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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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Active Filters: 18th Century America, 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes
from Betterway Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
from P&R Publishing
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy M. Leininger
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
American Twins of the Revolution
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Salem Ridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Arrow Over the Door
by Joseph Bruchac
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
At the Seven Stars
by John & Patricia Beatty, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Macmillan
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Battle for Quebec
North Star Books #38
by F. Van Wyck Mason, illustrated by Victor Mays
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
$6.79
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Veritas Maritime Series #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Birds
by Caroline Starr Rose
Dgs from Puffin Books
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Boy Sailor with John Paul Jones
by H. C. Thomas
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 5th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Captain of the Minute Men
Boys of Liberty Library
by Harrie Irving Hancock
from David McKay Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.59
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
Repint from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Colonial America: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose Books
by Allison Lassieur
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Cromwell's Head
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
70th anniversary from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Day of Glory
by Philip Spencer
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Drums
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by James Boyd
1st edition from Atheneum
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Encounter at Easton
by Avi
from Beech Tree Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$33.97
Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Fiddler's Green
Fin's Revolution #2
by A. S. Peterson
from Rabbit Room Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.44
Give Me Liberty
by L. M. Elliott
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Glorious Conspiracy
by Joanne Williamson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
from Harcourt
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.74
In the Hands of the Senecas
by Walter D. Edmonds
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Jack Wade, Fighter for Liberty
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Irving Werstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
from Yearling
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Laurel-Leaf Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Kings Mountain
by G. Clifton Wisler
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lafayette!
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Last Fort
Land of the Free Series
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Edward Shenton
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Maid of Maryland
by Alice Curtis
from Applewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Provincetown
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Ticonderoga
by Alice Curtis
from Applewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Lydia the Patriot
Sisters in Time
by Susan Martins Miller
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Sisters in Time (Location: SER-SIS)
Madeleine Takes Command
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Ethel Brill
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (3 in stock)
Magnificent Mutineers
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by W. T. Mars
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Monroe Family Chronicles
by Douglas Wilson, Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$54.00
Mooring Tree
by Gertrude Robinson
2020 GaTB from The Good and the Beautiful
for 4th-8th grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Morgan the Jersey Spy
Adventures in History Series
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
for 4th-8th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Four Winds Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
One Dead Spy
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #1
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Patriots' Gold
by Virginia Frances Voight, illustrated by H. Tom Hall
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Patsy Jefferson's Diary
by Miriam Anne Bourne
First Edition from Coward McCann
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Phoebe and the General
by Judith Berry Griffin
from Weekly Reader
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Phoebe the Spy
by Judith Berry Griffin
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Pocahontas
by Joseph Bruchac
from Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Powder Keg
by Donald E. Cooke
First Edition from John C. Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Puritan Adventure
by Lois Lenski
from Lippincott
for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Rabbits and Redcoats
by Robert Newton Peck
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Reb and the Redcoats
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Constance Savery
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Roger the Ranger
by Eliza F. Pollard
from Inheritance Publications
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
by Rush Limbaugh
1St Edition from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the Presidency
by Rush Limbaugh with Kathryn Adams Limbaugh
from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Sarah Bishop
by Scott O'Dell
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Shadow of the North
by Joseph A. Altsheler
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Short Stories of G. A. Henty Volume One
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Siege!
by Wilma Pitchford Hays, illustrated by Peter Cox
from Coward McCann
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Yearling
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Silver for General Washington
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Sophia's War
by Avi
from Beach Lane Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
South Fork Rangers
by Manly Wade Wellman
from Ives Washburn, Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spy in Williamsburg
by Isabelle Lawrence, illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spy!
by Anna Myers
from Walker and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Stephen of Philadelphia
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
for 4th-6th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Stephen of Philadelphia
America's Children
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
Susan Creek
Monroe Family Chronicles #2
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Sword of the Wilderness
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Macmillan
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Three Gold Doubloons
Level 7
by Edith Thacher Hurd, illustrated by Clement Hurd
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 3rd-6th grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Toliver's Secret
by Esther Brady
from Yearling
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Trade Wind
by Cornelia Meigs, with a frontispiece by Henry C. Pitz
from Little, Brown & Company
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
True to the Old Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
True to the Old Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
True to the Old Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Two Williams
Monroe Family Chronicles #3
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00
We Were There at the Battle of Lexington and Concord
We Were There #20
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
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