Patrick Collison read 10 historical novels and jots down his thoughts. He makes some good points and I'm adding Middlemarch to my reading list based upon his recommendation.
I think he does undersell the ability for historical novels to really help you understand the history of the period you're reading about. For example my understanding of American history was greatly enhanced though reading of Gore Vidal's Burr or Lincoln. Same is true of Leon Uris's book Trinity which gave me great understanding of both Irish history and my Irish roots.
The more I think on it - many of the books I greatly enjoyed such as Patrick O'Brien's Master and Commander, James Elroy's American Tabloid, or even Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October were historical novels at their core.
Reading certainly does you you harm and reading historical novels may actually do you some real good.
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