Novels and their link to reality

I love reading historical novels, or novels based on real life. The downside of it? I more or less know what is going to happen. You come towards a date where you know a war will start or something else will take place and you keep begging, quietly, oh, please, don't let the war start, don't let anything happen to that wonderful person, community, building, place ... Or you can't wait for that date to happen because that is going to be the end of the war and the end of the suffering for our heroes. The thing is, that is great writing, making you still want to go on and find out what exactly happens to that particular character the author invented. You know they are invented but they come alive because they are written so beautifully.