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Historical Fiction

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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122 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 20th Century, Trade Paperback
Andie's Moon
Historical House: 1969
by Linda Newbery
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Anna's Fight for Hope
Sisters in Time
by JoAnn A. Grote
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Sisters in Time (Location: SER-SIS)
Arctic Son
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor
from Disney-Hyperion
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$4.24 $1.60 (2 in stock)
Black Radishes
by Susan Lynn Meyer
from Yearling
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Blackbird Girls
by Anne Blankman
from Puffin Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bletchley Riddle
by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.74
Boris
by Jaap Ter Haar
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95
Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Hilda Van Stockum
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Breaking Stalin's Nose
by Eugene Yelchin
from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Brother's Keeper
by Julie Lee
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Butter in the Well: Historical Diary 1868-1888
by Linda K. Hubalek
from Butterfield Books
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
from Back Bay Books
for 10th-Adult
1952 Pulitzer Prize Winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Christy
by Catherine Marshall
from Gilead Evergreen Farm
Realistic Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$24.99
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Code Talker
by Joseph Bruchac
from Speak
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.19
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Coming Evil
by Vivian Vande Velde
from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.86
Daniel's Story
by Carol Matas
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Day of Pleasure
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Day the World Stopped Turning
by Michael Morpurgo
from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Don't You Know There's a War On?
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Earthquake!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$2.40 (3 in stock)
Earthquake!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Echoes of the White Giraffe
by Sook Nyul Choi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Elephant Run
by Roland Smith
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Enemy Brothers
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Constance Savery
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.56
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Father's Promise
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Glory Be
by Augusta Scattergood
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Grim Reaper
Shadow Series #3
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
from Bob Jones University Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Hero of Spionkop
The Louis Wessels Commando #2
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Hideout in the Swamp
Shadow Series #2
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Hiroshima
by Laurence Yep
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
In This Hour
by Rudolf Van Reest
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.56
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
It Began with a Parachute
by William Rang
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko Uchida
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
Jazz Man
by Mary Hays Weik
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book 1967
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Journey Through the Night
by Anne De Vries
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$28.01
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.20
Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1997 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Lion of Modderspruit
The Louis Wessels Commando #1
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.31
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Lonely Sentinel
Shadow Series #1
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Lost in the Pacific, 1942
by Todd Olson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Lost Year
by Katherine Marsh
from Roaring Brook Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Louis Wessels Command Series
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Macaroni Boy
by Katherine Ayres
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Samantha
American Girl
by Susan S. Adler
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Mieko and the Fifth Treasure
by Eleanor Coerr
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Mississippi Bridge
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Bantam-Skylark
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Moved-Outers
by Florence Crannell Means
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
North to Freedom
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Nothing to Fear
by Jackie French Koller
from Harcourt
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1990 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
On the Edge of the Fjord
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Bethlehem Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
On the Wings of Heroes
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
P.S. Be Eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Partisans
Shadow Series #4
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Penny for a Hundred
by Ethel Pochocki
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Polly's March
Historical House: 1914
by Linda Newbery
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Prairie School
by Lois Lenski
Reprint from Open Road Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.44
Quake!
by Gail Karwoski
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Resistance
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party
by Ying Chang Compestine
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Rising Tide
by Jeff Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Sabotage
Shadow Series #5
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Scout of Christiaan de Wet
The Louis Wessels Commando #3
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16
Sea of Glory - A Novel
by David Poling, Ken Wales
from B&H Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Skylarks' War
by Hilary McKay
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Small War of Sergeant Donkey
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Maureen Daly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Soldier Bear
by Bibi Dumon Tak, translated by Philip Hopman and translated by Laura Watkinson
from Eerdmans
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Stink Alley
by Jamie Gilson
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Sylvia & Aki
by Winifred Conkling
Reprint from Yearling
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Tales of the RAF - Six Volume Set
Tales of the RAF
by Don Patterson
from Hindsight Ltd
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Tangled Skein
by Alta Halverson Seymour, illustrated by Harold Minton
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.19
Titanic
You Choose Books
by Bob Temple
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Unbroken (Adapted for Young Adults)
by Laura Hillenbrand
from Random House
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Upon the Head of the Goat
by Aranka Siegal
First Square Fish: Aug.2012 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 5th-9th grade
1982 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Uprising
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.89
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