Historical Books
As a child, a young girl with coltish legs and dusky skin, I spent many anxious hours prowling the low desert and the craggy foothills of southeastern ...
Eager to avenge the death of his brothers and the rape of his sister, the laird of a once-powerful Highland clan seizes the innocent bride of his hated ...
From somewhere among the colony of North Carolina's Gaelic gentry, twenty-five-year-old backwoodsman Jacob Dare is determined to find a young woman to ...
Arch foes and forces of nature align to challenge the indomitable Paladíns. When seventeen-year-old Drake “The Rake” Paladín shows up at the Barony with ...
Once upon a time, or so begin the fairy tales, there was a bluestocking spinster and a gin-sodden cowpoke. Sourly, suspiciously, the two sat eyeing one ...
They were a proud, aristocratic family - the flower of France. Until a powerful nobleman sought to destroy them, and they were forced to flee for their lives ...
UNLIKE ANY CHRISTMAS STORY YOU HAVE READ ~ New Sweden, American colonies (when Christmas was outlawed) Five years before, in 1649, the heads of Lady ...
If the preacher's wife's petticoat showed, the ladies would make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. That was the day ...
In her very first novel, award-winning author Nevada Barr reveals another side to her remarkable storytelling prowess with this heart-wrenching yet tender ...
Morgan Pierce is man entranced-by a mysterious woman in a Bath Chair. Bound to her fate by a crippling carriage accident, Miranda wants only solitude during ...
Love blooms in the darkest days… Discover this heart-wrenching, life-affirming tale of first romance in the face of the tragic events of an often forgotten ...
Pairing extensive research with a brilliance for reviving the past in gripping narrative, Spur Award-winning author Mike Blakely has penned an epic, ...
A scandalous affair. A power struggle for the throne. A sensational rivalry between an English queen and an American social climber. In this electrifying ...
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl ...
Charles Babbage was an English genius of legendary eccentricity. He invented the cowcatcher, the ophthalmoscope, and the “penny post.” He was an expert lock ...
Description
Historical fiction is a genre that sets its stories in the past, often during significant periods of history. In these stories, the time period isn’t just a backdrop but an essential part of the setting and the narrative itself.
Historical fiction may feature fictional characters, well-known historical figures, or a combination of the two. Authors typically pay close attention to details—such as setting, clothing, and dialogue—to ensure the story feels authentic to the time period it portrays.
Sometimes, historical fiction portrays famous events from perspectives not recorded in history, showing historical figures grappling with real events but in ways not captured in historical records. Other times, the historical event or era provides a rich backdrop that shapes the characters’ lives and actions. In some cases, the story remains largely accurate, but names of people or places are changed for narrative reasons.
Because this is fiction, authors have artistic license to creatively present and explore these settings, as long as they remain reasonably faithful to established historical facts. If the story deviates significantly from historical record, it may move into the genre of alternate history, which imagines how things might have been different if a major historical event had played out differently. Similarly, historical fiction should generally follow the rules of physics and realism; stories that include magical or fantastical elements typically fall under the category of historical fantasy or historical romance.