The survey asked those who rarely or never read historical fiction to comment on their reasons. Only 62 responded – a small sample from which to draw significant conclusions.
- 34% indicated a preference for non-fiction or biographies
- 17% said they like other genres such as mystery, literary fiction, Sci-fi and so on or that they preferred reading a wide range of genres
- 10% offered various perceptions like ‘it’s boring’ or ‘it’s not for young people’ or ‘it’s only for the beach’
- 8% expressed concerns about the quality of historical fiction
- 8% said they don’t have enough time; this group is exclusively male
One further point of interest: several writers commented that they read almost exclusively historical non-fiction as a basis for writing historical fiction.
I’ve finished cataloguing favourite authors and will soon post on that topic. Stay tuned. Comments welcome.
