Digital Learning Commons: Literary Genres: Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction includes imagined stories set in the past which accurately reflect life as it would have been lived in the time and place in which the story is set.

History tells us what people do; historical fiction helps us imagine how they felt.

Guy Vanderhaeghe,

quoted in “A Good Guy,” Quill & Quire

Characteristics

Setting: Historical Fiction is set in the past. Stories take place in real places or places that could be real.

Plot: The problem or obstacles faces by characters are appropriate to the historical and geographical setting of the story.

Characters: Characters are portrayed as having perspectives and facing issues that are realistic for the historical and geographical setting of the story.

Themes: Historical Fiction may be written to allow readers to gain a historical perspective about real events that occurred in the past.

Subgenres

Coming of Age: In the same spirit as Realistic Fiction Coming-of-Age stories, these books focus on the main character's growth from youth to adulthood at a particular time and place in history.

Fictional Biography: Fictional accounts of the lives of real historical people.

Historical Novel: Often follows the lives of real historical people or real historical events. Authors of Historical Novels dedicate great effort to researching the time and portraying the period and historical events as accurately as possible.

Historical Romance: Stories set in the past that center around relationships or romantic love.

Nautical and Pirate Fiction: These stories explore life at sea.

War Fiction: As the name would suggest, stories of this subgenre are set during war time.

Authors

Julia Alvarez
Laurie Halse Anderson
Avi
Joseph Bruchac
Christopher Paul Curtis
Margarita Engle
Karen Hesse
Walter Dean Myers
Donna Jo Napoli
Linda Sue Park
Richard Peck
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Margi Preus
Ann Rinaldi
Pam Muñoz Ryan
Ruta Sepetys
Gloria Whelan

Genre Benders

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís
Call Number: Historical Fiction
This fictional biography about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda uses elements of magical realism.
How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle
Call Number: Horror
This supernatural story features ghost and shapeshifting characters along with realistic details about the Trail of Tears.
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Call Number: Realistic Fiction
This comical coming-of-age story is set in California during 1970s.
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis
Call Number: Historical Fiction
This book alternates point of view between present-day and World War II.
York by Laura Ruby
Call Number: Mystery
This suspenseful mystery is set in 1789 New York City.
The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence
Call Number: Mystery
This mystery series is set in A.D. 79 Rome.
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques
Call Number: Fantasy
This nautical adventure set in 1620, includes elements of folklore and magic.
Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz
Call Number: Sports
This baseball story is set in 1890 in Japan.
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Call Number: Animals
This story of World War I is told from the perspective of a military horse.

Historical Fiction Poll

What is your favorite kind of Historical Fiction?

Coming of Age: 0 votes (0%)

Fictional Biography: 0 votes (0%)

Historical Novel: 3 votes (21.43%)

Historical Romance: 3 votes (21.43%)

Nautical and Pirate: 4 votes (28.57%)

War Fiction: 1 votes (7.14%)

All!: 3 votes (21.43%)

Something else: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 14

Notable Historical Fiction

Coming of Age

Auma's Long Run by Eucabeth Odhiambo
When AIDS devastates thirteen-year-old Auma's village in Kenya during the 1980s, Auma must choose between staying to help her family and working toward a track scholarship that will take her away from home.
I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín
When her beloved country, Chile, is taken over by a militaristic, sadistic government, Celeste is sent to America for her safety and her parents must go into hiding before they "disappear."
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
In 1960s New York, fifth-grader Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant, must rely on books, art, her family, and friends in her multicultural neighborhood when an accident puts her in a body cast.
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
It is 1969 in Spanish Harlem, and fourteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano is trying hard to break free from her conservative Puerto Rican surroundings, but when her activist grandmother comes to stay and the neighborhood protests start, things get a lot more complicated--and dangerous.

Fictional Biography

Sacajawea by Joseph Bruchac
Sacajawea, a Shoshoni Indian interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, and William Clark alternate in describing their experiences on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Northwest.
The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle
In free verse, evokes the voice of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, a book-loving writer, feminist, and abolitionist who courageously fought injustice in nineteenth-century Cuba.
Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus
In Nazi-occupied Norway, fourteen-year-old Espen joins the resistance movement, graduating from deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís
Fictionalized biography of Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the world.

Historical Novel

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.
Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton
Follows Ricky from 1987-1991, and Samuel in 2006, as they are abducted to serve as child-soldiers in Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Includes historical notes and information about Friends of Orphans, an organization founded by Ricky Richard Anywar, on whose life the story is partly based.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi asks Indians to give one family member to the freedom movement, ten-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life for the freedom struggle.But it turns out he isn't the one joining. Anjali's mother is. And with this change comes many more adjustments designed to improve their country and use 'ahimsa'--non-violent resistance--to stand up to the British government.

Historical Romance

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others.
A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury
As the partition of India nears in 1947 bringing violence even to Jalandhar, Tariq, a Muslim, finds himself caught between his forbidden interest in Anupreet, a Sikh girl, and Margaret, a British girl whose affection for him might help with his dream of studying at Oxford.
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age.
Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin
During the summer of 1926 in the lake resort town of Excelsior, Minnesota, 16-year-old Garnet, who dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology, is resigned to marrying a nice boy and settling into middle-class homemaking until she takes a liberating job in a hat shop and begins an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper.

Nautical and Pirate Fiction

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
As the lone young lady on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean
Having been raised believing he will die before he reaches the age of fourteen, Pepper Roux runs away on his fourteenth birthday in an attempt to elude his fate, assumes another identity, and continues to try to outrun death, no matter the consequences.
The Smugglers by Iain Lawrence
In eighteenth-century England, after his father buys a schooner called the Dragon, sixteen-year-old John sets out to sail it from Kent to London and becomes involved in a dangerous smuggling scheme.
Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer
Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.
Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eagar
Can a clever young inventor uncover a ruthless pirate's heart of gold? Thrilling sea adventure takes on a hint of steampunk in the second book by the author of the acclaimed Hour of the Bees.
Polaris by Michael Northrop
A crew of children must pilot a ship across unfamiliar seas while a strange creature lurks belowdecks.

War Fiction

Sophia's War by Avi
In 1776, after witnessing the execution of Nathan Hale in New York City, newly occupied by the British army, young Sophia Calderwood resolves to do all she can to help the American cause, including becoming a spy.
Iron Thunder by Avi
Tom's job as an assistant to Captain John Ericsson, the inventor of the Monitor, makes him a target of Confederate spies.
When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.

Resources

Scott O'Dell Award
In 1982, Scott O'Dell established The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The annual award of $5,000 goes to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults.
100 Must-Read YA Historical Fiction Novels
List from Book Riot by Tirzah Price.
The Age of YA: A Timeline of Historical Fiction
From ancient times to the decade of grunge, take a trip to the past with this timeline of 140 YA historical fiction novels, curated by the Epic Reads community.

Scott O'Dell Award Winners

The Fighting Ground by Avi
Thirteen-year-old Jonathan goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War and discovers the real war is being fought within himself.
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.
The Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese family in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.
Trouble Don't Last by Shelley Pearsall
Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise him, attempt to escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.
The River Between Us by Richard Peck
During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.
Worth by A. LaFaye
After breaking his leg, eleven-year-old Nate feels useless because he cannot work on the family farm in nineteenth-century Nebraska, so when his father brings home an orphan boy to help with the chores, Nate feels even worse.
The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich
Nine-year-old Omakayas and her family, members of the Ojibwa tribe, are forced to leave their island on Lake Superior in 1850 when white settlers move into the territory, and comes to realize that the things most important to her are her home and way of life.
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father--but no one will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program.
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada--a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859--uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
Eleven-year-old Jack Clark struggles with everyday obstacles while his family and community contend with the challenges brought on by the Dust Bowl in 1937 Kansas.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

Fiction, that's Historical

These books may not have been considered "Historical" when they were written, but today you'll find them in the "Historical Fiction" section.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Publication Date: 1719
The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, first encounters another human being and fights off cannibals and mutineers.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Publication Date: 1813
When Elizabeth first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lovely mind.
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Publication Date: 1908
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Publication Date: 1884
Huckleberry Finn, the son of the town drunk, and Jim, an escaped slave, make a break for freedom down the Mississippi River on a raft, sharing many adventures along the way.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Set sail to the heart of adventure with cabin boy, Jim Hawkins, aboard the legendary scoundrel, Captain Long John Silver. A secret treasure map becomes the key to heart-pounding thrills, danger and swashbuckling action as a boy faces the high seas and the grandest pirate of all in the adventure of a life time.