What Is Historical Fiction?
Historical fiction is a specific genre, set in the past and pertaining to historical events or people. The work must walk a fine line between fact and fiction: presenting historical details accurately, but taking artistic license to insert fictitious characters and events as a means of illuminating the chosen subject.
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Types
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Historical fiction is divided into two broad categories. The first includes any work in which both the setting and the supporting characters have a historical basis in fact. The second includes work in which the setting alone is set in the historic past, while the characters and situations are otherwise fictitious.
Time
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Specifics differ on how far in the past a given piece must be set in order to be considered historical fiction. The Historical Novel Society maintains that a work must be set at least 50 years in the past to be considered historical. Sir Walter Scott believed that the work must be set at least two generations in the past, while Ernest Leisy held that any work set more than five years in the past could be considered historical fiction. Note that historical fiction does not include works written in the past which describe a setting contemporary to their time. For instance, while "Moby Dick" describes a past setting from our modern perspective, it was considered "modern" when it was first published.
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Accuracy
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Historical fiction must devote itself to accuracy in its presentation of setting and events. Again, specifics vary depending on whom you ask, but in general terms, any element of fiction presented within the work must not contradict established historical fact. For example, while it is acceptable to create a fictitious British soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War, it is not acceptable to have that soldier kill General Washington, which goes against historical fact. (Another sub-genre of fiction--alternate history--is used to explore such notions.)
Purpose
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In many ways, the purpose of historical fiction is no different than any other piece of fiction: to tell an entertaining story, to address an issue in an engaging manner, and/or to illuminate some aspect of the human condition. The inclusion of historical details can serve to illustrate how human beings lived in a given time, the ways in which great events reverberated (or didn't) when they took place, or simply to connect the reader to a period which he could never experience for himself.
Noted Works
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Noted works of historical fiction include Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" (set in medieval Italy), Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander" (set during the Napoleonic Wars), Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop" (set in the old West) and Alex Haley's "Roots" (tracing 200 years of African-American history).
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