ABSTRACT
Historical fiction brings together history and imagination. It helps young adults connect the facts of history with characters they can identify with on a personal and emotional level. This chapter describes the characteristics of historical fiction and group collections of works in three different ways, and presents works organized by time periods. The focus is on historical fiction that contains metafictive traits. The chapter also examines issues of accuracy and offers teaching suggestions. Female-to-male cross-dressing is portrayed in a multitude of genres, including historical fiction for young adults. Adequate levels of factual accuracy are necessary to establish authenticity; however, the core of historical fiction remains the fiction. Characters must be interesting and they must do interesting things to capture the imagination of a young adult reader. Evaluation of the accuracy of the history and the quality of the literature must go hand in hand.
