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Biographical Novel

Whoever came up with the idea of mixing a biography and a novel together in the same book was a genius. Most people like to read a good novel now and then; the ones who don't like to read biographies (presumably because they're "more real"). A biographical novel gives both factions what they want, and probably makes both the biography part and the novel part more interesting.

The best books in this genre don't include spurious content, nor will they dwell so heavily on historical facts that the narrative is lost. It's a balancing act, and most writers err one way or the other, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth reading.

Quite the opposite, in fact. A well-researched biographical novel in some ways makes better reading than a straight biography, because the author is able to provide a sense of place and culture more organically. Certainly, having a biographical novel that has too much history and not enough fiction is the better way to go.

If you're using the book to learn, that is. One of the benefits of the fiction-heavy narratives is that they offer entertainment that isn't wholly escapist or irrelevant. If you're reading a novel based on the life of Robert E. Lee, for instance, you're almost sure to get something worthwhile out of it, even if half the book is just made-up dialogue.

Like our other biography genre categories, this one is meant primarily to help you narrow your search. We have a lot of biographies, and finding the one that best suits your needs can be time-consuming and frustrating. Use the links on the lefthand sidebar to filter by type of person, genre, and time period.

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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37 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Born in the Year of Courage
by Emily Crofford
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Summer
by Margaret J. Anderson, illustrated by Marie Le Glatin Keis
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Citizen Tom Paine
by Howard Fast
from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate
by Jean Lee Latham
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Horde
World Landmark #12
by Harold Lamb, illustrated by Elton C. Fax
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Have You Seen Tom Thumb?
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Iqbal
by Francesco D'Adamo
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Jenny Lind's America
by Frances Cavanah
from Chilton Book Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Nina Baker; illustrated by Robert Doremus
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Little White Farm House in Iowa
Precious Memories Book 1: The First 10 Years
by Carol Brands
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$9.00
Little Yellow Farm House in Iowa
Precious Memories Book 2: Years 11-17
by Carol Brands
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$9.00
Mary Jemison, Seneca Captive
by Jeanne LeMonnier Gardner; illustrated by Robert Parker
First Edition from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
My Havana
by Rosemary Wells, Secundino Fernandez
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Naya Nuki
by Kenneth Thomasma
from Baker Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Patsy Jefferson's Diary
by Miriam Anne Bourne
First Edition from Coward McCann
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
by Jennifer Rozines Roy with Ali Fadhil
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Pocahontas
by Joseph Bruchac
from Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Poland's Noble Son
by Daughters of St. Paul & Maxine Mayer, illustrated by Maxine Mayer
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Portugee Phillips and the Fighting Sioux
The American Adventure Series
by A. M. Anderson, Illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1st edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Queen without a Crown
by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by Herbert Danska
from Hillside Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Rivals in Parliament
by Iris Noble
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
River-Boy
by Isabel Proudfit
1958 Printing from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Rosanna of the Amish
by Joseph Warren Yoder
Revised from Herald Press
for 4th-7th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sacajawea of the Shoshones
by Della Gould Emmonds
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Saint Therese and the Roses
by Helen Walker Homan, illustrated by George W. Thompson
Book Club Edition from Vision Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Shadow of His Hand
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
Story of Young George Washington
by Wayne Whipple
from Henry Altemus Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
That Lively Man, Ben Franklin
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Henry Pitz
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Trail Blazer of the Seas
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Trail Blazer of the Seas
by Jean Lee Latham
from Purple House Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Wild Bill Hickok
The American Adventure Series
by A. M. Anderson, Illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1st edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Wilderness Wife
by Etta B. Degering, illustrated by Ursula Koering
from David McKay Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Yellow Star
by Jennifer Roy
from Two Lions
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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