Historical fiction

Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the main characters tend to be fictional. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, attempt to capture the manners and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity. Historical fiction is found in books, magazines, art, television programming, film, theater, video games and other media.

Definition

Historical fiction presents readers with a story that takes place during a notable period in history, and usually during a significant event in that period. Historical fiction often presents actual events from the point of view of fictional people living in that time period.

In some historical fiction, famous events appear from points of view. Historical figures are also often shown dealing with these events while depicting them in a way that has not been previously recorded. Other times, a historical event is used to complement a story's narrative, occurring in the background while characters deal with situations (personal or otherwise) wholly unrelated to that historical event. Sometimes, the names of people and places have been in some way altered.

As this is fiction, artistic license is permitted in regard to presentation and subject matter, so long as it does not deviate in significant ways from established history. If events should deviate significantly, the story may then fall under the genre of alternate history, which is known for speculating on what could have happened if a significant historical event had occurred differently. On a similar note, events occurring in historical fiction must adhere to the laws of nature.

Though its rise is bound to the new understanding of history in 19^th century, the character and the importance of historical fiction is national specific. Hence historical fiction in English differs from German, Canadian, Slovene etc..

"...They demonstrate that history, however disorderly, remains meaningful. History can still enable humanity to know itself and its condition, and in the historical novel, especially the type devoted to recapturing the way it was, history often finds its most legitimate realization." (Cowart, 1989)

Duties of a Historical Fiction Author

1. Searching for the truth "The truth is always being modified. Both a historian and a historical novelist have to know that, in order to know what they're up against. They have to know how allusive the truth is. But all the same, they know the truth is the truth, and they must seek it out." (Thom, 2010)

2. Researching An author's job is to write creatively; for a historical fiction author, it is also to creatively research. "Not all the knowledge you'll use is written knowledge. Though archives are a main source, there are other sources, such as oral histories and old pictures, artifacts in museums, and your own memory of historical facts that you've been taught." (Thom, 2010)

Criteria for a historical fiction novel

1. Plausibility (reader should feel as though the events in the novel could have really happened)
2. Authentic setting/characters
3. Accurate timeline of events that match up with the time period in which it is being written

(Brown, 2012)

Literature

Further information: historical novel

Historical literature includes the works of authors that epitomize a specific period in history. Historical literature has been written since at least the 20th century BC. Examples include:

• Eric Ambler: a series of spy novels set in Europe before World War II, starting with The Dark Frontier
• Ivo Andrić: The Bridge on the Drina and subsequent works covering the history of the Balkans
• Margaret Atwood: Penelopiad, which takes place in ancient Greece
• Jean M. Auel: The Earth's Children, a series set in pre-historic Europe
• Julian Barnes: Arthur & George, about the lives of George Edalji and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Frans G. Bengtsson: The Long Ships, a Viking saga
• Geraldine Brooks: Year of Wonders, set in a small town in England during the plague
• Caleb Carr: The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness, mysteries that take place in New York City in the 1890s
• James Clavell: The Asian Saga, about the meeting of Western and Eastern civilizations in Asia from the 1600s to the 1900s
• Dailey, Lucia. Mine Seed, Irish famine, labor struggles in anthracite coal country of Pennsylvania from 1840s-1902.
• Bernard Cornwell: Sharpe series set in 19th century Europe and India; the Starbuck Chronicles, set during the American Civil War; the Saxon Stories set in Alfred the Great's pre-England; the Grail Quest Novels set in mid-14th century England/Normandy; and The Warlord Chronicles, set in Arthurian Britain
• E. L. Doctorow: The March, about Sherman's March to the Sea
• Alexandre Dumas: The Three Musketeers and sequels in the d'Artagnan series, set in 1600s France
• Dorothy Dunnett: the Lymond Chronicles, set in mid-sixteenth century Europe and the Mediterranean
• Allen W. Eckert
• Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose, a murder mystery taking place in an Italian monastery in 1327
• Shusaku Endo: Silence, the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan
• J. G. Farrell: the Empire Trilogy, about the political and human consequences of British colonial rule
• Ken Follett: The Pillars of the Earth, about the building of a cathedral in England in the 12th century; the Century Trilogy, covering the 20th century
• Ford Madox Ford: The Fifth Queen, a trilogy about Katherine Howard in the court of King Henry VIII
• C. S. Forester: Horatio Hornblower series, about a fictional Napoleonic Wars era Royal Navy officer
• George Macdonald Fraser: the Flashman series, focusing on a Victorian soldier who experiences many 19th-century wars and adventures
• Amitav Ghosh: the Ibis trilogy, concerning the 19th century opium trade between India and China
• Robert Graves: I, Claudius, an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius
• Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl and The Constant Princess, set in the Tudor era; Earthly Joys set in 17th century England, and other works
• W.E.B. Griffin: The Corps Series, about the United States Marine Corps before and during World War II and the Korean War
• MacKinlay Kantor: Andersonville, a novel about the infamous Confederate prison during the American Civil War
• Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, about Thomas Cromwell and the court of Henry VIII
• Colleen McCullough: Masters of Rome series, about the last years of the Roman Republic
• James Michener: 40+ epic novels about diverse geographic areas around the world
• Anchee Min: Chinese-themed sagas Empress Orchid, The Last Emperor
• David Mitchell: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, set during the Dutch trading concession with Japan in the late 18th century
• Margaret Mitchell: Gone with the Wind, which takes place during the American Civil War
• Vilhelm Moberg: The Emigrants, a series of novels about Swedish emigrants moving to the United States
• Patrick O'Brian: Master and Commander series of novels featuring Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the British Navy set in the Napoleonic Wars
• Mary Renault: The Bull from the Sea and other novels set in ancient Greece
• D. Manning Richards: Destiny in Sydney, a family saga about convicts, Aborigines, and Chinese embroiled in the birth and development of Sydney, Australia
• Sir Walter Scott: The Waverley Novels - over 40 books covering the 9th to the 18th centuries
• Henryk Sienkiewicz: Quo Vadis, which takes place in Rome under the rule of emperor Nero
• Indu Sundaresan: The Twentieth Wife and sequel The Feast of Roses, the fictionalized story of the Mughal empress Noor Jehan, set in 16th and 17th century Mughal Empire, India
• Lalita Tademy: Cane River, a multigenerational saga of an African-American family in Louisiana
• Sigrid Undset: Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy about a Norwegian woman living in the 14th century
• Barry Unsworth: Sacred Hunger, about the 18th century transatlantic slave trade
• Mika Waltari: The Egyptian, set in Ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten
• Marguerite Yourcenar: Memoirs of Hadrian, about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian

Media and culture

Works of historical fiction are not reserved exclusively to literature. Many films have been created which attempt to use a historic event or setting as a backdrop and actors portray fictional or historical figures set in these events. Below are a few notable examples.

Film and television

Main article: Epic film

They are expensive and lavish to produce, because they require elaborate and panoramic settings, on-location filming, authentic period costumes, inflated action on a massive scale and large casts of characters. Biographical films are often less lavish versions than this genre. They are often called costume dramas, since they emphasise the world of a period setting: historical pageantry, costuming and wardrobes, locale, spectacle, decor and a sweeping visual style. They often transport viewers to other worlds or eras: ancient times, biblical times, the Middle Ages, the Victorian era, or turn-of-the-century America.

• Gone with the Wind (1939)
• Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• Cleopatra (1963)
• Braveheart (1995)
• Hercules (1997)
• Titanic (1997)
• Hornblower (TV series) (1998-2003)
• The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
• The 13th Warrior (1999)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Attila (2001)
• Asoka (2001)
• Alexander (2004)
• King Arthur (2004)
• Spartacus (TV miniseries) (2004)
• Troy (2004)
• Deadwood (2004-2006)
• Pride and Prejudice (2005)
• Rome (2005-2007)
• The New World (2005)
• Tristan + Isolde (2006)
• Apocalypto (2006)
• Marie Antoinette (2006)
• The Tudors (2007 - 2010) (TV)
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
• 300 (2007)
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
• The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
• Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
• Agora (2009)
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010) (TV)
• Centurion (2010)
• A Weaver on the Horizon (2010) (TV)
• Muhteşem Yüzyıl (2010 - ) (TV)
• The Eagle of the Ninth (2011)
• The Borgias (2011) (TV)
• Hugo (2011)
• Argo (2012)

See also

• Alternate history
• Historical fantasy
• Historical novel
• Historical romance
• Sword and sandal
• Historical whodunnit
• Category:Historical fiction awards

External links

• Period Dramas.com – a costume-drama movie database based around a historical timeline.
• Historical Fiction recommended reading
• Historical Fiction database, divided by time period.
• Audio Archives from "Historical Fiction and The Search for Truth"- 2009 Key West Literary Seminar
• Defining the Genre: What are the rules for historical fiction? from the Historical Novel Society