relatively-straightforward-writing-fiction/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [No campaign of the First World War better justifies the poets' view of the conflict as futile and pitiless than Gallipoli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/no-campaign-of-the-first-world-war-better-justifies-the-poets-view-of/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [If I'm at a book signing, and someone decides to take me to task, it can make for quite a sticky moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/if-i-m-at-a-book-signing-and-someone-decides-to-take-me-to-task-it/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [From 1801, Napoleon began an ambitious programme of civil reform to standardise law and justice, centralise education, introduce uniform weights and measures and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/from-1801-napoleon-began-an-ambitious-programme-of-civil-reform-to/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [By the time Napoleon abandoned his army to its fate in Poland - arriving back in Paris on 5 December - it numbered fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/by-the-time-napoleon-abandoned-his-army-to-its-fate-in-poland/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [In the early hours of 16 December 1944, the Germans launched their last great offensive of the Second World War against weakly held U.S.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/in-the-early-hours-of-16-december-1944-the-germans-launched-their/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [I was brought up with a whole bunch of cousins in the Wye Valley during the hippy days of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/i-was-brought-up-with-a-whole-bunch-of-cousins-in-the-wye-valley/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [History tells us that a general can move and feed an army as efficiently as he likes, but the real litmus test is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/history-tells-us-that-a-general-can-move-and-feed-an-army-as/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [It is not enough just to get your forces from A to B - you have to keep them fed and watered as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/it-is-not-enough-just-to-get-your-forces-from-a-to-b-you-have-to-keep/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [The first Romanov ruler was just 16 when he was crowned Tsar Michael I in Moscow in 1613, thus ending the 'Time of Troubles'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/the-first-romanov-ruler-was-just-16-when-he-was-crowned-tsar-michael/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [I worked hard at my four-year M.A., but got a 2.1. That was a big disappointment, as I wanted to write about history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/i-worked-hard-at-my-four-year-m-a-but-got-a-2-1-that-was-a-big/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [I passed the 11-plus, but it was decided that I should take the Common Entrance exam to Monmouth School, the nearest independent. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/i-passed-the-11-plus-but-it-was-decided-that-i-should-take-the-common/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [When I was six or seven, we went to the nearest English primary school, St Weonards, about seven miles away. The teaching was good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/when-i-was-six-or-seven-we-went-to-the-nearest-english-primary-school/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) [Explore all 33 Saul David quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We've all faced the charge that our novels are history lite, and to some extent, that's true. 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