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Historical Fiction Books



Historical fiction books are books where the story line is set in a specific time in history. The cultural settings, behavior and manner of speech are often depicted as accurately as possible and any historical events are often made to follow actual historical accounts. Wikipedia gives an extensive definition with many examples of historical fiction books. 



So what is the difference between an historical fiction book and a book on history? I think, short answer; any time you tell a story or write in a narrative style within a historical setting, you have an historical fiction book.


The work may have famous historical figures in them or it might have completely fictitious characters in the story. An example of the latter would be The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame. This book is often given credit for fueling the movement to preserve gothic architecture in France.


Examples of historical fiction involving actual figures from history would be the movie ‘Amadeus,’ or the movie ‘Immortal Beloved.’ The first involves Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the second involves Beethoven. Anytime you begin to put words into the mouth of a famous figure from history, you are heading down a narrative, story telling path, unless every word is accountable by witnesses on the scene and this tends to be not so reliable.


There are critics, of course, who point out historical inaccuracies in such stories. The movie ‘Immortal Beloved,’ posits the theory that Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved was his nephew's mother, which vies with many written historical accounts. Same with ‘Amadeus,’ where the rivalry between Mozart and Solari gets played up.


One could argue that all history is fiction, since history is relayed by observers who often had their own axe to grind, but we are talking about a specific literary genre and need not go there. What makes a good historical fiction book? Well, I think it’s a good story line and perhaps, in the telling of the story line, the author opens up possibilities that we haven’t considered as well. For a good historical fiction book, check out The One True God by Brian Lee Beshore.




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