Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction

• A novel set among actual events or a specific period of history

  • Typically 30 years or more in the past

• Often the setting is real but the characters are fictional
  

3 Elements of Historical Fiction

• Setting: Real or Imaginary

  • Authentic

  • Accurate

• Plot

  • Centered around a historical event

  • Imaginary storyline reflecting the time period

• Character: Real or Imaginary

  • Real-life historical figures - or - imaginary portrayed in a realistic manner

  • Descriptions, words, and actions match the setting

Multiple Select

In historical fiction the setting can be real or imaginary, however, it must be accurate

• false

• true

• famous events may appear from points
of view not recorded
in history

• show historical

figures dealing with
actual events while
depicting them in a
way that is not
recorded in history

Multiple Select

The plot can be centered around a documented ​ ______ or ________. Choose two answers

• historical event

• a past period

• imaginary event

• future

• Other times, the historical event act as the background while characters deal
with events (personal or otherwise)
unrelated to the historical event

Most Important Feature: Setting

• Must be well researched

• Authentic and Accurate

• Must reconstruct the past

  • Food

  • Clothing

  • Housing Technology

Multiple Select

What is the most important feature of historical fiction?

• Plot

• Setting

• Character

• Theme

Famous Historical Fiction Media

• Gone with the Wind
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

• The Monkey King

• 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 – 도깨비 Goblin (also known as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)

• Song of the Moon`
  
  

Book Examples

The Book Thief

by Markus

Zusak

Mare’s War by
Tanita S. Davis

The Farming of

Bones by Edwidge

Danticat

Music

• ​Six the Musical: based on King Henry VIII's six wives

• Anastasia

• Hamilton The Musical

• Redemption Song by Bob Marley: based on the Transatlantic Slave Trade/Civil Rights Struggle

• Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812: based on the war of 1812

Finally…

• Events occurring in historical fiction

must adhere to the laws of physics.

• Stories that extend into the magical or fantastic are often considered a historical fantasy

Works Cited

•Booklists - American Historical Fiction. The Public LIbrary of Cincinnati and
Hamilton County, Apr. 2003. Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
<http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/booklists/?id=americanhistoricals>.

•Donsbach, Margaret. Over 5000 Historical Novels Listed by Time and Place.
HistoricalFiction.info, 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2011.
<http://www.historicalnovels.info/>.

•“Gone with the Wind.” Internet Movie Database. imdb.com, 2011. Web. 21
Aug. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/awards>.

•Historical Fiction - Box Office History. The Numbers, 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
<http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/HistoricalFiction.php>.

•“Library Booklists: Historical Fiction.” Library Booklists. N.p., 18 Nov. 2008.
Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
<http://librarybooklists.org/fiction/adult/historical.htm#histams>.
Popular Historical Fiction Books. Goodreads Inc., 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
<http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/historical-fiction>.

Writing Assignment

You will begin planning and writing a
historical fiction short story. Use a time
period/historical event you have studied in
school this year. The time period/event MUST
be identifiable. Include the 5 elements of a
short story.

However…

• alternate history, known for speculating on what could have happened if a
significant historical event had gone
differently