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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: Great Britain / England
Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Andie's Moon
Historical House: 1969
by Linda Newbery
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cecily's Portrait
Historical House: 1895
by Adele Geras
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Crispin at the Edge of the World
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
from Balzer & Bray
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
1st edition from Touchstone
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Fair Margaret
by H. Rider Haggard
from Great Light Publications
for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Frontier Wolf
by Rosemary Sutcliff
1st edition from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gytha's Message
Emma Leslie Church History Series
by Emma Leslie
from Salem Ridge Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hawk and the Dove Series
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Hudson
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Hedge School
by Gloria Whelan
from Bethlehem Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Hereward the Wake
by Charles Kingsley
from Living Book Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Hidden Foe
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Hidden Foe
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Jack Archer
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Jack Archer
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories
by James Herriot
First Printing from St. Martin's Press
for 8th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Kenilworth
Penguin Classics
by Sir Walter Scott
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Lady of Blossholme
by H. Rider Haggard
Centennial Edition from Great Light Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Last Plantagenets
A History of the Plantagenets Volume 4
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Map That Changed the World
by Simon Winchester
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Chicago Review Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95
Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Charles Keeping
from Oxford University
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Marsh King
by C. Walter Hodges
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Master Cornhill
by Eloise McGraw
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Murder for Her Majesty
by Beth Hilgartner
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Namesake
by C. Walter Hodges
from G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
One Corpse Too Many
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Parcel of Patterns
by Jill Paton Walsh
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Player King
by Avi
from Atheneum
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Polly's March
Historical House: 1914
by Linda Newbery
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain, illustrated by William Hatherell
from World Publishing Company
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain, illustrated by William Hatherell
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Prince and the Pauper
Portland House Illustrated Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Franklin Booth
from Portland House
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Queen's Most Honorable Pirate
by James Playsted Wood, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from HarperCrest
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Robert T. Reilly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Rifleman Dodd
by C. S. Forester
from Marine Corps University
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Sovereign Reader
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Sovereign Reader
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Stories of the Covenanters in Scotland for Young People
by Robert Pollok
from Sprinkle Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
Stronger than the Sword
by Faith Cook
from EP Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Three Edwards
A History of the Plantagenets Volume 3
by Thomas B. Costain
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Unknown to History
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.99
Warrior Scarlet
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Sunburst Book
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Warrior Scarlet
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Charles Keeping
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
While the Horses Galloped to London
by Mabel Watts, Mercer Mayer (Illustrator)
from Parents Magazine Press
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grace
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Young Bess
by Margaret Irwin
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 5th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
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