Historical Fiction - Exodus Books

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The best way to learn history is not always in a textbook. (That's probably the worst way, really, but more on that elsewhere.) While learning history through novels can be taken too far (it is fiction after all), there's much to be said for getting a feel for the Civil War through books like The Red Badge of Courage or Across Five Aprils, or learning about the deep rifts between Saxons and Normans in Medieval England through Scott's Ivanhoe.

A well-researched historical novel imparts something no list of names and dates can—a picture of life among a particular people at a particular time, the way they thought, the way they ate, who they admired, how they traveled. Sometimes readers are introduced to real historical figures and events from an intimate perspective, not the stale cardboard presentations common in schools.

There's plenty of nonsense available, of course, and just because the cover says a book takes place in Renaissance Italy or ancient Egypt doesn't mean it's a good book, or even that it's historical fiction in the true sense. A writer who simply transposes stories on different time periods isn't really saying anything about that time period, they're just trying to inflate sales with an appeal to the exotic and unfamiliar.

Such bogus historical fiction is really just fantasy. The good stuff is real and bright and dusty and loud, just like an old Roman city or a battle between Roundheads and Cavaliers. It reflects the religious sentiments of the characters as they would have been, such as in Lilli Thal's brilliant Medieval epic Mimus. It shows how one small action can lead to many much larger events, as happens frequently in C.S. Forester's Hornblower series.

Whether you're into the technical descriptions of battles found in Henty's boy-versus-the-world stories, or prefer the romance of The Scarlet Pimpernel, or like to break your heart over and over with books like Amos Fortune, Free Man, historical fiction is above all fiction of the present—not to be kept in the annals of the past, it shows us that the people of long ago (or not so long ago) are not so different than the people of today.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Parent Categories

Fiction & Literature

Fiction by Genre

Historical Fiction

Subcategories by Grade

4th grade (Ages 9-10)

5th grade (Ages 10-11)

6th grade (Ages 11-12)

7th grade (Ages 12-13)

Subcategories

G. A. Henty Books

- Henty Audio Books

Louise Vernon Historical Fiction

We Were There Series

42 Items found Print

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19th Century America,

Mass market paperback

	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit from Graphia for 4th-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Blazing West: The Journal of Augustus Pelletier The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804 by Kathryn Lasky from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Bonanza Girl by Patricia Beatty from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. for 6th-10th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.00 (4 in stock)
	Bonanza Girl by Patricia Beatty from Scholastic Inc. for 6th-10th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99
	Bull Run by Paul Fleischman from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $5.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
	Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz from Puffin Books Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Chang's Paper Pony An I Can Read Book Level 3 by Eleanor Coerr from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-2nd grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Drinking Gourd A Story of the Underground Railroad An I Can Read Book Level 3 by F. N. Monjo from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99
	Farmer Boy Little House Series #3 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Gathering of Days A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan Blos from Aladdin Paperbacks Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade 1980 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Gentle Annie The True Story of a Civil War Nurse by Mary Francis Shura from Scholastic Inc. Fictionalized Biography for 4th-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara from Ballantine Books Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Going West by Jean Van Leeuwen from Puffin Books Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO) $6.99
	House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks for 4th-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99 $4.00 (4 in stock)
	Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express by Kristiana Gregory from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Killer Angels by Michael Shaara from Ballantine Books Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Killer Angels by Michael Shaara from Ballantine Books Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Little Farm in the Ozarks Rocky Ridge Years Book 2 by Roger Lea MacBride from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Little House - Softcover Boxed Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $79.91
	Long Way Westward An I Can Read Book Level 3 by Joan Sandin from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
	On the Banks of Plum Creek Little House Series #4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1938 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins for 4th-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Perilous Road by William O. Steele from Harcourt for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
	Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane from Bantam Books Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $4.95
	Red Badge of Courage Puffin Classics by Stephen Crane from Puffin Books for 7th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Samuel's Choice by Richard Berleth from Scholastic Inc. for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder from Aladdin Paperbacks Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade Scott O'Dell Award in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder from Avon Books Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade Scott O'Dell Award in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox from Laurel-Leaf Books Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.50 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox from Aladdin Paperbacks Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99
	Soft Rain A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen from Yearling Historical fiction for 3rd-5th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.99
	Staircase by Ann Rinaldi from Harcourt Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.99
	Streams to the River, River to the Sea A Novel of Sacagawea by Scott O'Dell from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction for 7th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99
	To Be a Slave by Julius Lester from Scholastic Inc. Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade 1969 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.99
	To Be a Slave Puffin Modern Classics by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings from Puffin Books Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade 1969 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Trail of Tears Step into Reading Level 5 by Joseph Bruchac from Random House Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP) $4.99
	Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty from Beech Tree Books for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
	Wagon Wheels An I Can Read Book Level 3 by Barbara Brenner from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)

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