Some Thoughts on Historical Fiction

I have two historical fiction stories
Beth's Dilemma- Women' Sufferage

The Whip that Saved Venice- with Knotty Pine- 2 parts- different points of view.- I did quite a bit of research on the period as well as the very real characters.

I have at least 3, but I think the OP has read them all and posted his thoughts on them.

I think there's a distinction between fiction set in the past but not involving great historical events or persons; fiction in the past about great historical events but not famous names (for example, a story about a second world war soldier coming home on leave and finding his wife having an affair) and fiction in which historical characters such as George Washington appear.

I've written quite a lot of the first sort, but so have lots of other people, flopsy for example. Of the second sort I've written two about the English Civil War period - The World Turned Upside Down and Fortune of War (a two-parter) and two about the Second World War period and events following, The Horst Kessel Saga (a two-parter) and The Sound of Munich. Fortune of War includes the historical big names Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, but only in bit parts and the main characters are invented. I can see the potential for stories that give a spanking aspect to famous people, but it's never occurred to me to try it myself. Oh, except for two satirical story which featured people thinly disguised like the then prime minister, but that wasn't historical, it was contemporary.

Well yes that's probably so, but I'm pretty sure that the OP isn't the only one reading and participating in this thread.


Thank you! When I kicked off this thread, I blithely assumed that we all agree on MY definition of "Historical Fiction" I quickly discovered that's not the case. So checking on the 'net, I find various definitions. They fall into two vague groups:
1) "a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past." VS,
2) "historical fiction is a work of writing that reconstructs the past. ... writers of this genre will incorporate past events or people into their fictitious stories.

To me, a story that is merely set in the past, such as many Victorian novels, is a "period piece". If you add in actual historical events and historical characters, then a "period piece" becomes something you can call "historical fiction".

However, after a bit of research I must agree that definition #1 above is perfectly correct. That said, I still prefer the narrower definition #2.

I've written a three part story called September 26, 1960 which features the first Kennedy/Nixon U.S. presidential debate playing out in the background while three teenagers face the consequences of a birthday celebration gone wrong.
Sorry but none of my stories are in the library at this time. But only because I haven't figured out how to transmit them in a form that satisfies me.
I do have a story involving Lana Lang and her archaeologist father posted at Chross. Unfortunately for humanity stories about the Superman mythology must be classified as fan faction rather than historical fiction.

There's also of course a distinction between historical fiction which doesn't change history but just fills in some imaginary bits (Thomas Jefferson, while US Ambassador to France and living with Sally Hemings, hears that a young man called Bonaparte has been showing interest in her) and the kind of historical fantasy which changes major events (William the Conqueror, distracted by his wife, loses the Battle of Hastings).

As a reader whether a story is called historical fiction or a period drama, is a play on words, a historically well researched story set in a period of our past is something that grips me, whether that be the cook disciplining the staff 'below stairs' in Victorian era or relating to a Famous historical character.

Absolutely agree! And this is why it does bother me if something is badly out of kilter - not minor details like the name and value of a coin of the time, but, shall we say, a medieval baron fulminating against democracy (only a few learned monks would have recognised the word and it just wasn't on the agenda, so didn't need to be fulminated against). Or closer to a possible spanking theme, it's assumed that a 17th century Puritan woman from a prosperous family would definitely not have been able to handle foreign or classical languages or know who Erasmus or Saint Augustine was.

There are few things now that can't be checked in Wikipedia. I checked on early 19th century French female underwear there recently for a story!

I have two on the site at this time. The first is a stand-alone story titled "The Drummer Boy?" set in 1963 just after the battle of Chancellorsville and just before Gettysburg. The second is a series titled "Timeless Memories" set during World War II and the present.