Historical Fiction

… and Bears

Spring 2011

ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature

Define historical fiction?• historical fiction

– A narrative in the form of a novel set in a specific place and

period in history, or based on an event or sequence of events

that actually happened. The characters may be completely

fictional, but if they are known to have existed, their

feelings, words, and actions are reconstructed and to some

degree imagined by the author. The presence of dialogue in

a historical work is usually a clue that the account is

fictionalized.

– For more information, connect to the Historical Novel Society. Click

here to connect to the Google list of historical fiction Web sites. Compare

with nonfiction. See also: Scott O'Dell Award.

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But, what is Historical

Fiction, forsooth?

•“The historical novel has always been a

literary form at war with itself. The very

term, implying a fiction somehow

grounded in fact – a lie with obscure

obligations to the truth – is suggestive of

the contradictions of the genre.”–Quote from a review, cited in “History is but a fable agreed upon: the

problem of truth in history and fiction,” speech by Richard Lee to

Romantic Novelists Association

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What is History, though?

• Whatever else it may be – it is NOT truth

– Each decade throws up new approaches to

history, finds new or previously overlooked

sources and gives entirely new weight to the

facts they do agree on.

– History, in other words, is tailored for its

audience.

– The facts that survive are absurdly inadequate.

The interpretation that is put on them is a huge

distortion even of those few facts.

• History is but a fable agreed upon

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What is History, then?

• History is not quite the out and out truth

that it seems

– At its best it is only one historian’s selection of what

he or she BELIEVES, at any particular time, is most

relevant from the body of material that survives. At

worst – well at worst, it is no more than the sort of

bigoted opinion and blatant manipulation of sources

that we’ve recently seen exposed in the work of

holocaust denier, DAVID IRVING.

• History is but a fable agreed upon

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Where does that leave Historical Fiction?• Historical fiction is the most primal, the most NATURAL

of literary forms

– Historical fiction . . . is the artistic form that springs from this

impulse to give a shape to the past. But it’s not JUST to give a

shape to the past. It is to bring part of the past ALIVE into the

present.

– . . . all historical fiction . . . makes us feel, as a

protagonist, what otherwise would be dead and lost to us. It

transports us into the past. And the very best historical fiction

presents to us a TRUTH of the past that is NOT the truth of

the history books, but a bigger truth, a more important truth –

a truth of the HEART.

• History is but a fable agreed upon

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Differences between history and historical fiction

• Andrew M. Greeley

– History and historical fiction are necessarily not the

same thing. The purpose of history is to narrate

events as accurately as one can. The purpose of

historical fiction is to enable a reader through the

perspective of characters in the story to feel that she

or he is present at the events. Such a goal obviously

requires some modification of the events.

• Quoted by Cindy Vallar in Historical Fiction vs. History

• See her selected Articles on Historical

Fiction vs. History (scroll down page)

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Problems with writing Historical Fiction• The Problem of Definition

– just how “past” is “past”?

• The Problem of “Truth”

– Historical Fiction or Fictional History?

• The Problem of Balance

– How much “authentic” detail?

• The Problem of Accuracy

– How do you avoid errors or

anachronisms?

• The Problem of Provenance

– Where does the story come from?

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Fall 1998

Historical

Fiction or

Fictionalized

History?

Problems for

Writers of

Historical

Novels for

Young Adults

Joanne Brown

How do these authors do it?• Making it real: bringing historical

fiction alive

– The challenge for me in writing historical

fiction is this: How can I see, hear, feel,

taste, smell, and know what my main

character experienced? I have always done this through a

combination of book research, exploring original records,

searching for artifacts, doing interviews, and reenactment. I

am an experiential learner. I am also somewhat dyslexic, so the

book research can take me just so far. Touching real original

records and artifacts can often transport my imagination back

in time in ways that no microfilm ever could.

• Carbone, E. (2007, June). making it real: bringing historical fiction alive.

Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 27-30. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from Academic

Search Premier database.

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Teaching Historical Fiction

•

– To help you build good fiction into your social

studies program, you’ll find:

• Seven Reasons I Teach with Historical Fiction

• Tips for Choosing Good Historical Fiction

• Fifteen Fabulous New Historical Fiction Books

• Is Pocahontas Real? Discovering Where History Stops

and the Story Starts

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A bear in

historical

fiction?

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Bearly Barely historical fiction

• The Egyptian Polar Bear

– "The Egyptian Polar Bear" by JoAnn

Adinolfi was inspired by scholarly

tales of a burial chamber for a polar

bear. A strong current carries a polar bear to

ancient Egypt, where he comes to live with the

boy pharaoh. It is suitable for children aged 4 to

8.

• Ancient Egypt Fiction Books for Children

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Another barely historical heroical

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14Historical Fiction

The End