8. Historical Fiction, Biography. Intro YA often know the important dates and events in history and realize that historical events occurred many years.

8. Historical Fiction, Biography

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Intro

YA often know the important dates and events in history and realize that historical events occurred many years ago but may have difficulty comprehending the magnitude of historical events and how they affected many aspects of people’s lives.By going beyond the mere presentation of facts, YA historical fiction allows adolescents to explore history through the eyes of characters their own age.What exactly is historical fiction? Most writers and educators agree that it is fiction that is set in the past. The problem seems to revolve around the definition of the “past.”Does a novel have to be written originally as historical fiction or can a contemporary novel become historical fiction as time marches forward and the contemporary events become history?What role do the ages of the author and the reader play in this definition?

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Intro

According to Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, a historical novel is one that “has as its setting a period of history and that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail and fidelity to historical fact.”“a historical novel must be set at least 50 years in the past and the author must base the book on historical research rather than personal experiences” (Nesbeitt, 2002. Historical Novels Review). While these criteria might be appropriate for adult historical fiction, YA novels are written for readers to whom anything that happened 15 years ago is historical. Thus we define historical fiction as a novel that was set in the past (at least one generation approximately 15 to 20 years) when it was originally written.Whatever historical period they depict, good historical fiction writers achieve a sense of authenticity, such that readers believe that the cultural, social, and political events as well as the feelings, joys, disappointments, and frustrations of the characters actually could have happened.

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Intro

Good historical novels genuinely relate historical perspectives to the plot, setting, and characters, so that as contemporary adolescents view the past through the eyes of characters their own age, they learn not only about the past but also how it has contributed to the world as it is today.Historical fiction began as a genre for adults in the 1800s, with Ivanhoe (1820), and continued with classics such as War and Peace (1869).After a decline in popularity during the early twentieth century, children’s historical fiction flourished again after the 1930s.Another decline came in the 1970s when the youth rebellion and the maxim of not trusting anyone over 30 led to a rejection of historical fiction.However, by the late 1990s, historical fiction was again popular with adolescents, with publishers producing both series and stand-alone novels.

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Types of historical fiction

Continuum of Historical Fiction

Set in the past but not tied to actual historical events or people

Contains a mixture of actual events but fictional char-acters, or actual characters but fic-tional events

Tied directly to actual historical events and peo-ple

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Topics in historical fiction

Clashes of cultures: People have long fought to preserve their cultures for a number of reasons: they considered their culture superior and thought others should embrace it; they thought others wanted to destroy their culture; and/or they considered their cultural heritages and traditions worthy of honor and protection. Understandably, YAL reflects these cultural clashes and their effects on peoples’ lives. About the clash of American Indian and European cultures:

Cooney, Caroline. 2001. The Ransom of Mercy Carter. Asian American rights in Seattle:

Mochizuki, K. 2002. Beacon Hill Boys.

Wars and conflicts: Clashes over culture and individual or group freedoms have often led to war. Burks, Brian. 1997. Soldier Boy.

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Topics in historical fiction

The quest for freedom: throughout history, freedom has meant different things to different people. While some protagonists may be attempting to flee the bonds of actual slavery or imprisonment, other protagonists may be attempting to break free of the social or cultural rules and traditions. Curtis, Christopher Paul. 2007. Elijah of Buxton. Draper, Sharon M. 2007. Fire from the Rock.Overcoming natural disasters, death, disease and disabling conditions: This is another recurring theme. Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of Dust. Newth, Mette 1998. The Dark Light.Surviving the challenges of everyday life: in the past, the mere attempt to survive from day to day has often been a struggle for a number of people. Peck, Richard. 2000. A Year Down Yonder. Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy.A final way to categorize YA historical fiction is to arrange books chronologically according to the time periods they depict. Many of the bibliographies use this categorization.

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Reasons for Using and Teaching Historical Fiction

Why should we encourage YA to read historical fiction? Haven’t most professionals at some time heard YA complain of reading about history? Don’t many YA prefer contemporary realism?Historical fiction helps adolescents to make connections between the past and the present, to view problems and situations over a period of time, and to place events in a historical context.As YA vicariously experience the past with its conflicts, joys, and challenges, they can see how a single decision may have far-reaching ramifications.Also encourages readers to think beyond historical events. Adolescents can read social studies and history texts to learn “facts”—events that have shaped the nation and the world. However, much is lost when YA learn historical events yet fail to perceive the human perspectives surrounding the events. Historical fiction helps readers develop a context for the names, dates, and events of history. While textbooks focus on the results of an action, historical fiction allows readers to look at why it occurred.Also helps readers to identify and judge the mistakes our nation and its peoples, both collectively and individually, have made in the past—errors that YA will want to understand and strive to avoid. Because historical fiction allows readers to see historical and societal events from various perspectives, it is an excellent genre to help adolescents understand their own cultural heritage, as well as the heritage of other ethnic groups.Finally, it is ideal for use in an integrated curriculum and with literature-based approaches across the disciplines. These novels can address the problem of history being taught from a singular dimension void of human emotion or from an approach that does not show the interrelationships among the disciplines. Readers can benefit when they learn about the “human” aspects of historical and societal events and when they see relationships among subject areas.

Biography

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Intro

Peering in at someone’s life experiences in the pages of a book can be captivating and akin to eavesdropping or gossiping.“if democratic citizenship education—the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good—is the goal …then students must develop an understanding of the lives of those who lived before them, who are different from them, and whose struggles created the kind of world in which they live.”Biographies can serve as information resources, and offer considerable reading enjoyment, by illuminating the frustrations, obstacles, and achievements of a wide spectrum of people from the past and the present. In doing so, biographies can add new perspectives to YA learning and reading pleasure. Well-written biographies are more than a series of facts about a biographee (the person about whom a biography is written) thrown together in more or less chronological order. A biographer (the author) must sort through the truths and fictions, decide what is important and what is inconsequential, identify relevant details, eliminate superfluous trivia, and create a narrative that presents a person’s life. Instead of depicting only the best about an individual, contemporary biographies for YA portray all sides of a person and present a well-rounded, realistic character whom adolescents can relate to or begin to understand.

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Types of Biography

Biographies may be divided into three basic categories--authentic or pure biography, fictionalized biography, and biographical fiction—based on the emphasis on factual information in the book. In this biography continuum, the emphasis on the amount of facts changes as you move from left.

Pure/Authentic Biography

Fictionalized Biography

Biographical Fiction

Info

rmatio

nal

Histo

rical Fic-

tion

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Types of Biography

Authentic or pure biography: based only on the known or verifiable facts about a person. For example, conversations are included only when they can be documented. Fictionalized biography: in contrast to authentic biographies, many works about historical figures are fictionalized because little or no primary source documentation of their lives exists. Even when authors can identify primary sources, they might need to add some fictionalized details such as a conversation to make a point about the person, to describe the person’s thoughts, or to show the person’s relationship to other historical figures. However, even in fictionalized biography, the invented dialogue is based on actual events and people. It does not matter whether these biographies are contemporary or historical. Biographical fiction: an easy way to remember the distinction between fictionalized biography and biographical fiction is to focus on the noun in each phrase—fictionalized biography is more factual than biographical fiction. Biographical fiction includes accurate historical events and individuals as well as invented characters and events. Biography in Contrast to Historical Fiction: works of biographical fiction tend to

place a greater emphasis on the plot rather than the character and are sometimes categorized as historical fiction. Whether to place a book in the genre of biography or historical fiction depends on the degree to which a historical figure plays a central role in the book and on the amount of accurate information in the book about that individual. Often, in historical fiction, the real individual is included only to advance the central story or to add a sense of authenticity and credibility.

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Types of Biography

Biography and Autobiography: while a biography is written by the author about the life of another individual, an autobiography is written by the biography’s subject. Many autobiographies must actually be considered fictionalized autobiographies, because most people rely on their memories rather than on actual notes of conversations to re-create the stories of their lives. As you evaluate autobiographies, you need to keep this in mind. Partial and Complete Biographies: in a partial biography, the author focuses on one period in the subject’s life (e.g., the period of his or her greatest accomplishment, childhood). In contrast, a complete biography traces the entire life of an individual.Individual and Collective Biographies: whether authentic or fictionalized, biographies can also be divided into individual or collective. Individual biographies are written about one person; collective biographies are collections of biographies about a number of individuals. Some collective biographies include individuals from many backgrounds (e.g., Lives of Extraordinary Women); others have an organizing theme, such as politicians and world leaders.

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Categories of Biographies

Politicians and Leaders: as you might expect, many biographies have been written about American presidents and the founders of the U.S. George Washington and the Founding of a Nation (2001) Up Close: Robert Kennedy (2007)

Religious Leaders: there are few YA biographies about religious leaders but: Billy Graham (2007) Confucius: The Golden Rule (2002)

Scientists and Inventors: a number of excellent biographies highlight notable scientists and their achievements. Einstein: Visionary Scientist (1999) Contemporary Women Scientists (1994)

Explorers and Adventurers: some people have lives full of thrills, excitement, and exploits throughout the world. The Adventures of Marco Polo (2006)

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Categories of Biographies

Artists and Writers Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist (2001) Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood (2001)

Athletes: sports are important to many adolescents. Thus, biographies of sports stars, past and present, focus on the achievements of athletes, including their hardships, determination, and trials of endurance. Michael Jordan: A Biography (2007) Muhammad Ali (1997)

Entertainers and Musicians: while there are a number of biographies of popular current and past performers, many are little more than carefully contrived publicity packages. But: John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth (2005)

Uncommon Individuals: such as Holocaust survivors and rescuers, individuals who fought for equal rights throughout American history.Young Adults Growing Up: focus on adolescents’ feelings and emotions. When I Was Puerto Rican (1993) Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution (1997)

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Reasons for Using and Teaching Biographies

At the most basic level, biographies satisfy an adolescent’s need to know and desire to find out more about a person, event, or topic. But there is more than that. Biographies personalize history by focusing on the motivations and driving forces behind personal actions. Through biographies, adolescents can see that while social constructs can be harmful to some individuals and helpful to others, these constructs can be challenged and changed.When they see the choices others have made and how those choice determined the courses of individual’s lives, adolescents can begin to realize that they too can make choices and that their decisions will influence their future.If adolescents are to realize that history is more than the study of dead people, educators must use the connection between inquiry and biography to help young adults see the relationship between past events and the realities of the present.

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Characteristics of well-written biographies

Be engagingBe authentic and honestProvide an objective treatment of the subjectBe accurate (controversial information and personal fallacies should be neither omitted nor glossed over)Reveal a complex individual, including human strengths as well as weaknessesDepict the life of the individual in ways that allow the reader to question, evaluate, and analyze the narrative to identify the pattern or meaning in the person’s life.

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When evaluating YA biographies, ask the following questions:

What are the author’s credentials, experience, background, and perspectives that indicate his or her competence to write about this individual?Is the biography authentic or fictionalized? If fictionalized, is there an explanation of the rationale for creating the fictionalized parts?Are the fictionalized parts identified?Is the content up-to-date, complete, and objective, with language or dialect that reflects the subject?Is the book accurate?Does the book avoid misrepresentations of events and facts?Is the biography free from bias and not patronizing?Does it present all sides of controversial issues?Does it neither debunk the subject nor place him or her on a pedestal?Is the biography relevant to young adults?Will the style of writing attract YA?Are a bibliography of sources, endnotes or footnotes, and a list of recommended readings included?Are there special features such as period art work, photographs, or other illustrations: replicas of documents, letters, and other artifacts; and an index?

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When evaluating collective biographies, as these additional questions:

What is the scope of the entire collection?What criteria did the author use to select (and exclude) individuals?Is the writing consistent across the selections?How is the collection organized?Is a consistent amount of information presented for each individual?