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Do you know what some of the most commonly asked questions are? Genre questions. Either asking us what genre a certain book or series is in, or what exactly is that genre. After spending so much time immersed in the world of romance, it has become second nature to instantly catergorise books into their respective genre, or sub-genre. Just a glance at the blurb, or even just the cover then I can tell you what genre it will be. Of course, not everything is black and white and not every book is so easy to label, but a majority are.

We have previously done a very concise guide about genres giving an overview of each, but we decided to take each genre and do a more general and indepth guide. In this, we will tell you the definition of the genre, what types of characters you may expect to see, popular troupes within a genre, some of our favourite authors and series within this genre. And anything else we can think of! By the end of the guide you should be able to tell what book is what and have a few recommendations to pick up.

The ninth chapter in this guide is *drum roll please*

Definition

A historical fiction is similar to a historical romance in that it is set in the past. The difference being that the romance is optional and when it is present it isn’t necessarily the driving force behind the story and you aren’t guaranteed a happily ever after. Instead the story will focus on the main characters(s) journey, which may or not not contain romance.

The Basics

Essential characteristic of historical fiction:

  • The time period of the book will be before the 1940s
  • It will reflect the technology and historical facts of the time i.e. there has been no concerted effort to change history or technology. If there has, it may be a steampunk.
  • There will be no paranormal elements.
  • The main characters will be adults – although it could have a reflections or sections with memories or thoughts from childhood.

A historical fiction novel must have all the above characteristics.

Historical fiction can often based on real live historical events and figures. It will tell the stories of people who have lived through a famous event or been part of them in some way or/and they have a connection to a historical figure. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but it is a frequent theme in historical fiction novels.

UTC Required Reading List

Here are some of the historical fiction novels we have enjoyed:

 

For more of our historical fiction reviews click here!

What are your favourite historical fiction books?

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Elizabeth

To name a few: the canaan trilogy by marek halter, the dublin saga by edward rutherford, anything by steven saylor, the last kingdom series by bernard cornwell, the borgia bride by jeanne kalogridis. the widow of the south by robert hicks…edward rutherford and bernard cornwell have other series that are good as well.

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Sophia Rose

I was a fan of historical fiction before historical romance. I can definitely appreciate the main distinctions that you make. One of my favorite historical fiction authors is Stephanie Thornton. I also like old-school Jean Plaidy, Sarah Lark, Diana Gabaldon, CS Harris, Allison Pataki, Elizabeth Loupas, and Alexander Piers.

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denise

I like the ones by Karen White. And, I like the books she has which span a few generations, too.

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Timitra

What The Wind Knows and The Nightingale

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Amy R

Thanks for the post, what always gets me are the exact years for Regency, Victorian, Tudor ect.

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