Is historical fiction an oxymoron?

We’re going to use the skills we learned from reading sci-fi to travel back in time to this months flavor of the month—historical fiction. Ah yes, history, what’s not to mock? Remember when you were little and people asked you what your favorite subject was, and you might have said reading or math or recess but you never said history? Here are some options from our “Shady Ladies” bookmark—definitely women not mentioned in school. All of these options were respectfully taken from the Novelist's Recommended Reads.

In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
In 1527, when the city of Rome is sacked and burned by an invading army, the famed courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini and her dwarf companion escape to the wealthy and powerful city of Venice.

Lucy by Ellen Feldman
A fictional account of Franklin Roosevelt's romance with Eleanor's social secretary, Lucy Mercer, follows their pre-World War I affair, its impact on his marriage, and their reacquaintance years later.

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
tale based on the life of seventeenth-century horsewoman Louise de la Valliere finds an eccentric young woman's love for a wild white stallion tempting her into using an ancient magic that overshadows her subsequent life and leads to her affair with the charismatic Louis XIV.

Royal Harlot by Susan Holloway Scott
A fictional account of the life and times of Barbara Villiers Palmer, a Royalist beauty whose wit and sensuality captivate King Charles II and who presides over the bawdy Restoration court as the king's mistress.