Bruce Holsinger, a historical fiction, crime and mystery novelist and literary scholar, will speak during “An Evening of Historical Fiction” Friday, Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Libbey Hall on The University of Toledo’s Main Campus.

“This is a great way to be introduced to a new author you might not have heard about before,” said Dr. Christina M. Fitzgerald, UT professor of English and director of the Humanities Institute.

Holsinger’s new novel, The Invention of Fire, has received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal and was named an Amazon Book of the Month in April. It is set in medieval London when gun violence in the Western world begins to emerge in society for the first time and follows John Gower, the protagonist, as he investigates the killings caused by a new and terrifying weapon called “handgonnes.”

“Even though he writes about the past, the significance of ‘handgonnes’ to the plot of his current book is very timely,” Fitzgerald said. “Sometimes the study of the past or the creative presentation of it can speak to our own day and age in prescient and important ways, and I think that’s true of Holsinger’s latest book.”

Holsinger teaches courses on medieval and modern literature at the University of Virginia, and has taught historical fiction in a massive open online course called Plagues, Witches and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction.

The free, public event will feature a question-and-answer session moderated by Dr. Ben Stroud, UT assistant professor of English, with a book signing and reception.

Tags: College of Languages Literature and Social Sciences