So, this weekend was Easter in the Western Christian calendar (this weekend for the Orthodox Christians) and Pesach in the Jewish one. The former, in this day and age in the UK, seems to involve lots of chocolate, bunnies and egg hunts. But was it always this way? Obviously not. And this is where historical fiction comes in.

There’re the ideas that stem from the literature itself. For those interested in historical fiction, I highly recommend the (free) course ‘Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction’ (https://www.coursera.org/learn/historical-fiction ). Immerse yourself in the history and the stories that stem from it. You never know what you may discover.

Then there’s the culture. Digging deeper into a cultural area of a specific location brings up a whole host of stories gasping to be told. Take the American South, for example. There’s the wonderful ‘The American South: Its Stories, Music, and Art’ course (https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-south ) or, for those looking at a less cultural and more historical look at the region, there’s ‘The History of the Slave South’ (https://www.coursera.org/course/slavesouth ). And Reginald D Hunter’s ‘Songs of the South’ series gives a sweeping look at both.

And if you want something less specific, pick a time in history and immerse yourself. Both Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/courses?languages=en&categories=humanities&query=history ) and FutureLearn (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/categories/history ) have got a good set of history courses.

Go on. If nothing else, you’ll learn something new.