Guest Author - Mary Tod

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Historical Ficiton author,  Mary Tod

Mary recently conducted a survey about readers likes and dislikes in their Historical fiction choices.  Here Mary shares her results with us.  Interesting reading.

There will be questions at the end of the article :)

Welcome, Mary

From the World of Historical Fiction

In late March, I conducted a survey about historical fiction to uncover the preferences and habits of those who do or do not read this genre. Why? Because I write historical fiction. To my surprise, more than 800 people from different parts of the world responded. The results and associated information are posted on my blog, www.awriterofhistory.com .

I am delighted that Carol – aka DizzyC – has graciously invited me to tell you a little about the survey. Rather than boring charts and data, I thought I would share a few highlights.

First, some general comments:

• THE PAST FASCINATES. Almost 75% of respondents read more than 25% historical fiction.
• SEX: Women and men differ significantly in their views of historical fiction.
• GOING ONLINE: Social media and online sites play a very significant role for those consuming historical fiction. Online sites are a preferred source of recommendations, information and discussion.
• GEOGRAPHY: A reader’s geographic location has little affect on preferences.
• EARLY HABITS: Those introduced to historical fiction in childhood continue to read it at high volumes.

Why do people read historical fiction? The top three reasons are:

• To bring the past to life, appreciating how people lived and coped in very different times;
• Because it’s a great story;
• To understand and learn about historical periods without reading non-fiction.

What are your favourite types of stories? (1) Stories with a strong female character, (2) the life of a significant historical figure, and (3) the lives of lesser-known historical figures. It’s worth pointing out that men have a different opinion. The top three for men are: significant historical figure, adventure story and story with a military angle. Love those swords, ships and battles!

What about preferred historical time periods? Readers favour the 13^thto 16^th century time period by a significant margin. The next favourite is the 19^th century followed by those readers who say they choose widely from different time periods.

Who are your favourite authors? 601 of 805 individuals responded, some noting a few favourite authors while others offered long lists of favourites. Counting the names – a laborious process – resulted in the following, where the middle column is the number of times an author was mentioned and the right hand column their location.

Sharon Kay Penman	111	US
Philippa Gregory	75	UK
Elizabeth Chadwick	74	UK
Diana Gabaldon	66	US
Bernard Cornwell	58	UK/US
Ken Follett	37	UK
Anya Seton	35	US
CW Gortner	34	US
Alison Weir	33	UK
Margaret George	31	US
Georgette Heyer	31	UK
Jean Plaidy	29	UK
Michelle Moran	29	US
CJ Sansom	27	UK
Jane Austen	24	UK
Dorothy Dunnett	24	UK
Ellis Peters	21	UK
Susan Higginbotham	20	US
Tracy Chevalier	18	US/UK
Hilary Mantel	18	UK
Jacqueline Winspear	18	UK/US

Patrick O’Brian	17	UK
Deanna Raybourne	17	US
Sarah Dunant	16	UK
Colleen McCullough	16	Aus
James Michener	16	US
Helen Hollick	15	UK
Anne Perry	15	UK
Lindsey Davis	14	UK
Charles Dickens	14	UK
Mary Renault	12	UK
Rosemary Sutcliff	12	UK
Geraldine Brooks	11	Aus/US
James Clavell	11	UK/US
Edward Rutherfurd	11	UK/US
Sarah Waters	11	UK
Jean Auel	10	US
John Jakes	10	US
Lisa See	10	US
Wilbur Smith	10	UK

For the most part, these authors base their stories in long ago periods, writing about well-known historical figures either in a central or significant role. Many have written series or have concentrated on a particular time period so readers know what to expect and are familiar with their main characters.

What detracts from your enjoyment of historical fiction? Participants responded with enthusiasm to this question. Once posted, blog readers echoed many of the same sentiments.

What are your favourite reading-oriented websites, blogs & social media sites? The winners in connecting readers with books share three attributes:

• thoughtful, trustworthy information about books,
• opportunities for dialogue and an exchange of ideas, and
• a community of like-minded readers.

Category	# of mentions
Goodreads	231
Historical Fiction blogs/sites	218
Small book review blogs *	145
Amazon	89
Facebook	71
Library Thing & Shelfari	49
Author blogs and sites *	43
Big book review sites	38
Other	26
Genre Sites *	24
Twitter	21
Publishing & Industry sites	18
Library sites	16
Newspapers - online	14
Other social media	13
Book Chains	13
General history sites	13
Indie Bookstores	7
Do not use	73

Highlights

·    Goodreads, historical fiction blogs and small book review blogs like DizzyC’s are the top three by a wide margin.

·    Adding Library Thing and Shelfari to the Goodreads number brings the category of interactive reader communities to 49.8%.

·    In total, readers mentioned more than 150 book blogs run by individuals or small groups.

Feedback:

I’d love to have comments on the survey.

• Do these results resonate for you as readers?
• What do you find surprising?
• As readers of DizzyC’s Little Book Blog, what brings you online for information about books?

Please do leave comments below and I will pass these back to Mary.

Thank you.