Historical fiction v3

Historical Fiction

Lisa DoyleLaurie Johnston

What is Historical Fiction?

Definition:Historical fiction presents readers with a story that takes place during a notable period in history, and usually during a significant event in that period. Historical fiction often presents actual events from the point of view of fictional people living in that time period.

In some historical fiction, famous events appear from points of view not recorded in history, with fictional characters either observing or actively participating in these actual events.

--from Wikipedia

(Nilsen, p. 244)

• Historical novels often tell a lively story with a sense of

impending danger, mystery, suspense, or romance.• Historical fiction includes mysteries, comedies, adventures, realistic problem stories, and many other genres.

Characteristics:tics

‘’Historical novels allow us – at their best they force us – to make connections and to realize that despair is as old and as new as

hope, that loyalty and treachery, love and hatred,

compassion and cruelty were and are inherent in humanity, whether it be in ancient Greece, Elizabethan England,

or post-World War I Germany.’’

--Nilsen p. 244

Development:

• Developed from the romantic movement of the early 19th century.

• Appeals to the romantic desire to escape from the present.

• Historical fiction before World War I tended to be idealized and filled with patriotic sentiment.

• Historical fiction today attempts to reassess and understand the past rather than glorify it.

• Current trends in historical fiction spotlight ordinary people and give a sense of history from their perspective.

(Brown 2000)(Nilsen, p. 276)

Historical Fiction

Common Topics

Westerns

Will Rogers Medallion Award

American Revolution

U.S. Civil War

World Wars

The Holocaust

Vietnam War

Civil Rights Movement

Quality Historical Fiction

tells a good story conveys the flavor of the historical period authentically captures the people of the

period, their values, and their habits uses dialogue to make the characters

sound authentic but not artificial faithfully uses historical knowledge to

avoid distorting history fairly and sensitively portrays different

sides of the compelling issues of the period gives us insight into contemporary

problems as well as helps us understand the problems of the past

--Brown 2000

Consistently Good Writers of Young Adult Historical Fiction

Laurie Halse AndersonFever 1793 tells the story of 14-year-old Mattie during the yellowfever outbreak in Philadelphia. Mattie struggles to keep thefamily coffee house open, but when Mattie’s mother becomesill, Mattie tries to escape.

Tracy ChevalierGirl with a Pearl Earring is about 16-year-old Griet who must work to support her family. She is hired by the Johannes Vermeer family, but is immediately disliked by the wife and daughter. Vermeer paints slowly and produces few pieces of work,so he is often in debt. Griet grows closer to the painter as she mixes and prepares his paints, and Vermeer uses Griet as a model for his most famous painting.

Christopher and James Lincoln CollierThese two brothers specialize in historical fiction. Their best-known novel, MyBrother Sam is Dead, comes from the time of the Civil War and was a NewberyAward book. The books The Bloody Country and The Winter Hero continue thestory.

Mildred D. TaylorTaylor’s own family history provided material for her prize winning series of books. The Land won the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award. It was written as a prequel to the earlier books Song of the Trees, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and The Road to Memphis. This series of books tells the story of the Logan family, African American landowners near Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Karen CushmanCushman has chosen to write about girls embarking on journeys to discoverthemselves. One of her books, Catherine Called Birdy, is the diary of a 14-year-old daughter of a knight whose feisty and witty observations bringthe 13th century to life. Her book, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, tells the story of California Morning Whipple who is dragged by her mother from Massachusetts toLucky Diggings, California, where she strikes it rich in an unexpected way.

Jennifer DonnellyDonnelly has a single historical novel but one of the best. A Northern Light is based in part on the sensational murder of Grace Brown, whose body was found in Big Moose Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. Mattie, the main character, takes a job as a waiter at the lake resort. Here she meets Grace Brown, a resort guest. Grace leaves a pack of letters with Mattie before she goes boating with her boyfriend. Grace asks Mattie to burn the letters if she does not return. Grace, in fact, does not return.

Scott O’DellIsland of the Blue Dolphins and Sing Down the Moon both Present positive and original portrayals of young NativeAmerican Women who suffer at the hands of white settlers inthe middle to late 1800s. O’Dell was a pioneer in featuring strongyoung women in these two books, and within the last couple of decades several good writers have followed his lead.**In 1982, the Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction was established.

Ann RinaldiRinaldi’s novel, Wolf by the Ears, tells the fictional story of Sally Hemmings’s family. Sally was a mulatto slave in Thomas Jefferson’s household. Some historiansbelieve that Jefferson fathered several of her children. Rinaldi’s bookimplies this is true, but the question is never really answered. Most of Rinaldi’s books focus on the Revolutionary War of the Civil War.

‘The historian, if honest, gives us a photograph; the storyteller gives us

a painting.’

-- From ‘Historical Fiction for our Global Times’, Leon Garfield

Brown, M. E. (2000, April 10). Historical fiction. In Literature for children. Retrieved July 21, 2011, from http://www.southernct.edu/~brownm/Ghis.html

Historical fiction. (2011, July 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:29, July 22, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_fiction&oldid=438813723

Nilsen, A. P., & Donelson, K. L. (2009). Literature for today's young adults (Eighth ed., pp. 243-276). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

References