Why fiction and games can become routes into history

A learner's existing interest can provide a route into real history. One example comes from teaching the Wars of the Three Kingdoms to a struggling A-level student through Brian Jacques's Redwall books, after which she understood the subject and earned an A. The example translates between a learner's interests and historical study without treating fiction as evidence for past events. The same principle applies to naval games: if Azur Lane brings someone toward ships and navies, a historian can meet them there and guide them into the history. Historical learning matters more than policing the route by which a learner arrives.