ABSTRACT
Historical fiction brings together history and imagination. It helps young adults connect the facts of history with characters that they can identify with on a personal and emotional level. This chapter describes the characteristics of historical fiction by drawing a distinction with period fiction, and it shows how authors of historical fiction can take a critical perspective to correct the “official” version of historical events. Works of historical fiction are grouped in three different ways. First, a group of books with themes and issues of social justice that teachers may want to explore with young adults is presented. Second, historical fiction works are matched to different time periods. The third group shows historical fiction that contains metafictive traits. The final two sections of this chapter examine issues of accuracy and offer suggestions for teaching with historical fiction.
