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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: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Hardcover, New Books & Materials
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Big Bad Ironclad!
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #2
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Blades of Freedom
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
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)
$17.84
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Donner Dinner Party
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #3
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Dorothy's Double
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Dragonfly Eyes
by Cao Wenxuan, translated from the Chinese by Helen Wang
from Candlewick Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
$17.00
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14
Gabriel Allen, M.P.
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz
from Scholastic Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
In the Irish Brigade
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
John Hawke's Fortune
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
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
Light in the Forest
by Conrad Richter, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
$13.56
Little Britches
Little Britches Series #1
by Ralph Moody
from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$24.99
Little House on the Prairie - 75th Anniversary Edition
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
75 Anv Rev from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Lost Heir
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Lost Queen of Egypt
by Lucile Morrison, illustrated by Franz Geritz
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$23.80
Major Impossible
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #9
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Man of the Family
Little Britches Series #2
by Ralph Moody
from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.51
March to Coomassie
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
March to Magdala
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Mary Emma and Company
Little Britches Series #4
by Ralph Moody
from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$22.94
Moment Comes
by Jennifer Bradbury
from Atheneum
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.29
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
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
Plague Ship
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Queen Victoria
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Raid of No Return
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #7
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Roving Commission
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Sea of Lemon Trees
by Maria Dolores Aguila
from Roaring Brook Press
2026 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
Search for a Secret
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.96 $11.20 (3 in stock)
Sovereign Reader
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Tales of the Crusades
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated with prints adapted from Gustav Dore
from Hillside Education
for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.41
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.69
Treasure Island
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Deluxe from Atheneum
for 5th-9th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$21.24
Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #4
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Unbroken (Adapted for Young Adults)
by Laura Hillenbrand
from Random House
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$21.99
Under Wellington's Command
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Underground Abductor
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #5
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Woman of the Commune
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Won By the Sword
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Wonderstruck
by Brian Selznick
First Edition from Scholastic Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$25.49
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