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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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Adara
by Beatrice Gormley
from Eerdmans
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Balloon Boy of San Francisco
by Dorothy Kupcha Leland
from Tomato Enterprises
for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.95
Barbary Jihad
Monroe Family Chronicles #4
by Douglas Wilson
from Veritas Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00
Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
from Bethlehem Books
Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.50
Blue at the Mizzen
Aubrey/Maturin #20
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Book of Boy
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, illustrated by Ian Schoenherr
Frist Paperback from Greenwillow Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2019 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Boy of Old Prague
by S. Ish-Kishor
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.99
Boy of the Pyramids
by Ruth Fosdick Jones
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
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)
$8.99
Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
from Great Waters Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.50 (2 in stock)
Detectives in Togas
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Dutch Color
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.00
Fair Margaret
by H. Rider Haggard
from Great Light Publications
for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
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
Fear in the Forest
by Cateau de Leeuw
from Bethlehem Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Fiddler's Green
from Rabbit Room Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Ocean
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
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)
$8.99
Great and Terrible Quest
by Margaret Lovett
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Trouble
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Yearling
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
from Bob Jones University Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Heart of a Samurai
by Margi Preus
from Amulet Books
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Incident at Hawk's Hill
by Allan W. Eckert
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Iron Scouts of the Confederacy
by Lee McGiffin
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Iron Scouts of the Confederacy
by Lee McGiffin
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.50
Jericho's Journey
by G. Clifton Wisler
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Letzenstein Chronicles
Letzenstein Chronicles
by Meriol Trevor
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 4th - 7th Grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower
by C. S. Forester (based on the works of), C. Northcote Parkinson
from Sutton Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Listening for Lions
by Gloria Whelan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Louise de la Valliere
Alexandre Dumas Collection #4
by Alexandre Dumas
from Oxford University
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.95
Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Man in the Iron Mask
Alexandre Dumas Collection #5
by Alexandre Dumas
from Oxford University
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
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
Master and Commander
Aubrey/Maturin #1
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Michael Strogoff
by Jules Verne
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$17.99
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2010 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Roman Ransom
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Neeluk
by Frances Kittredge
from Alaska Northwest Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$9.99
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.95
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)
$8.99
Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Red Falcons of Tremoine
by Hendry Peart
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.95
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
Sallie Fox
by Dorothy Kupcha Leland
1st edition from Tomato Enterprises
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.95
Scottish Chiefs
by Jane Porter
from CreateSpace
Historical Epic for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Sea-Hawk
by Rafael Sabatini
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.95
Son of Liberty
by Elizabeth Massie
1st edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Allen French
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
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
Swift Rivers
by Cornelia Meigs
from Bloomsbury Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1933 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Swift Rivers
by Cornelia Meigs
from Walker and Company
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1933 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Terrible Wave
by Marden Dahlstedt
from Richard R. Dahlstedt the Attic
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (5 in stock)
Theras and His Town
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from American Home-School Publishing
Action/Adventure for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas Collection #1
by Alexandre Dumas
from Oxford University
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.95
Tikta'Liktak
by James Houston
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
Twenty Years After
Alexandre Dumas Collection #2
by Alexandre Dumas
Reissue from Oxford University
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.95
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
Vicomte de Bragelonne
Alexandre Dumas Collection #3
by Alexandre Dumas
from Oxford University
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.95
War Horse
by Michael Morpurgo
from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Warhorse
by Don Bolognese
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
When the Dikes Broke
by Alta Halverson Seymour, illustrated by Al Schmidt
from Purple House Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
White Company
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.36
White Seneca
by William W. Canfield
from Salem Ridge Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.50
Winged Girl of Knossos
by Erick Berry
First Paul Dry Books from Paul Dry Books
for 4th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
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