The Only World We’ve Got: Empowering Messages in Historical Fiction

Image: Rose window at Notre-Dame Cathedral

Hello, folks! Welcome back to the blog. I’m glad you’re here.

You know, it’s said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

This is too cynical an outlook for me, even if it does often prove to be true. Holding onto unrelenting hope, I believe in our potential for goodness just as much as I acknowledge our shadows. This leads me to put a slight twist on this: I believe those who learn lessons from the past have the power to create a better future for us all.

It’s because of this that those who seek power attempt to seize control of the minds of the masses through revisionist history, and beyond that: the arts and storytelling.

Historical fiction spans between the two.

And because of this, there are so many historical fiction novels that have been thrown onto banned book lists. Because the most impactful historical fiction says something. It speaks truth to power. It stands up for what is good and right through stories. And it empowers us to create a better future.

Because stories say so much to our psyches. We communicate through stories. We understand each other through our stories. Humans have been sharing stories since ancient times, and they remain our most powerful means of expressing ourselves– and how we best learn about our collective past.

“Sing the Bells of Notre Dame—”

I look to 19th-century French author Victor Hugo as an example of someone who used stories to say something. Hugo was involved in French politics for years, working toward social justice. However, it has been his novels that have made the greatest impact over time. 

His most famous novel was, of course, Les Misérables (1862), which many now know from the 1980 Broadway musical. But another well-known novel of Hugo’s was an earlier historical fiction novel. Published in 1831, the book was set in 15th-century Paris. Carefully researched and crafted, it made as much of a statement as his other works. The lessons from The Hunchback of Notre Dame still reverberate today.

Victor Hugo’s novels stand the test of time– because such stories hold immense power to teach us. They speak to our hearts. Even after Victor Hugo’s political work has faded from public memory, these two stories remain, still impacting us in modern times. Because such stories change with people’s needs– even taking the form of an animated Disney film. We still need their lessons. My hope is that we might listen.

“Morning in Paris, a new day appears—”

Storytellers often face backlash, as we still see today. Hugo himself was in fact exiled from France for many years for his radical views after Napoleon III seized power.

But we must continue telling the stories that mean something.

We may not always be doomed to repeat our most horrible parts of history if we heed the lessons of our stories. And stories that tap into our human condition do “say something” across generations.

Tell me: if you were to write a historical fiction novel in which you could truly “say something”-- what story would you write? 


Thank you for stopping by the blog. I invite you and the young people in your life to join me in this incredible work.

When you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you’ll receive free resources on writing historical fiction, especially for kids. And to dive deeper, check out my Storytime membership community, where we will explore and write the world of historical fiction together. 

Be sure to check out my latest posts about writing historical fiction, too. And stay tuned for more to come about my research process as a historical fiction author. 

Ready to read more? My books are available online through both Amazon and Bookshop, as well as several libraries and shops across Central Indiana.


I leave you with some of the final lyrics from the 2015 musical of The Hunchback of Notre Dame– 

"Finale Ultimo"

[STATUES & GARGOYLES]

The world is cruel

The world is ugly

But there are times

And there are people

When the world is not

And at its cruelest

It's still the only world we've got

Light and dark

Foul and fair

[QUASIMODO]

Out there

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Live the Story: My Path of Writing Historical Fiction