Not surprisingly, women and men expressed different points of view in a recent survey of historical fiction readers. While 84% of participants were women, 129 men also responded, a sizeable number from which to draw conclusions.

Men and women have very different author preferences:

• the top 5 for men are Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett, CJ Sansom, Sharon Kay Penman and Patrick O’Brian; the top 5 for women are Sharon Kay Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick, Philippa Gregory, Diana Gabaldon and Bernard Cornwell
• men prefer male authors; women prefer female authors

Women read more historical fiction than men:

• 15.6% of men never read historical fiction compared with 4.5% of women
• 45% of women report reading historical fiction at least half the time compared with 23% of men
• men cite a preference for historical non-fiction and a lack of time as reasons to avoid historical fiction

And, there’s a wide difference in number of books read:

• 55% of women read more than 30 books a year compared to 22% of men
• 61% of women intend to read more than 30 books a year in future compared with only 28% of men

Genre and time period illustrate the Venus-Mars gap

• women prefer strong female characters, the lives of significant historical figures or lesser known historical figures
• men prefer significant historical figures, adventure stories and stories with a military angle
• men dislike romance, women dislike military stories
• favourite time periods for women are 13th-16th centuries and 19th century while men favour 19th and 20th century stories

Women are going digital more rapidly than men

• women favour online sources for recommendations almost twice as much as men
• men rely on newspapers and friends and browsing the bookstore more than women
• men and women have switched to purchasing online in similar percentages, however women are more likely to use the library while men are more likely to buy at the bookstore
• men are sticking with print books in much higher proportions than women

While reasons for reading HF overlap, the top reasons differ:

• the top reason for women is to bring the past to life; men say they read historical fiction because it’s a great story

Personally, I’m surprised at the differences in digital activities and book reading habits. The survey data continues to be intriguing. As always, feedback is welcome.