Welcome to historical fiction rounding up for 2018! The first post of the year is dedicated to taking a look at how this genre fared overall throughout 2017.
Historical fiction consistently enjoys a big following and this is evidenced in our overall figures:
430 Reviews on 196 Books by 138 Authors
The most reviewed books were:
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt – 14 reviews
The Good People by Hannah Kent – 11 reviews
Her Mother’s Secret by Natasha Lester – 11 reviews
A Hundred Small Lessons by Ashley Hay – 10 reviews
A Letter From Italy by Pamela Hart – 10 reviews
From the Wreck by Jane Rawson – 10 reviews
Beauty in Thorns by Kate Forsyth – 9 reviews
Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall – 9 reviews
The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley – 9 reviews
The Choke by Sofie Laguna – 9 reviews
While reviewing for the challenge is not a competition, I’ve noted who our top reviewers for historical fiction are, as a way of paying homage to them for their extraordinary efforts. Their quality reviews have given our database a huge boost.
39 reviews from Brenda @ Goodreads
34 reviews from Theresa Smith Writes (me)
31 reviews from Kali Napier
23 reviews from Amanda @ Mrs B’s Book Reviews
19 reviews from Kate Forsyth
18 reviews from calzean @ Goodreads
18 reviews from Michelle – Beauty and Lace
17 reviews from Ashleigh Meikle @ The Book Muse
14 reviews from Jennifer Cameron-Smith
13 reviews from Cass Moriarty
Out of interest, I also took a look at the most reviewed authors. Now, while some of these are of course the same as the most reviewed books list, not all of the authors on that list are debut, and as often happens, one good book leads to another. The following authors have backlists, and these titles were often reviewed throughout the year alongside the newer releases, so their figures are higher than above, allowing me to make a whole new list. I removed the debut authors, to save repetition, so this list is the most reviewed authors with more than one title in the database.
Natasha Lester reviewed 18 times
Kate Forsyth reviewed 16 times
Hannah Kent reviewed 15 times
Pamela Hart reviewed 11 times
Ashley Hay reviewed 11 times
Tricia Stringer reviewed 9 times
Tea Cooper reviewed 8 times
I’d like to extend a big thank you to every single person who has read and reviewed for #aww2017. I do hope you will join us for #aww2018. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up here.
To search our database for books reviewed and to visit those reviews, click here.
Normal rounding up will resume in February. Until then, read hard!
About Theresa: Writer, avid reader, keen reviewer, book collector, drinker of all tea blends originating from Earl Grey, and modern history enthusiast. I enjoy reading many genres but have a particular interest in historical fiction. You can find me and all of my book related news and reviews at Theresa Smith Writes, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter @TessSmithWrites.
I love seeing stats Theresa so enjoyed your wrap up. Do you know whether the numbers this year were an increase on last?
Yes — I probably should have included a comparison!
In 2016 for historical fiction, there were:
224 Reviews
116 Books
80 Authors
I always keep my audience as adult. So that’s a pretty good jump, particularly for reviews!
That’s a great result and thanks again for all you’ve done for the challenge this year, Theresa! Hope 2018 is equally successful.
It’s wonderful to see the challenge grow each year. Such good stats in all areas!
Yes, it is, and mirrors my area. A lot more reviews are coming in which is excellent.
Will be interesting to see which of these books make the Stella Prize longlist (I’m thinking See What I Have Done, From the Wreck and The Choke will be there).
I have to agree with your predictions Kate!