# Everything I know about history, I learned from fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266 "2007-03-09T16:37:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/1 "2007-03-09T16:37:59Z")
Being in the process of earning a bachelors in History, I’m often surprised by how much certain works of fiction make it easier to remember facts and situations. So I’ve decided to try and make list of fictional history. The rules are: 1. No documentaries, atleast not _real_ documentaries. 2. There is absolutely no need for the history represented to be accurate, just that the reference makes it easier to remember the actual history. 3. If this is work of fiction is the sole reason you know anything about an event/time, bonus points. 4. The “scale” is irrelevant. “Easier to remember the name of a musical instrument popular under Lous XIV” is a legitimate entry, as is “Easier to remember the political background of the fall of the fall of the iron curtain”. 5. Is the conection completely silly? All the better. Basically, what I’m looking for is works of fiction that makes you able to join in conversation about an historical topic, even if that’s your only source of information. I’ll start: World War I: Blackadder III, the last episode in particular The Norse Middle Ages and The Crusades: _The Crusader Trillogy_ by Jan Guillou ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/2 "2007-03-09T16:43:23Z")
Would Oliver Stone’s **JFK** count? I know there is alot of loosely interpreted facts in that movie, but it did spur me to do my own research and reading as to what parts are “more true than others” shall we say. I did learn alot about that time in U.S. history from that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/3 "2007-03-09T16:55:51Z")
Neal Stephenson’s _The Baroque Cycle_. Set in 17th and 18th century Europe and America (with a few jaunts to the East thrown in for good measure), it is a tapestry of historical fiction. The man did his homework and then some. Reading it, you get an equally good idea of the history of the governmental powers and of the common man, plus scientists like Newton and Leibniz. Yes, he took creative license, but a lot of it is very much in the style of what actually happened or could have happened. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/4 "2007-03-09T17:03:11Z")
All of my knowledge of the Napoleonic wars comes from reading about the adventures of Jack Aubrey, Richard Sharpe and Horatio Hornblower. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/5 "2007-03-09T17:06:06Z")
Yes, both these count. I’ll add another. Victorian London: _The Crimson Petal and the White_ by Michael Faber ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/6 "2007-03-09T17:12:08Z")
Hm, there were only “both” when I wrote my post. **Eleanor of Aquitaine** , you’rs count too, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/7 "2007-03-09T17:12:55Z")
Imperial Rome: Robert Graves’ \*I, Claudius \* and _Claudius the God_, and Gore Vidal’s _Julian_. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/8 "2007-03-09T17:18:20Z")
I, too, endorse Claudius as a source of info. \*\*The Lost Prince \*\* taught me a lot about how interrelated the royal families of Europe really were. **Eye of the Needle** taught me about the Phoney Army that the allies created to fool the Germans prior to D-Day. \*\*All Quiet on the Western Front \*\* was quite instructive about the daily life of the common soldier in WWI. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/9 "2007-03-09T17:19:29Z")
[QUOTE=Septima] Basically, what I’m looking for is works of fiction that makes you able to join in conversation about an historical topic, even if that’s your only source of information. [/QUOTE] Does the fiction have to be from books? HBO’s **Deadwood** taught me all I need to know about life in mining camps in the 1870’s. They covered everything – medicine, business practices (hardware and whoring), education, law enforcement, real estate, mining, employee relations. What a treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/10 "2007-03-09T17:21:57Z")
Nono, any fiction. I’ll see your Deadwood, and raise you **Rome**. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/11 "2007-03-09T17:27:44Z")
Historical romance readers are well familiar with the sort of of phenomena you describe. A surprising number of the authors have a degree or background in history, and most of the rest do a fair amount of research. And the settings and time periods come and go in popularity, so if you’re browsing in used bookstores you might find out more about, say, Scotland in the dark ages then you’d ever dream. For instance, I’ve learned more about the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 than I’ve really ever needed (wanted) to know, though I can’t recall titles right now. I can look up some of them when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/12 "2007-03-09T17:36:37Z")
_The Kents_, a graphic novel by John Ostrander, is quite informative as to the history of Bleeding Kansas. The story concerns the ancestors of Clark Kent’s Earth parents, Ma and Pa Kent (naturally, there is no blood link between Clark and the Kent family), who continue to run a farm near Smallville, Kansas. These ancestors are the fictional characters, but their doings take place against the events of real Kansan and American history: the sack of Lawrence, the caning of Senator Sumner, the Topeka Constitution, and so on. Real people from history figure into the story as necessary: Governor Jim Lane, President Franklin Pierce, and William Quantrill are just a few examples. I ran across this book when I was researching the history of Bleeding Kansas, and I must say, it was a lot more interesting than some of the secondary historical sources I reviewed. And just as accurate historically. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/13 "2007-03-09T18:04:24Z")
Thackeray’s **Vanity Fair** tells you a lot about early 19th century history, including the Battle of Waterloo from the sidelines. (And there’s considerably more in the book than in the movie – though the movie is good). And pretty well everything I know about English history in the 15th century is from Shakespeare’s plays – I think they count as fiction, even if drama based on historical sources. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/14 "2007-03-09T18:07:22Z")
George Macdonald Fraser’s **Flashman** series. Pretty much everything I know about the Victorian Age is colored by Flashy. Not to mention the US Civil War, the various Afgan Wars, the Sepoy Mutiny, the Opium Wars, cricket, the Battle of Greasy Grass, the Chisholm Trail, Kit Carson, etc. etc. etc. And to the OP: If you managed to learn anything about World War One from Blackadder 3, you are a better historian than I am, seeing as how Series 3 dealt with the Regency Period! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/15 "2007-03-09T18:07:50Z")
The Ridley Scott film _Gladiator_. One film that’s _not_ historical, but does make reference to an important, but little known historical event (at least when the film was made) is _Jaws_ and the discussion of what happened to the crew of the _USS Indianpolis_ after the delivered the atomic bombs. ---
**Author:** ![fuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuffle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/16 "2007-03-09T18:08:23Z")
_Gone with the Wind_ is a great source of tid-bitty information about the antebellum south. I learned a lot about gender relations, the history of Atlanta, what clothes people wore, architecture, what it’s like to grow cotton, and so on and so on. It’s just fantastic that way. Of course, I also learned that the slaves were happy and stupid and that the north was dead wrong to interfere with the whole system, so maybe it’s a wash. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/17 "2007-03-09T18:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=Risha] Historical romance readers are well familiar with the sort of of phenomena you describe. A surprising number of the authors have a degree or background in history, and most of the rest do a fair amount of research. And the settings and time periods come and go in popularity, so if you’re browsing in used bookstores you might find out more about, say, Scotland in the dark ages then you’d ever dream. For instance, I’ve learned more about the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 than I’ve really ever needed (wanted) to know, though I can’t recall titles right now. I can look up some of them when I get home. [/QUOTE] I can certainly back this up - Gabaldon certainly fits - I knew nothing about Scotland (except Braveheart and Rob Roy) until I read them. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/18 "2007-03-09T18:13:04Z")
Everything I know about Chinese history, I learned from Kung Fu movies/novels. Everything I know about Japan I learned from porn. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/19 "2007-03-09T18:21:41Z")
My current reading for the commute (via bus & light rail) is _Flashman & the Redskins_–Flashie’s memoirs of Western adventures in 1849 & 1876. (I’ve got a bad feeling about General Custer.) George MacDonald Fraser’s _Flashman_ books are thorougly researched & referenced. They are also hilarious accounts of an unapologetic cad, bounder & lecher–who fled from danger throughout most of the 19th century’s historical events. Highly recommended. “Serious” reading is \*The Fall of Rome \* by R A Lafferty. Except it’s not fiction. Or maybe it is. This seriously out of print work by a master of absurdity is beautifully written–I find myself slowing down to savor the style. No references. No bibliography. Could it all be true? (I see someone beat me to Flashman while I was writing this!) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266/20 "2007-03-09T18:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=fuffle] _Gone with the Wind_ is a great source of tid-bitty information about the antebellum south. I learned a lot about gender relations, the history of Atlanta, what clothes people wore, architecture, what it’s like to grow cotton, and so on and so on. It’s just fantastic that way. Of course, I also learned that the slaves were happy and stupid and that the north was dead wrong to interfere with the whole system, so maybe it’s a wash. [/QUOTE] Did you learn anything about birthing babies? There was a book I read a number of years ago called Circle of Pearls. I learned a lot about the Cromwell era and the restoration in England. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-i-know-about-history-i-learned-from-fiction/395266.md?page=2)