Pages Ago is a promotion of history reading which is running in North West Libraries during 2010. History reaches into all genres of writing and the fact that a huge historical novel, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, won the Man Booker Prize in 2009 is testimony to the fact that historical fiction is now taken more seriously than it used to be. 

Why not try some for yourself? 

What we have done to tempt you is to pair up appropriate fiction with non-fiction. So if you have really enjoyed a novel set in a certain historic period, you may wish to further your interest by reading some non-fiction on the same subject. 

Or maybe you are one of those readers who says they only ever read true fact? 
You might be surprised by some of the historical fiction out there which has been meticulously researched, by writers who are passionate about history. 

Find a book list containing some suggestions for pairings of historical writing here

Perhaps you can find some interesting pairings of your own, with the help of library staff, and tell us about them on the Time To Read blog, which can be found here (external link)


Pages Ago will also include events such as author visits, talks, readers’ days, writing workshops and other special activities to inspire adults and families to read about history. Keep checking on the Cumbria Library Service Facebook page or the events pages of our website to find out what is happening near you. 

Flashback Fiction Competition

Readers from across the North West are also invited to enter the Flashback Fiction competition. We want readers to be inspired by history to have a go at writing a short piece of fiction. Local and regional prizes will be awarded at the end of the promotion in December 2010. 

Find out more about the writing competition and submit your entry here (external link)